Jake’s voice fractured in disbelief. “You what? Why? Why would you do that, knowing what a bigot the man was?”
“I was jealous. Of you.” Unable to meet his brother’s stare, Mike kept his gaze on the foot of the hospital bed. “Here I was, the older brother, trying to do everything I could to gain our father’s approval, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t measure up to the golden boy of the family. I was like Dad—mediocre in sports and school—and there you were, captain of the football team, straight-A student, and going to Rutgers with a full football scholarship. And where was I going…to the local community college. Dad had a fucking shrine to you at the bar, with all your damn trophies and framed articles from the newspapers. And for one fucking night, I knew something that would knock you down a few pegs in his eyes. I didn’t think he’d…well, I didn’t fucking think, period. The moment the words were out of my mouth, I knew I’d made a mistake. But it was too late. First, he called me a liar, and then the next thing I knew, he was grabbing his car keys. He must have waited for you guys to come back out and then followed Max home.” He paused and then the big man’s eyes filled with tears he didn’t bother wiping away. “I’m so fucking sorry, Jake. And to top it all off, I hid in my room like a fucking coward while he beat you. I turned that bastard on you like a rabid dog, and I couldn’t even find the courage to fix what I had done. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Jake was stunned and waited for the anger to come, for the urge to beat the hell out of his own brother…but instead of anger, there was just sadness. “The bastard beat you emotionally as bad as he did me physically. Why didn’t I ever see that before? The son of a bitch. He better be rotting in hell.” Standing, he pulled his brother up into his arms and held him tight. “It’s all right, Mike.”
“No, it’s not. I ruined your life.”
Pulling back, Jake grabbed Mike’s face and forced him to look into his eyes. “No, you didn’t. The bastard did. And if you think about it, it would have happened sooner or later. Whether he found out then or later on, the results still would have been similar. But in a way, things worked out better for me. I went into the Navy, became a SEAL, have a bunch of guys who are my brothers as much as you are, and I fell in love with this idiot laying in the bed behind me. I should be thanking you, Mike, because despite what happened back then, I’m pretty damn happy with my life. Only, I’m just starting to realize it now.”
The tension saturating the air eased, and the three of them talked for close to an hour before Nick’s eyelids drooped and he fell asleep. Feeling better than he had in years, Jake walked out of the hospital with Mike. A nearly full moon hung in the sky, providing more illumination than the parking lot lights. Mike’s vehicle was parked two spaces down from Jake’s, and before he veered off, Jake pulled his brother into a hug. “I love you, bro. Never, ever think I don’t. One thing I’ve ultimately learned is to leave the past where it belongs. I’m burying my ghosts and you need to do the same.”
“I know. And I love you, too. See you tomorrow? Stop by the bar and I’ll give you some lunch to bring to Nick. Hospital food sucks.”
He slapped Mike on the back. “Definitely. He’ll love you for it.”
Climbing into his truck, Jake started the engine, his heart, mind, and soul in unison for the first time in his adult life. Well, it was about fucking time.
EPILOGUE
Jake smiled as he walked through Ian’s Oasis, the man-made, garden of Eden that Angie had given Boss-man for his birthday a few months ago. The pavement had been pulled out from between the residential and training buildings, and grass, trees, shrubs, and outdoor furniture had been put in, among other features. He’d just left Nick’s apartment, heading around to the other entrance of the building, with his lover/submissive by his side. They were on their way to the oldest Sawyer brother’s place for Thanksgiving dinner. Angie and Ian had invited everyone—and they did mean everyone—for the holiday. The entire Alpha team was going to be there, with their significant others if they had one, and a few members of the Omega team, who hadn’t had anywhere special to be, had been urged to join them. Jake’s mother and brother, Chuck and Marie Sawyer, Rick and Eileen Michaelson, Jenn, Jake’s snitch, Todd, and, last but not least, Alyssa completed the guest list. Hell, even Carter had been invited. Ian had left a message on his voicemail, but it was unknown if the guy had gotten it or was anywhere near Tampa to accept the offer. And by now, everyone knew Jake and Nick were a couple and they’d all been happy for them.
