Chapter 40 Jude
As I follow Carter and Keegan to the medical suite, I pull out my phone.
JUDE
Send me your file on Javi—and don’t try to say you don’t have one. I know you and Hol would have put one together as soon as you heard his name.
LEANDRO
He’s harmless.
JUDE
Not what I asked. File. Now.
Instead of replying, I get a notification from the Council’s secure network that Hollis, Leandro, and H have been building since we moved.
Good. As much as I still want to stab Leandro for putting my Bel Fiore in danger, I am glad the mimic is on our side, and that he listens, sometimes.
When it interests him. Hell, maybe Leandro is one of the people Javi wants to study.
I’d love to see which one of them dies first.
Switching text threads, I send a message to my Boys.
JUDE
I expect all three of you to be ready for me by the time my meetings are done. Don’t worry about dinner, I’ll arrange it with the kitchen.
I get three Yes, Sirs back, along with a string of emojis from Nario, which makes me smile.
My Angelo is always ready for whatever fun the four of us can have.
He and Nicolo together…there’s something special about their bond, and exploring it as I take them apart has become my favorite thing. They truly are my shining stars.
As for Antonio…well, the Bel Fiore has captured my attention from the beginning.
And it’s for him and Hollis that I’m willing to give this Javi asshole a chance.
If he can help, can ease my lovers’ minds in a way nothing and no one else has been able to…
then I’m willing to at least hear him out.
Doesn’t mean I won’t be watching his every move.
We find Doc and Soren in the break room they created, and both of them look up as we enter.
“So,” Carter says slowly. “We met with Javi just now.”
Doc leans back in his chair and grins, that stupid, smug ass smile that he gets whenever he knows he’s right about something. I settle my hand at my hip where my knife is holstered, noting that Soren tracks the movement.
“And? How’d it go? Do I need to catch the first flight to Brazil to escape Ely’s wrath because his parts are strewn all over the city, or is he getting settled in?”
Carter sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, which has Keegan reaching for him. Soren gives Doc a look and his hand disappears beneath the table—I’m assuming to give Doc some kind of silent warning.
“He knew things about us,” Keegan says. “About our sons. Marcus and I making Carter a part of us, and him becoming one of Cole’s fathers? That is not public knowledge.”
Doc shrugs. “He’s thorough. He likes to do his research before walking into a situation.
It’s fine, I promise, he’s…well, not harmless, but his intentions are good.
You trusted me to get Lio and Hollis the help they need, and this is me doing that.
Dr. Ranlen signed off on allowing me to make the decision, because she knows I have everyone’s best interest at heart.
” And probably because she already has one foot out the door.
“Yes, he’s a little…unorthodox, but trust me, any of the other fuckers either of us went to school with, or who are in the field currently, will not be so willing to help out.
Yes, we could acquire one like how Allesandro acquired Benjamin, but considering the…
delicate situation we find ourselves in, I wouldn’t trust them to do what’s right. ”
Carter lets out another sigh and leans further into Keegan, trusting his Dom to hold him upright. “I fucking hate when you use logic,” he mutters.
Doc snorts. “Just…give him a chance. Between him and Stanley, who is starting at the beginning of next week, by the way—I thought it would be good to give both Lio and Roman a few days to settle first—I trust they’ll get Lio and Hollis level again.”
“Oh, no,” I say in a particularly sadistic tone. “It’s not just Hol and Emilio who Javi wants as his…test subjects. He has a whole fucking briefcase full of file folders. I’m pretty sure I saw your name on one of the labels, Doc…”
I take pleasure in the way the doctor blanches, but it’s not enough to stifle the ire currently burning through me.
“I’m trusting you with my loves, and I swear to fuck, Doc, if Roman wasn’t on the Council, I’d kidnap them all and we’d go somewhere very fucking far away from here.
So you better hope this guy is worth gambling your life over, because if he fucks with their heads… ”
I don’t care about Javi’s pointed comment about me. My past is the past. Yes, my mother fucked me up, along with the rest of my family, but I took care of that when I looked them in the eye as their life drained from them. So he can poke and prod all he wants, but he’s going to end up disappointed.
I might be Ten and Hollis’s Little Lamb, but in no way does that make me weak or incapable.
Javi, Doc, and any other of the mental health professionals they bring in, will be in for a rude awakening if they think they can steamroll over me.
I’ve played quiet and docile for too long already, allowing myself to be put into a box, but now that I’ve found my footing with my lovers?
I won’t sit back while someone tries to play Operation with my head.
“Javi mentioned a fleet of therapists…” Carter says cautiously.
Doc shrugs. “I figured he would have a list. He’s right that this will probably take more than one person. After all, Hollis and Lio aren't the only ones who need to be in therapy, but Roman, Allesandro, and Cristian as well.”
I laugh harshly. “If you think Roman is going to see a therapist… After what happened with Tennant? You’re lucky Hollis loves us enough to want to get better and doesn’t refuse.”
“Roman doesn’t get a choice,” Doc snaps.
He looks to Carter for support. “I love Roman, you know I do. Hell, I was in the room when he was born because Cristian didn’t trust the hospital staff.
But I think we can all admit he…struggles with emotional regulation at times.
I’m not saying it’s bad to have emotions, far from it; I think it’s what makes Roman such a good Boss.
However, there’s something deeper there, paired with his low self-esteem and this current depressive episode, and I think we will be remiss to not seek further help.
“Do I expect it to be easy or normal?” Doc shakes his head. “Not at all. None of you fuckers are normal, and I think you could spend years in therapy and still not get close to society’s definition of the word, but I do believe it’ll help us all in the long run.”
Carter lets out a breath. “Okay. We’ll try it. But if I find his methods to be too…unethical, I’m killing him myself. I don’t care if that makes me a hypocrite.”
“Fair.” Doc inclines his head.
“If we’re done here, I have places to be, but I will be watching.”
Pretending I don’t hear Carter trying to stop me, I leave the medical suite entirely. He and Keegan are capable of dealing with the nit-picky shit that comes with bringing a new person into the household. I am…done.
Too much has happened in such a short period of time—from the original Bosses’ kidnapping to everything that’s transpired over the past week, and I’m just done.
Right now, I have my Boys waiting for me, and I plan on wearing all four of us out before cuddling with my Sweetheart, because Daddy cuddles aren’t just for the Boy, and I’m not ashamed to say I need them.
Everything else can wait. Nothing will ever be more important than those who’ve managed to get under my skin, and I’ll make sure they all know it, one way or another.