Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ugh, these fucking meds. They made him so groggy. Joker groaned and opened his eyes. Fuck, what time was it? Had he been asleep all day? Slowly, he pulled the covers aside and sat up on the edge of the bed. He let out a low growl. Damn it. He hated being out of it.
Running a hand through his hair, he stood and grabbed his phone off the nightstand when he heard Cookie bark, followed by a yelp. Chip. What the fuck? He knew every sound his boys made and why. Those were Chip’s takedown-a-threat snarls and Cookie’s danger alert barks.
Joker moved too quickly, and the dizziness hit him so hard he almost fell over.
“Fuck you!” He didn’t know who he was cursing out, but he was pissed.
Something was going on downstairs. He could hear it, feel it.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt sick to his stomach.
His family needed him, and he was moving like molasses.
“Fuck this shit.” Joker hurried to the door, grabbing onto the doorframe as more dizziness his him.
“Nope. Get it together, Sacha,” he growled.
He used the banister to get down to the second floor.
Joker was terrified. There was shit shattering left and right, loud thumps against the wall, Chip snarling, and Cookie barking.
Someone was in their home. He inhaled deeply and hurried down the last flight of stairs, holding onto the banister with both hands.
Joker’s blood turned to ice, and he sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of Gio pinned against the wall by a huge man, his beefy hands around Gio’s neck.
Chip limped forward, then lunged at the guy, latching onto his leg, and Cookie stood on his hind legs, barking and trying to shove himself between the guy and Gio.
Fuck, he forgot to grab his gun from his nightstand, and his backup was in the gun safe in Gio’s office.
Kitchen! Joker removed his phone from his pocket and hit their family’s emergency button.
Slipping it back into his pajama bottoms, he held onto his side and gritted his teeth as he moved toward the kitchen as fast as his body would allow, which was way too fucking slow.
Joker pulled open one of the drawers, snagged a couple of the black heavy-duty zip ties, and two knives out of the knife block.
Turning, he grinned when Gio managed to grab a souvenir off one of the tables and smash it against the guy’s temple, sending him reeling sideways.
The guy tripped over Chip, who tugged and jerked at the guy’s pants, and caused him to hit the floor hard.
Before the asshole had a chance to get up, Gio kicked him in the ribs.
He was out of breath, but the fierce look on his face was one Joker had never seen before.
It was the look of a man defending what he loved.
The guy caught Gio’s leg, and Chip was all over him, snapping at the guy’s arm. A roar filled the air as Chip sank his teeth into the man’s flesh. Fucker was done. He had a Malinois attached to him, and Chip wasn’t about to let go. Joker headed to Gio, whose head shot up.
“Sacha! Go back upstairs!”
“You’re adorable,” Sacha growled, like he was going anywhere while his family was in danger.
“Catch.” He flung one of the zip ties, the movement pulling on his side and sending pain shooting through him, making him cry out.
Fuck that hurt! Gio stepped toward him, but Joker threw out a hand and shook his head.
Gio spun just as the guy tried to get up, Chip still attached. Joker gave Chip the German command to release, and Chip let go and jumped back, one paw up. The asshole was a bloody mess and in agony, but he pushed himself to sit up.
“Gio, get back,” Sacha ordered, as he threw one of the knives. It plunged into the wooden coffee table next to the guy’s head. “You fucking move, and the next one goes in your heart.”
“Asshole,” Gio breathed, grabbing the guy’s uninjured arm and rolling him onto his stomach, ignoring the man’s cries as Gio zip-tied his wrists. He was panting and sweaty, bloody in a few places, but didn’t look like he’d been wounded. He brushed his hair away from his face and slowly stood.
The front door slammed open, and Joker readied himself to keep fighting. Relief washed over him, and he stood down at the sight of Jack and the rest of the Kings.
“Are you two hurt?” King asked, heading straight for the bloodied man on the floor. Jack ran over to Joker.
“I’m a little banged up, but okay. I need to check on Sacha and Chip is limping,” Gio replied, taking a step forward when his face went pale. Cookie booped Gio’s leg, and Joker cursed under his breath.
“Red, he’s gonna pass out,” Joker said quickly.
