Chapter Fourteen
Mackenzie
I t’s already midday Sunday, and I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye to Parker and Damon—or even Royce and Cormac.
Yesterday had been amazing, and I’m not just talking about the mind-blowing sex. It had been nice just spending time with the four of them and getting to know Royce and Cormac. Their love for Parker is so clear, and it makes them even more attractive to me.
Clearly, they don’t live here since they’re staying in a hotel, so as much as I wish this could be more than just this weekend, it doesn’t seem meant to be. And that thought fills me with more sadness than it should.
“What put that frown on your face, Mac?” Parker snuggles into my back, kissing along the length of my neck.
The two of us and Damon are lying on the mattress in the main room, where they’ve been since yesterday morning. All five of us slept in a big dogpile last night, and it was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. After a round of morning sex, we’d ordered breakfast and watched another movie. Cormac and Royce went out just after the movie finished after making the three of us promise not to answer the door—which I still don’t understand, but I’m cool with not having to get up.
“I was just thinking about how Damon and I have to go back to the club tonight. I don’t even know where you, Royce, and Cormac live, but it’s clearly not here since you’re in a hotel.” I sigh. “I don’t want to say goodbye to you again, but if you don’t live here, then there’s no real chance at this being more than just the weekend, is there?”
“Fuck.” Parker sits up, running a hand through his hair as he rests his back against the couch.
I scramble up to sit beside him as Damon does the same on his other side.
“What’s going on, Park?” Damon asks, eyes narrowed.
Parker leans his head back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. “There’s something I need to tell the two of you—about why we’re in a hotel and why you don’t know where we live. You don’t know because currently we don’t have a home. We’ve been living in hotels for almost a year, moving to a new city or town every two weeks or so.”
Frowning, I reach for his hand. Whatever he has to tell us is clearly upsetting him. “But why?”
“I told you I was in the military and that the three of us own a private security firm—which is all true—but I left out a big part of what we do.”
“You’re mercs, aren’t you?” Damon asks suddenly.
Parker snorts. “Of course, you figured it out. Yes, we’re killers for hire. We only take contracts that meet our specific criteria. We’re good at it, and I enjoy it. That’s not the issue though. I was set up to take the fall for a kill that we never would’ve made. Someone killed the wife of a dangerous Colombian cartel leader and made it look like I’m the one who did it. I did not—just to be clear.
“We’ve spent the last year trying to clear my name, but we’ve gotten nowhere. We’re pretty sure we know who set me up, but we have no proof. And without proof, we have nothing. The head of the cartel put out a hit on me, which is why we’ve been moving every couple of weeks. We’re trying to stay off their radar, so I don’t end up dead. Well, so none of us end up dead.
“Because they would go after Royce or Cormac to get to me. So we ran, and we’ll keep running until we can find proof that I was set up. It was reckless of Royce and Cormac to seek the two of you out, but they probably went about it in the safest way possible. Royce already told me we’d be leaving the day after tomorrow. Us being here could put the two of you in danger, and as much as I want you in my life, I won’t put you in danger.”
My mind is blown. Obviously, I know hitmen exist, but it was kind of a vague thing that I never would’ve expected to touch my life. But one of the boys I grew up loving, kills people for a living. That should probably upset me more than it does, but the only thing that he’s said that actually upsets me is that someone is trying to kill him.
“That’s…a lot,” I finally murmur. “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you to live like that.”
Damon grins, while Parker snorts. “Really? That’s all you have to say after finding out I kill people for a living?”
“I bet our girl thinks it’s hot.”
He’s not wrong, but all amusement leaves me when Parker’s face falls.
“Neither one of you can be mine. I would’ve left Cormac and Royce if it hadn’t already been widely known that the three of us were together.” Parker rubs his eyes. “Maybe once this is all over, there can be something between us, but not until then. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Parker. You’re not the one who did this.” Damon wraps his arms around the other man as his eyes meet mine. “Is this why you’ve been in a dark place?”
Parker attempts to jerk away from Damon, but he refuses to release him. “How do you know about that? They told you, didn’t they?”
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” I admit. “But I think I’d like to know.”
Parker’s body tenses once more before relaxing into Damon’s hold. “A few weeks ago, they found me with a razorblade pressed against my arm. I had already cut myself and was bleeding. I had no recollection of doing it or of even going into the bathroom. It scared the shit out of all three of us. Sure, I’ve been depressed, but I would never—“
I lean over and kiss him when he breaks off. “If you’d been in your right mind, I’m sure you wouldn’t have. But you weren’t in your right mind, were you?”
“No. I wasn’t. I’m not sure I am now.”
“It’s okay to not be okay,” I tell him gently. “But don’t forget you have people who care about you who will be there for you. Even if Damon and I can’t be.”
I want to make him better, but I know that’s not something I can just do. That’s something that only Parker can do.
I don’t like that he won’t allow us to be a part of his life because of the hit on his head, but I get it. He doesn’t want to put us in danger, and yet, I can’t help wanting to argue with him about it. It’s not just his decision. It should be up to me and Damon if we want to keep him in our life—even if it could mean putting ourselves in danger.
