Page 101 of Lucky Boys
Brooks caught it and tried to slide off my lap. “This is important. I’m fine if you have to go work, I swear.”
Ah, shit. I tilted Brooks’s chin up and lightly kissed his lips. “Nah, Maverick is right. There’s not much we can do now anyway. It can wait until we have more information.”
“Besides—” Skye knocked into Brooks’s shoulder with a smile. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to to alert Covington anyway. Personally, I don’t trust the dude as far as I could throw him. If he has contact with Larsen, he might tip him off.”
“Good point. Okay, I’ll hold off for now. Be safe, Wes, and let us know what you find out.”
“I will. Talk to you soon.”
“Stay gold, brother.”
“Stay gold.” Wes hung up. Even though we went back to the movie and tried to relax, the peace was essentially shattered, and we all knew everything would be changing very soon.
CHAPTER 39
BROOKS
I pattedthe special holster that Luca had gotten me to make sure my favorite knife was there. It was, obviously, as it was the fourth time I’d checked it, and I was sure I’d check it at least four more before we left. But there was no way in fuck I was going to do this without my favorite blade.
It was two days after Diego had finally identified the little kid I’d seen in Damian Larsen’s home and it was finally go time. We were going to grab that bastard and get answers, hopefully. Well, Skye and Maverick were. I was in charge of locating Sawyer and getting him to safety, while Luca was looking for Matthew or any evidence we could find of him.
I’d been relieved when Maverick had asked me if I’d be comfortable talking to the kid. Apparently, I looked the least scary out of them and was the most likely to get the kid to come willingly. I’d jumped on the chance. I still got to be useful without dealing with Larsen directly. Maybe it made me a coward, but I also was well aware of my skill level. Besides, Skye was champing at the bit to go toe to toe with the dude, so who was I to stop him?
There was a knock on my bedroom door. I hadn’t slept in here, well, at all, but I still had most of my clothes here, so when we were getting ready, it was the easiest place to go.
“Come in!”
Luca popped his head in. “Hey, mind if I come in?”
For some reason, I found myself automatically adjusting my posture. I had no idea why. It wasn’t like we’d done anything that formal yet, but something about Luca always made me want to straighten up.
“Yeah, of course.”
He came and closed the door behind him, his eyes taking me in. “All ready to go?”
“Yup. I’m ready. I can do this,” I reassured him.
Luca closed the distance between us and cupped my face between both his hands. “I know, trouble. I never doubted it, not for a fucking second.”
I couldn’t help how squirmy that made me. “I just want to make you proud,” I told him, feeling really fucking vulnerable.
It seemed to take Luca by surprise and he staggered back, looking like he’d gotten shot. “Brooks, you do. You always make me so damn proud.”
I couldn’t help but scoff. I didn’t want to talk about any of this now. I understood why Luca hadn’t brought up everything going on between us. It just hadn’t been the time. The day after I’d had a complete mental breakdown after the best scene of my life, I just hadn’t been in the headspace for deep and serious conversations. I was feeling too subby and needy and vulnerable. It would’ve been hard for me to express everything that had been rolling around in my head. Hell, it was gonna be hard no matter when we talked about it and I wasn’t going to hash it out now. We were all about to go into a dangerous situation. I needed to be at the top of my game. I needed Luca at the top of his.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Luca asked, seeming genuinely confused at my doubt. Which, I guessed it wasn’t like he’d ever said he wasn’t proud of me, and it was a weird thing to want from your lover, but Luca had my head so fucking mixed up. I was feeling all sorts of ways.
“Nothing. It’s not a big deal.”
“Brooks . . .”
I turned away from him, squeezing my arms around myself. Fuck, I missed Diego. This would be about the time I’d bail on this conversation and lock myself in Diego’s office. Except he was in a whole different fucking country and I couldn’t run away. I had a little kid to save.
“Luca, you know this isn’t the time. Can you forget I said anything, please?”
I turned then, looking him right in the eyes so he knew I was serious. Luca sighed heavily. “Fine. You’re right. But as soon as this shit’s settled, you and me, we’re having a long talk and clearing the air about everything, understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.” I was equally looking forward to it and dreading it.