Beside him, Nick fiddled with the new chain and pendant Jake had given him last night. Members of the BDSM community would recognize the white gold and black onyx collar and charm as a symbol of being in a committed D/s relationship, but to the rest of the world, it looked similar to a yin-yang. However, instead of two curved pieces fitting together, there were three. The meaning behind them varied with whomever you spoke to. Each section could stand for the parts of the lifestyle—Bondage, Domination and Sadism/Masochism—or safe, sane, consensual. But to Jake, the three pieces stood for him, Nick, and their love for each other.
Nick had been stunned when Jake had presented it to him, but quickly knelt and allowed his Dom to place it around his neck. It had been their own private commitment ceremony. Someday, Jake planned on having one in the club, but for now he was content with just having the simple collar around his submissive’s throat. Nick was to wear it whenever possible, taking it off only when the military or a mission required it.
While his shoulder and chest muscles were still pretty sore, Nick’s recovery had been going well. The stitches would be coming out Monday and then he would start physical therapy when he returned to California a week from today. NCIS had interviewed Nick, Jake, and Alyssa after the feds did and agreed Nick had been shot while protecting the teenager. It helped that the two Navy officers doing the investigation were the ones who had helped the Trident team figure out why they were targeted by an assassin last year. So, if all went well, Nick would be able to join his team when their next rotation came up for OCONUS missions again in February. Until then, the team would be training on the west coast.
Pulling Nick’s hand away from the pendant, Jake linked their fingers together. “I love how that looks on you.”
The kid grinned. “So do I. You know, I really wasn’t expecting it, but I’m happy and proud to wear it.”
“You won’t have a problem with anyone in the lifestyle in San Diego recognizing that you’re a submissive?”
Halting in his tracks, Nick turned toward him. He brought Jake’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. “I can handle it. I still have a lot to learn, but I do know that you are my Master and I am your submissive. Outside of the bedroom, for the most part, you treat me as your equal, unless I’m screwing up somehow. I love you and I love our relationship the way it is. And if anyone has a problem with it, then that’s just it…it’s their problem. Besides, they’d have to be pretty stupid to mess with a SEAL, right?”
Jake’s heart filled with the love that was shining in the blue eyes gazing back at him. Cupping Nick’s chin, he leaned forward and brought their lips together. The kiss was as sweet and meaningful as his sub’s words had been, minus his little snark at the end. Feeling the stirring in his groin which always seemed to be present when they were this close, Jake reluctantly pulled back. “If we don’t stop now, I’m going to be sporting a hard-on walking in there, and I would rather your parents don’t see it. But I love you too, babe. Very much.”
By the time they let themselves into Ian’s apartment, Jake had field-stripped his sniper rifle in his mind and willed his cock to behave. He was a little surprised to see just Nick’s folks and brothers sitting in the living room, chatting and nibbling on the hors d'oeuvres which had been spread out on the coffee table. A football game was on the huge flat-screen TV hanging on the wall with the volume on low. With a quick glance into the kitchen, he waved to Angie, Kristen, and Jenn, who were busy preparing the feast. The foursome sitting in the living
room stood and greeted them, along with Beau, who’d been curled up at Marie’s feet. After shaking hands with the men, Nick, then Jake, hugged and kissed Doc Sawyer hello. Out of everyone, she’d been the most thrilled with Jake and Nick’s repaired relationship.
Turning to Ian, Jake raised an eyebrow. “Where is everyone? I figured at least Egghead and Boomer would be here pigging out by now.”
Gesturing for them to take seats next to each other on one of the couches, Ian sat back down in his recliner. “They’ll be here in a bit. I told you guys to come a little earlier than the others because we wanted to talk to the two of you.”
Jake took a seat, but Nick hesitated a moment before sitting down next to him. There was caution in his voice when he replied to his brother, “Okay. What about?”
