CHAPTER TWENTY
Lucas
HIS JAW hurt like hell though not as much as the disappointment and betrayal he’d seen in Diesel’s eyes. He hadn’t entered into a relationship with Akio with the intent of hurting anyone, but he’d known Chris and Diesel would take it as such. He hated Diesel’s comparison between Chris and Akio. He hadn’t tried to take Chris from Diesel four years ago. He’d thought Chris was single and he’d wanted a second chance with him. Diesel made it sound like he was only after sex but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’d loved Akio long before he’d become attracted to him.
He was following Diesel and Akio down the stairs, Chris close behind him, and he wasn’t surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder and was brought to a stop. He spared a glance toward Akio before turning to meet Chris’ scrutinizing gaze.
He could see the conflicted feelings in the man’s gray eyes. It couldn’t be easy for Chris, either. The man he’d once promised to marry was involved with the man he considered a son. It was one hell of a messy situation. Should he have known better? Should he have stayed away from Akio? Probably. The only problem with that was that he didn’t want to. He wanted to be with Akio. He wanted to be the one who made him laugh. The one who brought him pleasure and made him feel loved and needed. The one who made him feel whole.
“What are you doing?” Chris asked, his voice low but sharp. “Please tell me it’s real and not some stupid…”
Lucas licked his lips and nodded.
“It’s real. I love him, Chris.”
Chris’ eyes widened and for a heartbeat or two, he didn’t move at all, stunned by Lucas’ words.
“I once told you I made a mistake in choosing the Bureau over you,” he said, grabbing Chris’ hand to squeeze it in apology, “I don’t think I did. You might not have found Diesel. You might’ve gotten yourself killed trying to find your brother’s killer because you wouldn’t have had Diesel.”
Chris’ jaw clenched and unclenched though he didn’t say a word.
“I know this might hurt to hear, but I will never choose the Bureau over Akio.”
They stared at each other for what felt like minutes but was likely only seconds considering Diesel hadn’t come back for them yet.
“Good,” Chris said with a sharp nod and started walking again, moving ahead of Lucas down the stairs.
They didn’t find Akio and Diesel until they stepped out of the building and into the parking lot. There were two bikes parked in front of his car. Diesel stood with a helmet in one hand while he talked to Akio who shook his head, glancing up to catch Lucas’ gaze.
Relief spread on Akio’s face and as he exhaled deeply, his shoulders slumping.
“Just put the damn helmet on,” Diesel snapped.
Akio jerked around, glaring at his brother as he said, “I’m not riding with you,” and then he walked to the passenger side of Lucas’ car, hand on the handle as he waited for Lucas to unlock the car.
While Akio got in the car, Lucas passed Diesel, acutely aware of the seething rage in the man’s eyes. Diesel didn’t stop him, though, and as he got behind the wheel, Diesel and Chris straddled their bikes and pulled their helmets on. He checked that Akio had buckled in before pulling out after the bikes, following them out of the parking lot to the road.
“You okay?” he asked and glanced at Akio out of the corner of his eye.
Akio motioned at Lucas’ face. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
“I’ll take this over a bullet wound.”
Akio crossed his arms and dropped back in his seat with a huff.
“That’s not funny.”
No. It wasn’t.
He reached across the console and within seconds, he had Akio’s hand in his. He gave it a soft squeeze and rested their hands on his thigh. He kept them there as he drove, following the two bikes through the city.
He didn’t think he’d seen the house they pulled up in front of before, but the street name sounded familiar for some reason.
They stepped out of the car, and he ran his gaze across their surroundings, assessing their safety and exits. It wasn’t exactly an FBI safehouse, but it would do for now. At least three out of the four of them were armed. Not that he wanted to give Akio a gun. The last time he’d held one…
He shook his head and went to the trunk to grab his go-bag he always had stored there. He had another gun and a few magazines in there along with some clothes. They hadn’t had time to grab any for Akio from the apartment though he supposed it didn’t really matter seeing as Akio preferred to wear his clothes.
He pulled the strap of the bag over his shoulder and turned to see Diesel and Chris dismounting their bikes.
The front door of the house burst open and none other than Maggie came running down the steps, heading straight for Akio who looked as surprised and confused as Lucas felt when his best friend tackled him in a bear hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Maggie gushed, then pulled back, eyes wide and fear shining in them. “ Are you okay?”
Lucas was fully aware of the man waiting for them in the doorway, that smug smile making him clench his hands into fists. Despite how satisfying it would be to slam his fist into Ryder’s face, he wasn’t about to do something that stupid with Chris and Diesel around. Or Akio, for that matter.
Maggie spared him a glare before tugging Akio toward the house.
Lucas sighed and followed.
Ryder shook Diesel and Chris’ hands and stepped back to let them inside the house. They must’ve called him when they left the parking lot to get this address because he realized it was Ryder’s house, and his research into the Rebels MC was the reason he recognized the street name.
