Chapter 11 #2
Saint blinked at him, then seemed to remember what Lucky was referring to. “Dude, come on. It’s been five years.”
“A flan that delicious is unforgettable, you flan thief!”
Val did his best not to laugh at Lucky’s indignation. He turned to Saint. “You stole his flan?”
“I didn’t steal his flan,” Saint replied with a groan, then glared at Lucky, “Tell him I didn’t steal your flan.”
Lucky glared at Saint some more before turning his attention to Val.
“So, Graciela’s abuelita makes the most mouthwatering flan de coco, and I had waited and waited for her to bring me some, and when it finally happens, Graciela gives it away!
” He thrusts a hand at Saint. “To him! Can you believe this?”
“Why?” Val asked, taking another bite of cake. He might need to have seconds. This really was a good cake. Val wasn’t big on sweets, but he could appreciate a tasty dessert.
Lucky waved a hand in dismissal. “Because he was all sad like a big puppy or something.”
“My divorce was finalized that day,” Saint explained.
“Ah. So he didn’t really steal your flan,” Val said.
Lucky scoffed. “Of course you would take his side.”
“Graciela was just trying to make me feel better,” Saint told Lucky. “And since it was your flan, technically, you were making me feel better.”
Lucky was not impressed by Saint’s answer and shoved a forkful of cake in his mouth.
While the two debated whether the flan had been indeed stolen, Val couldn’t help but think of what Saint had gone through.
The whole ordeal must have been rough. Val understood that being a military spouse wasn’t for everyone.
Same as being the spouse of a firefighter or law enforcement officer.
Any position that put a loved one in harm’s way was difficult, especially if they had to be away for long periods of time.
Sadly, Val had seen many a marriage fall apart during his time at the firehouse.
Val didn’t know Saint’s ex-wife, and although he could understand why she’d fallen in love with someone else while Saint had been deployed, he couldn’t understand why she’d waited so long to tell him.
From what Saint had told him one night at a Kings’ event, she’d waited an entire year to tell him and ask him for a divorce.
She’d been with another man for a year while Saint was abroad, believing all was well with his marriage.
Val hadn’t asked any questions because Saint had been tipsy that night, and they hadn’t known each other very well then.
Afterward, he seemed to have forgotten he’d told Val anything.
“You better not steal my cake,” Lucky warned Saint, eyes narrowed as he walked away.
“Technically, it’s my cake,” Saint called out, laughing when Lucky flipped him off.
“He has very strong feelings about food,” Mason chuckled.
Val snickered. “I can see that.”
“Wow. I still can’t believe it’s been five years.” Saint shook his head as he took a sip of his beer. “It seems like a lifetime ago.”
“Yeah. Time flies,” Mason agreed. “So much has happened in the last few years. I sure as hell never imagined I would have ended up here. With him.” His gaze softened as it landed on Lucky. “Funny how sometimes life gives you what you need, even if you had no idea it’s what you needed.”
The door swung open, and Ryden stepped through with flair.
“Fear not, for I have arrived!” He promptly got smacked in the head with a bread roll.
Ryden caught it and bit a chunk off. “Crunchy, but needs butter.” Shutting the door, Ryden greeted the guys, some by flipping them off, some with hugs, and some with a playful fist bump.
A wicked smile came onto Saint’s face when Ryden approached.
“Heard you had a date with a closet.”
“Yeah, and no one bothered to let me out.” Ryden chucked what remained of his bread roll at Ace, who caught it with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Dicks.” He grinned at Saint. “Happy anniversary, man.”
“Thanks. Eat. I know you’re wasting away to nothing.”
Ryden patted his flat stomach. “It’s only been an hour since I’ve eaten anything. I don’t know how I survived.” He walked off, and Mason shook his head.
“Where the hell does it all go?”
“It’s his mouth,” Saint said. “All the talking burns calories.”
“I heard that, you shit,” Ryden called out.
Saint snickered. “Love you.”
