Chapter 4
869 Words
The warehouse smelled like diesel, rust, and old concrete. Sodium lights buzzed overhead, throwing harsh yellow pools across the concrete floor.
Crates were stacked in neat rows, labeled in black marker with codes that meant nothing to outsiders and everything to the men standing around them.
Jax leaned against a metal support beam, arms crossed, trying to look bored. Marco stood a few feet away, barking orders at two younger guys unloading a pallet.
Luca lounged on a crate, legs swinging, scrolling his phone like he was waiting for a date instead of a midnight arms drop.
The meeting earlier had been short. Vittorio laid out the timeline. The truck in at two, inspection, payment wired, truck out by three.
There was no mistakes. Jax had nodded along, memorizing every word for his handler later. Now they waited.
Marco wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and glanced over at Jax.
“You’re quiet tonight, consultant.”
Jax shrugged. “Just listening.”
Luca snorted without looking up from his screen. “Listening. Right. You’ve been listening real close to Nico all morning.”
One of the younger guys, Rico, paused with a crate half lifted and grinned. “Yeah, man. Saw you two at breakfast. Little brother had you feeding him like a damn bird.”
Marco shot Rico a look that could crack stone making Rico shut up fast.
Luca pocketed his phone and hopped off the crate. “Come on, Marco. Let the man breathe. Nico’s got a crush. It’s cute.”
Jax kept his face blank. “It’s nothing.”
Marco turned fully now, arms folding across his chest.
“Nothing? You walked in holding hands like you’re taking him to kindergarten. He fed you fruit off his fork. That ain’t nothing.”
Luca laughed, low and easy. “Sheesh. You sound jealous, big brother.”
Marco ignored him. His eyes stayed on Jax. “Nico doesn’t do that. Not with anyone. Not since he was a kid and even then it was only Elena. You show up, day one, and suddenly he’s glued to you. Explain that.”
Jax met Marco’s stare. “I can’t. Ask him.”
Marco stepped closer. Not aggressive. Just close enough that Jax felt the heat coming off him. “I’m asking you.”
The air in the warehouse thickened. The two younger guys exchanged glances and suddenly found the crates very interesting.
Luca stepped between them, casual, hands in his pockets. “Easy, Marco. Guy’s here to work security, not play twenty questions about Nico’s feelings.”
Marco didn’t back off. “Security consultants don’t get hand-fed at breakfast. They don’t get dragged around like a favorite stuffed animal.”
Jax pushed off the beam. Slow. Deliberate. “You got a problem with me being near your brother?”
Marco’s jaw ticked. “I got a problem with anyone who makes him act different. He’s fragile. You push too hard, he breaks. And if he breaks, we all feel it.”
Luca rolled his eyes. “He’s not fragile. He’s just… Nico. And right now Nico wants the new guy. Let him have his fun.”
Marco finally stepped back, but his eyes never left Jax. “Fun ends when it puts the family at risk. You understand?”
Jax nodded once. “Understood.”
Silence stretched. The sodium lights hummed louder.
Then Luca clapped his hands once, breaking the tension. “Alright. Enough therapy session. Truck’s late. Someone check the gate cam.”
Rico scrambled toward the office door. Marco stayed where he was, watching Jax like he was waiting for him to flinch.
Jax didn’t.
Instead he pulled out his phone, pretending to check messages. His thumb hovered over the encrypted app he used for dead drops.
One tap and the handler would get tonight’s intel about the time, location, crate count if he could get close enough.
He felt Marco’s stare like a weight on his neck.
Luca sidled up beside him, voice low. “You know he’s serious, right? About Nico. Marco’s the one who carried him out of the hospital when he was fifteen. Any time Nico gets attached, Marco turns into a guard dog.”
Jax kept his eyes on the screen. “I’m not here to hurt him.”
Luca studied him for a beat. “Hope that’s true. Because Nico doesn’t let go easy. Once he decides you’re his, you’re his. Good luck walking away.”
Jax’s thumb froze over the send button.
He looked up.
Luca was already walking toward the loading bay, whistling.
Marco hadn’t moved.
The warehouse door rattled, signalling the truck arriving.
Marco jerked his chin toward the entrance. “Let’s go. Work now. Playtime later.”
Jax pocketed the phone. The message unsent.
He followed Marco outside into the cool night air, gravel crunching under his boots.
But Luca’s words stayed in his head.
Once he decides you’re his, you’re his.
Jax glanced back toward the main house, lights glowing warm in the distance.
Nico was probably still awake. Waiting.
And for the first time since he’d walked into this estate, Jax wondered if the real trap wasn’t the family business.
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