38. Luca
CHAPTER 38
LUCA
So, this was what Dom drop felt like? 10/10 did not recommend. I was in a fucking fog. I had no idea how Maverick managed to get us all into the house, but I had never been more grateful for him than I was at the moment.
He brought us through the back, where we already had water, soda, Gatorade, baby wipes, and basic first aid set up and ready to go. We had dragged all the pillows and cushions in the room as well and had covered them with sheets to protect them from any dirt or bodily fluids. I just stared.
Maverick’s big hand cupped my cheek and forced me to look at him. He still had Brooks hanging on him and was keeping him in place with one hand under his still exposed ass.
“Luc, you with me, babe?”
I blinked a few times. I had to get it together. I couldn’t let this all fall on Maverick. Skye and Brooks both needed aftercare. We all needed to get clean.
“Y-yeah.”
“Good. Don’t fall apart on me yet, okay? They need you.”
I straightened my shoulders, willing that fog that was threatening to pull at my brain to dissipate. “I’m good. I’m okay.”
He squeezed my cheek. “Yes, you are. I don’t think Brooks is going anywhere. Can you take care of Skye?”
“Of course.”
Maverick watched me for another second before nodding and turning his attention on Brooks. I looked at Skye, knowing he deserved my entire focus.
He smiled sleepily at me. “Maverick really did a number on you, huh?” I lightly touched a bruise on jaw.
“So good. I’m so fucking sore.”
Okay, let’s take care of you, love.”
I helped Skye get his muddy, torn clothes off, and once he was naked, I grabbed one of the water bottles, a towel, and a pack of baby wipes. I guided him to one of the towels on the floor and began getting the worst of the caked-on mud and dirt and blood off him, careful to clean out any cuts I saw. We’d wash for real later.
Skye swayed and I steadied him. “Easy now, baby. I got you. Few more minutes and you can relax.”
“Mmmkay.”
Once he was clean enough, I brought him to the pillows and helped him lie face down. Then I stripped out of my clothes and did my own clean up. I had my own fair share of scrapes and bruises I didn’t want to get infected. None of us bothered with clothes or cleaning up the back room. I’d do it tomorrow.
For now, I just grabbed one of the tubs of arnica cream and knelt next to Skye.
“Let me look at your hole.” He just mumbled, half asleep.
I made quick work of examining it, red but nothing torn, since Mav knew what he was doing, and put cream there and a few other places that looked particularly sore. I glanced over and Maverick was doing the same to Brooks, whispering to him.
“Let’s just get them in bed,” he told me quietly. “Everything else can wait.”
I agreed. I honestly didn’t know how much longer I could stand on my own two feet anyway. I was slowly drowning and just hoped that I could hang on long enough to fall apart privately.
We managed to get the boys in the bed and settled in between us. I tried not to think too much about the fact that Brooks went right back to Maverick, snuggling into him with his back to me. It . . . didn’t matter. He was getting the comfort and care he needed, and I had Skye draped over me with a happy smile on his face.
“Get some rest, honey.”
“You too, Boss. You look wrecked.”
I snorted but kissed the side of his head and held tight.
I managed not to fall apart. At least not until both Skye and Brooks were sound asleep. And then I crashed.
I heard Maverick slip out of bed but squeezed my eyes shut. He should be getting rest and focusing on the boys, not me. I’d brought this on myself. I’d promised all my men I’d do better. I’d promised Brooks I wanted something real with him and then had immediately shut them all out. I wasn’t being the Dom they deserved. The boyfriend they deserved. Fuck. I was barely being the boss they deserved. I was letting my stress and frustration get the best of me.
Even earlier today, Brooks had tried to kneel for me while I’d been working and I’d made him leave. Why? It would have been so simple to allow him to rest on my thigh while I worked. It was all he’d asked for and I couldn’t even give him that. No wonder he’d broken down like that. I’d had no fucking business doing that scene with him.
Mav’s rough digit wiped one of my tears away. I pried my eyes open to look at him. He was kneeling next to me, and I could just make out his sharp jawline and the intense look in his eyes in the hallway light coming in from under the door.
“There’s someone who wants to talk to you,” he whispered and held up his phone. I nearly broke down and cried when Wes’s concerned face filled the screen.
I glanced at Maverick. “You need your best friend now.” He leaned over and kissed me, showing all the love and support he had for me.
“Thank you.” My voice was gruff.
“Do you want me to come with you?”
I appreciated it, but I wanted him to stay with the boys. “This is enough. Thank you, babe. I love you.”
“I love you too. It’ll be okay.”
I sure fucking hoped so. I slid out of the bed, taking Mav’s phone with me and quietly leaving the room. But I didn’t make it far, sinking against the wall and to the floor right outside the bedroom door.
“Luca, talk to me, darling.”
I shook my head. “Wes—” My voice broke.
“Luc, what happened? I’m here, babe, whatever it is.”
I started talking and then just couldn’t stop. Between crying jags and with halts and stops, I told Wes everything, and he listened like he always did. At some point, Maverick came out and sat with me. By the time I was done, it was nearly daylight. I was exhausted and sore and fucking hollow, but I felt better, more hopeful maybe. Two of the men I loved more than anything were right here, not letting me fall on my own, and the other two were right on the other side of the door.
“Brooks loves you,” Wes told me after I finally let it all out. “He’s not going anywhere. Tell him everything you told us. You’ll be okay.”
I believed him. I had to. I’d fucked up, but it wasn’t too late. I could be the man, boyfriend, and Dom my men deserved. I wouldn’t let them down again.
