Page 51 of Lane

“Sounds good. Thank you.” I exited the room and stopped right before I ran into someone.

“Hi.” Lane grinned.

“How did you know I was down here?” I wasn’t even gone ten minutes.

“I know everything now. Plus, your brother told me.”

“Any plans this weekend?”

“You mean besides having you or Alton fucking me or me fucking one of you? No.”

“It’s my dad’s birthday, which I forgot. They’re having a party and want us all to go.”

“By us all, you mean…”

“You, Al, Reghan, Barrett, and me.”

His eyes widened. “Wow, meeting two families in one week. At least we’ll get it out of the way.”

I wasn’t worried about what my parents would think of Lane and Alton. I didn’t like Barrett telling them before I had a chance to, but I’d already confronted him about that.

“Do you think Al will be good with it?” I asked.

“Why wouldn’t he be? He’s great with people.”

“I’m still worried he’s not completely comfortable with us yet. He’s fine when we’re together, but he withdraws when we’re not. I need to be better about texting him during the day. We should let him know we’re thinking about him.”

Lane took my hand in his. “Al’s unsure, yes, but he’s not going anywhere. Not only has he been waiting a long time to be with you, but when you and I are together, he can’t resist us.”

“I can’t lose either of you.” The thought sent a stab of pain into my chest.

“No one’s going anywhere. You can’t get rid of me. Literally. We live in the same building and you watch my ass. There’s no escaping me.”

My arms went around him. “I’m never letting you go.”

“Is that a promise?” His voice was barely a whisper. The vulnerability he tried to hide bled through. Lane was confident here and slowly growing more so with the responsibility Jordan gave him. Being in a relationship with Alton and me was new.

“It is,” I told him.

Looking into his eyes, I knew without a shadow of a doubt I was falling for him. With Alton, I started falling years ago, even when I thought he didn’t want me. I couldn’t turn my feelings off.

I brushed my fingers along Lane’s forehead, sweeping his hair aside. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Me?” he scoffed. “Have you looked in a mirror? You’re all hard edges with a sinful tongue and a cock that was made to wreck my ass. If anyone’s beautiful, it’s you.”

Movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. The guard who was in the security room must have been leaving, but he heard the end of our conversation. With his eyes on the floor, he slowly retreated into the room and shut the door.

Lane and I couldn’t hold our laughter in.

21

ALTON

They all made it out for the party. Reghan, Barrett, Lane, and Raiden. Jordan was fine with them going, but apparently grumbled something about being soft after he told them it was fine. I wasn’t surprised. The man I met years ago had changed for the better. I didn’t consider it softening. He was growing, evolving. Jordan was still a badass, but he was also a family man now. He had two partners he’d die for. A daughter, while unexpected, he loved no less than he did his biological son. They were thriving.

We took two vehicles into the suburbs of Dremest, where Raiden’s parents lived. Reghan drove his Jeep Gladiator while Raiden drove his Dodge Durango SRT. I sat in the front and Lane was in the back. He kept trying to lean between the front seats to get closer to us, but I was quick to remind him how many lives seat belts saved. It was a compulsion I couldn’t help. When a person put themselves in a dangerous situation, I had to speak. Except when it was Raiden and Lane walking into the unknown, armed with guns and who knew what else, to face who the fuck knew what.

Fine, I nitpicked the small things I could control, like them wearing seat belts.

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