While Jake was as wary as Nick, he kept it to himself. Eyeing the Sawyer family one-by-one, he noticed the men all seemed to be in on the upcoming conversation, but the matriarch had a look of confusion on her face, matching her youngest son’s. If Jake hadn’t known the family so well, he might’ve been very afraid of what was coming next. But Ian and Dev were as much his brothers as they were Nick’s. And Chuck and Marie had ‘adopted’ their sons’ teammates a long time ago.
Ian leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. His serious stare was directed at Jake. “We wanted to know what your intentions are concerning Nick.”
Beside him, Nick groaned and rolled his eyes. “Really, Ian? Are you frigging kidding me?”
From the other couch, Marie gasped. “Ian!”
Stopping any further outbursts by holding up his hand, Ian never took his eyes off Jake. “Mom, it’s okay. There is a point to this, but first I want to hear Jake’s answer.”
Leaning back, Jake made himself comfortable and set his right ankle on the opposite knee. It was obvious his bosses and their father had something in mind and he didn’t take offense at the question. “Well, obviously our relationship is still new, but I think I found the person I was meant to be with. We’ve been talking, and with Nick returning to California next week and me working here, we’re going to do the long distance thing for now. When he’s INCONUS, I’ll be taking time off, whenever you can spare me, to fly out there. He’s got two years left on his tour and I’ll support his decision to either re-up at that time, or get out and come work here. Or whatever he wants to do. We have plenty of time to figure that out.”
“So this is a long term commitment for both of you?”
Taking Nick’s hand in his, he rested both on his thigh. “Yeah, it is. Between Doc Dunbar’s help, Mike’s confession, Max’s blessing, and Nick, I’m ready to be happy in my life. Completely happy, and not just going through the motions.”
Nick was getting restless. “What’s this all about, Ian?”
Instead of the eldest brother answering the question, Devon handed Jake a large manila envelope he hadn’t noticed before. Taking it, his brow furrowed in question. “What’s this?”
“You know all those conference calls and visits Ian’s had with the Pentagon lately?” When Jake nodded, Dev continued. “Well, he’s been working on a new contract with Uncle Sam. We’re going to need a west coast team, and we want you to be in charge of it, at least until it’s up and running, which will take a while. It’ll be stationed out of San Diego.”
Jake didn’t know who was more stunned, Nick or him. At the moment, someone could knock him over with a feather if he was standing. He glanced back and forth between Ian and Devon, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he found his voice once more. “I…wow…um. But what about the team here? Our team?”
“Your position here will always be available to you. Even if things don’t work out between you two, but I don’t think that will happen. You’re good for each other. By the way, you two cost me a hundred bucks. Boomer, Ian, and I had a pool for who was going down next. I had Egghead.”
After taking a swig of his beer, Ian chuckled. “And I won. But I had no clue it was going to be with Nick. And I agree. You will always be part of this team, Jake, no matter what. Whenever Nick opts out, you can either stay with the new team out there, running things, or come back here to us. For now, if we need a sniper, we have three choices—we can have you fly to wherever we need you, or we can borrow from the Omega team, or grab one of Chase’s guys. You’ll need to occasionally meet me in D.C. for consultations at the Pentagon, or fly out with us for a mission, but we can work out the details of that later.” He jerked his chin toward Jake’s hand. “That folder has the few candidates who didn’t make it onto the Omega team, but are still eligible. And I’ve added some more possibles to the list. You’ll be in charge of screening them, but the final decision will be a consensus between you, Dev, and me. We’ll get you set up with a training facility and anything else you need out there. You can rent out your condo to one of the new guys, if you want, and then stay in Nick’s place here when you’re in town.” He paused. “So, what do you say, Reverend?”
This was so unexpected. Swallowing hard, Jake’s gaze bounced from one Sawyer to the next. Ian and Dev were waiting patiently for his answer, but Marie grinned and nodded her head, while her husband winked his approval at Jake. The last eyes he met were those of his lover. “What do you think?”
Nick smiled. “I think I’ll be very ticked off if you don’t say yes, but it’s still your decision. I didn’t think we’d be moving in together so soon, but I have no objections.”
