Page 10 of Lucky Boys
I met Diego’s eyes through the screen. I was trying to radiate calm, though I doubted I was succeeding. I was so fucking scared. I was barely paying attention to what was around me, but I could see Skye over by a blank wall, putting in a code on a security pad that hadn’t been there before, and Maverick was on the phone. It would be okay. It had to be.
That was when I heard the most terrifying sound of my life: the deafening crack of wood splintering as someone tried to break their way in through our front door.
“Diego,” Luca said sharply. “Go, now.”
With one last shiver, he nodded and the screens went black.
CHAPTER 4
WESLEY
“Riley’stwenty-first birthday is coming up in a few months.”
Beckett looked up from where he was scrolling through his phone and drinking his coffee, confused by the sudden statement that he no doubt knew better than I did.
“Yeah . . .”
I took a seat at my dinette table across from him. I was glad I’d opted for one with four chairs since Riley and Beckett had ended up living with me for a bit while they’d tried to find their own apartment with their best friend, Jay. They were finally moving in later this week, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I’d gotten used to having them here.
“I want to do something special for him, since this is the first birthday I get to celebrate, but I don’t want to freak him out.”
Beckett leaned back, his expression thoughtful. When I’d found out I had a son, I’d been desperate to meet and get to know him. Getting to be part of Riley’s life was one of my greatest joys. Every day, some of the walls that he’d built up between us started to shatter, and while we might never have a perfect relationship, I had hope for our future.
I hadn’t been sure what to make of Riley’s stepbrother turned boyfriend, Beckett, at first. His rough edges had edges and hescreamed trouble. But he’d also raised Riley and protected him all his life. Their bond had immediately been clear, and while I hadn’t understood their romantic relationship at first, I’d gotten that if I wanted a chance to get to know my son, I had to respect it.
I’d never expected to feel as close to Beckett as I did Riley though. I might not have said it out loud, but I thought of him as my other son. Lord knew he needed a father who gave a crap about him instead of the piece of shit life had handed him. In some ways, Beckett seemed to accept me easier than Riley did, and we were slowly growing a bond of our own.
I also knew he was the one to talk to about this. I had big plans, but Riley still balked at some of the things I suggested, like he was going to have to owe me or something. It was bullshit, but growing up the way the two of them had, it was understandable that they had trust issues.
“What were you thinking?” Beckett finally asked.
I sighed, not sure how to broach this. “Well, how about a vacation, maybe to Vegas or New Orleans or wherever really, if he’d prefer something lowkey? You’d be there too of course, and even Jay.” If Jay was going, that would also probably mean his boyfriend, Dakota, but I didn’t want to freak Beckett out too much.
His eyes were already bulging in his head. “Let me get this straight, you want to pay for a vacation for the four of us? Like, airfare and hotels and all that shit?”
I shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal of it. I wasn’t Luca rich or anything, but I made decent money and had saved almost all I’d earned while active duty. I didn’t have a family, and the military had paid for my lodging and most other expenses so I hadn’t had anything to spend it on. I could manage one trip. “Nothing major, maybe a long weekend. I know Riley will have classes and you can’t take much time off work.”
“That’s . . .” Beckett shook his head. “I—” Then he barked out an awkward laugh. “Sorry, man. I’m having a hard time processin’ it. The neglected kid in me wants to say fuck yeah, but I don’t think Ri will take it well. Maybe eventually. We never really got birthday presents as kids, and sure as fuck never had parties or fuckin’ vacations. He’s gonna accuse you of buyin’ his love.”
And maybe, just a little, he wouldn’t be wrong. It wasn’t really that I was trying to buy his love, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel guilty about not being in his life for twenty years. Yeah, it wasn’t my fault, I got that logically, but logic wasn’t always a big factor in these kinds of things. Every time I learned something new about his upbringing, it brought another wave of self-loathing and guilt that usually ended in me buying something for him or offering to pay for something he wouldn’t normally be able to afford.
“Well, I’m open to suggestions.”
Beckett frowned as he thought. “He’s startin’ school in a few weeks, so the timing doesn’t quite match up, but maybe a laptop from this decade?”
I groaned. “I already bought him one. I was going to give it to him before the semester started.”
Beckett laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know, man. Let me feel him out. Maybe I could talk him into the trip.”
I smiled softly. “Thanks, Beck. I swear I’m not trying to overwhelm y’all.”
Beckett snorted. “You got a 30% success rate, but trust me, we both know it’s us. We appreciate you, for real.”
I probably shouldn’t be preening so much from such a small compliment, but whatever. When it came to Riley and Beckett, I was happy begging for scraps.
Before I could respond, my phone rang. Picking it up, I frowned when I saw Maverick’s number. While I was friendlywith Maverick, we weren’t exactly call to chat on a Sunday morning type of friends.
“Hello?”
