5. Dax
DAX
M y phone buzzed, and I jumped. Travis and I stared at each other.
I didn’t know whether to kill whoever was calling me or thank them.
Travis’s lips looked so soft. I wanted to taste them.
I wanted a hell of a lot more than that, but kissing him would have been a mistake, one I would have regretted, though maybe not for a while.
Travis’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes big and bright, but as soon as I reached for my phone, he looked away.
“It’s Beau.”
He shook his head and started to get up, but I held onto his hand and mouthed, “Stay.”
He leaned against the back of the sofa and laid an arm over his face. I let him be while I took the call.
“Is Travis still there?” Beau asked.
“He sure is.”
“Is it all right if I come over? I need to talk to him, and thank him, and figure out what the hell we should do now.”
“I agree. Come on, but be gentle, okay?”
Travis looked up at me, scowling, and Beau laughed. “That’s cute coming from you.”
“I’m serious.” I hadn’t meant to snap. I didn’t need Beau questioning my motivation too deeply. That would only lead to trouble. “Sorry, he’s just?—”
“I know he saved my life. I’m planning to offer him a job.”
I relaxed then. I hadn’t expected it would be easy to convince Beau that Travis needed to stay close by.
“I’ll be there soon.”
“See you then.” I ended the call.
“He knows everything, doesn’t he?” Travis asked.
I shook my head. “We haven’t said anything to him.”
“Really?”
“Remington thought it should be up to you to decide how much to tell him.”
He sighed and brushed a hand over his hair. “I don’t want to tell him anything.”
“Why not?” I tried to keep my voice neutral. Beau needed to know, but I didn’t want Travis to think I was judging him for not telling.
“I don’t want pity from him or for him to think I’m so weak that I?—”
“No.”
The force of the word made Travis jump. I reached for his hands again. “I’m sorry. I’m just so angry Rob made you think… That you ever felt like you were less than worthy. Travis, you were still a kid when he started this shit with you.”
“I could have told Beau what was happening, but I didn’t because I liked having a secret. I liked having a part of my life that he wasn’t in charge of.”
“That’s understandable, but Beau needs to know you were in danger, that Rob used Beau’s safety to manipulate you. I think it would help the two of you forgive each other.”
He frowned. “What do I need to forgive Beau for?”
“For not fighting for you.”
Travis sucked in his breath. “What? How was he supposed to?—”
“He knew Rob was a piece of shit long before Rob forced you to set him up.”
“Beau told me to walk away from him. At first, I didn’t want to, then I couldn’t. You can’t blame him for what happened.”
I knew I wasn’t being fair. I was sure Beau had tried to make his brother see what a mistake he was making, but why didn’t he understand Rob was manipulating Travis just like he had Beau.
Just like you were supposed to know Ambrose was unhappy enough to run off and join the army without saying a word to you?
Fuck. It was easy not to see how pissed off Ambrose had been, but when I was in the middle of that shit, it was like I was blind to everything Ambrose felt.
“Do you want me to stay while you talk to Beau?”
“I want to leave before he gets here.”
I laid my hand over his. “Don’t. He’s… He wants to thank you, and he needs to know about LePlatt and the others who might come for you.”
“That’s exactly why I need to leave.”
“It’s why you need to stay. I’m going to protect you, and I’m going to keep you right here.”
“You can’t…”
“Try me.”
“Fuck, Dax. I…”
“Hear Beau out and tell him?—”
“Or you will.”
“No, but I’ll make sure you stay with me until you’re ready to, and I’ll make sure Beau and my cousins are well protected.”
“Is Corbin living with Beau now?”
“Yes, and they are very much in love and?—”
“Fine. I’ll tell him, but I’m not promising anything else.”
He would do what I wanted. I was going to make damn sure of that, but right then, he needed care, not more demands. I wished like hell I could kiss him.
What if that kiss was exactly what he wanted?
It wasn’t what he needed. He needed someone sweet and nurturing, someone who could help him heal, not a man like me. I hurt people; I didn’t fix them, but I could make sure Travis lived long enough to find that kind of man.
Beau knocked on the door a few minutes later. I left him and Travis in the living room and stepped into my office, but I kept the door cracked. I couldn’t stand not knowing how their conversation went. Travis was bringing out every protective instinct I had.
