by Shannon West
“Anyway,” Ron said. “You’re saying you think it was a combination of all it that caused this to happen to us.”
“Hell, I don’t know. It’s as good an explanation as any. Some of the stuff that happened to me and Luke though…there just isn’t any explanation I can come up with.” Logan stared at him for a moment. “What about you, Ron? Jake here says he ‘knows’ things. You got anything going on with you?”
“No,” he said, staring down at his coffee cup. “Nothing like any of that. I mean, I’m stronger than I was and faster. My eyesight is better—for a while there I thought I was gonna have to get reading glasses like an old man, and hell, I’m only twenty-five. That’s not the case anymore. There is one thing though…it’s kinda stupid.”
“What is it?” Luke asked.
He blew out a sigh. “The waitress that brought me this cup. She’s got problems with her kid. He’s a teenager and always getting in trouble at school and smarting off to the teachers. She has to go down this afternoon when she gets off work to talk to the principal about him, and her boss is mad about it. Says he’s docking her pay.”
Logan raised his eyebrows. “How the fuck you know all that? Did she say something I didn’t hear?”
“If she did, I didn’t hear it either,” Luke said.
Perry shook his head. “No, it’s this damn cup. She must have been thinking about all that when she brought it to me. The minute I picked it up, all that shit just popped into my head. Believe me, it’s way more than I ever wanted to know.”
“How do you know it? What do you mean, it’s the cup?”
“It could be anything she handled. I looked it up on a computer at a coffee shop where we were waiting on a bus in New Mexico. It kept happening, see? And I told Jake here about it.”
“And I told him to look it up on the internet. The closest we could come to what it might be is a kind of psychometry.”
“Psychometry? What the hell is that?” Logan asked.
“It’s how I know things when I touch something that somebody else owns or has just touched. Sometimes it’s plain as day, like with this cup. Other times, a lot of people have touched something, and I just get bits and pieces of all of them. Random thoughts or images. It’s been worse for about a week now. I think I might have to start wearing gloves or something to filter it all out.” He pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket. “Right now, I’m using this to pick things up mostly.”
Luke shook his head. “My God.”
Perry looked up and frowned at first, like he had taken offense, but then his shoulders slumped and he sighed. “I know. It sucks.” He glanced over at Logan. “Still not as bad as fire shooting out of my dick, though. You got me beat there, Logan.”
Logan’s jaw dropped and he whirled to give Luke a look of utter betrayal. “Navy! You told them about that when I went to the bathroom?”
Luke smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry. It got awkward and I was just trying to make conversation. I thought it was kind of funny since it didn’t burn you or anything. And it only happened the one time…”
“Which was more than enough! Jeezus! That’s private stuff right there, Luke.”
The waitress with the problem kid came over to take their dishes and see if they wanted to order anything else, and Logan took it as their cue to leave. She probably wanted to finish her tickets so she could leave early, like Ron had said. They all stood up, and Logan went to pay the bill.
Standing outside on the sidewalk by their truck, Ron gave it an admiring glance. “Nice ride. Needs a paint job, but the interior is sweet. I wouldn’t let that dog ride in there though, if it was me.”
“It’s not you, though, is it?” Luke replied sharply. They glared at each other and that was how Logan found them when he came out of the restaurant. He put a hand on Luke’s arm to keep him settled. For some reason, it worked. Logan’s touch steadied him like nothing else did.
“Rio’s not hurting anything. Luke keeps him clean and he always sits on his towel so his claws don’t scratch the leather.”
Ron shrugged and turned away. “I was just sayin’…it’s your truck—not any of my business.”
Luke opened his mouth to answer him, but Logan nudged him in the ribs and shook his head. “Shut up, Navy,” he murmured softly to him. “Let it go.”
Luke nodded stiffly, but his face was still flushed, and Logan could have sworn the air crackled a little between them. Logan bent to whisper in his ear. “Am I gonna have to fuck all that out of you later? Now settle down. I know you don’t like him, but we need to find a way to come together, and this isn’t helping.”
