Theirs to Love (The Last First Kiss Menage #2)

Jackson

J ack had driven through the night to get to the address that his Captain had texted him. He was afraid his boss had told Emily and Travis about her father’s involvement in the case. He wanted to be the one to break the news to Em and hopefully, she’d let him comfort her and help her to pick up the pieces when her world came tumbling down around her.

God, he missed them both so much, and here he was being a complete coward sitting in his truck and watching the room that they were in. He was afraid of what he’d find in that room. Since Travis and Em were still together, that had to mean that they moved on without him and he couldn’t blame them. He was the one who left them, disappearing from their lives for two months but he did it to keep them safe. And now, he was cowering in his truck worried that they wouldn’t listen to him, trusting that he left for them and not because he didn’t want them—because he did. He wanted them both more than he wanted his next breath.

Jack scanned the parking lot and was about to man up and go in to face the two people that he loved most in the world when he noticed a white truck sitting across the street from the hotel. It had been sitting at the abandoned gas station all morning and his cop instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong. He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed Travis’s number. He didn’t miss the way his stomach did a flip-flop at the thought of hearing Travis’s voice again. He dreamed of his sexy, gruff voice whispering in his ear, night after night.

“Yeah,” Travis’s growl woke Jack’s body, making it come to life for the first time in months.

“Trav, it’s me—.” He heard some shuffling and whispering on the other end of the line and he imagined the two of them in bed together naked and the thought nearly tore his heart in two.

“Jack, where the fuck are you?” Travis’s demanding tone made him smile. He wasn’t going to let Jack off the hook so easily. He liked that Travis held him accountable, it kept him honest when it came to his feelings about them both.

“I’m in the parking lot but you can’t come out just yet. I think that you are being watched. There is a white pickup truck in the parking lot across the street,” Jack filled him in on the truck’s description and Travis cursed into the phone.

“That’s the one that was following Em and me yesterday.” could hear Emily’s sharp gasp on the other end of the line and his heartbeat sped up knowing that she was so close. He wanted to be able to pull her into his body and comfort her. She was probably scared and worried about him and that gave him hope that they would be able to find a way to forgive him. Emily was the glue that held the three of them together.

“Are you all right, ?” Em asked. He could tell that she was crying, and it gutted him to still be causing her so much pain.

“I’m fine, baby. It’s the two of you that I’m worried about. There is no one in the truck so I’m assuming the asshole that has been watching you is around here somewhere. I need the two of you to get dressed and grab your stuff. I’ll keep an eye on things out here. When you are ready to leave, text me and I’ll pull up closer and you can jump into my truck. We can come back for your truck later, Travis.” They both agreed and Travis ended the call.

A few minutes later Emily texted him and his heart nearly exploded when their door opened and the two of them ran to his truck, hand in hand. Travis opened the passenger side door and grimly looked in at Jack. He nodded and helped Emily up into the back seat. She was still crying, her tear-stained cheeks reminding that this wasn’t a happy reunion. He hoped like hell that he could change that though.

“Em don’t cry baby,” crooned turning to face her. “I missed you so much,” he whispered. He wanted to pull her to the front seat to sit in his lap so he could wrap his arms around her and tell her that it was all going to be all right, but they didn’t have time for that.

Travis got into the front passenger seat and buckled up, “Seatbelt, Em,” he barked. She did as he asked, and didn’t miss the wave of anger that was rolling off Travis. Honestly, it scared the shit out of Jack that Travis refused to even look in his direction after he got into the truck.

“Travis, I—” Travis held up his big hand effectively stopping Jack from the words that he wanted to say next. God, he wanted to pull Travis into his body and kiss him; remind him who was in control. But he knew that Travis wouldn’t allow that right now. He needed an explanation, and Jack didn’t have time to give him that. He needed to get as far from this place as possible and find them a safe place to stay. Then, he’d sit them both down and tell them what he found out about the case and remind them both how much he loved them.

drove for hours finally finding a little town out in the middle of nowhere. There was little chance that the town even existed on a map and Jack counted himself pretty damn lucky that he even found a motel for them to stay in. Travis had spent most of the ride in silence, brooding next to him and he had to admit, it was fucking sexy. Emily fell asleep about halfway through the drive only waking up when they stopped for a bathroom break or food. Jack didn’t miss the way the two seemed to be connected, always touching each other or holding hands. Hell, they even shared silent looks of communication that Jack secretly envied. He wished like hell that they would let him in, but he knew that it was going to take more than just a few silent hours in a truck for that to happen.

