Chapter 26 Orion
Orion
The morning meeting felt wrong without Ares—and, I realized, without Tashi too.
I sat at the head of the conference table in our executive suite, coffee growing cold in front of me, watching Leo scroll through his phone with that distracted look that meant he was already solving three problems at once.
He and I had been up most of the night making sure the guests didn’t notice anything amiss, while an ordnance crew Neville brought in searched the hotel.
Either of us was ready to pull the fire alarm if we thought the guests were in danger.
“Where’s Ares?” I asked, checking my watch. Seven a.m. We always met at seven.
“Remember? You sent him to rest after his fourth painful groan. He’s with Tashi.” Leo didn’t look up from his screen. “She was worried about him after his beating and insisted he sleep with her last night to make sure he was okay.”
“Oh, did she?” The words came out sharper than I intended.
Leo’s eyes flicked up, one eyebrow raised. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
“No.”
Leo gave me a pointed glance.
“Yes,” I admitted. “Fine. Yes.”
“Brother, we don’t have room for jealousy here.” Leo set down his phone, his expression serious now. “You know that. We agreed—”
“Are you telling me you’re okay with everything?” I challenged. “Completely fine with sharing her attention, her time, her—”
“Why are you backpedaling?” Leo interrupted. “You were the one who insisted that we either go poly together or not at all. That was your speech, remember? In the conference room after the board meeting?”
“I’m not. It’s just that—” I stopped, frustrated with myself for even mentioning it. “I want some alone time with her too. Is that so wrong?”
“Of course not.” Leo’s voice came out less harsh. “I want alone time with Tashi too. But you have to give her a break and let things evolve naturally. We’re not easy guys to live with.”
The door opened before I could respond.
Ares walked in with Tashi, his arm around her waist. He moved stiffly—yesterday’s drubbing still evident in his careful movements—but there was something protective and possessive in the way he held her. Tashi looked worried, her eyes scanning his face like she was checking for new injuries.
The knot in my chest tightened.
“Morning,” Ares said, guiding Tashi to a chair before sitting down himself with a barely concealed wince.
“How are you feeling?” Leo asked.
“Like I got hit by a truck.” Ares accepted the coffee Tashi poured for him. “But alive. Thanks to you finding me.”
I pushed down the irrational surge of jealousy and focused on what mattered. “The bomb threat. What’s the status?”
“Neville’s ordnance team worked all night, sweeping the ballroom, the Selene Room, all public spaces, mechanical rooms, and support structures. Found nothing.”
“Nothing?” I leaned forward. “You’re sure?”
“They’re professionals. Former military. If there were explosives planted, they would have found them.”
“So how will he do this?” I demanded. “You told us they would bomb the hotel during the gala tonight. You heard them planning it.”
“That’s the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question,” Ares said.
“Is it?” The words came out sharp. “Don’t you think you should be part of this search instead of snuggling up with Tashi?”
The room went silent.
Ares’s expression went cold. “Now wait a minute—”
“Orion, what’s wrong?” Tashi interrupted, looking between us with growing alarm. “What’s really wrong?”
“Besides a bomb threat?” I stood up, unable to sit still anymore. “Someone’s trying to kill us tonight and we have no idea how? Or the fact that—”
I stopped myself, but it was too late. They were all staring at me.
“Say it,” Ares said quietly. “Whatever you’re thinking, just say it.”
“Fine.” I turned on him. “You spent the night with her while Leo and I managed the crisis you created by going after Marcus alone and getting yourself nearly killed.”
“Orion—” Leo started.
“No.” I couldn’t stop now. “I’m happy Tashi was worried about you. I’m glad you’re okay. But we’re supposed to be in this together. Equal partners. And right now, it feels like—”
“Like what?” Tashi asked.
I looked at her—this woman I’d fallen for so completely, so fast—and hated myself for what I was about to say.
“Like you’re choosing him,” I said. “Like last night, when you were scared, you chose Ares. Not me. Not Leo. Him.”
Tashi’s face crumpled. “That’s not—I didn’t choose—”
“He was hurt,” Leo said firmly. “She was taking care of him. That’s not choosing, Orion. That’s responding to need.”
“Is it?” I challenged. “Or is it the beginning of the whole thing falling apart because we’re not actually equal—we’re competing?”
Ares stood up, ignoring his obvious pain. “You think I want this? You think I wanted to spend last night with Tashi worried sick about me? I was beat to hell, Orion. I could barely walk. She insisted on staying because she thought I might have a concussion, and someone needed to watch me.”