Logan pulled him over to his side of the truck and shoved him in, copping a feel of his round, perfect ass cheeks as he “helped” him climb in. He kept Luke beside him, his hand on Luke’s thigh, with Rio sitting up tall and important in the passenger seat. The other two men sat in the back for the short ride to the motel.
Once inside the room, Jake collapsed on the bed, saying it was the first one he’d been on since they left Mexico. Ron stretched out beside him, and pretty soon, both men were snoring.
“Let them sleep for a while,” Logan whispered to Luke. “All of our talking doesn’t change anything. They don’t know any more than we do, which is to say not a damn thing. We’ll start for Atlanta tomorrow—try to find Jackson. Wait here with them and I’ll go get them their own room for tonight.”
“Do we have that much money?”
“We’re okay for now. And what I said about fucking that anger out of you? I meant that, Navy, and I don’t need an audience. Besides, if lightning starts flying around the room again, we don’t need any more victims. Our body count is getting way too high as it is.”
****
Logan’s body dropped like a limp rag onto the mattress next to Luke, and Luke couldn’t stop the wave of pride that raced through his body when he realized that he had done that. Reduced Logan to the point where he looked like he barely had the strength to hold one eye open, much less both of them. Sure, he was still smirking with the same arrogance he always exhibited, but Luke had worn him out and they both knew it. On top of that, no fire had flown from Logan’s dick, he hadn’t frozen either one of them, and Luke hadn’t caused a lightning storm anywhere in the vicinity. Others might not agree, but in this new life of theirs, Luke called that a successful fuck.
Of course, Rio had run into the bathroom and climbed into the tub like it was some sort of bomb shelter when they’d really started going at it, but what did he know? It stopped him from growling at them the whole time anyway.
When it was Luke, Logan, and Rio, everything seemed perfect in Luke’s world. Sure, he and Logan fought, usually on an hourly basis, but it wasn’t anything like the type of fights Luke used to have with his father or like the disagreements it appeared Luke would constantly be having with the rest of the team. When Logan and Luke bickered, there was another emotion simmering just below the surface—assuring Luke that when all the dust settled, Logan would still be right there with him, ready to risk his life to save Luke’s…or to fuck him with enough force to make it a near-death experience and make him like it.
Whatever this emotion was, it terrified and exhilarated him at the same time.
“Why are you wearing your pouty face?” Logan asked, his voice still sounding breathless and weak. “Did I not perform my duties to your liking?”
“Ha ha.” Luke was still lying on his stomach, his own cum starting to feel like sticky glue that might end up acting as some sort of adhesive and his ass was still sore from the pounding Logan just gave him. Luke didn’t have the energy to move, though. He looked at Logan, one of his cheeks plastered to the pillow, and said, “Perry doesn’t like me much.”
“No shit. So what? Neither does Wilson. Why does it matter?”
Not really the response Luke had been looking for. “It doesn’t bother you in the least that the entire team hates me?”
He turned his head to look at Luke. His eyes were droopy and he looked
like he really wanted to go back to sleep. Tough shit. When he saw Luke wasn’t going to let it go, he answered, “First of all, it’s not the entire team. I’m on the team and if I liked you anymore, my dick would fall off from overuse. To be honest, Navy, I’d be surprised if they did like you—it would make me not trust them, I think. They might dislike you and not trust you, but I wouldn’t say they hate you. There’s a difference.”
Again, not the words Luke wanted to hear or the support Luke thought he’d give him. His eyes narrowed and a flash of something like heat lightning caused the darkness of the night to be interrupted for a second. “Do tell, Logan. I’d love to hear the difference. Oh, and while we’re at it, I’d like to give you kudos for all your support—good to know you’ve got my back.”
Logan’s hand automatically reached over to pat his ass. “You bet your ass I’ve got your back, baby. Hell, I like doing you from the front, too.”
Another flash, this one much closer to the window, caused Logan’s smirk to vanish quickly. “Is that you? Quit doing that! You’re really upset, aren’t you?” he asked in disbelief.
“Am I upset? Hell, yeah, I’m upset! Apparently, the entire team, including my boyfriend, doesn’t really like me, because I know what it is you like about me. Forgive me for not finding the humor in it the way you do!”