Red darted over, catching Gio just as he crumbled toward the floor.
He lifted Gio and carefully laid him on the couch, then checked him over.
“He’s got some cuts on his arm, but he’s not seriously wounded.
” Checking Gio’s pulse, Red nodded. “He should wake up any minute. I’ll get his pills and my bag to clean up that arm. ”
“Thanks,” Joker replied, amazed by his beautiful man. He turned and called Chip, who hopped over to him, one paw lifted. “Jack, I need to make sure they’re okay. Help me down.”
Ace joined Jack, and together they helped Joker get on his knees. Joker sat back on his heels and checked Chip first, running his hands all over him, and inspecting him to make sure he didn’t have any cuts or open wounds. He held out a hand. “Paw.”
Chip whined but gave Joker his paw, and Joker assessed it.
He’d learned canine first aid back when he’d served and had Echo.
He kept up with it, knowing whatever he did in the future would probably involve dogs, and it was a lifesaver when he started training dogs.
He sighed with relief. “We’ll get a vet to confirm, but I’m pretty sure he just pulled a muscle.
Nothing’s broken and I don’t see any cuts.
” Joker kissed Chip’s head. “Such a good boy. My brave boy.” He looked at Cookie. “Come here, fluffy butt.”
Cookie happily trotted over, and Joker did the same as he’d done with Chip, but a little slower since Cookie was much floofier than Chip.
“You’re okay. Such a good boy. I’m so proud of you.” Joker gave him love, then held out an arm. “Okay. Lift me back up.”
Ace and Jack helped him to his feet. Fuck, he was going to pay for all this movement.
They helped him to the couch, and Gio woke up just before the police arrived.
They took Gio’s statement and read the attacker his rights before removing the zip ties to cuff him, then leading him away.
After the statements were taken and the police were gone, Ace and Jack started putting the furniture to rights and sweeping up the glass and souvenir pieces scattered across the floor, while Red bandaged Chip’s paw.
“Who the hell was that guy?” Lucky asked, shaking his head in disbelief at the state of things. “Holy shit, Gio. You did this?” He looked at Joker, eyes wide. “Remind me never to piss off your fiancé.”
Gio sighed, wincing as he touched his bandaged arm.
He thanked Red for the first aid. “That was Angelo Valeris.” He told them all about a young woman from a small port city in Greece that he and his charity had helped a few years ago, only to have her bastard mercenary of a brother show up to use her business to move drugs for his boss, in the end getting her killed in the crossfire.
“And he blamed you?” Ace frowned and shook his head. “If he hadn’t gotten his sister mixed up in his criminal activities, she might still be alive. Unbelievable.”
“Well, looks like his actions have finally caught up with him. He’s going away for a list of crimes, including at least two counts of attempted murder,” King growled. He met Gio’s gaze. “By the time your lawyers are done with him, I’m sure he’ll be looking at life without parole.”
“Why now, though?” Ace asked.
Gio shrugged. “Probably because he has nothing left. Last I heard, his boss had been caught and imprisoned, along with the rest of his men, and everything had been seized. Angelo clearly avoided arrest. Who else could he blame for losing everything?”
“Um, himself,” Lucky offered.
King shook his head. “You’re thinking like a rational person, Eduardo. Men like Angelo aren’t rational.”
Lucky sighed. “True.”
King stood. “We’ll let you two get some rest. Call us if you need anything.”
“Thanks,” Joker replied, grateful his brothers always had his back. “Oh, Ace. Take a couple of those fruit baskets with you.”
Ace scanned the counter. “Really, bro? You have a candy aisle’s worth of snack baskets, and you’re giving me fruit? I swept your floor. That at least deserves one of the small snack baskets.”
“Fine,” Joker huffed, not really caring, but he couldn’t give Ace the basket without busting his balls.
“You know what? Because I’m feeling magnanimous, you can have one of the big baskets.
But not that one,” he said, pointing to one of the big cellophane-wrapped baskets with a giant brown bow.
“That cookie basket has my favorite cookies, and if you touch it, I’ll make sure you get nothing but fruit as snacks for the rest of your life. ”
“Ouch. Also, spell ‘magnanimous,’” Ace teased.
