Page 155 of Covenant

And if the Buckinghams fall, so will I. Not Jackson though. Matt and I made sure to put safeguards in place for him if everything comes tumbling down. Not that we’re expecting that. The Buckinghams have been pulling this shit for literal generations.

I have to assume they know what they’re doing. Or I hope so, at least.

“And you’re sure you want Jackson to be here?” Matthias checks anxiously.

I nod. “Yeah, I want him to know. He deserves to know who he’s living with.”

Matthias looks unsure, but nods his head, pressing a kiss to my temple as Jackson appears next to me.

“Hey, sorry I’m a little late.”

“It’s fine. You ready for game night?”

Jackson nods eagerly. “I love a good game. Is Dalton here?”

Matthias chuckles as I shoot my brother a glare. “No. I mean, yes he is, but absolutely not. You are not going to be flirting with him.”

“Uh, who said I was into guys?”

I’m taken aback slightly, and I shake my head. “I mean, I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

Jackson arches an eyebrow at me. “Dude, I think you’re hallucinating. Just because you’re gay now doesn’t mean we all are.”

“I’m bi, actually.”

Jackson snorts. “Cool. Now can we get to playing? I want to make sure they don’t cheat. And I can smell the food.”

“No cigars for you,” I tell Jackson, but he ignores me, moving into the dimly lit room and straight for the platters of food. The entire Buckingham family is here. All the brothers are sitting around a large table, drinking and eating, Dalton and Wylder puffing on cigars as they lounge in their chairs.

“You made it!” Cade says, hopping up and pulling me into a hug. He slaps my back roughly and then moves to Matthias before moving over to Jackson and bumping his fist.

He and Jackson chat for a few minutes while I move my gaze around the room. I’m slightly nervous about how Jackson is going to react to this, how he’ll take it, but once we’re settled and Wylder begins the conversation, I realize that I had nothing to worry about.

“So, you guys are The Firm?” Jackson asks, taking a sloppy bite of a chicken wing. “Like, it’s not fake?”

“No,” Wylder says, and then Cade chimes in, “It’s fucking real, unfortunately.”

Jackson chews for a while and then bobs his head. “Cool. Since I’m family, can I join? Like, take care of requests and shit?”

Dalton laughs lowly at that as I snap, “Absolutely not.”

Jackson rolls his eyes and stuffs a few olives into his mouth. “Yeah, all right. No worries. No need to snap my head off. But that’s cool. The Firm, huh? I figured you would all be badasses, but you’re just here playing Guess Who.”

Samson huffs. “It’s a very dangerous game of Guess Who.”

He holds up his dagger to show Jackson, whose eyes widen slightly. “Cool. Can I have one of those?”

“No.” This time it comes from Matthias, who looks slightly annoyed.

Jackson laughs, grinning like a little shit, and my heart warms. He’s back to being a teenager—an eighteen-year-old one, but still—he’s able to be young again. Talking back, being a little dick. Just like he’s supposed to at that age.

He just wasn’t allowed to while we were struggling. He had to be strong, mature. It’s nice to see him testing out this new life.

Another little part of me heals seeing it.

“All right. All right. I get it.” He swipes his finger through some dip and pushes it into his mouth. “So, tell me about The Firm. Do you have, like, matching shirts or some shit?”

Cade snorts, and I see Dalton’s lips quirk up.

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