All Revved Up

by Jena Wade

  “That's cool,” Jackson said. “Dad likes to read romance novels.” Jackson scrunched up his face. “All the covers have guys kissing on them.”

  I chuckled. “Oh, yeah? Those are pretty good books, too, though. You might like them someday.”

  Jackson shook his head. “Possibly. But for now, I'll stick with my books.”

  I picked up the first in the series that Kayden had published and got started. When it was finished, Jackson had the covers pulled up to his chin, his head resting on the pillow, eyes barely open.

  “Good night.”

  “Will I see you again? Tomorrow?”

  “I'm not sure about tomorrow, buddy. But soon, I promise.”

  “Okay. Maybe next time Christopher can be here, and we can all play catch. He plays baseball, too.”

  I grinned. “That sounds great, buddy. I look forward to it.”

  I bent down and kissed his forehead. Soaking in the scent of his freshly washed hair. I lingered in the doorway for a minute, watching him settle on his bed and close his eyes.

  I went downstairs and found Kaden on the deck overlooking the backyard. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  He leaned against the railing, looking out into the darkness. He sighed. “Just enjoying the fresh air. We didn't get a lot of this in the city in the apartment we lived in. We only had one window and it faced another brick building. It was confining.”

  “Yeah, that doesn't sound very good.” Although when we were together, I hadn’t lived in that great of an apartment either.

  “You did great with him tonight, you know?” Kayden said.

  I sighed. “I was a nervous wreck. Did it show?”

  “No,” he said.

  I stepped closer to him. He turned to face me, and our hips touched. “Do you think we could carve out a little time for the two of us? How are you feeling after yesterday? Was I too hard on you?”

  He groaned. “Never. You know that.”

  I backed him against the rail. “When we’re alone like this you should address me properly.” I ground my hips into him, driving my point. I felt him harden through his jeans and I knew he felt the same from me.

  “Yes, Sir. But it's been so long, and I haven't been taken care of properly. I've picked up on some bad habits.” He looked at me through his lowered lashes. “What are you going to do about that?”

  My control almost slipped, as it always did with Kayden. That's why we were always such a good match. He pushed the boundaries just enough, tested my limits as a dom, and I did the same to him as a sub.

  “Ahem.”

  I turned around abruptly to find Ollie standing in the door.

  “I take it tonight went well?” he said.

  Kayden glared. “Yes, everything has been fine.”

  “Good,” Ollie said with a smile. “I'm glad to hear that. Officer Jeffries, it's good to see you.”

  “You too,” I said. “You can call me Turner.” I folded my hands in front of me, hoping to hide the bulge in my pants. All I managed to do was draw attention to it.

  “Oh,” Ollie said. “I thought perhaps I could call you Sir.”

  Kayden growled. “Ollie, don't be a dick.”

  I chuckled. “I don't think your own Alpha would like it if you tried that.”

  Ollie laughed. “No, I suppose not. I'll let you two be alone, I just wanted you to know that we were here before clothes start flying.”

  “I do have some control,” Kayden said.

  “Sure, sure,” Olli said.

  I turned to Kayden as Ollie went back inside. “I should get going. But for real, I'd like to see you again, not just because of Jackson.”

  Kayden bit his lip. “I want that too. But we're going to have a few more obstacles this time around. I have a business and a son.”

  “I don't think our son would have any issues if we were a thing.”

  “No,” Kayden said. “Of course not. But like I said, I have a business to run. Let me just think about it, all right? I need to sort out my thoughts.”

  I nodded. “That's fine. I can respect that.”

  “Do you want to come over for dinner on Friday? We're grilling out. Philip got a new grill for his birthday and he wants to play chef or something.”

  “Sure,” I said. “That sounds great.”

  I stepped closer to him again and put my hands on his hips. “Can I kiss you goodnight?”

  “You damn well better,” Kayden said. “You can't tease me and then leave me hanging.”

