Page 26 of Tracker
At the sight of him, Henry stuck his head in the door he guarded. “Tracker is up.” He focused on Tracker. “It took you long enough to drag your ass out of bed. You’ve gotten lazy.”
It took everything Tracker possessed not to roll his eyes. Except Henry wasn’t wrong, and Tracker had literally just been thinking about that. “If I’d known everyone was waiting for me, I might’ve moved faster. Why is everyone here? I heard their loud asses all the way inside the apartment.”
Zeus stepped into the hallway, looking like the Adonis he was. Nothing ever seemed to dim his beauty. If anything, he looked sexier every day to Tracker.
“There’s my baby. Did you get enough sleep? I swear we tried to be quiet.” Zeus closed the distance between them while he spoke. “Well,Itried not to wake you.”
Tracker realized he wore a huge grin. The amount of happiness that filled him each time he set eyes on Zeus should be illegal. “You should have. I didn’t get to tell you goodbye. I thought you’d left for the day or something.”
Zeus kissed him again.
Tracker forgot what they were talking about.
When Zeus pulled away, Tracker noticed several of his brothers lingering in the hallway. “Um. So, what’s going on?”
Zeus glanced behind him. “Everyone is impatient. Come on.” He took Tracker’s hand and led Tracker to the open door that people kept spilling from. “Everyone has been working really hard. We put our heads together to get this as close to how you’d like it as possible, but I left enough room for you to rearrange everything if you’d like.”
Field, Foster, Ridge, Shadow, Edge, and Rain waited, looking as if they held their breath. The rest of his family were still inside the room; even the ones who should’ve been in Hawaii were there. Tracker had moved five steps beyond curious. He stepped inside the room. It was almost a mirror image of his security room at home. Except this one had an extra dashboard for the club’s security as well. Confused didn’t begin to cover how he felt. Tracker was downright baffled into silence.
The giant red-haired brother with all the anxiety jumped in first. “We tried to remember everything. Obviously, we’re not as good as you.”
Tracker met Field’s stare. He couldn’t let Field worry. “This is amazing. You did great. I just don’t understand the purpose. Beau spent a lot of money to design my place. Why would I need two?”
Henry took his husband’s hand, obviously stepping in to protect his husband’s peace. “Don’t worry about Beau’s money. I doubt he even knows how much he has, but you might want to look behind you.”
Confused, Tracker turned.
Zeus was down on one knee.
Tracker blinked. “What are you doing?”
Zeus’ eyes swam with laughter. “I’m begging you to move your security station here and marry me.”
Tracker couldn’t speak. Everything had been such a whirlwind in the last six months. He supposed they had—in their own way—been together for much longer than that. Still, he never would’ve expected this. Zeus’ proposal seemed so dramatic. “I mean, yeah, but you didn’t have to go through all of this trouble. You could've just asked. You knew I’d say yes. How did you even get everyone here? This seems like a pretty big fuss just for me.”
There was a glint in Zeus' eyes, letting Tracker know Zeus would have some things to say about that one later. He hated when Tracker pointed out he wasn’t special.
It ended up being Rain who scolded him. “Are you kidding? You’re the level-headed glue. All you’ve done to keep us safe, loving us enough to never sleep so we can—that matters to us. You matter to us. You’re our brother.” Everyone nodded along, but Rain kept going. “Without you, none of us would’ve made it this far when we escaped. You mean everything to us, and you deserve to be happy and have fusses made. No one makes you smile like Zeus does. You’ve given up enough of your life for us. You should be here with him now.”
Tracker’s gaze moved from face to face. Everyone’s expression matched Rain’s. His throat swelled. He loved these men with everything he had. No one could possibly understand what they had been through together. “I love you.” He eyed each of them. “All of you. I haven’t sacrificed anything. Doing everything to keep us safe has been the most selfish thing I’ve ever done.” He shrugged. “I don’t know how to lose you guys.” There was no missing the way his voice broke.
Zeus obviously gave up on being on one knee. His arms engulfed Tracker, pulling him back against his chest. He kissed the shell of Tracker’s ear. “They love you too and wanted to be here to share this moment.” Zeus ran his hand down Tracker’s left arm and lifted his hand. He slipped a ring on Tracker’s third finger, and reality felt very real. This was happening to him. He wouldn’t wake up and realize this was some fever dream. The smiles surrounding him were almost too heavy. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen to him. Tracker had never even dared to let himself hope.
When he tried to speak, his voice broke again. “I don’t want to lose you guys.” He didn’t know why he kept repeating that.Tracker knew his brothers would never abandon him, no matter where they ended up in life.
He had no idea who moved first, but Tracker found himself engulfed in nonstop hugs and promises this family was forever. Tracker had known that. Everything just felt so unreal, and Tracker hadn’t thought he could have the beautiful existence Zeus offered him and showed him every day.
He wasn’t the least bit surprised when Field hugged him last and tighter than anyone else. He spoke quietly against Tracker’s ear, keeping his words between them. “You’re not losing anyone. You’re gaining a husband. Trust me, that’s someone you need more than you need us. Let him save you the way Henry saved me.”
Tracker’s eyes filled with tears. He felt like an overwhelmed kid. “Thank you. I know you get it.”
When Field pulled away, Tracker wiped his eyes and sniffed. “You have two of my security screens out of order.”
The laughter that filled the room also filled his chest. His gaze slid Zeus’ way. In his heart, he had known they were so much more than they ever pretended to be. The endless love he felt had always been meant to lead him right here. If this turned out to be a dream, then he hoped he never woke.
Zeus had known exactly how Tracker would react to his proposal. That was why he had done everything in his power to get Tracker’s family to help him. If everyone didn’t reassure him at the same time, Tracker would overthink the situation. He needed all of his brothers to support him. Tracker was too used to being the man in the background who watched over them, expecting nothing in return. His mind undermined him when it came to love. But he was the reason Zeus woke up every morning and the place he wanted to fall asleep each night. He had felt Tracker hesitating a little more each night when it came to staying with him. It had become more than obvious Tracker felt torn between where he wanted to be and where he thought he was expected to be. Meanwhile, Zeus needed to know Tracker would always sleep next to him.
He had approached Beau first. This hadn’t been an overnight miracle. It had taken him over a week to speak with everyone privately. But Beau had been the real test, since Zeus hadn’t known how to get his way with that one. Beau might have done anything. Instead, he had simply been resigned. That didn’t mean Zeus didn’t have to negotiate. They would have to spend some time in Hawaii each year, but Zeus had been considering cutting back on his role at the club, so that was no big deal.While he would always need the outlet Affinity offered, he had other ways to assuage his programming. Just the thought of how many ways Tracker fulfilled him had Zeus damn grateful when everyone finally left.
