24. Vail
24
VAIL
There was a lot of grumbling on the way to JJ’s house. Lots of Jordan looking out the windows of the SUV, waiting for someone to attack us. We had Albert behind the wheel with Raiden riding up front. Julia and Ava were in the seat behind us. In the SUV in front of us were Sheldon, Reghan and Vincent while in the SUV behind us were Oleander, Barry, Raiden, and Kayli. Jordan wouldn’t let Sheldon and Oleander ride together. It was another part of their punishment. I was surprised Barry was coming with us, but Jordan wanted as many men as he could trust.
I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I hated seeing them miserable and Hartley too. He kept apologizing not only about talking to Lane behind Jordan’s back, but also for saying he’d leave. Jordan still stewed but kept putting his arms around Hartley and telling him it was fine, especially after Hartley said he’d marry us.
Married, or rather we were having a commitment ceremony. Whatever, I didn’t care what term we used. I couldn’t believe it. They were going to be mine more than they already were. We had to pick out rings and set a date. Jordan said he wanted people we cared about there and asked if we’d like to have the ceremony on top of his building during sunset over the summer. It sounded wonderful to both Hartley and me.
We decided not to tell many yet. There was still a lot going on that needed to be taken care of with the Everharts. Plus, tonight was for Ava, not us.
“We shouldn’t have left Dremest,” Jordan muttered as he continued to look out the window.
“We’re not that far out of the city,” I reminded him. We weren’t in it, but it wasn’t like we drove for hours once we left the boundary of West Dremest. “Dex, Greer, and JJ would fight alongside you if need be.”
Julia cleared her throat behind us, a good reminder not to speak of violence in front of Ava. I was grateful for Julia. Not only did she watch out for Ava, but she gave us subtle reminders to pay attention to what we said. Sheldon did too. Even though Jordan was pissed at him, Sheldon still looked out for Ava and what was spoken about in her presence. He also wouldn’t hesitate to calm Jordan down if need be.
We pulled into the driveway, letting the guards get out first to walk around the house. The front door to the home swung open and Dexen stepped out, hands on his hips as I opened my door.
“Really, Jordan?” I heard him call. “I’d know if people were nearby with the security system Greer put on the place.”
Jordan slid out of the SUV after me. “You wouldn’t know if there was a sniper with a gun trained on your house from a distance.”
“And your men would? ”
“If you don’t think I have more men out there in the surrounding area, you don’t know me like you should.” Hell, I didn’t even know he had more who went ahead of us to make sure the area was safe.
When we were all out of the SUV, Dexen stepped to the side so we could go into his house. Hartley brought in JJ’s suits which Dexen took. Most of the guards would be outside, especially in the back where we were eating. Oleander and Sheldon were told to stay out front, not allowed to socialize. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Jordan to cut them a break, but if I did that, he might extend the punishment.
Olivia stood from the couch the moment we entered. Val did as well with a scowl in place. I wasn’t very close with him, but I knew him. He was shorter and lean. I didn’t doubt he could fight. He wasn’t Xaiden Dremest’s partner without knowing how to handle himself. Corbin was the gentlest of the trio. He offered us a kind smile and his hand.
“It’s so nice to see you,” he said as his eyes went over all of us. His smile didn’t falter as he got to Jordan, which was good to see. Corbin stepped closer to Ava and held out his hand. “You must be Ava. I’m Corbin Dremest and these are my partners, Val and Xaiden. I’d say not to let them intimidate you, but you live with Jordan, so I bet you’re good at dealing with moody men.” He winked.
I didn’t miss Jordan’s cocked eyebrow.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Ava said and shook his hand. Her voice was smaller and more hesitant than normal, which I expected. Luckily JJ, Greer, and Dexen were out back now as not to completely overwhelm her. Ava had quite a few people to meet.
“This is our daughter, Olivia. Feel free to go off with her and ignore the rest of us tonight. We can be a bit much when we’re together.”
Olivia stepped next to Corbin. There was resemblance between her and her brother, Cody. She had the same curly brown hair but hers was long, pulled back in a low ponytail tonight. She was older than Ava. With that came a lot of knowledge and experience after what she’d been through. “Hi. I’m glad you could come. Want to head out back so we don’t have to watch Val stare Jordan down while Corbin and Vail try to get everyone to play nice?” Olivia had our number. That was what happened when she lived with Dremests.
“Yes, please.”
“Come on. Uncle Dex has food we can snack on outside.”
I smiled as they went through the kitchen out the sliding door to the patio.
“Thank you,” I said to Xaiden, Corbin, and Val. “I know you’re not friendly with Jordan, but this means a lot to us and to Ava. It will be good to have someone who understands what she’s going through better than we do.”
“Ignore Val,” Corbin laughed and put his arm around Val’s shoulders.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Val grumbled.
I put my arm around Jordan’s waist. “I’d tell you to ignore Jordan but that’s impossible.”
“I don’t know,” Val said. “I could achieve it.”
