Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Noah
When Jackson came back, he filled me in on what Hawk and Gator had learned from the men who’d shown up at the cabin.
He didn’t try to sugarcoat it; he just laid it all out there for me.
Gregor Valen, Anton Corvane. The layers between them and the reason those layers existed.
He’d sat on the edge of the couch while he talked, and I’d sat across from him in the chair by the window.
When he was finished, he’d waited, giving me room to have whatever reaction I was going to have.
I’d asked a few questions, and he’d answered them. Then I’d said okay. He’d nodded, and that had been that.
What I noticed was that after he’d shared all that information, I felt steadier than I expected to.
Not because the information wasn’t frightening—it was—but because he’d given it to me straight.
He didn’t soften it or try to manage my reaction.
Instead, he just gave me the truth, which told me he believed I could handle it.
After a minute, he smiled at me and said, “So, I was thinking maybe we could walk over to the bookstore across the street. I need something to read, and they have a decent selection of puzzles.”
“It’s okay for me to go over there?” I asked.
“You aren’t a prisoner here, Noah. You just need to be careful, so no going out places on your own, but if you want to go somewhere, I’m happy to go with you.”
I thought about it for a second. I felt safe here in the Three Bears HQ, but I also knew that if I stayed cooped up here for too long, I’d get serious cabin fever. From my last stay here, I knew there was a gym downstairs, but a trip to a bookstore sounded way better than a workout right now.
“A puzzle sounds good. Mika offered to teach me to crochet, but I don’t think that’s for me.”
Jackson chuckled. “Mika believes crocheting and baking are the answers to all life’s problems.”
“He does seem to think that. Let me call Carina real quick and update her on the situation, and then we can go.
We spent a good hour in the bookstore and then stopped at Goldie’s for sandwiches on our way back.
The line wasn’t too terribly long, and I was thrilled to see they still carried my favorite sandwich.
We placed our order, then Jackson directed me to a seat away from the window but near the door that led into the building.
“Man, between their Brie and Bacon Panini and Mika’s baked goods, I’m going to have to spend a lot of time in the gym,” I said.
“We’ve all had to add a few reps to our workouts since Mika arrived.”
The girl behind the counter called out our name, and Jackson stood up. “I’ll grab it.”
A few minutes later, he came back with our food. I took one bite and moaned. “Oh my god, this is so good.”
“I haven’t tried that one, but it sounds like it would be good.”
“What did you get?”
“The ultimate meat sub,” he said. The sandwich was so fat I wasn’t sure how he was even going to fit it in his mouth, but I watched as he bit into it.
I glanced over my shoulder at the door that led into the Three Bears building. “I bet the guys all eat here a lot.”
“They do. Partly because it’s super convenient, but mostly because her food is top-notch.”
“Now all they need is a coffee shop, and the guys would be all set.”
“There are a couple of empty storefronts still, but Wolfe’s really picky about who he lets lease a spot in the building.”
We finished our lunch and then headed back upstairs. Once we got there, I expected him to leave, but he sat down on the couch and reached for one of the books he’d purchased and settled in.
“Don’t you need to go back to work?” I asked, not that I wanted him to leave, but I also didn’t want him to get in trouble.
“I’m on vacation, remember?”
“Seriously?” I couldn’t believe he was wasting his vacation time here with me.
“Nah, Wolfe put me back on duty, but since I was supposed to be off, I don’t have anyone scheduled out at the camp this week, and Bobby’s staying out there taking care of everything for me, so no need for me to go out there.”
“So you get to just hang out with me?”
“Until next week. I have a group coming in on Wednesday. They’ll be there for a few days.”
I sat down next to him on the couch. “What exactly do you do with these groups?”
“It all depends on the group. This one is law enforcement, so we’ll do tracking, weapons skills, and I’ll have an expert coming out to talk to this group about de-escalation and hostage negotiation.”
“That sounds amazing.”
“Yeah, we developed our law enforcement program based on what my brother said he wished more cops received training in. Those are the weeks I like best.”
He’d talked about his brother a few times, and I knew how much he respected and loved him, so that didn’t surprise me.
I turned on the television and let him get back to his book.
I’d planned on binge-watching a food show, but instead I dozed off.
I woke up lying on the couch with my head in Jackson’s lap.
I wasn’t sure how I ended up there and honestly didn’t care.
The only bad thing about it was having to wake up.
When he realized I was no longer asleep, he ran his fingers through my hair like I was a cat, making it even harder for me to move because, hello, pets are amazing even for humans.
“Mika’s texted twice,” he said.
“What did he need?”
“I don’t know. He texted you, not me. I didn’t want to be nosy and read them.”
I sat up, reached for my phone on the coffee table in front of the couch, and opened the messages.
“He says there will be a group dinner in the common area, and we should come join them. Apparently, he made a chili bar, which I have no idea what that is.”
