Page 56 of Protecting his Secrets

Chapter 18

Nick

The last two days had been far too long, and he needed to get Malachi into bed, and not for any other reason than to sleep. As for when they woke—that was a whole other idea.

“Come on. Time to sleep.”

“But—”

“Nope. No excuses. Up. Now.”

He slid his arms under Malachi’s armpits and pulled, dragging him to his feet.

“I need—”

“Sleep. You’re right. You do. Come on.”

Malachi slumped and rubbed both hands over his face. “Okay.”

“Get some rest. I’m sure we’ll see you later or tomorrow,” Felix said.

Nick wrapped an arm around Malachi’s shoulders and led him from the room, waving at Brett before they left. “You’re going to have a cracking headache after looking at the screen for so long,” he said. Malachi hummed, and Nick smiled. A tired Malachi was a cute Malachi.

They entered the suite, and Nick didn’t even bother trying to shower because they were both exhausted. He stripped Malachi down to his boxers and tucked him in bed, even forgoing a teeth brush; one night wouldn’t kill them. Malachi snuggled into the pillows, already on his way to sleep, and Nick undressed andjoined him. Pulling him back against his chest, Nick sighed and pressed his lips to his nape.

“Sweet dreams, darling,” he muttered, already sinking.

He was rudely awakened by his phone blasting through the quiet. Scrambling to reach the bedside table, he answered without looking. “What the hell?”

“Nick, we need you,” Dominic said.

Nick sat upright, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep. “What?”

“Get over to our place now. We need your help.”

“Okay. I’m coming.”

Dominic ended the call, and Nick scrambled from the bed, hopping over to his discarded clothes and dragging them on.

“What’s wrong?” Malachi asked, yawning.

“No idea. Dominic needs help. I’ve got to go.”

Malachi swung his legs over the bed. “I’ll come, too.”

They dressed quickly, Nick grabbing his gun, and within minutes, they were on their way. Luckily, Dominic didn’t live too far from Windsor Castle, and with it being the middle of the night, they were there faster than usual. He parked haphazardly in their driveway and headed for the door. The door swung open before he’d even reached it, and Dominic ushered them in.

“In the kitchen.”

“What’s going on?”

“You have to see it.”

Nick’s stomach swooped, and his hands twitched with the need to reach for his gun. He entered the kitchen, and a roar blasted his eardrums, jerking him to a stop. He stared at the people in front of him: Randall, Owen, Evan, Brett, Felix, Landon, Colt and Viola.

“What the fuck?”

“You need a break. We all do,” Dominic said, slipping past him to join Randall. “We decided to intervene. This may not be asgood as one of your parties, but it’s the best we could do at short notice.”

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