  I shook my head. “Such a sassy mouth you have these days,” I said. “Don't think I'm not keeping track of the punishments you're earning.”

  Kayden grinned, his eyes going dark with arousal. “What am I up to?”

  “You mean what do you have to look forward to? Six,” I said, pulling the number out of thin air since I hadn't actually been keeping count.

  “All right,” Kayden said. “Get out of here, before I cause more trouble and do something indecent.”

  He kissed me. It was slow and sweet and absolutely perfect in every way.

  “Good night, Kayden,” I said when he lifted his mouth from mine.

  “Good night, Turner,” he said.

  ***

  After my shift on Friday, I went directly to Kayden’s house. Obviously, mine was only just next door, but I wanted to see my son and my Omega. I had barely stopped thinking about them since the other night.

  I'd called my mother and informed her of the situation. She knew of Kayden and Jackson simply because it was a small town and she was the principal of the school. After the incident with Christopher and Ollie a few months ago, that little family unit had been on her radar.

  Luckily, she didn't seem upset with me that I had a child I had no idea about, nor did she seem upset that Kayden had kept him from me the way that he did. I didn't blame him for the decisions he'd made. He’d done what he had to in order to keep himself and his son safe and based on what I'd seen of Jackson, Kayden had done a fantastic job with him.

  It was five-thirty when I arrived, and kids were still being picked up from daycare. I smiled and waved at the mother and little girl walking out of Kayden’s house. The girl was wide- eyed.

  “Why is there a police man here?” she asked.

  I chuckled. “Nothing official, sweetheart. I'm just here for dinner.”

  I walked around the house to the back, there was a sliding glass door there that lead out from the basement to the back yard. Kayden stood toe-to-toe with a man much larger than him. Taller than me by at least an inch and bulkier. However, his hair was completely disheveled. He wore a dirty shirt, and his hands were stained with grease. He frowned and glared at Kayden.

  “Tom, this is the third time this week Riley has arrived without a full lunch. If you need assistance—”

  “What I need,” Tom replied loudly. “Is for you to mind your own damn business. I take care of my kid, and I pay you to shut your damn mouth and just watch him.”

  I wanted to roar with anger and jump between the two of them, but there were children around and this was not a situation for violence, even if my Alpha nature demanded I defend my Omega. Instead, I stepped forward and kept a hand on my belt. I left my service weapon in the car locked away, but that didn't mean I didn't have other tools at my disposal around my waist.

  “Is there a problem here?” I said, breaking out my police officer voice. I didn't miss the way that Kayden leaned into where I stood, stepping just slightly behind me.

  “No problem here, Officer,” Tom said. His little boy came up to his side, didn't say a word. The child was dirty, wearing shoes that were too small for him and pants that were ripped out at the knees. “Come on Riley. Let's go.” Tom grabbed Riley by the upper arm and dragged him away.

  Kayden radiated with anger as soon as Tom stepped out of sight. “There's got to be something you can do,” he said. “Is there?”

  I shook my head. “He hasn’t broken any laws. Yeah, he’s an ass, he doesn’t take g
ood care of his kid, but I can’t arrest him for that. Can you call Protective Services?”

  Kayden pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, I already tried. Technically he is sending food now. When I confronted him about not sending his kid with lunches, he started sending a bag of chips. That's hardly enough to keep a child sustained for a full day at school. Hell, that won't keep a child sustained for two minutes.”

  Christopher and Jackson came running out the door at that moment. Kayden’s face transformed from worry to excitement. “Hey guys,” he said. “You ready to grill out?”

  They both expressed their enthusiasm.

  “We can talk about this later, okay?”

  “All right,” I said.

  Chapter Six

  Kayden

  “So, we all agree that we have to do something, right?” Ollie said to me as we sat down on the patio furniture on the deck. Jackson and Christopher were playing in the yard, some sort of variation of tag with only two players. It amazed me that those two boys never got sick of one another, but even after six years, they were as close as ever. Best friends for life, maybe.

