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1711 Words
Somehow knowing that his friend would be hiding in his room, Lukas let himself into the apartment Jaxon shared with his father. Quietly walking toward the hallway, he didn’t bother looking around to see if anyone else was at home.
“They’re gone.”
Squealing in shock, Lukas twisted at the sound of a voice he wasn’t expecting to hear. Bringing his heart rate down and leveling his breathing, he shook his head at the blond sitting at the table. The brand-new bottle of whiskey glinted in the light of the range head. “What the f**k, Nix!? Geesh! Could you let a man know you’re home or something?”
“Really, Luke?” Phoenix, the leader of the next generation, asked, his voice weighed down with humor. Phoenix grinned, his smile lighting up his brown eyes as he shook his head. “I returned to help Dad with a few things, but my mother and sister stole away my wife and daughter. Memphis is gone with Mark to God knows where with Francis, Kenni is having a paper-pushing day, and Sky’s busy helping her daughters with something. Jaxon is with his father – also doing God knows what, and you’re the only one unaccounted for.”
Blinking, Lukas let out a breathy laugh. He walked into the dimly lit kitchen, pulling out a chair before sitting across from Phoenix. “You always got to be the asshole, don’t you? So, how’s Italy?”
“Not bad,” Nix replied. “I grabbed each of my adoring uncles a bottle of the good stuff, but I knew that David would appreciate an authentic Italian whiskey. It’s a bottle of Macallan 18-year-old Sherry Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Think he’s going to forgive me for breaking into his place?”
“I thought we had keys to each other’s places?” Lukas snickered. “But, yeah. He’s going to totally forgive you. So, what are your thoughts about Mark and Jax?”
Snorting a laugh of dissatisfaction, Phoenix rolled his eyes. “Mark needs to rethink how he treats Jaxon before I give the kid the space to make his man beg for mercy he likely won’t get. Uncle Russ has been sending me the vids of their training routines, and I have to say that he’s gotten way freaking stronger than he was when we were kids. Took you two long enough to find your footing, but you’re getting there. Sorry I missed your graduation, by the way. Did you like the gift?”
Lukas scowled, his grey eyes narrowing darkly on the other teen. He knew that the look on Phoenix’s face meant that there was a chance that he’d do something anyway, but the obvious answer was in the way his boss deflected the original question. “You didn’t answer me.”
“I know.”
“Don’t make me call your wife,” the younger man stated.
Another laugh, “Go ahead.”
“Any-who, so Jax and I got our certifications with Honors and made the Dean’s List – go figure. While I appreciated the gift, it was too much. You’re damn lucky that gorgeous wife of yours bullied my ass into accepting the check,” Lukas said, filling him in.
Running a hand through his strawberry-blond hair, Phoenix nodded. “She’s got that way about her, for sure. I can’t believe how lucky I got it, though. Great friends, amazing family, gorgeous wife and daughter… I got it all, and you’re the last of us without an S/O.”
“I’ve been dating, but the women I seem to attract are all bitches with an axe to grind against some i***t ex-boy-toy or entirely material girls with money on the mind. Hell, I’ve even entertained the idea of going to Germany for an arranged marriage,” Lukas groaned.
Hearing the barely audible click of the main door, they stilled, the conversation taking a back seat to the muted voices of Jaxon and David as they moved closer to the kitchen. Knowing that David hated having anyone in his space when he wasn’t home or didn’t know about it, Lukas and Nix shared a look.
The first to walk in, Jaxon set the bag of groceries on the counter without looking at his friends. The last to join the crew of seven when they were small, he’d been the most protected of them all until a few years ago. When they began breaking apart for personal reasons, Jaxon started training.
A deep breath, followed by a deafening silence, made Lukas and Phoenix start to worry. Getting to his feet, Lukas moved to take some things from the cloth bag. Silently helping his best friend put things away, he glanced at the door where David stood with a dark, deadly look in his eyes. In his hand was Jaxon’s cell phone.
“One, I do not appreciate you two being here when no one is home. Two, Luke, what can you do about your brother?” the older brunet man snapped.