Not that I want to be in danger. Hell, this is a world I know nothing about, but I don’t want to say goodbye to Parker.
Or to Cormac and Royce, if I’m honest with myself. There’s a connection between the five of us that can’t be ignored.
I don’t want to ignore it.
I want to see where this could go.
Call me selfish, but I’ve already lost my entire world more than once in my relatively short life, and I’m not ready to lose it again.
It’s not fair.
“I know,” Parker says with a sigh. “It’s just hard. I hate to worry them with my burdens when we’re on the run because of me.”
“But you’re not,” Damon argues. “You’re on the run because of the asshole who set you up. This isn’t a problem you caused. You’ve got to stop thinking about it like that.”
I nod. “Plus, something tells me that Royce and Cormac don’t think of anything about you as a burden. They love you. I’m glad you found them. You deserve that kind of love in your life.”
“So do the two of you,” Parker says as he leans over, laying his head on my shoulder. “What I wouldn’t give for things to be different. Yesterday, with the five of us, it just felt…right.”
I hum my agreement. “It did.”
Both of us turn our attention to Damon, who’s watching us with a smirk. “You’re not wrong, but if you feel that way, then why are you already trying to push us away, Parker?”
“I told you. I don’t want to put you in danger.”
Unable to hold my thoughts back any longer, I pull away so that Parker’s head falls off my shoulder. “Don’t you think that’s a decision for us to make? What gives you the right to make that decision for us?”
Parker gapes at me. “I…I…I just want—“
“To keep us safe—so you’ve said.” Damon runs a hand through his hair. “But Mackenzie is right. That’s not a decision you get to make for us.”
Parker scoffs. “So what? The two of you are just going to give up your lives and go on the run with us? Damon, what about your mom? Mac, what about your parents’ house? Isn’t that why the two of you were in the damn auction to begin with?”
“There are other options,” I say quietly. “Even if we don’t go with the three of you, it doesn’t mean we can’t be in contact. There are things called phones, in case you forgot.”
“Phones can be traced. They could find you from one text.” Parker jumps to his feet, hands pulling at his hair. “I just want you to be safe.”
“And that’s why we went out to get the encrypted phones for the two of them.” Cormac’s voice startles all three of us, our heads jerking toward the door.
I hadn’t heard him and Royce enter, and it’s clear neither had Parker or Damon.
“Encrypted phones?” I ask when silence surrounds us for much too long. “I feel like that’s some high-tech spy shit from the movies.”
Royce laughs. “Well, I’m sure you have seen them in movies, but they exist in the real world as well. The three of us already have them, but this will allow us to continue contact once we’ve moved on.”
“But—“ Parker starts, freezing when Cormac pins him with a glare.
“Don’t act like you don’t want to keep in contact with the two of them, Parker. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you never lose them like you did before. All three of you deserve the world, and I’m damn well going to do my best to give it to all of you.”
Tears fill my eyes as I stare at Cormac. I can’t believe he included me and Damon—not just Parker—in his statement. As if he can feel my stare, he turns his head to meet my gaze.
“Don’t cry, little one.” He pulls me into his arms. “We might not know one another yet, but I plan on making sure you and Damon are around. It’s clear all four of us love Parker, and Parker loves all of us. That settles matters in my mind. This is forever. No matter what else happens between us, we’re family now.”
His words set me off, sobs wracking my body. I’ve been alone for months, just trying to keep it all together and trying not to think about how I had no one in my life.
All the grief I’ve pushed back rushes from me, and it’s only Cormac’s arms wrapped around me that keep me upright. He pulls me further into him as I feel the other three surrounding me, each of them hugging me and one another as they support me.
I don’t know how long we stand there, but eventually, my sobs stop.
“Are you okay, Mac?” Parker’s voice is quiet as if he doesn’t want to startle me.
I sniffle, a smile making its way onto my lips. “Not yet, but I will be.”
“And are you going to share with the class why you burst into tears?” Damon asks.
“I’ve barely been hanging on by a thread since I lost my family. I’ve been alone, and hearing Cormac including me in his statement, then calling us family… It was just such a relief. I don’t have to be alone anymore. I don’t have to do this on my own.”
“Fuck, no, you don’t.” Damon turns my head to face him, kissing my lips. “Parker, Royce, and Cormac are going to figure this shit out, and then we can all be together. Until then, it’s you and me, baby. You’ll never have to be alone again—none of us will “
Royce hums, his lips grazing the back of my head. “Now we have extra motivation, don’t we?”
Parker nods vehemently. “This is not the end. We’ll figure it out, and then I’m coming home to the two of you.”
“We’re all coming home to you,” Royce adds. “Come on, let’s snuggle for a little while until I have to take you back to Club Lust.”
I let them maneuver me to the mattresses, sitting me between Parker and Cormac. Damon takes Parker’s other side with Royce beside him. Someone turns on a movie, but none of us pay it any mind as we cuddle together, chatting.
At least when we say goodbye, it won’t be forever.