When the sun started to shine through the windows, I finally stood up, my whole body aching. “Fuck, I’m too old for this shit.”
Maverick laughed. “You’re telling me. I need that warm bath immediately.”
I glanced back at the phone, where Wes was still on with me. At some point, Diego had come in the room, after I’d said it was okay, and he was dozing off on the couch next to Wes. They weren’t touching at all, but the connection between the two men was still palpable. Wes’s lids were heavy. It was now late at night back at home, but he didn’t say a word.
I smiled softly at him. “Go get some rest, love. I’m good. I promise.”
“You are good, Luc. Everything will be fine.”
“Thanks for doing this. Both of you,” I told Wes and Mav. “You don’t know how much it means to me.”
“Luc, I’d go to hell and back for you. I love you. If you need me, I’m there.”
I had to hang up before I lost it. “Get some rest and get your man to a damn bed.”
Wes just laughed. “You take care of your boys, I’ll take care of mine.”
With one last round of I love yous, I hung up and glanced at Maverick where he was leaning, eyes half closed, against the door. He looked as exhausted as I felt.
I leaned against him. “Thank you. For being there for me.”
“Always, Luc. You know that.”
“Do you think we can get a few more hours of sleep before they wake up?”
He chuckled. “I sure fucking hope so.”
We went back into the room. I smiled at my men, who had wrapped themselves around each other, the blanket tangled in between their mess of limbs. Brooks’s ass, which was still pink all these hours later, was completely exposed. Skye’s torso, and all the little cuts and marks, was also out and proud. There was no chance in hell of us untangling them, though we did try. So we just joined the cuddle pile, and within seconds, I was dozing off.
I had planned to talk to Brooks right away, but when we all started to wake up a few hours later and Brooks was still super cuddly and half in subspace, I realized it wasn’t the time. We spent the morning together, all four of us. We took a bath, two at a time. Brooks lay right on my lap, his soft dick nestled in between his legs. He was smiley and giggly, joking the whole time, but I could tell he wasn’t in the headspace for a serious conversation and a whole bunch of apologies.
Once creams were reapplied and everyone was dressed, we regrouped in the living room, where we spent the day eating junk food and watching movies and cuddling. It was perfect. The heaviness of the night before hung over us like a shadow, but by an unspoken agreement, no one discussed it. Today was about closeness.
It was hours later and we were watching Up —Maverick steadfastly denied crying during the beginning montage—when our day of peace got cut short. None of us had been on our phones much all day. Diego had called Brooks to check up on him, and Wes had texted me a few times to make sure I was okay, but besides that, we were mostly unconnected. I had a special alert on in case it was an emergency, and that was the only call I planned on answering.
But just around the time Russell showed up at Carl’s doorstep in the movie my emergency tone went off. We all fell silent, three sets of eyes falling on me as I struggled to get my phone out of my pocket with Brooks on my lap. It was Wes.
“What’s wrong?” No point beating around the bush.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Diego found something.”
Brooks sucked in a breath. Maverick leaned forward in anticipation, and Skye just looked ready to go.
“What?”
“Hi, all. B, you okay?” Diego jumped on.
“I’m good. What did you find?”
“I know who that kid is. I was able to trace him to a missing persons report. Sawyer Richards, age six, born in Seattle. Went missing from his home in south New Jersey where he had been living with his mom and grandfather. His mother believed he was taken by his father, but the cops have no proof, nor have they found any sign of him. An AMBER Alert was never issued because there was no license plate.”
“And his father?” Though, I already knew the answer.
“Damian Larsen, though his mother knew him as Damian Richards. Pictures are a match though. It’s him.”
“Motherfucker.” That was Skye.
“Luca,” Wes added. “I know Brooks said he seemed unharmed, but the mother was concerned for her son’s safety in the police reports. Claimed there were a few instances of violence, as well as stalking, that caused her to move across the country to New Jersey, and there was a restraining order against him. He had been fighting for custody, but she had been granted emergency permanent custody just weeks before he went missing.”
“And yet, the police found no proof that it was his dad?” Brooks asked, disbelieving.
“You know how it goes,” Diego responded with a shrug.
“Luc, I’m going to go down and talk to his mom today. It’s only a 2-hour ride from here, and it’s still early enough in the day where I can manage it. I think it would be beneficial to get more information.”
I agreed. My mind was whirling as I tried to lock down a plan. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. In the meantime, I’m going to call Covington again, and we’re going to come up with plan B. It’s likely safe to assume that both Sawyer’s and Matthew’s lives could be in danger, and we can no longer sit around.”
“Leave it for today, Luc,” Maverick told me, meeting my eyes across the couch. “Let Wes talk to the mom. Once we have more information, we’ll make a move.” He very purposefully eyed Brooks before looking back at me.
Brooks caught it and tried to slide off my lap. “This is important. I’m fine if you have to go work, I swear.”
Ah, shit. I tilted Brooks’s chin up and lightly kissed his lips. “Nah, Maverick is right. There’s not much we can do now anyway. It can wait until we have more information.”
“Besides—” Skye knocked into Brooks’s shoulder with a smile. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to to alert Covington anyway. Personally, I don’t trust the dude as far as I could throw him. If he has contact with Larsen, he might tip him off.”
“Good point. Okay, I’ll hold off for now. Be safe, Wes, and let us know what you find out.”
“I will. Talk to you soon.”
“Stay gold, brother.”
“Stay gold.” Wes hung up. Even though we went back to the movie and tried to relax, the peace was essentially shattered, and we all knew everything would be changing very soon.