He stared at Luke for a few intimidating seconds before saying, “Boyfriend? I don’t know if I like that word. It’s kind of middle school. Luke and Logan, sitting in a tree, k-i-ss-ing….”
“Shut the fuck up, Logan!” Luke roared. “So help me, God, I’m going to send a lightning bolt so far up your ass that you won’t be sitting down for a fucking month!”
Not scared in the least, he reached over and forcibly yanked Luke against him. When Luke finally gave up and quit struggling against his hold, he whispered, “Do you know why they don’t like you, Navy?”
“Let me see…because they think the worst about me and you go on letting them believe their bullshit, not putting up more than a token effort to defend me?”
“Don’t you remember, Luke? Back at the cabin when Kowalski was running his fucking mouth, he pretty much explained why the rest of us struggled with you so damn much. The rest of the team, my gorgeous boyfriend excluded, were hand-picked because of our fuckups. They wanted losers, Luke—expendable men that weren’t worth enough bother to cause anybody to ask questions when we disappeared. They told Kowalski as much. Kowalski told me he didn’t know where you fit into the equation—that he knew you were different from the start.” His hand caressed his cheek. “You aren’t like the rest of us, Navy. You’re somebody. You’re successful. You follow the rules while the rest of us thrive on breaking them.” He frowned. “Actually, they hadn’t even planned on you going on the mission with us—but you insisted.”
Luke felt the anger and tension leave his body as Logan talked. It wasn’t like Luke was stupid enough to believe that was the only reason the other guys didn’t like him, but it helped to know that Logan believed it. It still felt strange how easily he could maneuver his moods or how much his acceptance meant to Luke. Logan was right about one thing; Luke had always followed the rules, but what Logan didn’t understand was that Luke had always been an outcast too—even with the biggest rule-follower of all, his father. This tiny snapshot of his life, a time the other guys were considering to be a disaster of epic proportions, was turning out to be the best days Luke had ever experienced, and he knew it was all because of Logan.
And that scared the shit out of Luke.
Logan shook Luke. “Did you fall asleep while I was talking? Because if you did, it’s totally rude,” he reprimanded. “Sure, I would do it, but not you.”
Luke couldn’t help but smile. “No, I didn’t fall asleep. I just got tired of listening to you blow sunshine up my ass just because I was feeling insecure.”
“I’ll blow more than sunshine up that ass,” Logan said, the words barely escaping his lips before he’d flipped Luke onto his stomach, tugged his ass into the air and lined up his cock. He was about to fuck Luke for the fourth time since they’d left Wilson and Perry when a sudden banging on their door caused him to freeze. When Perry’s voice yelled for them to open up, Logan whispered, “Shit, Navy. I can’t answer the door with this massive hard-on. I hate to make the guys jealous.”
“You’re hilarious,” Luke answered dryly as he climbed off the bed to answer the door, buck naked and dick swinging. He reached for his pants and had thankfully just yanked them up when Logan jumped up and unlatched the door.
“Fuck, Logan,” Perry hissed. “My eyes! Put some fucking clothes on!”
“Yeah, you know you like it.”
Without waiting for a reply, he motioned them in. Perry walked in, glared at Luke, and then plopped down in one of the only two rickety chairs our room had to offer. He looked pissed, but Wilson looked…agitated. His complexion was gray and he was coated with sweat. He sat in the chair for a second before exploding out of it and racing to the bathroom. The door slammed behind him but it offered very little protection against the sound of his dry-heaving.
Logan frowned. “What’s up with him? Morning sickness?”
“Clothes, Logan,” Perry reminded him. “And no, he had another…vision this morning. It’s about Jackson and it’s messed him the fuck up. All I can get out of him is that Jackson needs our help.”
Luke looked over at Logan. A frown knit Logan’s brow as he slammed his legs into his jeans. Luke didn’t mean to be disrespectful to Wilson or Jackson, but the sight of Logan being commando all day could end up being the death of him.