  “What can we do?” I said. “Without any evidence of abuse, we can't just call Protective Services to do a random check. They have enough to do as it is.”

  “I know,” Ollie said sadly. “I don't think it would hurt to call though and put in a report. Just in case something does happen in the future we've got that precedent set.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I'll call them on Monday and in the meantime, I'll look up what the protocol is, because I don’t actually remember.”

  “I vote you kick Tom out. Don’t allow him back. I don't like you having that asshole Alpha come into your house every day,” Turner said.

  I glared at him. “You don't get a say in this situation. This is mine and Ollie's business.”

  Philip cleared his throat. “I'm going to have to agree with Turner on this one. It's not just about you and Ollie. It's about all the kids that come here. Including your son, my son and my unborn child.”

  “What about the kid that is in that man's care? He needs someone to look out for him—”

  “And the six children in your care, plus our own kids, count on you to take care of them,” Turner interjected.

  I balled my fists and gave Turner my best glare. “I'm not backing down on this one. You can have your opinion all you want, it's wrong. And I won't—"

  Ollie put a hand over his stomach and interrupted, “I think it's something we're going to have to talk about.”

  It occurred to me then just how much things had changed. It wasn't just me and Ollie against the world, protecting our boys. He had different concerns now, including an Alpha to think about. “All right,” I said. “You and I can discuss it since it's our business.” I looked pointedly at Turner, so he knew exactly where he stood.

  “I can run an extensive background, check out this guy. If he sneezed in fourth grade, I’ll find out,” he offered.

  I rolled my eyes. “Really, Turner, I don't think that's necessary.”

  “You could do that?” Philip said. “Without getting in trouble?”

  “I can do whatever I want,” Turner said. “I’m still an FBI agent.”

  Philip shrugged. “It would make me feel better.”

  “Fine,” I relented. “But don't be doing anything about the information you find.”

  Turner smirked. “Well, I did take an oath. If I uncover anything illegal, I will have to arrest him.”

  “Well, obviously do your job. But if the dude's been picked up for drunk and disorderly conduct, don't go over to his house and beat his ass.”

  Turner folded his arms across his chest. “I'm not making any promises.”

  “Par for the course,” I sassed back and then practically saw him make a mental mark in his head. That's what Turner and I did. We pushed each other’s buttons and made up for it later in the bedroom.

  “I think dinner is done,” Ollie said.

  Philip went to the grill and took off the hot dogs and burgers, while Ollie and I went to the house and grabbed the side dishes.

  “What do you think?” Ollie said as we filled plates for the boys. “Should I try and get Christopher to eat a burger or just let them have hot dogs for the third time this week.”

  I chuckled. “Well, it's Friday night. We could let them just have whatever they will eat.” I grabbed a few sliced carrots from the veggie tray and put them on Jackson's plate. “Maybe we can work out a deal. If Christopher tries the hamburger and Jackson eats his carrots, they can stay up a half an hour later than normal.”

  Ollie laughed as we walked back out the door. “Yeah, but then we have to stay up a half an hour later. And I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.”

  I laughed. “I don't miss those pregnancy days.”

  We all settled at the table and dug into our meal. Jackson ate his vegetables, more than just the three that were required, simply because his Alpha dad ate his. Christopher did the same with a hamburger. He tried a bite, declared that it was actually okay, and went on with the rest of his meal. Once Philip spoke up and said how much he liked the hamburger, Christopher dove in like a starving man.

  “Damn,” I said as the kids ran off to play after they finished their meal. “Is this what it was like to have Alphas around raising kids? They mind a little bit better.”

  Turner shook his head. “Nope. I'm sure there will come a day when they start disobeying us left and right.”

  “Good. Let’s hope it’s during their teenage years. I'm not looking forward to those,” I said.

  “No kidding,” Ollie said. He stretched and winced.

