Page 29 of Traitor
Crisp sniffed, making Jay realize he cried. “Stop talking nonsense. I’m already pissed.”
A smile exploded across Jay’s lips, reopening the cut. Damn, it was worth it. He was the luckiest fucking bastard on the planet.
“All threats neutralized. Beau is sending a clean-up crew, so we’re cleared to leave.”
Jay looked around at the statement. All Crisp’s brothers stood shoulder to shoulder, holding their masks. He didn’t see any animosity staring back at him. Jay saw only sadness.
“I missed some stuff, eh?”
A watery chuckle sounded against his chest. Crisp was the only one who laughed.
Tracker cleared his throat, breaking the growing silence. “Let’s go home. You two get cleaned up. Then we’ll meet back in the living room. It’s obviously beyond time we had a family meeting.” He walked away sounding and looking upset.
Jay held on to Crisp. He wouldn’t let anything blow back on Crisp. None of this was on him. Jay was the one who had the gall not to die after that torture session. Crisp had been the beautiful soul who couldn’t watch a light extinguish.
Jay tucked Crisp beneath his arm and tried not to limp or lean too much weight on him as they left the building. He needed to get Crisp alone so he could see his injuries. He knew Crisp had to be in worse shape than he was after getting hit by a car. Plus, Jay’s heart just needed all the reassurances. He had died a little when he saw Crisp flying up and over that hood. Jay had fought with everything he could to get to Crisp, but they had knocked him out before he could get free. Three against one was some bullshit. A couple of years ago, those odds wouldn’t have mattered. He wasn’t who he used to be. Jay hadn’t stayed sharp or worked to regain his every skill. His body had gone through something no one fully recovered from. He lived in pain every day. Jay pushed past it every single day because it was worth it to him to be with Crisp. Now they rode in silence, playing with each other’s fingers. The guys had needed three vans to fit everyone who was determined to come. That warmed his chest even though he knew it had nothing to do with him. They had Crisp’s back in spite of Jay being the one in trouble. He knew that. The reasons didn’t matter. They had shown up for Crisp, and Crisp had really needed that reminder he was loved. As if they were connected in their minds, they turned their heads at the same time and held each other’s stare. They had endured much worse.They would survive this too. Their love was too big for any other outcome. It was them against the world.
They showered together in silence, taking turns nursing every scratch and scrape. Their eyes kept meeting, but still they never spoke a word. There wasn’t anything to say. It had been their plan to tell the family about them in the morning. They had already known they were about to face this. But Crisp hadn’t expected to sit down with his brothers while Jay and he were exhausted and hurt.
Crisp helped Jay pull a T-shirt on. Hopefully, Austen would be willing to patch Jay up again when this was over. For all he knew, Jay might have internal injuries. That thought alone had Crisp breaking the silence.
“Do I need to skip this and take you straight to Austen?”
Jay gently stroked the bruised side of Crisp’s face. “I’m good, baby. You’re the one who needs to get checked out. My heart shattered when I saw you hit. I was very scared for you… and me.” The confession sounded like a pained one. “Without you,there’s nothing here for me. I only lived for you. If you’re gone, so is my will.”
Sadness had settled into his chest that had to show on his face. “I wish you wouldn’t say things like that. You’re amazing. Without me, you could do anything at all, but I’m not going anywhere. You still owe me sixty years of servitude.”
A bark of surprised-sounding laughter burst from Jay, just as Crisp had hoped. “Servitude?”
Crisp nodded while never breaking eye contact. “It was in our vows. Neither of us can die until you’ve given me at least sixty years.”
The way Jay smiled made Crisp’s entire night better. “Yes. I suppose I do. We’ve been married for about four months. So, technically, it’s fifty-nine years and eight months.”
Crisp shook his head. It was hard to hang on to his serious expression. “Nope. Still sixty. Even when we hit one year: sixty. Ten years: sixty. Understood?”
Jay had such a sexy smile, even with a busted lip. He always captivated Crisp. “Yes. I’m your humble servant.”
A laugh burst from Crisp. He couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“Everyone’s waiting, guys. Do you want to go together? I’m with you guys all the way.”
At Tidy’s sudden appearance and statement, Crisp’s heart dropped and then soared. Tidy never failed him.
Crisp nodded.
Together, they made their way to the family room, holding hands. When they stepped into the living room, Crisp looked around and eyed each face. Tracker, Rain, Shadow, Edge, Ridge, Scout, Foster, Shore, and Briggs sat huddled close together. Their various spouses and several security guards were scattered around the room, including Rhodes and Cairo—who still wore his bloody rabbit outfit. He wondered if he could do this. There were a lot more people than he expected. He felt exposed.
Surprisingly, Jay broke the silence first. “You could have been killed coming in like that, but I appreciate you, nonetheless.”
Crisp looked over and followed Jay’s gaze to a smiling Cairo.
Cairo bounced in place. “I wasn’t in danger. Shore, Field, Ridge, and Edge all had those men literally in their sights. They could’ve dropped them immediately if it wasn’t important to find out who they were.” Cairo whipped a gun from his pocket and waved it wildly, making several guards hit the ground. “Plus, I had this.”
Rhodes gently took Cairo’s wrist and grabbed the gun. “We’ve talked about this, angel. You can’t wave a loaded weapon around like that.”
Cairo still beamed as he shrugged. “I’m a very good shot.”
A murmur of several “he actually is” went through the room.