“Em, wake up baby,” Travis whispered. He reached over the seat and gently nudged her. She yawned and stretched, smiling up at Travis and remembered the way that she used to smile at him. His heart stuttered at the thought of her underneath him smiling up just like that.

Jack got out of his truck and quickly scanned the area for anyone who might have tailed him. He had kept an eye out the entire drive and he knew that Travis had done the same. He wasn’t about to take any chances with Travis or Emily; he just got them back and he wouldn’t chance losing them again.

“Can we get some food, I’m starving?” Emily said around another yawn. Jack couldn’t help his laugh.

“Yes,” Travis and said in unison. nodded at Travis as if conceding. “Sorry, force of habit,” whispered. “This is our room.” unlocked the door and pushed his way into the room. For being the only motel in town, the place was unexpectedly clean. Emily hesitantly walked through the door but then saw that it wasn’t half bad and nodded her approval.

“I’ll find a place that delivers, do you have a preference?” Jack asked. Emily shook her head and plopped down on the bed.

“I’d love a change of clothes; can’t we go out?” felt bad that they had to be in the center of this storm with him. That was what he was trying to avoid by leaving in the first place.

“Maybe tomorrow, Em. Sorry.” rummaged through his bag and found a fresh T-shirt for her to slip into. The thought of Em wearing nothing, but his shirt did crazy things to him. He wanted her in nothing at all, but he was afraid to hope for something that might never happen again.

He tossed her the T-shirt and she shyly thanked him, padding off to the bathroom to shower and change, leaving Travis and him alone in the small room. Tense and awkward didn’t even begin to describe how Jack felt watching Travis’s big body pace the room.

“Where the fuck were you?” Travis growled. So, they were going to just jump right into it then. “Do you know what your leaving did to Emily?” Travis finally stopped pacing and stood still. Jack looked at Travis and the desperation and hurt on his face nearly did him in. “Do you know what your leaving did to me?” Travis’s voice broke taking a piece of Jack’s heart with it.

“Travis,” reached for him only to watch Travis take a step back putting more space between them. He let his arms fall to his sides knowing that if he pushed Travis they wouldn’t ever find a common ground to build on. “I’m so fucking sorry, Travis.” didn’t hide his tears, he let them fall unabashedly down his face not hiding the fact that he was hurting from the man that he loved.

“I left to keep you and Emily safe,” said. Travis grumbled under his breath letting Jack know that he wasn’t buying it. “My ex-partner, Logan Cross, wasn’t going to stop coming after me and now I know why. Em’s dad hired him.” Emily’s gasp from the bathroom doorway had him regret his words. That wasn’t the way that he wanted her to find out. He was hoping to explain everything to Travis so that they could comfort her and figure out a plan to keep her safe.

“My father is a control freak , but he’d never hire a thug to harass you.” Em’s anger hurt. It felt like she didn’t believe him and that was like a knife to his heart.

Travis sighed, “Let’s hear him out, Em. Jack came back for a reason and his Captain said that he had news about the case. Let tell us what he’s found and then we can figure out everything from there.” Emily nodded and took Travis’s offered hand sliding into his side. Jack wished like hell that she’d let him offer her comfort but the fact that she was wearing his T-shirt was enough for him right now.

They all sat down, Travis and Em on the king-size bed and in the hard chair that was in front of the small desk. “I had no choice but to leave you that day, it was for the best.” Emily tried to protest but Travis shushed her holding her to his side. “Believe me Em, I would have done anything to stay with you and Travis, anything. Cross wouldn’t have left any of us alone, he even called in death threats to the station. That morning, my Captain got a call that put the entire department under threat. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to keep everyone safe, including the two of you. He put me on paid leave and told me that it was conditional upon me leaving town until things died down with Cross. They had no lead on his whereabouts and without knowing where he was, we couldn’t protect everyone. My Captain knew that Cross had people on the inside of our department, but he wasn’t sure who. My leaving gave him time to weed out the crooked cops working for Cross and try to bring him down. It was working too, that’s how we got intel on your father, Em. One of the guys that he questioned broke down and told my boss that Cross had been hired to do a job, going after both me and Travis, making it look like a hate crime to cover his tracks.” Emily gasped again covering her mouth with her shaking hand and it took all his willpower not to go to her and pull her from Travis’s arms into his own.

