by Tate James
"Could be you," Cass grunted. "How fucking coincidental would that shit be?"
"Funny guy," Lucas muttered, sounding sleepy but not opening his eyes. "I'm not asleep, dickhead, just chilling."
Cass flashed a lightning-fast grin. "Just saying, you joke about being brothers. What if you are?"
Lucas cracked one eye and gave Cass a long glare.
"Aside from the fact that Zed is basically a male carbon copy of his mom," I commented, trying really hard not to laugh at Cass's teasing, "the age gap is wrong."
"Unless those IVF cycles didn't work for a few years," Zed commented, looking thoughtful. I gave him a startled look, and he shook his head. "Not me, but if there were any babies born from whatever the fuck Sandra was involved in, they could be any age between nineteen and, what? Twenty-nine?"
Both of Lucas's eyes snapped open, and he jerked enough that Cass muttered a curse at him.
"Sorry," Lucas replied, then looked to me in alarm. "How old is Chase?"
"Twenty-six," I replied, "same as Zed. They're a week apart."
Zed snickered a laugh, then swiped his hand over his face. "Oh man. Wouldn't that be a mind fuck."
I shook my head, firmly in denial on that one. "Nope. No way. That's..." I grimaced, my stomach rolling. "Nope. Just hell no."
Zed, still laughing, got up and went to the kitchen for a moment, then returned with a bunch of sterile cheek swabs in sealed tubes. "Better safe than sorry." He popped one open and indicated to Lucas to open his mouth.
"Why do you have cheek swabs in the kitchen?" Cass muttered, raising one eyebrow at Zed like he was questioning Zed's sanity.
Zed shrugged. "Why not? Useful now, isn't it? Open wide." He waved a second swab at Cass's face.
Cass just scowled back. "The fuck you need my DNA for? I'm five years too old for this hypothetical."
Zed smirked. "You're what, fifteen years older than Gumdrop? Or sixteen? Sure sounds old enough to father a baby you never knew about."
I hadn't known Cass could glare harder than he'd already been, but hey, what do you know? He could. And did. I actually shifted in my seat. The tension ramped up so high, but Zed wasn't backing down.
"Come on, Grumpy Cat, it's just a cheek swab. If you're confident you didn't have any random one-night stands with an older woman when you were fifteen, there's nothing to worry about." Then Zed did something that had me seriously questioning how much he'd actually had to drink. Because only alcohol or drugs could explain where he found the audacity to boop Cass on the nose with the swab.
I choked on my own tongue for a second, and all three of them turned to look at me. Fair, I was coughing like I was drowning, but I quickly got ahold of myself and wrinkled my nose at Cass. "Just do the swab. He's in a mood to make a thing out of this."
Holding my gaze with a clear this is fucking ridiculous expression, Cass opened his mouth and let Zed take the sample with a quick swipe.
Cass returned to Lucas's tattoo with a few muttered insults in Zeddy Bear's direction, and Zed swabbed his own cheek before sealing the tubes up.
"Can't hurt to double-check," he told Lucas, who was staring at him with an incredulous expression.
I gave a soft laugh. "Better tell our lab tech not to test for anything else. How shitfaced are you right now?"
Zed uncapped another swab and held it out to me. "Not very. Here."
I frowned in confusion. "Why do I need one?"
"Why not? Better safe than sorry. Imagine if you and Lucas were blood-related." He arched a brow at me, and I snatched the swab from his hand, quickly rubbing it inside my cheek. The thought that Lucas and I could be related? Hell no. My moral compass didn't come anywhere close to pointing north, yet incest was too far even for me. Like Zed said, better safe than sorry.
Zed smirked and sealed up my sample in its tube. Then he presented me with another fresh swab. "We need a sample from one-eyed dickface."
I grimaced but took the tube from him. "I'll work it out."
Lucas gave me a small smile of reassurance. "I think I'd know if you were my sister, babe. Don't stress; Zed's just being a prick."
Still, my stomach twisted uncomfortably. "Thanks for killing the mood, asshole," I muttered to Zed. "I'm grabbing drinks. You guys want something?"