Beau pulled Travis into a hug as soon as he got into the house, and I knew things were going to be all right. I also knew I was going to have to let Travis go and let his brother be his main protector. Until then, I was going to make absolutely sure Travis was watched over every second of the day.
Beau offered Travis a job at his body shop just like he’d told me he would.
“Are you serious?” Travis asked. I hated how shocked he was that anyone could forgive him.
“I wouldn’t joke about shit like this. I’ll make you work your ass off, but there’s a place for you there as long as?—”
“I don’t betray you.”
“As long as you want to be there. Fuck, Travis. I should’ve come for you. I should’ve fought for you.”
I peeked through the door, needing to see Travis’s reaction. He was shaking his head and wiping his eyes. “I should never have believed Rob.”
I wanted him to tell Beau about what Rob had done to him, but he didn’t say anything else about that situation.
“I found a place for you to live down the street from the shop,” Beau said. “It’s a garage apartment, and I know the guy who owns the main house. He’ll work out a payment plan with you.”
“Wow. Thanks.”
An apartment. That was good. Getting Travis out of my house was what needed to happen. I’d come so damn close to losing control with him today. I wouldn’t last much longer. If Beau hadn’t called… No, I wouldn’t think about what might have happened then or how part of me really wished it had.
I wanted to keep Travis with me, but I was willing to let him go as long as we kept a guard on his apartment.
“The owner might not want me there,” Travis said. I tensed. Was he about to tell Beau?
“Why not? You told me you weren’t using, and?—”
“I’m not.” The fierceness in Travis’s voice made me smile. I was damn proud of him.
“Some of Rob’s enemies still want revenge. He pissed off a hell of a lot of people. Now that he’s gone, they might come for anyone who was associated with him.”
“And that means you?”
“Yeah, so if you want to take back the offer or…”
“What I want to do is make sure you stay safe.”
“The best way to keep you, Corbin, and everyone around you safe is for me to leave.”
Beau shook his head. “That’s not how we do things here. I finally have you back. I’m not sending you away.”
“I sent you to prison.”
“Rob sent me to prison.”
“I helped.”
Dammit, why did he have to say that. Why couldn’t he tell Beau the truth? Why couldn’t he accept the truth himself?
“What did Rob do to you?”
I hated the stricken look on Travis’s face.
He glanced at the office and saw me watching. Shit. I shook my head, hoping he understood I truly hadn’t told Beau anything.
“What do you mean?”
“Whenever I mention him, you looked scared and like you want to run away.”
“I’m really glad he’s dead, and I’m sure I’ll never see him again. That’s all I want to say.”
“I want to know what he did to you. I know there are things you’re not telling me.”
“There’s no point in telling you now. It’s over. He’s dead. You’re alive.”
“And so are you. I intend for us both to stay that way.”
I should’ve given Beau more credit. I should’ve realized he’d notice something was off with Travis if they talked about Rob at all. I wondered if that had been part of the reason he’d asked Blackjack to look into things for him.
If Beau truly still believed Travis chose Rob over him and that he willingly worked with Rob to send him to prison, I didn’t think even what Travis had done the night before would’ve turned Beau around so quickly. He had to know something.
“You’ll take the job and the apartment?” Beau asked.
Travis smiled at his brother. “Yes, as long as I’m not going to be putting the homeowner or anyone else at your shop in danger.”
“If we went too long without some shit coming up at the shop, everybody would be shocked and maybe a little bored. My friend with the apartment isn’t going to mind. He’s also an ex-con and not used to living a safe life.”
Was Beau putting Travis in even more danger by arranging for this apartment? He better not be.
Calm down, Dax. What are you going to do about it? Buy Travis a cute little house in a safe little neighborhood? Or keep him here, lock him up, and claim him as yours?
That was damn tempting, but I’d already decided against keeping him here, and Travis wouldn’t accept a gift like a house, not even if I assured him it was just something I would buy for anyone I considered family or a friend.
That’s what Travis was, family and a friend.
That’s all he was going to be to me. Beau was making him a good offer, and I would make myself celebrate it with him.