“One, don’t yell at me, you ain’t my father. Two, this is for you,” Phoenix said, holding out the bottle without taking his eyes off his two youngest friends.
Grunting, David let out a whistle of admiration. Sighing, he moved his hand from his gun and shook his head. “Damn, boy. You go on a spending spree or something? And, while I know I’m not your father – thank f**k for that – it doesn’t give you the right to be a brat to your elders.”
Laughing, Phoenix nodded. “Yup, I know. No woman yet?”
“f**k no. Why the hell would I want that headache when I just raised two kids? I got my hand, porn, and a box of tissues on the bedside. I’m good,” David grunted.
Jaxon groaned, clearly disgusted with his father’s linguistic usage. “Dad!”
“What? Like you don’t masturbate?”
“I don’t brag about it!” his son argued. “Go get drunk in your study. For the love of all things good in this world, go hide from us like you always do.”
Chuckling, David pulled his son into a crushing hug. His breath shuddered as he murmured, “So help me, God, if that boyfriend of yours doesn’t give it up, he’ll be on a missing persons report before you and Trace know what happened to him. Understand me? Whoop his f*****g ass so he’ll leave you be, Jaxon. You’re not weak. Not anymore, so show him what you’re made of.”
Jaxon sniffled, knowing that his father was thinking of the slew of text messages they had gone over while they were out. Markus’s messages went from pleading to blaming, then to apologetic to downright remorseful. There was a commonality to them that told Jaxon the man he was dating was thinking hard about the way things turned out. However, wanting silence for a while, Jaxon had blocked Mark on all his accounts.
It was a temporary fix, just until he was able to finally face the last of the horrible memories of his past. There was only one place left that he had to go to. Only one building, its spires reaching into the sky as it towered over him in his dreams, the memories he had yet to let go of.
“Hey, Luke?” Jaxon whispered, his dark eyes seeking out his best friend. “I blocked him.”
“About time,” Lukas grunted. “You got s**t you’re trying to handle, and my i***t brother isn’t making it any easier for you to get through the darkest moments. You need this month to recenter and re-up in order to make your mental and emotional state match your new physique.”
Phoenix raised a brow, his mind working double time as he tracked the conversation while messaging his wife. “Jaxon, if you need a space, use the secret room in the Underground. You know, the space my father and grandfather created just for me and my team to use. I got your back, as long as I have your promise that you always got mine.”
“M’kay,” Jaxon answered airily. “For your information, Nix, you’re stupid if you think I don’t have your back. Besides, I’ve been handling Mark just fine without much outside interference, and I’ll keep going as long as I can. I love him, but he’s legit on his last legs with me.”
Raising a brow, Phoenix smiled thoughtfully. “How long did you give him to straighten out?”
“Excuse me?” Jaxon sputtered, pretending to be offended.
“That’s not… You little prick! Quit playing on my social cues weakness!” Phoenix growled, glaring hard at the younger man.
Lukas, clutching the stove to hold himself up as he laughed, couldn’t hold out long enough to say anything before Jaxon declared sarcastically: “Wah-wah! Call someone who gives a crap.” Rolling his eyes at the cross look on Nix’s face, he mockingly said, “Oh no, big boss man’s upset. Should we call his mommy?”
Tumbling to the floor, Lukas was lost in his riotous laughter as David yelled for them to chill out. Phoenix gawked at Jaxon, admiration for his new attitude shining in his brown eyes. “Damn, never thought that would happen. It’s nice to see you’ve gotten far stronger than you were before. Keep it up, Ji-hoon. It looks good on you.”
His lip trembling at the praise from his direct boss, Jaxon forced a smile. He swallowed his pride, nodding as he reached out. As Nix took the offered hand, Jaxon said, “Thanks, man. As long as Luke and I are breathing, you got us at your beck and call. Romie, too. It took a long time for me to really see my worth, but my brother-in-law made it happen and I’m glad he pushed me the way he did.”
Smirking, Phoenix said, “Still, you were always strong, J. You just took a little longer to see it for yourself. I’m grateful to have guys like you in my life.”
- Writer