They gave me their preferences, and I made my way into the kitchen to grab them. My mind was a million miles away, though, ticking over a plan for how I might get a DNA sample from Chase. My flimsy long-term plan for dealing with him depended on getting a bit closer anyway, but... how close could I handle without totally losing myself?
For the next few hours while Cass continued Lucas's tattoo, Zed and I hung out in the living room playing some Call of Duty and then starting a movie that we'd both seen enough times to recite the dialogue word for word.
"Done," Cass announced eventually, sitting back and stretching his neck.
Lucas looked down at his inked chest and grinned wide. "Holy shit, Cass. That is incredible."
I hopped up from the couch where Zed and I were trading off on Keanu's lines and went to see the finished product. Cass had almost perfectly replicated the sketch I'd found, turning the Darling brand on Lucas's chest into a star constellation over a stormy sea. A highly detailed lighthouse cast light over the waves, and on the rocks there was a small, silhouetted woman looking up at the lighthouse. Her shadow cast across the ground in the shape of a wolf, but the best part of the whole thing—in my opinion—were the rocks.
The rocks at the base of the lighthouse, where the ocean crashed with startling realism. The rocks that looked a whole lot like gumdrops dusted with sugar.
"You said you didn't wanna get rid of the brand," Cass muttered with a shrug as he applied antibacterial cream and a plastic film over the new tattoo. "Figured you needed some ink to look a bit more badass. Keep it covered till morning, then just keep it clean while it heals."
Lucas was still smiling so hard I thought he might try and hug Cass, but he contained himself to a bro fist-bump instead. "Thank you, man. This means a lot."
Cass just grunted, then jerked his chin at me. "Get on the table, Red."
Lucas slid off, heading over to show Zed his new design, and I arched a brow at Cass in question.
He just gave me a flat look in response. "Come on, it's not your first. Don't you trust me? Take your shirt off."
Rolling my eyes, I tugged my shirt over my head and sat my ass up on the tattoo table. Cass gave my flesh a critical look, then swiped a hand over his face.
"Bra too," he murmured, his voice deep and rough, "and lie back."
I flicked a quick glance over at Zed, who was watching us closely, then flicked my bra clasp open and tossed it aside. Lying back on the table, I draped my arm over my breasts, and Cass released a long breath.
"I'll be quick," he told me, moving my arm slightly so he could access the area he wanted, right below my left breast, where he stroked his thumb across my skin and made me shiver. The buzz of his tattoo gun started a moment later, and I forced myself to stay dead still.
He was done in just a couple of minutes, looking a bit fucking smug as he wiped the excess ink away and applied a swipe of ointment to the lines. Then he placed a feather light kiss against the side of my breast, right above my new ink, and I almost died. At the very least, I drenched my panties. Fucking hell, Cass was going to kill me with those tender moments.
Wordless, he handed me a little mirror out of his kit and let me inspect the finished design. When I saw what it was, I couldn't wipe the smile away.
"Is it okay?" he muttered after a minute, and my gaze jerked up to his.
I blinked a couple of times, then sat up and looped my arms around his neck. My lips met his, and I kissed him with all the overwhelming emotion he was causing inside me. The tattoo was small and simple, but it was perfect: a little skull with cat ears and a scowl. He'd given me a dead grumpy cat.
"I fucking love it," I told him, my arms still locked around his neck and my breasts smoosh
ed into his shirt.
He kissed me again, quickly, then pulled away. "Good," he murmured. "So you don't forget me while I'm gone."
I snorted a laugh, taking my shirt from Lucas as he offered it to me, and tugged it back over my head without my bra. "Like that could ever happen."
Cass shot me a heated look, then swatted my ass as I climbed off the table. "It's late. Get your fine ass to bed, or you'll be a fucking grouch tomorrow."
I scowled at him but couldn't really deny that fact. "Fair point," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"Zeddy Bear," Cass rumbled. "Help me pack up."
Zed scoffed. "Screw you, Grumpy Cat."
"Don't be like that," Lucas teased. "Cass is injured. Help him out. I'll take care of Hayden."
Seeing a dick-measuring competition coming, I threw my hands up and exited the room. They could sort their own shit out, and really, I wasn't interested in being forced to pick favorites at this time of night.
