Page 102 of Lucky Boys
Luca grabbed me again, pulling me close. “In the meantime, just know I love you, I am proud of you, and I’m in this for the long haul. I know I’ve been crap at showing it, but you’re mine, Brooks. I don’t plan on letting you go until you tell me to.”
Fuck, did I wish I could believe that. I wiped at my eyes angrily, refusing to cry now. “Okay.” It didn’t feel adequate, but I couldn’t bring myself to say any more than that.
“I didn’t mean to bring any of this up. I actually came in here to tell you that Sawyer’s mom called back about an hour ago. She remembered something.”
Wes’s conversation with Sawyer’s mom had gone well. At first, she’d been skeptical, but Wes had a way about him and she’d shared a lot. She’d always suspected that maybe the policewere working with Larsen because they’d never looked at him or anyone very hard. They’d spent more time accusing her and her father and then it had dropped off. They barely heard anything from the police anymore. She had been doing her own research but kept hitting roadblocks.
“What was it?”
“She said about a month or so after Sawyer went missing, she got a call from a teenager. He told her he knew where Sawyer was, that he was safe, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be for long and wanted to help her get him back. But before she could get anymore information, the call was disconnected and the number was blocked, and she couldn’t trace it. The cops said it was probably just a sick prank, and when the kid never called back, she started to believe it was too. She said she had completely forgotten about it but remembered now that she was going over everything in her mind after Wes’s visit.”
“Holy shit, you think that was Matthew?”
“It feels like way too much of coincidence for it not to be.”
I thought about the timing. “Actually, that matches, doesn’t it? That was about the time Covington said he lost contact with Larsen, and it’s also around when Larsen moved houses.”
“If Covington is telling the truth, then yeah.”
“Fuck, so do you think Sawyer knows Matthew?”
Luca shrugged. “It’s possible. We won’t know until we talk to him.”
There was another knock on my door, and then Maverick and Skye were entering.
“Hey, sunshine.” Skye held up a fist to bump, which of course I returned. “Ready to tear shit up?”
That had me grinning. “Fuck yeah. You think that’s why they separated us?”
“Nah,” Skye said at the same time Maverick said, “Yes.”
Laughing, Skye turned toward Luca. “Everything’s ready to go, boss.”
Luca nodded, and we all left my room and migrated to the kitchen, where the rest of our supplies were. There were vests, just in case, body cams, gloves, and black balaclavas to cover our faces. Maverick picked up the tiny ear pieces that would connect us to each other and to D and Wes back home.
Once we put them in and tested that they worked, so not only could we all hear each other, but D and Wes too, we finished suiting up. I fit the balaclava over my head, but didn’t cover my face yet. No need to suffocate in that damn thing already.
Before we walked out, Maverick grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me so I was facing him. I just parted my lips to ask him what was wrong when he attacked my mouth with his. I didn’t have time to process or react. All I could do was stand there and hold his arms for balance.
When we finally separated, I was blinking rapidly, swaying on my feet, and Skye was fanning himself.
“Sir?” I asked, no other words coming out because I’d lost all my ability to talk or think after that kiss.
“I love you, Brooks. You got so fucking under my skin in such a short time, and I can’t even imagine you not being there. I wanted you to know before we did this.”
I . . . What? I’d known my feelings had been headed that way with Mav for a hot minute, and they’d completely solidified after the primal play scene. When I’d been feeling flayed alive, it’d been Maverick that had soothed me, both physically and mentally. He’d been the one I’d clung too when I’d been too afraid to count on Luca.
“I-I love you too.”
Maverick smiled, but before he could say something else, Skye jumped in by literally jumping on top of me. “Wait, if we’remaking declarations, I don’t wanna be left out.” He kissed me loud and wet, right on the lips. “Love you, sunshine.”
I laughed. “I love you too, Skye.” It was different than the way I felt about Luca or Maverick or Diego, but not any less strong or important.
Once we were done, I was ready to go. “Are we good? All this love is making me nervous, like I’m about to die or some shit.”
“Brooks, the fuck?” Diego snapped, reminding me he had been listening in to all of that. “Can you not fucking joke like that?”
I flinched. “Sorry, D.”