“Why does your boss think that it’s Mr. Jude?” Travis asked.

“He wasn’t sure of it until this morning. They finally caught Cross, he was renting an apartment across the street from Emily’s and well, now your townhome.” The thought of the two of them moving on and moving in together hurt like hell. rubbed at his chest as if trying to soothe an ache. “He’s been watching you both this whole time. Here, I thought that I was protecting you by leaving. Instead, I put you both in even more danger. Your father didn’t care about me, I left and that was exactly what he wanted. I thought that Cross was the only danger and that he only wanted me. If I left town he’d follow me and you and Travis would be safe.”

Emily nodded, “But we weren’t safe because my father was behind everything. He used your past trouble with Cross and hired him to come after both of you to get you out of my life.” Travis pulled Emily into his arms, kissing her forehead.

“You couldn’t have known that your father would go so far to split us apart, baby,” Travis soothed. “This isn’t your fault.” watched the two of them feeling like an intruder watching a private moment between two lovers. He wanted to get out of that room, to run away and this time, he wouldn’t come back. It was just too painful seeing the two of them together and not being a part of them.

He stood to leave, suddenly needing some air. “It wasn’t your fault either, Jack,” Travis whispered. wasn’t sure if Travis said those words or if his mind was playing tricks on him. “You couldn’t have known that Em’s dad was behind any of this.” Travis stood and crossed the room to where stood by the door. His back was to both Em and Travis, not quite able to face either of them. He didn’t want to hope that they would find a way past all the pain and hurt that he put them through and forgive him. It was asking too much.

“Don’t—” ’s voice broke with unshed tears. “Don’t say things that you don’t mean, Travis. I see the hurt and anger in both of your eyes. You feel that I betrayed you by leaving and honestly, I’d do it all again if I thought that it would keep you both safe. I love you both so fucking much—” couldn’t finish his sentence, tears now falling down his face. He would have said that he’d do anything for them, even die but he couldn’t get those words out. Travis had wrapped his arms around from behind with Emily slipping between him and the door to hug his front. He was surrounded by the two people that he cared for most in the world, and he felt like he had finally found his place. They were his home, his everything.

“We love you too, ,” Emily whispered, softly kissing the tears that ran down his face. “We missed you so much, every day and you didn’t give us the chance to tell you how much you mean to us. You took away our team and made us think that you didn’t want to be a part of us anymore. Your note said that you needed time to think that everything was moving too fast. What were Travis and I supposed to think?” closed his eyes trying to remember that morning. He fought so hard to push those memories out of his mind not wanting to cloud his focus with events from that painful morning.

He remembered thinking about leaving Em and Travis a note, but he felt that would be too impersonal. “I didn’t leave any note, Em. I thought about leaving you one, but I didn’t. I couldn’t sleep after the captain called me, so I got dressed and headed over to the station. I was going to tell him that I had a plan to keep us all safe. But when I got to the station, he told me that a new threat had been called in and I knew that I had to walk away to keep you two and everyone at work safe.” Emily looked as confused as he felt.

“What was your original plan?” she asked.

“I was going to ask you and Travis to go on an extended vacation with me, you know go away and let the whole situation die down some?” Travis wrapped his arms tighter around . “But, when everything went sideways that morning I couldn’t put everyone in danger, so I left.”

“See, that’s where you went wrong, Jack,” Travis growled into his ear. “You should have let Em and me in. We were a team, and you took away our say in the relationship, making decisions for us. We never stopped loving you, but it hurt like shit that you left us so easily.” Travis turned Jack to face him, and Jack braced himself for the hurt and anger that he saw earlier in Travis’s eyes. This time, he found none of those things. This time, he saw so much love that it nearly tore him apart. Travis pulled Jack in for a kiss that reminded him of all the passion and love that they once shared. Love that he hoped they would all share again and that hope that had him wishing for things that he thought were no longer a possibility—Travis and Emily.