Lucas hurried to catch up with me, but as we started up the stairs, I could have sworn I heard the tattoo gun start up again. Or maybe that was just exhaustion and liquor buzzing in my brain.
11
I woke up in the best possible way, with Cass's face buried between my legs. The fog of sleep held me firm as I stirred, my legs tightening under his grip and my fingers tangling in his hair while he tongue fucked me into the sweetest of orgasms. Then, while I lay there all boneless and gasping for breath, he kissed his way up my body and found my lips.
"I've got to go," he rumbled in a low whisper. "My ride is here."
The last residue of sleep faded in an instant as I wrapped my body around him and clung on tight. "I changed my mind," I whispered back. "Don't go."
Cass just gave a low laugh, knowing as well as I did that wasn't really an option. Not when we'd gone to such lengths to turn him into a ghost.
"I'll check in when I land. Stay safe, Angel." He kissed me again, and then he was gone.
I lay there for a long time staring up at the ceiling in the darkness and feeling like a piece of my soul had just walked away. But then the slight burn of my new tattoo reminded me that Cass was only gone physically. And for a damn good reason.
With a groan, I hauled my ass out of bed and checked the time on my phone. Four o'clock. Worst fucking time to be awake. Ruffling my hand through my hair, I stood up and stretched, then hunted out some exercise clothes. If I couldn't sleep, I might as well get a workout in. There was so much to be said for working out my feelings on a punching bag.
I didn't make it that far, though. On way down the hall, I paused outside Zed's room, where the door was partly open and the flickering of his TV lit up the darkness. Thinking he was awake, I pushed his door open further and stepped inside.
But even though the TV on his wall still played reruns of Supernatural with the volume turned way down low, Zed was fast asleep. I should have backed out quietly, but I’ve never claimed to be perfect. How boring the world would be if we always did what we should do.
Zed didn't flinch as I tiptoed closer, seeking out the TV remote to turn his screen off. When I’d plunged the room into darkness, I crossed around to the other side of the bed and, as carefully as possible, slid under the covers. I knew he rarely slept all that heavily, so it was unsurprising when he stirred and rolled toward me. His eyes cracked a millimeter open, and he exhaled as though in relief.
"Cass gone?" he asked in a sleep-thick mumble. I gave a small nod, and Zed just reached out to pull me into his embrace. I cuddled into his warmth, drawing comfort from his familiar touch, and my heart ached when he kissed my hair.
"He'll be fine," Zed whispered, reassuring my unspoken fears for Cass's safety. "Still got eight lives left, remember?"
I smiled and laid a soft kiss on his shoulder where I'd snuggled my face. Maybe I could get back to sleep after all.
When I next opened my eyes, the sun was well up in the sky and I was all alone in Zed's bed. The blankets were all tangled up around my legs and my sports bra, which I'd put on for my workout that never happened, was digging uncomfortably into my ribs just below my new tattoo. Damn it.
Scrubbing my hand over my face, I crawled out and headed for the shower. Even if Chase wasn't being a mega-creep and clearly planning something, I still had an empire to run, and I couldn't keep leaning on Zed to do the heavy lifting while I stayed home and rode Lucas like my own personal pony.
I took my time getting ready, making sure my hair was blow-dried and curled perfectly and my make-up precise. My outfit was all business, with a tight, black velvet pencil skirt and a slate-gray silk blouse. I carried my shoes and gun downstairs in my hands, though, because those felt like a bit much to be wearing indoors.
Lucas was already at the dining table eating his breakfast with his laptop open in front of his plate and a stack of textbooks beside him.
"Good morning, babe," he greeted me with a smile. He was shirtless, in just a pair of sweatpants, and his new tattoo looked even better in the light of day—red and sore, of course, but the artistry was incredible. "How'd you sleep?"
I wrinkled my nose. "Um, good. Sort of. Working on assignments?"
He nodded back with a grimace. "Sure am. This is probably my whole day. Unless you need me for something else?"
Shaking my head, I bit back my desire to look more into his father's history. That was research I could get done without him, anyway. It was much more important for him to catch up on schoolwork.
"Nope, you're all good. I have to head into work, though." I hesitated, not wanting to make him feel like a child by asking if he was okay to stay home alone but... also not wanting to leave him vulnerable.