“Love you more,” Ryden teased, patting his chest over his heart and pretending to make it beat.
With a snort, Mason excused himself and went over to Lucky, kissing his cheek before murmuring something in his ear.
“You think someone is putting something in the water at your place of work?” Val asked Saint.
“Why?”
Val motioned to everyone here. “Because it looks like anyone who joins Four Kings Security ends up in love.”
“Oh yeah,” Saint laughed. “We tease King about it. Call him King Cupid.”
“I bet he loves that.”
Ryden called Saint over, and Saint excused himself. It appeared that Jack had been waiting for Saint to walk away, and Val had an idea why that might be, considering Fitz and Ryden had Saint flanked. Val did not envy him.
“Hey,” Jack greeted. “So, how are things going between you two?”
Right to the point. Val eyed Jack. “Who said anything was going on between us? Nothing’s going on.” He heard Fitz laugh and glanced over to see Saint whispering to him. “Your boyfriend told you everything, didn’t he?”
Jack took a sip of his beer. “Yes, he did. And whatever Saint just told him, I’ll probably know by the time we leave here.
” He shrugged, a big lovesick puppy smile on his face.
“Fitz loves love. And if he sees the potential to bring two people together who he believes belong together, he will meddle because he’s always right. Always .”
Val sighed. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I told him nothing could happen between us, and I had every intention of standing my ground.”
Jack didn’t even bother to hide his smile. “How’d that go for you?”
“I folded like a house of cards, Jack. It was like I didn’t even try. I kissed him, and he kissed me back, and then that led to other things….”
“Other things.” Jack gave him a knowing smile. “And how did he handle those…other things?”
“Like it was no big deal.”
“Maybe it wasn’t.”
“He’d never been with a man before. Hell, he’d been with the same woman since high school. Before any of this happened, I pushed him. Asked him if we were dating, if he’d introduce me to his family as his boyfriend, but he couldn’t respond.”
“Maybe he just needs time to think about it, figure it all out.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. That he’ll realize he’s made a mistake or that he’s not ready for a relationship with a guy.” Val swallowed hard. “And that by then, it’ll be too late. I’m already falling for him.”
Jack’s smile was sympathetic. “I get it, and if it were anyone other than Saint, I would have told you to tread lightly, but Saint is a good, level-headed guy. He’s not the kind of person who rushes into something without having thought a good deal about it, especially when there’s a possibility he might hurt someone he cares about. ”
His friend wasn’t wrong. Deep down, it was probably the reason he’d gone with his gut and not put a stop to things from the beginning.
Val cared about Saint and trusted him. As if he knew Val was thinking of him, Saint lifted his head, a gorgeous smile spreading across his face.
He winked at Val, then went back to listening to Ryden.
Jack patted Val’s shoulder. “I have a feeling things are going to work out.”
“Thanks.”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to go rescue your not-yet-boyfriend from my nosy-yet-beautiful boyfriend.”
Val chuckled as Jack went off, though Val suspected it wasn’t so much about saving Saint as it was about getting to wrap his arms around Fitz and sneak in a kiss.
A loud boom went off, and glass shattered, but it wasn’t until Saint shouted for everyone to get down that Val hit the floor, along with the other guys who covered whichever civilian was closest to them. Val could see Saint had Leo covered from his position on the floor.
The windows exploded, bullets pinged off the brick walls, pieces of brick shot off, and dust and debris fell in all directions. The food on the table went everywhere. What was left of the cake exploded. The gunfire was followed by shouts and the screeching of tires. Then silence.
“No one get up,” Ace ordered as he ran in a crouch to one of the windows. He peeked out. “Clear.”
“Is everyone okay?” Val called out as he got to his feet, his heart pounding in his ears. What the fuck had just happened?
“Oh god. No.”
Val turned, his blood freezing to ice at the distraught words. Both relief and horror flooded Val at once when he met Saint’s gaze.
Everyone was not okay.
Leo had been hit.