Page 82 of Drift

Gray briefly rested his head down. “Always, stunner.”

Jack eased away, and as he bypassed Gray, he brushed the back of his fingers along Gray’s hand.

The return touch was brief, as discreet as ever, but it wasGray’stouch, and Jack needed it now because it felt like life slipped from his grip.

Gray’s touch became the trapeze bar, the one he knew he needed to reach before the fall took him down to the floor with no offer of any other safety net, mostly because he knew who waited at the bottom, grinning up at him.

Light let the tension ease from his body a little as Jack came back on through, Gray close enough behind to return a brief touch of the back of his hand to Jack’s.

Jude hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken a word as he tilted his head at Gray’s touch to Jack’s hand. Jack came over, head down, rubbing at his neck like he nursed one hell of a building headache. “Look, kid—”

“Jude,” Jan called it softly where Jack didn’t look as though he could say his name, and for a brief moment, it broke Jude’s stare.

“Me, I’m Jan, Jan Richards.” Jan rubbed at Jude’s arm and offered a really soft smile as he glanced briefly at Jack. “And this lugnut is—”

“Don’t.” Jude shivered, took a step away from everyone. “Jude…. That’snotmy fucking name.” He couldn’t take his look off Jack. “But Jan….” Jude shivered again as if he fought to focus on something, anything but Jack and failed so badly. “Fuck… male. Sorry… That’ll… that’ll be me reading you wrong.” He paled, looking sick. “But don’tever,and I mean fuckingevercall me Jude.”

Looking a little angry that it seemed Jan was about to be caught in the middle of a street brawl, Jack took a step back, almost as if he didn’t like how he caught the echo of… Martin? Himself? Didn’t matter. The young semi mirror-image of himself disturbed him as much as the older version did with Jude.

“Sorry.” Jan spoke to Jude, but his frown stayed on Jack as if he saw something, and he shifted in real close to him a moment later. “Five minutes, martial arts guy,” he whispered quickly. “Just take another five minutes, please.”

What had he seen? Whatdidhe see in those eyes of Jack’s? Whatever it was, it had him pale.

“No. It’s okay.” Jack shook his head. “It’s all okay, just…. Fuck.” Head almost to chest, he rubbed fingertips into the side of his temple.

Jan shot Gray a look because Jack didn’t look so good. In fact, he—

“Yeah. Okay…” Such a long sigh was given. “I hear you. Now you’re struggling, our kid.”

Oh…shit.

Light had never seen the switch in person, not from Martin to Jack, Jack to… Martin… but now?

That slight change in voice… the drop in emotional turmoil…. It was so damn subtle, so damn fast.

A long sweep of hair off his face, Martin looked up, calm silver-grey eyes starting to take in the hall.

To take in the players.

To take in the… threat.

Chapter 25

MARTIN

Light didn’t know who saw the switch first, him, Gray, or Jan. But Jan was the first to react as Martin took in the hall.

“Easy.” Jan went in so close, lips almost brushing jaw. He looked like he wanted to touch, but wasn’t sure who he’d find if he did. “That you, Muh—”

Martin raised a finger to lips, then a smile went Jan’s way.

Yeah. That look that belonged solely to Martin, Light knew it, had bloody missed it. His slight cock of brow that called out Jan’s sanity to come play with his… if he dared. For a while back there, that look was all Light had needed in order to burn through the hurt of losing Brin. It carried destructive freedom fed by intelligence that Light had needed to hold on to when it came to learning to cry out against the world and get his voice heard.

“Personal space there, Janice. Respect it.” Martin winked. His look was focused, but it softened, just for a moment, and a brush went to Jan’s jaw, sayingfuckto Jan’s personal space, and, yeah… that was the Martin he knew. “Hello there all the same.” Martin stroked along where he touched.

“Fuck.” Jan snarled, then went in, the anger in his hold around Martin’s neck either saying fuck to boundaries too or justlook after Jack for us, you bastard. Martin snorted before his look went Gray’s way.

Gray kept his distance as Jan eased back, but his attention didn’t shift off Martin. So much seemed to be said between them in that single shared moment, then Gray flicked a look at Jude. Giving a brief frown, a slight tilt of head, Martin naturally followed the fast-lane trail….

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