Ryder took one look at Lucas’ bruised cheek and grinned at him.
“It’s not like that, huh?”
Lucas didn’t answer. There was no point.
Akio looked between them, his brows pinched in confusion.
“Hi, Ry,” Akio said, smiling softly at the man.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
There was no stopping his hand from going to the gun at his hip, nor was there any stopping Akio and Maggie from seeing it. Maggie rolled her eyes while Akio stared at Lucas, his mouth falling open.
“ Ooh .” Akio snapped his gaze back onto Ryder. “ That’s what that was. In my dorm room.”
“Idiots,” Maggie muttered and tugged Akio with her into the house, poking Ryder in the chest on her way past him.
There was a tick in Ryder’s jaw as he gazed after her.
“She’s mad at me because she thinks I’m responsible for Akio being in danger,” Ryder said, giving Lucas a pointed stare.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you wanted to get shot.”
Ryder put his hands up, his wry smile grating on Lucas’ nerves.
He walked past Ryder into the house and followed the voices into a spacious living room with two gray couches and a big TV on the wall above the fireplace. Maggie and Akio were holding hands, and it looked like Maggie was practically hanging onto Akio who kept shooting glances between Chris and Diesel, the two of them seemingly carrying a silent conversation.
He heard Ryder walk up behind him and stepped aside to let the man pass him.
Akio met Lucas’ gaze and after a moment of staring at each other, Akio seemed to relax a bit as he turned to Chris and Diesel.
“How did you know I was with Lucas?”
Chris and Diesel shared a look, small matching smiles on their faces.
“We were going to your dorm to surprise you. We wanted to be there for your birthday. You obviously weren’t there so we called Maggie to not spoil the surprise by having to call you. She told us you were with Lucas,” Chris said, his smile fading instantly. “We got to the apartment just in time to hear the gunfight.”
“Who wants you dead?” Ryder asked, brows raised at Lucas.
Lucas shared a glance with Akio who nodded.
“A trafficking ring,” he said, throat closing up at the haunted look entering Akio’s eyes. “It was… It used to be Yokota’s ring.”
Diesel’s nose flared as he sucked in a breath. “The fuck do you mean?”
“One of his men took over after…” Akio trailed off and Lucas understood him not wanting to say the words. He wasn’t sure how much Maggie knew anyway but what she had seen and heard already wasn’t exactly good for any of them. Then again, she was seeing the vice president of an outlaw motorcycle club. He figured she would keep her mouth shut. If not for her own sake, then for Akio’s.
“Do you know who?”
“We’d been trying to figure that out for years. It took Akio to identify him,” Lucas said, fully expecting the ire in the glare Diesel gave him. “His name is Daichi Kuroki.”
Diesel went completely still, his eyes taking on an unseeing look.
“You knew him?” Chris asked, hand on his husband’s arm.
Diesel nodded almost absentmindedly. “He was the son of Yokota’s right-hand man. We… we spent a lot of time together as kids.”
The silence that ensued felt like it was starting to choke him.
“I should call my ASAC. Let him know what happened.”
He didn’t much like being considered a fugitive or whatever else they might label him once they got news of the bodies at his apartment.
“Here.” Chris handed him a phone. “It’s untraceable.”
“Thanks.”
He walked out onto the patio, resting his elbows on the railing as he ran his gaze across the green backyard, the trees wide and tall. There was a lounge area with a big couch and a brick fireplace. It was…nice. Not exactly what he expected from Ryder but, then again, he’d learned four years ago that criminals weren’t always what they seemed.
He called Edmunds’ private phone and tried not to hold his breath as he listened to the dial tone.
“Edmunds.”
“It’s Davis,” he said, trying to keep his emotions out of his voice. “Kuroki’s men attacked me in my home.”
“Fucking hell, Davis.” Edmunds was silent for a second, some rustling of clothes coming through the phone. “Yeah, we heard about the shootout. Thought I was gonna find your body there.”
“I’m good.”
“Alright. Why don’t you meet me at my office?”
“I… can’t.”
“What the hell do you mean?”
He could hear the mistrust seeping into Edmunds’ voice, and he couldn’t blame the man.
“They knew where I lived, Edmunds. Someone told them.”
“You think…? Fuck.”
“I’m not going anywhere near the field office. Not while someone’s trying to kill me.”
He heard a groan and then what sounded like Edmunds’ dropping into a chair.
“I hear you, Davis. I’ll see if I can plug the leak from this side. Do me a favor, though? Look into it, too?”
He had to swallow against the lump of emotion clogging his throat. “You’re trusting me?”
“Davis… I’ve seen you with our victims. There’s no fucking way you’d ever be on the opposite side of this. So, yes, I trust you.”
“Thank you, Sir.”