“And if it had been me?” I shot back. “If I’d been the one injured? Would she have insisted on staying with me? Or would it have been ‘Orion’s fine, he can handle it’?”
“That’s not fair—” Tashi started.
“None of this is fair!” The ugly words exploded from me.
“I fell in love with you.” I gestured at Ares and Leo.
“We all did. And we promised we’d make this work.
But I don’t know how to do that when every time you need something, it’s not me.
When every crisis comes up, someone else gets to be her hero. ”
“You want to be Tashi’s what?” Ares asked incredulously. “Is this tantrum about your ego?”
“Tantrum?” I rounded on him. “You’re the one who went rogue yesterday.
You ignored protocol and walked into danger without backup.
You nearly got killed because you insisted on being the one to save her.
And now you get to be the wounded warrior she fusses over while Leo and I pick up the pieces. So don’t talk to me about ego.”
“Orion, stop.” Tashi’s voice shattered the argument like ice. “Just stop.”
I turned to look at her. Tears were streaming down her face.
“You’re right,” she said. “I chose Ares last night. Not because I love him more or because he’s my favorite.
I was terrified of losing him because he was hurt, and I needed to see for myself that he was okay.
Is that what you wanted to hear? That I’m not perfectly balanced in my attention?
That sometimes one of you will need me more than the others? ”
“Tashi—” I started.
“No.” She stood up, wiping at her tears.
“You want to know why it wasn’t you last night?
Because you’re strong, Orion. You’re the one who holds everything together.
You’re the one who always has a plan, who never breaks, who everyone relies on.
And maybe I forget you need support because you’re so good at pretending you don’t. ”
I swallowed hard. She was saying everything I had just said, but reframing it to point out that I pushed people away. And she was correct.
“And Leo—” She turned to him. “You’re the one who makes everything lighter.
Who knows exactly what to say to make me feel better.
Who I go to when I need to laugh instead of cry.
But last night I couldn’t laugh. I couldn’t make a plan.
I just needed to sit with Ares and make sure he was okay. He needed me as much as I needed him.”
“So, you babysat me,” Ares said quietly.
“No.” Tashi’s voice broke. “You were hurt. And I love you. And I couldn’t lose you. Is that so difficult to understand?”
The room fell silent.
I sank back into my chair, the fight draining out of me as quickly as it had built up.
“I’m sorry,” I said finally. “You’re right. All of you. I’m being—”
“Human,” Leo finished. “You’re being human. And jealous. And scared that we’re going to lose her because we can’t figure out how to share.”
“Are we?” Tashi asked, looking at each of us. “Going to lose this? Because if you can’t handle that sometimes I’ll be with one of you more than the others—if you need me to be perfectly balanced all the time—then maybe we should stop now before someone gets hurt worse than they already are.”
“No.” The word came from all three of us simultaneously.
Ares moved to her first, pulling her into his arms despite his injuries. “We’re not stopping. We’re figuring this stuff out.”
Leo joined them, one hand on Tashi’s shoulder. “We’re new at this. We’re going to mess up. But that doesn’t mean we quit.”
They all looked at me.
I stood up and crossed to them, completing the circle. “I’m sorry. For being an ass. For letting jealousy make me say things I don’t mean.”
“You meant them,” Tashi said. “And that’s okay. We need to say what we’re feeling, even when it’s ugly.”
“Then…I’m feeling scared,” I admitted. “Scared that I’m going to lose you. That I’m not enough. That being the responsible one means I’ll always be the one who doesn’t get—”
“Chosen,” Tashi finished. “That’s what you think. That I won’t choose you.”
“Will you?”
She looked up at me, her eyes still wet with tears. “I choose all of you. Every day. Even when one of you is being impossible.”
“Fair,” I conceded.
“Look.” Leo leaned forward. “I think we just need more time to work things out. This is new for all of us. The jealousy, the scheduling, the—” He paused.
“The fact that last night Tashi asked Ares to stay with her specifically because he was hurt, and you and I had to accept that. That’s part of this.
At times, one of us may require her support more than the others.
Sometimes, she’ll need one of us more. We have to be okay with that. ”
I knew he was right. Hated that he was right. But the knot in my chest—the one that had formed when Leo casually mentioned Tashi spending the night with Ares—refused to untie itself.
“I just—” I started.
My phone rang.