4. Wesley
CHAPTER 4
WESLEY
“Riley’s twenty-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 he screamed 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 friendly with Maverick, we weren’t exactly call to chat on a Sunday morning type of friends.
“Hello?”
“Please tell me you’re home and not on a job.”
Immediately, I was on high alert. “I’m home.”
“Thank fuck. I’m sending you an address. I’ll fill you in on the details later, but there’s trouble and we won’t make it there in time.”
I was on my feet and heading to my weapons locker in an instant. “Where’s Luca? Is he safe?”
“Yeah, he’s right here. He’s trying to keep Diego calm. That’s who you’re meeting. He and his brother ran into some trouble and the house is currently being invaded.”
I barely noticed that Beckett had followed me into the room, his jaw tight as he watched me arm up.
My phone vibrated. “That’s the address,” Maverick told me. In the background, I could hear raised voices and commotion.”
I quickly put it in my GPS. “I can be there in 10.”
Maverick grunted. “Make it five, and we’ll be there with reinforcements as soon as possible. You’ll be sent more details on your way.”
“Copy.”
“Wes?” That was Luca, who must’ve grabbed the phone.
“Yeah?”
“Stay gold, brother.” Even with my brain already in work mode, I had to laugh. Luca and I had started saying that to each other before missions, fuck, probably twenty or so years ago now. We had been stuck in some middle of nowhere base that had no real forms of entertainment except a library of old books. One of them was The Outsiders . We’d read that so many fucking times while we’d been deployed there that we’d started saying it to each other. At first, it had been a joke, but it had started to become tradition, and because SEALS were a superstitious bunch, the whole team had begun saying it to each other every fucking time.
“You too, Luca.” I hung up before I got emotional and turned to Beckett.
“I gotta go.”
Beckett’s looked worried as fuck. “Will you be okay?” It was hard for me to answer that honestly when I had literally zero information, but I squeezed his shoulder and smiled anyway, touched by his concern.
“I’ll be fine. Do me a favor and stay here, and when Riley wakes up, tell him the same thing.”
“Uh, okay. Wes, are you sure you’ll be good?”
Not sure what else to say, I just gave him a tight nod and left my apartment.
By the time I arrived at the address Maverick had given me, I only had slightly more information than I had when I’d left. The house belonged to Diego and Brooks Foster. Diego was home alone and locked in some kind of panic room. I was given the security codes to the house as well as a safe code to tell Diego so I didn’t get my ass shot. I knew there were at least three men trying to break in and they were likely armed and well trained. I also knew Diego had extreme anxiety over strangers and leaving his house.
What I didn’t know was who was trying to get in, or why, or what Diego’s connection was to Luca. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why. None of that mattered though. I trusted Luca, and if he said this guy needed help, I was there.
Immediately, I could tell something was wrong. The Fosters lived on a very small street and their driveway was almost half a mile long so it kept them hidden from the neighbors, but I barely got halfway down it before I heard noises that sounded like they could be gunshots. Fuck.
I kicked the gun away from the still body blocking the entranceway and stepped over him into the house. The front room, which I guessed was supposed to be a living room but instead had an unmade bed in the middle of it, was empty. On alert, I kept checking the house while heading toward where I was told Diego would be. I passed a small kitchen and dining area and then came to three doors. The bathroom was partially open, making that one obvious. I quickly cleared it, but no one was there. The one to the left was closed, but I would find Diego in the one on the right. Still, I went to the left first. I didn’t want any surprises just because I didn’t do my due diligence.
The room was a pretty nice home gym. In other circumstances, I’d probably be drooling over the equipment, but I kept my focus on the task and quickly cleared the room. The third door was closed with a security lock on it. There was a fingerprint pad, but I had been given the bypass code so I could get in. I quickly entered it and found myself in a smallish space. Two walls were completely covered with a corner desk and three separate monitors, plus a bunch of stuff I couldn’t even begin to describe. There was a small mini fridge under the desk, and the most comfortable looking chair I’d ever seen.
On the other side was a much smaller desk with nothing but a bunch of papers, a stack of rainbow-colored rubber bands, and a tablet. There wasn’t even a chair. Once I did a quick scan to clear it, I headed to the closet where I knew the entry to the safe room would be.
The closet seemed like it was all spare electronics: keyboards, mice, still boxed tablets, earpieces, and mics lined very well organized shelves. I briefly wondered where the brothers kept things like clothes, but that didn’t really matter now. I pressed against the empty wall where there was a hollowed-out panel.
“Diego? It’s Wes.”
“P-passcode?” a muffled voice called.
“Detroit, Austin, Queens, Atlanta.”
There was a long enough pause that I was concerned I’d need to get Diego’s brother on the phone to talk to him. But before I could make any decisions, there was some ruffling and the door opened.
I couldn’t even take a step before the barrel of a pistol was iin my face.
Diego was panting heavily, his wide, panicked eyes so dark, I could barely see his pupils as he watched me. His hair was matted to his head and his clothes were drenched in sweat.
My heart clenched when I saw how scared he was. Still, Diego managed to keep the gun steady and aimed directly at my forehead. I was pretty fucking impressed.
“Hi, Diego. I’m Wes Hayes,” I greeted in the calmest, most soothing voice I could manage. It wasn’t just because of the weapon he had pointed at me either, though I had no doubt he’d pull the trigger if he had to. There was just something in Diego and the way he still defended himself despite the fear that awakened that long buried side of me I’d barely had a chance to explore. “Your house is clear. Your brother, Luca, and his team are all on their way. Will you come out of there, please?”
Diego’s eye twitched, but after he scrutinized me for an uncomfortably long time, he finally lowered the weapon and gave me one sharp nod.
It wasn’t until he stepped out of the safe room door and through the closet that I remembered there were three bodies on the floor of his home. I had no idea how he’d react to that, so before Diego could leave the office, I turned to him.
“I had to kill some of the guys that were trying to get in. I didn’t get a chance to clean up yet, so there’s no way to avoid you seeing them as we leave, unless you close your eyes.”
Diego snorted, but he seemed more amused than annoyed at me. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen bodies in person, but I’m—it won’t be the first time. I’m fine.”
I just hid my smile as he straightened his shoulders and fixed a determined look on his face. I wasn’t sure how fine Diego really was, but I also didn’t know how much of it was because of the bodies, the situation, or what he was going to have to do next.
“Okay, that’s good. Would you like me to take you directly to Luca’s or for us to wait in my car till they get here? It shouldn’t be long.”
His expression shifted completely and he immediately shut down. “I’ll wait in the front room for them.”
Okay . . . “Diego, there are two bodies there, and I don’t know if anyone else is with them—since I haven’t had a chance to do a full perimeter check—or if someone will realize something’s wrong and come after them. It’s not safe.”
Ignoring me completely, Diego stomped past, careful not to touch me, and into the main areas of the house. He hesitated only for a few seconds when his eyes fell on the scene before once again straightening his shoulders and walking to the pull-out bed in the middle of the room. He sat on the edge with the gun on his lap and practically dared me to say something.
I just sighed. I didn’t know Diego enough to push him. All I’d been told was that he had anxiety about leaving the house. I had no idea how severe it was or even when the last time he’d left had been. It wasn’t my place to expose all that, either. For the time being, we were okay. I’d just wait with him and stay on guard. It shouldn’t be much longer before Luca’s team and his brother were here. He should know how to handle this. Hopefully.