“Enough,” JJ said entering the living room. “No fighting in my house unless I start it. Since you left the creepy one out front, I’m happy. What’s up, old man?” He gave his father an up nod. “Ready to slit Val’s throat yet? There’s no blood to be spilled on my carpet.”
“As always, it’s lovely to be in your home,” Jordan replied drolly .
“Yeah, well, I aim to please.” JJ gripped the back of Val’s neck, giving him a little shake. “Would you chill? I told you we’re all cool here.”
“You might forget, but I don’t.” Val continued to glare at Jordan. I was about to say something when Hartley smoothly slid in front of Jordan.
“Can we stop posturing?” he asked with a forced smile. “I get that we don’t love each other, and we don’t need to, but I’m a pretty happy guy and we’re not here to see whose dick is bigger. We’re here for Ava and Olivia. If Jordan and Greer can play nice, you and Jordan can as well. K?” I had to resist planting a kiss on Hartley. I loved when he got assertive.
“I agree with Hartley,” Xaiden said. He didn’t talk as much as his partners, but he saw and heard everything. Xaiden had a quiet strength I admired. He would speak up and get into the thick of things, if need be, but he wasn’t nearly as irritated as Val was to be in Jordan’s presence. “We’re here for the girls. We’ll be friendly. We’re also aware of the new threat to you, Jordan, so while we wanted to get the girls together, we’re not exactly thrilled about the risk.”
“We agreed it was minimal with the amount of people we knew you’d bring with you,” Corbin said, his smile still in place. At least his was genuine.
“I’d sooner die than let anyone harm my son, partners, or Ava,” Jordan said firmly. “I understand the threat and am doing what I can to find and eliminate it. I’m honestly fucking tired of the bullshit and just want my family to thrive and be happy.”
“We know.” I pressed a kiss to Jordan’s cheek.
“Dinner!” Greer called through the screen door into the kitchen. “I hope you like beef because I made a fuck ton of it. ”
“Lovely,” Xaiden said sarcastically. “I can’t wait.”
“Don’t worry, I have a chicken breast for you.”
Xaiden turned and led us through the kitchen to the patio. “You didn’t have to cook specially for me, Greer.”
“Please,” he scoffed, “You’re family. Now get over here and help me plate this.”
Xaiden chuckled. “Just like family to put me to work.”
“You know it.”
I enjoyed listening to them talk. It was like hanging out with my sister. While Xaiden and Greer weren’t blood brothers, they’d known each other for a long time before Greer ever got with Dexen and JJ.
Dexen walked to Greer and smacked his ass. “Would you leave my brother alone? Wait, never mind. Put him to work.” Dexen grinned and spun away before Xaiden could make a move.
I helped bring plates to the table while Val and Jordan kept themselves a smart distance apart when they sat. Ava and Olivia were huddled on a swing in the backyard. They stood to come over, but I told them to grab food and go back to talking. The whole point of tonight was to bring them together.
Ava’s smile was big as she talked with Olivia. This was hopefully the start of a good friendship between them. I wouldn’t force them to hang out again if they didn’t get along, but thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.
When I took a seat next to Jordan, Hartley was already putting more food on Jordan’s plate, saying he didn’t take enough. Jordan’s shoulders relaxed as he sighed. To most it probably sounded like Jordan was irritated, but I knew it was a happy sigh, a content one because Hartley was taking care of him. And when Jordan’s plate was deemed full enough, Hartley turned his attention to me.
“You don’t have enough to eat either,” he said with a frown. “What’s with you two? This is great cookout food. Eat up. We don’t have a grill at home. Hey, that’s a good idea. We have plenty of outdoor space. We should have a big cookout this summer for everyone in the building.”
“I love that idea,” I told him. I could make side dishes and desserts and various meats. I could even get a smoker. There was no doubt Irene would want to help too. It would be a lot of fun.
“Maybe,” Jordan conceded.
“Oh, whatever,” Hartley laughed. “We’ll have one. Vail and I always get our way.”
“That you do.”
“Vail, you’re missing a burger or two,” Hartley pointed out. I’d taken a few strips of steak and some macaroni salad. Hartley had added more to my plate.
The moment the first taste of the macaroni hit my tongue; I was certain who made it. “You couldn’t make your own sides, Dex?” I asked. He was my boss, but also a great friend. I didn’t worry about losing my job for being a smart-ass.
“Did you really think I was in the house today cooking instead of working at the club? Your brother-in-law offered. I didn’t ask him.”
“All you had to do was say you were having people over and Dana would have volunteered. I’m surprised he didn’t offer to cater it.”
“He knows by now how much Greer loves to grill. Besides, he thought you’d cave and bring food too.”
“I was going to but kept getting talked out of it.” I sent looks to Jordan and Hartley. That was exactly what they did, made sure I didn’t make food to bring with us.
Hartley grinned. “It always tastes better when someone else makes it.”
“You’re not wrong.” I scooped another forkful of macaroni salad and made a mental note to ask Dana what he put in this batch because it had the perfect tang to it.