Page 20 of Exposed
A smile exploded across Ajax’s face. “Jealous?”
“Nah. I’m just surprised you still have so much at your age.”
Ajax roared with laughter, but his grip on Lucas’ hand never lessened. At least he wasn’t alone. He had always expected to go out in the worst way, totally devoid of comfort. But Ajax was here, so it was okay.
“Thank you.” His eyes closed without his permission. He felt like he floated away, leaving his body behind. His voice sounded far away. “Tell my mom I love her and I’m sorry I wasn’t better.”
In a vague way, he heard people shouting, but it was distant, as if he walked away, leaving the scene behind. He had somewhere else to go. Maybe he would finally be happy.
As much as Jamison wanted to go to bed and put this bullshit night behind him, he couldn’t stop pacing. He had a bad feelingif he closed his eyes, he would end up back in a war zone. Blood covered way too many places. They couldn’t go to bed like this.
A crew showed up to scrub away the evidence while Kace silently moved in their wake, as if needing to do something. He had never seen Kace look so defeated. Jamison had never been more enraged. That was saying a lot.
His phone rang. Jamison checked the face. An unknown number appeared. It was too late for it to be anyone he didn’t know. He answered, praying he wasn’t about to have to call Lucas’ mom again. The news would likely kill her.
“Hello?”
“You’ll be happy to know Lucas pulled through surgery.”
Noir’s accented high-society voice wasn’t the one he expected to hear. He didn’t give Jamison time to respond. “If you think I’m an evil bastard who would leave most anyone to die, you’re right. But in this case, I wasn’t informed of how dire the situation was. You can rest assured that will be addressed. Did you actually threaten my life?”
Despite everything, Jamison smiled. He was so fucking relieved he would get to tell Kace Lucas was okay. Nothing else really mattered. “I might’ve been at the end of my rope.”
“Mhmm. Well, it seems you hit that point at the right time. They lost him on the flight. Ajax did CPR until they had him on the table. If not for that, I don’t think I’d take your threat so kindly.”
“He’s just a kid. I know you don’t care who you exploit, but I do. He has a mom to care for and he’s all she has. I realize none of that matters to you. It matters to me.”
A loud, put-upon sigh rang through the line. “You really shouldn’t presume to know what I care about. This is also the only time I’ll pretend you didn’t cross me. Tell your doctor Joesph will be by tomorrow with payment for his services. Next time, just call Joesph right away. No one knows me for a reason. I don’t mingle at the bottom.”
Jamison rubbed his forehead. Next time? Fuck. Kace was on Noir’s radar now. There was no going back. “He’s my cousin, so, you know. I have him on speed dial.”
When Noir spoke again, Jamison heard the smile in his voice. “So defeated already. Don’t worry. This isn’t common for my people. I assure you; the problem has been handled.” The barely suppressed laughter in Noir’s voice sent chills down Jamison’s spine. He had heard rumors Noir was a psychopath who made serial killers look merciful. It was likely a good thing cooler heads had prevailed by the end.
“That’s good to hear. I’ll let Joesph keep me updated on Lucas.”
“Fair enough.” The phone disconnected.
Jamison held it away and stared at the device for a moment. It had been such a crazy and horrible night. A Christmas Eve to remember, really. Fuck. He just wanted a normal life for once.
Kace wrapped his arms around Jamison from behind and kissed him between his shoulder blades. “Everyone is gone. I’ve locked up for the night.”
“Lucas made it through surgery.”
He felt the tension drain from Kace as he pressed his face against Jamison’s back. “Thank God.”
Jamison decided to leave out the whole dying on the way. Kace had already suffered enough. He turned and wrapped his arms around Kace. With his lips pressed against Kace’s forehead, he breathed in the man’s scent. “I’ve been thinking. How about Valentine’s Day?”
“What about it?”
“For our wedding.”
Kace cuddled closer. “That’s not much time to plan, but I’m sure we could pull it off.”
Jamison closed his eyes. He felt like crying. Jamison didn’t know if it was relief or everything catching up to him, but tears pressed against the backs of his eyes. “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I hope you wake up every day knowing that. You’re incredible.”
He felt Kace take a deep breath. “Can we go to bed? I want to hold you.”
“Yes. Please? I’ve never been more done with a day.” He kissed the top of his head and then took his hand. Together, they turned out all the lights before climbing into bed. The moment he had Kace snuggled against him, every bad moment of the day vanished. “I just realized something.”