  Philip was at his side in an instant. “Are you okay? Is everything all right?”

  Ollie swatted Philip’s hand away. “Yes,” he said. “Just a pinch in my back. Your daughter is hanging out near my bladder and ribs. I don’t remember being this big this fast with Christopher. I better slow down or I’ll be a balloon. I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever though.”

  “Don't you remember from the first time? The second trimester flies by, the third one lasts twice as long as the first two, and the last week takes forever,” I said.

  “Yeah, I remember that,” Ollie said. “I don't think I slept for the last month that I was pregnant with Christopher.”

  Philip wrapped his arms around Ollie. “Well, I'll be here this time.”

  Ollie smiled. Despite his discomfort he always had a smile and loving look for his Alpha. “I know.”

  I had to look away because it was sickeningly sweet. I was happy for Ollie, obviously. And I was thrilled to be an uncle again and have a little baby in the house. But damn if my heart didn't ache at the thought of having an Alpha around to help. I met Turner's eyes and they locked on mine for a moment. I realized that he was having the same thought. The same regrets.

  He turned away first. I stood and gathered some plates to take inside and put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze to let him know that I wasn't going to hold it against him. I'd made my bed when I left that day without telling him why.

  Chapter Seven

  Turner

  “Jeffries, get in here.”

  I snapped my gaze up and found Police Chief Derek Williams standing in the doorway of his office. He turned around and went back inside as I stood up to follow. What the hell could this be about? I knew I wasn't in trouble. I was a good cop. Technically I was an FBI agent still, but I was working as a cop. Not that being just a cop was anything to turn your nose at, but I had been a Special Agent for the FBI, now I was small town police, earning way less than my other salary and with very minimal perks. But you’re closer to your kid.

  “Close the door,” he said when I stepped inside.

  I did, then I sat down on the seat across from him. Derek was an older man, probably in his early to mid-forties. I’m pretty sure he had grown up in Millerstown his entire life.

  “What’s going on Chief?” I asked.

&nb
sp; “Just call me Derek,” he said. “I know you're all for formality with where you come from, but this is more personal rather than work related.”

  I tensed. I didn’t really want to get into a personal discussion. Then again, there was only so much time I could spend lost in my own thoughts inside my head. Getting a second opinion wouldn't be a bad idea.

  “What's up?” I said.

  “You know I like having you here. You're a good officer and if I had it my way, you'd be my deputy police chief. I haven't given you that title because I figured you're not sticking around. Do you have any idea how long you'll be staying?”

  I shook my head. “I wish I did. My circumstances have changed, I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing.”

  “Is it that Omega of yours?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “How do you know about him?”

  “I'd like to say it was a lucky guess and that you just gave it away, but honestly, it's a small town. People talk. You're not the only one around here who can investigate.”

  I grinned at that. “Yeah, I forget that I'm small town now. I’m more used to the big city life where you don’t even make eye-contact with your neighbors.”

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better, nobody's gossiping in a bad way. It's just a little interesting having two Omegas show up in town with two children and come to find out that both of them have Alphas that are here. That and my sister is a teacher at the school and your mom is the principal. They talk.”

  I nodded. “That makes sense.”

  I should probably at least talk with my mom about the fact that Kayden and I were whatever the hell we were. I’d asked her to stay out of it since she knew Kayden professionally and Jackson was at her school. I knew she had spent some time with Jackson though in his classroom. She hadn't told him who she was, of course, but she had definitely spent time observing him. She was more than excited to be a grandmother. But she, like me, knew that it was a situation to tread carefully.

  “I don't know what's going on,” I said. I let it all out before I could stop myself or think twice. “I had no idea that Jackson even existed until a few months ago, when Ian Miller kidnapped Christopher. I saw a picture of Kayden at Ollie’s home. Since then, I've been waiting for the right moment to approach him. I took my leave from the FBI to stay here. I haven’t thought much farther than that.”