CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Lucas
HE’D BEEN given another week off work after everything that went down with Kuroki and to recover from his barely-existing injury. While it sounded nice in theory, he’d spent most of it worrying about the outcome of Gemma’s case and Akio’s state of mind. Neither of them had gotten out of that shit show without more scars to the soul but at least it seemed Akio had finally let go of his guilt. Most of it, anyway.
He’d hated the days Akio had gone home with Diesel and Chris, unable to sleep without the man next to him, without hearing his soft breaths and feeling his warmth against him. The apartment was so empty without him and all he’d been able to do was stare at that broken window that still needed replacing. At least Edmunds had made sure the place was free of bodies and blood before they’d returned home.
When he’d opened his door and found Akio on the other side, he hadn’t gotten a word out before Akio tackled him and they ended up on the floor, just holding onto each other for a long time. They had cried as much as they had laughed, relieved that it was all over and they got to start their life together for real.
As much time as they had spent in bed, Akio had spent double that on catching up on his missed classes. He had decided yesterday that today was the day he returned to college. He’d only been gone for a few hours when the doorbell rang, which was why Lucas was frowning as he headed down the hallway.
He opened the door and blinked at his coworkers. Mo had a six-pack in each hand and was grinning as he pushed past Lucas to step into the apartment. Evan was carrying an armful of pizza boxes while Tahir had a grocery bag he suspected was filled with sugary shit. He nearly keeled over when he saw Sanchez standing behind them.
“What are you guys doing here?”
Tahir scrunched up his face and said, “What’s it look like? We’re taking care of you.”
Lucas’ mouth dropped open though no words found him.
Mo placed a hand on Lucas’ shoulder, a soft smile on his lips.
“You’re always making sure everyone’s okay. We figured with Gemma gone, it was up to us to make sure you’re okay. Sorry we’re a little late on that front.”
Just the sound of her name had his stomach squeezing. He wished he could’ve done more. That he could’ve seen what was going on in time to at least save her career.
“You really didn’t have to,” he muttered.
“Hey, we all have our thing,” Mo said with a shrug.
“And this is supposed to be my thing?”
Mo grinned. “ Your thing is human contact.”
He blinked at Mo as a lot of things fell into place for him. He’d never really thought about what his thing was. He’d never had a physical thing like Mo’s mugs or Tahir’s socks because his thing was people . It was contact. It had been Gemma’s and his friendship. It was Akio. And now, it seemed, it was becoming the rest of his team as well.
He knew better than to complain.
“Kitchen?” Mo asked, holding up the six packs.
Lucas motioned in the general direction and watched as Tahir and Evan followed Mo. He took a breath before turning to face Sanchez.
He shook the man’s hand and said, “Sir, if you’re here under duress, you don’t have to stay.”
He didn’t expect Sanchez to smile or grasp his hand with both of his.
“I’m not. I wanted to be here for you, Davis.”
A smile tugged at his lips.
“Thank you, Sir.”
“I’m working with the DOJ and OPR to ensure Gemma gets the best outcome possible.”
Words clogged his throat and all he could do was nod. Gemma had impeded investigations and conspired with criminals, and though it had been under duress, that only helped her so far. Sanchez having her back was good, though. Last he’d spoken to Gemma, she’d told him she didn’t care what happened to her because her niece was home and safe.
He knew exactly what she meant. There was nothing he wouldn’t do, no laws he wouldn’t break, to keep Akio safe. He would tear down the world for him. It was why he’d gone into his bank box to retrieve his parents’ wedding bands earlier today. They were simple bands of gold, the smaller one with three in-set diamonds. He wanted to put that ring on Akio’s finger immediately, but he had to go get both rings resized before he got on his knee. He wanted that ring to slide onto Akio’s finger with ease.
He hadn’t even considered his parents’ rings with Chris. He’d bought something new. With Akio, though? Their history was important to them both so he knew how much Akio would appreciate Lucas including him in his.
Noise from the living room startled him and he was surprised when Sanchez reached out to squeeze his shoulder and motioned with a tilt of his head to get him walking.
He led the way to the living room and the absolute carnage they stepped into had him rolling his eyes. He had a feeling that today would be a long day, but he would end up enjoying it despite himself.