Squeezing Nick’s hand, he leaned over and kissed him just as tenderly as he’d done before they had gotten here. He was thrilled when Nick didn’t hesitate to kiss him back despite being in the company of his family. “I have no objections either. It looks like I have some packing to do.”
“And I’d be more than happy to help, Sir.”
THE END
CONTINUE READING FOR A PRE-VIEW OF MARCO’S STORY
COMING IN 2016 – WATCHING FROM THE SHADOWS
CHAPTER 1
Across the backyard, Marco ‘Polo’ DeAngelis watched his buddy roughhouse with four fatherless children in the newly fallen January snow. Curt Bannerman and he had flown into Fort Dodge Regional Airport the night before, then driven an hour to Stormville, Iowa, to the home of Dana Prichard—widow of their former teammate, Eric Prichard. The retired Navy SEAL had been murdered in a hit and run incident a little over a year ago. The man who’d killed him had been a hired assassin targeting specific former members of SEAL Team Four.
The SEAL community was tight-knit, and when one of them was killed or incapacitated, the others would step up and help out all they could. Shortly after Prichard’s funeral, a rotating bi-weekly schedule had been set up. Once every four months, Marco’s name had come up and he traveled from his home in Tampa, Florida, to meet another team member in Iowa for the weekend. They would stay at a local motel and help Dana with anything that needed to be done around the house and yard. Landscaping, a new roof, and a bathroom renovation had been on the to-do list, among other things, over the past fifteen months. This morning the two men had painted six-year-old Amanda’s bedroom pink and purple, since she’d declared she was too grown up for the old Winnie-the Pooh décor.
If there was nothing pressing that needed to be done at the residence, they sometimes gave Dana a weekend to herself without the kids or took the entire family on an excursion. They’d gone on a camping trip one of the weekends Marco had been there, and on a trip to the Six Flags Park in Iowa City another time. Personally, he preferred to work when his weekends came up—kids made him a little antsy. It wasn’t that he disliked them, he just didn’t have the greatest childhood and didn’t know how to relate to them like Bannerman did. And he also had no desire to have children of his own—a decision he’d made a long time ago.
While Marco finished stacking the firewood they’d split earlier, Bannerman and Amanda, the only girl, threw snowballs at her brothers—nine-year-old Justin, ten-year-old Taylor, and twelve-year-old Ryan. It wasn’t long before Dana stuck her head out the back doo
r. “Dinner’s ready! Come and get it!”
Thank God, because he was so cold, his cock and balls were trying to crawl up into his pelvis. The temperatures had barely reached thirty degrees all day, and for a five-year resident of Florida, that felt like ten below. He had no idea how Curt was putting up with it, since the man lived a few hours away from him in Daytona Beach. Next trip, he would invest in some thermal underwear, because the heavy jacket, gloves, and hat weren’t warm enough.
As the kids rushed inside, Curt ambled over, brushing the snow from his blond hair. “Hand me the axes. I’ll put them in the shed. You’re looking a little hypothermic there, Polo.”
“Ya think?” he snorted, his Staten Island accent coming through. “It’s colder than a witch’s tit out here. I knew there was a reason I moved to the Sunshine State.”
Curt bent over and pulled one of the axes out of the old tree stump they’d used, then took the one Marco handed him. “I could get used to it again. You forget—I’m from Montana. This is nothing—a tropical heat wave.”
“Yeah, well…why don’t you stop ogling the merry widow, tell her how you feel, and then you can live in the Tropics of Iowa all year round.”
Even though his cheeks were red from the cold, the six-foot-four, two-hundred and twenty-pound man blushed. “What are you fucking talking about? I’m not interested in Dana.”
Crossing his arms, Marco rolled his eyes. “Please. Don’t give me that. You get a goofy fucking grin on your face every time she walks into the room. Probably a fucking hard-on, too, but I have no desire to confirm that by taking a look at your junk. Every time someone can’t make it up here for their weekend, you’ve been filling in. And don’t tell me it’s because Eric was your best friend.”
Topping the Alpha: Trident Security Series Page 22