“Jackson’s alive? I knew it!” Logan countered. “I just had this feeling that Kowalski didn’t have a fucking clue about how hard it really was to take one of us out. I told you, didn’t I, Navy?”
“You did,” Luke answered. The sound of Rio’s claws raking against the bathroom door reminded Luke that the poor dog’s safe, tub-haven had been invaded by Mr. Dry Heaves. “I’ll take Rio out while you guys plan our next move.” As soon as Luke cracked the bathroom door open, Rio pushed out and raced for the door, his eyes wide. When Luke tried to pass Logan, he reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping Luke with brute force and shaming Luke with the look in his eyes.
Leaning in, he whispered, “You’re never going to fit in if you don’t at least try.”
It pissed Luke off that Luke had to try while everybody else just slid into team mode easier than Logan slid into his ass. “Thanks for the input. I’ll take it under advisement. In the meantime, I’m taking Rio out for his walk.”
Chapter Three
Logan watched as Rio and Luke disappeared through the hotel door, hating that Luke felt left out. Why couldn’t he see how much better he was than the rest of them? They were the fuck-ups, not him. Hell, Logan had been serving time when they’d pulled him for the mission that ended up with them trapped in this current shitshow of a life.
“I still don’t trust him,” Perry muttered after he’d given Luke time to be far enough away that his enhanced hearing might not pick up on the hateful words.
His words flew all over Logan, pissing him off enough to make his fingertips tingle with that scary coldness that had been the end of Kowalski.
“You know what, Perry? I’m about to give you your last warning where Luke is concerned. He’s one of us. He’s mine, as a matter of fact. If you and Wilson can’t handle that, then we need to go our separate ways.” He stepped closer to the chair where Perry was slumped, frowning up at him. “To be honest with you, I think we’re gonna need each other in order to survive this whole clusterfuck. But the way I’m seeing things is that you’ve got about three seconds to decide if you want us to act like a fucking team or if we go our separate ways. I’m good either way because I know that I’m the strongest and Luke’s the smartest, so our odds are a hell of a lot better than yours.”
Perry straightened his back and acted like he might be about to argue, but the opening of the bathroom door cause
d his mouth to slam shut again. Shoving past Logan, he was beside Wilson in an instant and helping him back over to the chair he’d vacated when he’d gotten sick. Logan was still angry, ready to defend Luke with every ounce of fight in him, but the look on Wilson’s face caused him to bite his tongue.
“Let me get you a cold rag,” Perry whispered before disappearing into the bathroom. Logan could hear the taps running as easily as Logan could hear Luke’s breathing as he played hard with Rio in the courtyard three floors below them. Whenever Luke was away from him, but still in the vicinity, he’d gotten in the habit of monitoring his breathing. It was a comfort to him, and he didn’t like to think about why that was. Things were getting sappy enough between them as it was.
“Try to be patient with him,” Wilson said, his voice weak and sounding scratchy from his date with the porcelain goddess. “We’re all scared, Logan. This shit going on with our bodies has knocked us off our game.” He shrugged. “Like you told Luke earlier, we’re the fuck-ups of society, which means we don’t hand over our trust easily…especially to a goodie-goodie like your boyfriend. Just like Luke needs to adjust to how we do things, it’ll take some struggles on our end to adapt to his way of thinking.”
Perry placed the rag over Wilson’s face and tilted his head back. The gesture was sweet enough to make Logan wonder if they’d hooked up.
“You heard that, did ya?” Logan asked Wilson.
Wilson shook his head from side to side. “Worse. I saw it. Saw lots of things I won’t ever be able to un-see.” He moved the cloth away from one of his eyes and added, “The two of you like it rough, Logan.” Logan realized he wasn’t talking about Perry anymore. “Looking at him, you’d never know he’d be into that kind of stuff.”
Logan growled. “Stop looking at him. At both of us!”
Wilson snorted out a laugh. “Trust me, it wasn’t my fantasy of choice, Logan. I don’t know why the visions pop in my head—what sets them off or how to even attempt any type of control. As you can see, they kick my ass, too. Sucks the life right out of me and makes me sicker than a mother fuck.”