Chapter Twenty-Five #2
James’s heart squeezed hard. “He’s good for me too.
” His voice was thick and a little husky.
That truth settled in his bones. Nolan had swept in and somehow brought him to life again.
Not through hard pushes or dramatic gestures, but through kindness, patience, and the tender care he showed everyone around him.
“How the fuck did you get here before me?” Meg said to Fin as she entered. Tristan, Micah, and Parker trailed behind her, and a minute later, Nolan entered the room with Eva and Pixie.
“Avengers assembled?” Fin asked as they lounged on one of the couches parked between Ollie and Kai—also halfway sprawled over both the men.
“Okay, so we wanted to have this conversation with you involved,” Meg said, giving James a firm look. “You only got into this mess because of us, and I hate the fact Ken’s threatening your job and your reputation because of it.”
“I’ll wring that fucker’s neck,” Parker growled. “I regret he ever got hired. He’s a shitty employee, to top it off.”
“Want to take out some of that aggression, Daddy?” Micah said cheekily. “Love when you get all growly.”
James let out a rumbling laugh, and Nolan stepped up beside him. James wrapped an arm around Nolan’s waist, and the feel of his warmth anchored him in the best way. “Want to clue them in on whatever mysterious thing you were rambling about?”
“Right,” Nolan said, tugging out his phone. “So I have an update.”
“On what?” Fin called out. “Share with the class.”
“He’s trying to, jackass,” Parker called over to them. Ollie snorted, and Fin pinched his side.
“Remember the files on Carter you forwarded over to me?” he asked. “The ones with his alternate names and a few articles with issues and reports from other scenes he’d been a part of?”
James nodded. The dead-end trouble was that if they released them, Ken had an email ready to send to his bosses.
“Other names were listed,” Nolan said. “Victims. I reached out to them a few days ago on different socials, hoping to talk. Three women contacted me. One from Portland and two from Nevada.”
Meg whistled. “And how do they feel about him starting up a new enterprise elsewhere?”
“They’re furious,” Nolan said. “Rightfully so. And when I mentioned what Carter was getting up to here, that he had a friend Ken involved…well, they offered up some more information.”
“Like what?” Kai asked, leaning forward on the couch.
“Ken’s got a history of cleaning up Carter’s messes, but there’s a reason he’s doing him the favor,” Nolan said, his mouth forming a grim line.
James’s gut churned. “One of the girls told me Ken raped her, and Carter covered it up. Carter kept allowing him to come to events, even after she tried to report it to him.”
Fury burst within James. This was the monster who was trying to blackmail him?
“That motherfucker,” Parker growled.
“Like defends like,” Meg said, her voice Arctic cold. “Carter’s got those allegations too. Except he seems to slip out of the area any time actual movement is made against him. Starts over somewhere new.”
“They want to speak out,” Nolan said. “I put them all in touch with each other, and they’re going to post something publicly, something he can’t erase or take down.
” Then Nolan looked to him. “At least, I’m hoping you can help on that front.
Jemma, one of the girls, said she tried before, and it got erased, blinked out of existence. ”
“Ken’s got the skills to do that,” James confirmed. “But I’ve got more in my arsenal to stop him.”
“If Ken’s got this baggage in his past, don’t think your employer would love that,” Fin said, arching a brow. “Also, if your employer doesn’t know half their staff are ex-hackers, I’d be severely surprised.”
Parker laughed. “Yeah, you’re not the only one with a past of hacking in our department. Never was my skill set, but I can appreciate the talent.”
James’s heart thudded hard. This was the leverage he’d needed against Ken, and it had been right under his nose all along.
“Nolan, you brilliant bastard,” Meg said, a grin spreading on her face. “If it’s coming from them, then we aren’t implicated.”
“What did the fire inspection result in?” Eva asked, shifting Pixie on her lap to look at Meg. “Hopefully nothing too bad?”
“Between that and the other bullshit, we’ve got auditors breathing down our neck. Too much obnoxious shit at once, and from a business perspective, we’re a risk. The sooner we can push Carter out of our city, the better,” Meg muttered.
“Look, I could’ve thrown flaming shit at his stupid-ass club,” Fin said with a shrug.
“That would’ve gone amazingly, I’m sure,” Ollie responded dryly.
Fin squeezed his nape. “Hey, there’s only room for one brat in this relationship.”
James shook his head, amusement thrumming through him at their antics. He looked to Nolan, whose eyes were alight, the cleverness sparking in his eyes. Fuck, he was so damn lucky. He leaned in and kissed Nolan’s temple. “You’re amazing,” he said, awe slipping into his voice.
Nolan stared up at him, seriousness sweeping his features. “I couldn’t lose you.”
James’s mouth dried. He didn’t deserve Nolan.
The man was clever and kind and caring to a fault.
James shook his head as resolve settled in his gut. The occasional twinge still hit him, the gut punch of grief, but he was willing to fight for this—this relationship with Nolan, this home they were starting to build together. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Meg wolf-whistled. “About time you realized this is where you belong.”
Around him, the entire Whipped crew spilled out of the couches and chairs in the room, piled on top of each other.
Fin tormented Ollie, and Pixie and Eva whispered to each other on the one couch.
Ezra and Tristan stood away from the mess, joking about something, and Sloan had shifted to sitting between Kai’s legs.
Micah perched in Parker’s lap while Parker leaned in toward Meg to tell her something.
And he stood here with Nolan, his arm around the man he loved, surrounded by people who cared.
A year ago, his entire world had crumbled, but he started to see that he didn’t have to live in darkness for the rest of his days.
He could rebuild.
And there was no one he’d rather rebuild with than Nolan.