“He does those for game day sometimes. He makes a big pot of chili and then puts out corn chips, cheese, baked potatoes, and the like. It’s like a taco bar but with chili.”
“That actually sounds really good. Do you want to go?”
He shrugged. “Might as well.”
“Okay, I guess that’ll be our dinner then. It’ll be fun to see everyone.”
I’d actually missed hanging out in the common area. When I first came here to stay last fall, it had been overwhelming. But once I had the opportunity to get to know some of the guys, spending time there had grown on me.
We stepped out of my apartment into the common area, and the rich warm scent of garlic, cumin, and chili spice wafted over us.
Jackson placed his hand on my back and directed me over to where the food was all set up.
Mika was standing over a large slow cooker with a wooden spoon, talking to Hawk, who was eating directly from a bowl he clearly had no intention of waiting to fill properly.
Milly sat on the ground at Hawk’s feet, waiting for someone to drop something so she could snatch it up.
“Hey, Noah, Crowe.” Mika grinned at us and then gave Hawk a playful shoulder bump and said, “That’s not a tasting portion.”
“I’m quality-checking.”
Mika rolled his eyes. “And?”
“And it’s perfect, just like you, Mouse.”
Mika blushed and then pointed at the counter with his wooden spoon. “You two make yourselves a plate. I made plenty.”
I crossed to the counter and started filling a bowl. The chili in the pot smelled incredible, and who didn’t love a good Frito pie with lots of cheese and onions on top? Jackson was doing the same, but he’d opted to make a loaded baked potato instead.
Axel and Maddox were at the pool table, mid-game, arguing about something, no surprise there.
I was betting those two were arguing in the womb.
Julius was on the long couch with his feet tucked up underneath him with a bowl of chili in his lap.
He was talking to Gator and Diego. All three of them were laughing at something on Julius’s phone.
Diego looked up and gave me a nod. I’d never really talked to him much, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.
He was definitely more at home here now than he had been six months ago.
As if on cue, Axel said something to Maddox that made Maddox throw his pool cue hand up in outrage.
Everyone looked their way just long enough to make sure nothing was on fire.
Mika rolled his eyes at them and told them to stop fighting and come get something to eat, or there would be no more brownies for them.
Maddox shot Axel a look, but they both went over to get some food.
I found a spot on the end of the couch, and Jackson sat next to me.
Trixie’s travel cage was on her stand in the corner, and she’d apparently been quiet long enough, because she suddenly announced, to no one in particular, “What’s for dinner? Carrots? Broccoli? Whiskey?”
“Silly bird. Your bowl is full.” Julius called over to her.
Trixie ruffled her feathers and then fixed her eyes on Jackson. She tilted her head.
“Crowe. Crowe is a man, not a bird,” she said.
Jackson looked at her.
“Can’t fly, Crowe can’t fly,” she said again, before cackling like she’d made a joke.
“Really,” I said.
“That would be his fault.” Jackson pointed at Maddox. “He taught her that. He’s a bad influence.”
Trixie, as if she’d understood every word, turned her attention to Maddox. “Bad boy. Bad boy. Whatcha gonna do?”
At that, the whole room burst out laughing, and I laughed with them. The sound came out easier than I expected.
An hour later, everyone had eaten, and the pool table had been abandoned in favor of a card game that had started as something civilized and was becoming less so.
From the conversation, it sounded like Axel bluffed badly, knew it, and did it anyway.
That Maddox had a tell that Hawk was mercilessly exploiting, and that Mika, to my surprise, was actually pretty darn good at poker.
Jackson wasn’t playing. He’d stayed next to me on the couch, with his arm spread along the back, close enough that I was aware of him the way I’d been aware of him for days.
“You can go play, you know. You don’t have to stay here with me.”
“Not tonight. How about you? Do you play poker?”
“Badly,” I said.
“Badly how?” Julius asked. “Badly like Axel, where you know you’re bad and just commit to the chaos? Or badly like you have a face that gives away the entire plot?”
“The second one, probably.”
“Then I wouldn’t play with that group. They’d eat you for dinner,” Julius said.
“Is that why you don’t play?” I asked.
“Nah, regular poker’s no fun. Now give me a couple martinis and suggest strip poker and I’m all in.”
I laughed. “I bet you are, but are you any good?”
“Does it matter when you’re playing strip poker? Either way, someone ends up naked.”
“Sounds like a win-win to me,” Gator added.
It was getting late when things started to wind down.
Diego had left an hour ago with a handshake for Jackson and an easy wave for the room after announcing he had an early morning the next day.
Axel and Maddox had gone to their respective apartments, still bickering in that fond, habitual way the brothers seemed to have.
Hawk and Mika left together, with Milly trailing behind them. Which left only me, Jackson, Julius, and Gator in the room.
“You good?” Julius asked me.
“I’m good,” I said.
He held my gaze for a moment, satisfied with whatever he found there. “I’m going back to work tomorrow, but if you need anything, just call.”
“I will.”