“Take your basket and fuck off, Anston.”
Ace cackled and grabbed one of the massive snack baskets before hurrying off with it, Lucky on his heels, the two arguing over who was getting what. Dorks. Joker turned to his brothers.
“No, seriously, guys. Take some baskets before they fill up the rest of the house. Jack, take your man some flowers.”
“Um, okay.” He scanned the room. “Who the hell sent you a tree?”
“It’s an orange tree,” Gio chuckled. “And that was from Ryden.”
Jack snorted. “Of course it was. Aw, everyone loves you so much.”
“Don’t make me hurt you, Jacopo. Take your flowers and go.”
Jack laughed and grabbed some flowers for Fitz. The others also took some baskets and flowers, and yet their living room was still full.
“How are there still so many?” Joker said, then yawned. Gio laced their fingers together and kissed Joker’s cheek.
“Let’s go upstairs, sweetheart.”
They made sure everything was locked and secure for the night before heading upstairs with the dogs.
The house was quiet and peaceful, but Joker wasn’t worried about the house.
Once they’d washed up and gotten into bed with Chip and Cookie settled in at their feet, Joker faced Gio and cupped his cheek.
“You were so fucking brave.”
Tears welled in Gio’s eyes. “I was so angry. Not because he blamed me for his actions, but because he said he was going to take my family from me. All I could think about was how close I came to losing you because of that son of a bitch, and here he was, in our home, threatening my family. Maybe it was the emotional exhaustion, or all the tension from the last few days hitting me at once, but when he hurt Chip, I was furious. I think, um…I kinda lost my shit. I kind of surprised myself.”
“I’m not surprised,” Joker said, running his thumb over Gio’s bottom lip.
“You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You’re beautiful, gentle, and so fucking brave and strong.
” He frowned. “When I saw him pinning you to the wall, I was terrified. Your life was in danger, and I could barely get myself downstairs.”
Gio shook his head. “No. None of what’s happened is on us. We were protecting our family.” He smiled softly and kissed Joker’s fingers. Mischief filled his eyes. “Your doctor is going to be so mad at you. When she said gentle exercise, I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean knife throwing.”
Joker waggled his eyebrows. “It was a badass throw, though, wasn’t it?”
Gio hummed and kissed Sacha. “So badass.”
“Did it turn you on? It turned you on, didn’t it?”
Gio laughed softly, leaning in to kiss Sacha when a big furry menace crawled up the bed in between them and rolled onto his back, paws up as he attacked Joker and Gio with doggy kisses.
“Way to ruin the moment,” Joker said, wiping his face. He chuckled and rubbed Chip’s belly. His smile faded. “You know, I think it’s time for Chip to retire.”
Gio blinked at him. “Really?”
“Yeah. Like his daddy, he ain’t as young as he used to be.
Don’t get me wrong, he was fierce tonight, but he also doesn’t move as fast as he used to, and he got hurt.
I was gonna talk to King anyway about my focusing more on the K-9 training side of things and less on event work, so Chip can help me train.
It’ll keep him active and sharp, but he can also stay at the office and nap when he wants to.
He loves everyone there, and they love him. ”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Gio said, his smile warm as he petted Chip. “Are you thinking of adding to our family? With me working from home more and you mostly training and working from the office, we could.”
“I’ve thought about it,” Joker murmured.
“At the hospital, it hurt like hell to remember that Echo was gone, but I also remembered all the good times. I thought about Chip and Cookie, how they’ve enriched our lives, and how happy having Cocoa around makes them, so maybe…
maybe it’s time the boys got a little sister. ”
Gio’s smile was huge. “Really? A puppy?”
Joker nodded. “Plus, having a puppy to train will make me less murder-y during the wedding planning.”
Gio laughed. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.” Joker smiled as Gio leaned over Chip and kissed him, both of them laughing when Chip started snoring between them.
Joker had never been happier, nor had his heart been filled with so much joy and love.
Whatever life threw their way, they would face it together—him, his soon-to-be husband, and their furry kids.
They were his family, his heart, and his home.