Lucas read my mind, though. "I'll be fine on my own, Hayden. I don't know if you noticed, but Zed's house is legitimately Fort Knox." He shot me a sly smile. "Besides, he already gave me a whole fucking big brother lecture about not opening the door to anyone and showed me where all the guns are stashed around the house."
I scoffed a laugh. "Of course he did. Is he down here somewhere?"
Lucas nodded toward the courtyard doors. "Out there on the phone. Has Cass gone already?"
"Yeah, before dawn." I wrinkled my nose and shook my head before I could start worrying about the big grump again. "I'm going to make coffee. You want one?"
He grinned wide and nodded. "Please. You're the best."
I smiled back and kissed him before heading into the kitchen in search of liquid energy. The machine was still warm, so it didn't take long at all to make lattes for both Lucas and me. I delivered his, then took mine with me out to the courtyard where Zed was pacing with his phone to his ear.
He looked up when I approached, his eyes meeting mine with a flash of hot, raw desire, making my stomach tighten and my pulse race.
"I don't fucking care what it takes, D'Ath," Zed barked down the phone. "Just sort it out. You're more than capable." He paused while Archer responded to him, and whatever was said made Zed scrub a hand over his face in frustration. He hadn't shaved, and the shadow of stubble on his face was all kinds of sexy.
I arched a brow in question, perching my ass on the outdoor lounge and sipping my coffee.
"Believe me," Zed snarled in reply to whatever Archer had said, "you do not want to end up on Hades’s bad side. Or did you fucking forget what she's capable of when Seph's in danger?"
Both my brows shot up, but Zed ignored me, continuing to threaten one of our closest allies.
"What happened to Cass was business. Nothing more. You know the rules with Timberwolves, just like he did. Don't like the consequences? Don't play the fucking game." His voice was hard and low, all business. It shouldn't have been such a damn turn on... yet here we were.
Taking another sip of my coffee, I folded my legs and tightened my thighs in an effort to stop thinking about fucking my best friend. I needed my head firmly screwed on my shoulders for work today, not fantasizing about group sex.
Zed stalked closer to where I sat, listening to Archer speak aga
in. Then he grunted and gave me a pained look. "Just keep Seph safe, D'Ath. That's it. Pull your head in and stay out of shit that doesn't concern you."
Without waiting for a reply, he ended the call and tossed his phone onto the table. With a long groan, he sat heavily on the seat beside me and held his hand out for my coffee.
I handed it to him and waited for him to fill me in on his phone call. He took his sweet-ass time, though, holding my gaze as he brought the mug to his lips and took a long sip. Prick. He was deliberately playing up the sexual tension now.
"Everything okay in Italy?" I finally asked, cracking under his pressure like no one else could make me do.
His lips curled in victory. "Yeah, all good. D'Ath is being a little bitch about you shooting Cass. Apparently, Madison Kate was pretty fond of the grumpy shit and is taking it hard."
I wrinkled my nose. "She'll get over it."
Zed gave me a skeptical look. "Sure, when she finds out he's not dead. But will Seph get over the many, many secrets we’ve kept from her?"
I drew a long breath, hearing the vague accusation in his voice. Zed still wasn't over the fact that I hadn't included him in my plan with Cass.
"She will hopefully understand that in situations like this the fewer people who know, the better. If she's mature, she'll realize it had nothing to do with her ego and let it fucking drop. What's done is done, after all." I gave him a hard glare as I said that, letting him read between those wide open lines.
He just scowled back at me and took another sip of my coffee. "Whatever," he muttered. "We should get over to Copper Wolf. Hannah called your phone this morning and said there's FBI sniffing around. Gen's on her way, but no one invokes the fear of Hades like Hades herself."
Grimacing, I stood up from my seat and reached for the last of my coffee in Zed's hand. "Wait, why the fuck were you answering my phone?"
He stood as well, ending up so close that my breath caught involuntarily. "Because you were passed out cold and drooling on my pillow, boss. Figured you needed the sleep."
He had a point; evidently, I did need the sleep if I was so deep in it I didn't hear my phone ring or notice him get up. But I sure as fuck wasn't thanking him for blurring the lines of our professional relationship, so I just scowled and stalked back inside to drop my coffee cup in the sink.