5. Skye
CHAPTER 5
SKYE
As we ran out to one of our SUVs, locked and loaded down with weapons, Maverick and I had a one-second, silent conversation. Immediately, it was decided I’d handle Brooks while Mav took on Luca. Not that we would ever dare tell Luca, but my man had started to unravel the instant Brooks’s pretty face had shown up on our security cameras. He hadn’t even had a chance to process before all hell had broken loose, and even if he was in work mode now, Luca would need someone to keep an eye on him and make sure he kept it together.
I loved being in that role, but my way of handling it was typically a little more suggestive than we could do right now, and often ended up with me on my knees. Which, believe you me, was perfect in my book, but not exactly appropriate or time sensitive in this situation. Mav, though, he had a way about him that Luca seemed to gravitate toward when he was struggling. They made each other strong, and they managed it without getting naked. So, Mav to Luca and me to Brooks.
Now, I just had to decide how to keep Brooks under control. He was sitting next to me in the back seat and coming the fuck out of his skin. He was literally vibrating, his feet bouncing while he rocked back and forth and fiddled with his bracelets so much it was amazing they hadn’t fallen off. Brooks had refused to take a gun, but he had taken a few more knives. At the time, I hadn’t liked it, but now I was low-key glad. The kid would’ve accidentally shot himself or me with how much he was fidgeting.
“We got this, kid. You said yourself that Diego is an excellent shot, Wes is almost there, and we’ll be there soon.”
Brooks nodded absently but didn’t look at me. And he didn’t stop moving. Taking a page right out of the Luca and Maverick dominant handbook, I tucked my fingers under Brooks’s chin and forced him to look at me.
His pretty blue eyes snapped up, full of annoyance. I grinned. Yeah, I could work with that.
“Brooks,” I said seriously, making sure he could see my confidence in my expression. “It’ll be fine. We won’t let Diego get hurt.”
Brooks made a small, whimpering noise. “I’ll never forgive myself if he gets hurt because I chose to take this job.”
Fuck, he was scared. I wished I knew Brooks better so I had more of a handle on how to deal with this. For all the stalking— oh, I’m sorry —“looking out for him” I’d done over the last three years, you’d think I’d know him inside and out, but I mostly knew the Brooks that he let the world see, not the person underneath all the snark and bratting.
The closest I’d ever gotten had been when I’d saved him from that fuckface who’d ignored his safeword. He’d been so vulnerable and honest, even if it had only lasted a few minutes.
I felt like maybe I was seeing a glimpse of that side again now, but I could only go with my instincts on how I should deal with this.
With a racing mind, I thought of the one thing I knew for sure about Brooks. The kid was submissive as fuck.
I really only ever felt dominant when it came to primal play, but I’d lived with two of the most dommy Doms to ever Dom, and both of them had used their techniques on me more times than I cared to remember, so I had plenty to pull from.
Putting on my best don’t fuck with me face, the one I’d used in the octagon back when I’d fought, I raised an eyebrow at Brooks.
He swallowed and tried to look away, but I was still holding his chin.
“Repeat after me. We got this. Diego will be fine.”
Brooks’s face scrunched and I almost cracked up. He looked adorable. “Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
Brooks sighed heavily. “You could let go of my face, you know.”
“Not until you repeat after me.”
Brooks’s glare was fucking impressive. I could learn a thing or two from him.
“I didn’t think you were a Dom, but you’re definitely trying to Dom me right now.”
This time I did grin. “Is it working?”
Brooks rolled his eyes, but his shoulders visibly relaxed and he was a little stiller. “If I say yes, will you let go?”
I took pity on the kid and finally backed away. He didn’t repeat the words—this was why I left the more formal, outside of the bedroom shit to Luca and Mav—but Brooks did reward me with a half-smile, and after another minute, he knocked his shoulder into mine.
“Thanks.”
I knocked back into him. “No problem, kid.”
A few minutes passed in silence before Mav got a message. “That was Wes. The house is secure and he has Diego.”
Brooks slumped into the seat, all his fight gone. “Thank fuck. D’s okay?”
“Seems like it. Wes said he won’t leave the house but he’s uninjured.”
“He’s really okay?” Brooks asked again, like he couldn’t believe it.
“Well, we’re here,” Luca added, the same strain in his tone that had been there every time he’d spoken to Brooks. “So you can see for yourself.”
I watched Brooks’s reaction to Luca, curious. Every time he interacted with him, it was this conflicting mixture of hatred and animosity combined with need and hurt and maybe longing. Fuck, not for the first time, I wished I knew exactly what had happened between them three years ago.
I didn’t think anyone did except Luca and Brooks. I’d tried pestering Mav about it, but the man wouldn’t budge, so I’d decided he didn’t really have a clue but would never admit to not knowing something. So instead, he just acted like he was this steel vault who wouldn’t spill one of his lovers’ secrets. Whatever, I knew the truth.
The ride up their long driveway was honestly torture. Any progress I’d made in calming Brooks disappeared immediately and he was vibrating again by the time Maverick pulled in behind a black sedan that I assumed was Wes’s. Mav didn’t even have the car in park before Brooks was out and bolting toward the house.
“Brooks!” Luca snapped. “Hold the fuck on.” But Brooks either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him, which left the three of us cursing under our breath and scrambling after him.
“Gonna get himself killed,” Luca grumbled, and Maverick grunted in agreement.
Thankfully, when the door opened, all that stood there was an armed Wes, with his usual unruffled expression fixed in place.
Wes and Luca had been friends long before I’d met Luca. Hell, I’d still been in elementary school when they’d started hooking up. And I didn’t care how much both of them denied it. They for sure had fucked before, at least when they’d both been in the SEALS. Twenty years later, there was still all this tension and these looks that drove me fucking wild. If I thought locking them alone in a room together would get their heads out of their asses, I woulda done it by now.
Wes’s gaze immediately fell to Luca, and there was this moment where they just stared at each other. It was so long and heady that Brooks bulldozed his way past Wes in the doorway, which wasn’t an easy feat since the guy was fucking jacked.
“D! Holy fuck, thank God you’re okay!” Brooks screamed so loudly, we could hear him from outside. That, at least, got the two men out of the stare down and back to business.
“We have 3 bodies,” Wes told us. “I haven’t done a full perimeter check because I didn’t want to leave Diego alone. There was no identification on the men, but they were professionals and have military grade rifles.”
Well, fuck. Luca processed the information with calculating eyes before turning to Mav and me. “Skye, check the perimeter so we don’t have any surprises. Mav, can you call up your buddy and tell him we have 3 fresh ones for the clean up crew?”
“Already on it,” Mav replied, walking into the house on his phone. He’d make sure those disappeared and could never be traced back to the Foster brothers or us.
I gave a little salute to Luca. “You got it, boss.” He rolled his eyes but smiled fondly at me as I walked off.
It didn’t take long to clear the property. I found the vehicle they’d driven, a utility van, of course, but it was empty of anything identifying. Still, I took pictures and sent a quick text to Luca so we could make sure to get rid of it. There was no indication that there was anyone else here besides the three Wes had taken care of. We still needed to get out of here, and fast, since it was highly unlikely these guys didn’t answer to someone who would come looking when they didn’t show up. But at least we had some time. We needed all the advantages we could get.