10. Silas
Silas
CJ was in front of me when we walked through the café door, and when he stops short I slam into his back. He grunts as my weight shoves him forward.
“Jesus, fucker, watch where you stop,” I say, frustration sharp in my tone.
I want to see Jack. After our argument this morning, I need to see him. It had been bugging me since he left, and it had upset Hale, which wasn’t good. That boy needed stability
CJ turns and looks over his shoulder at me, raising an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Well don’t fucking stop right where I’m about to walk, Dickhead.” I’m sulking, I’ll admit it, and I don’t care.
“Fuck you two are children.” Deck shoves us both aside, then stops right next to CJ, putting a wall of solid muscle between me and my target.
I grumble behind their backs and look over their shoulders, trying to see Jack.
CJ turns his head again, looking at me over his shoulder. “Silas? Who’s that with Jack?”
I look past him, and that’s when I see it.
Jack’s body is tense, his face tight with terror. The man leaning against the counter is talking to him, nothing unusual in itself, but Jack’s posture tells me everything. He looks like he wants to disappear into the floor.
The man leans closer.
Jack steps back, pressing himself against the counter like he’s bracing to run. And by the look on his face, running is exactly what he wants to do.
“I don’t know. But I don’t like it.”
“Come on. Let’s see what this fucker wants.” Deck starts walking toward them.
We reach the counter, and I plant myself beside the man while Deck and CJ move to stand behind him.
I catch the tail end of what he’s saying, and my blood boils. Rage tears through me, my sole focus is this man currently threatening my boy. My fist clench as I hear him speak to Jack, and I take a step forward ready to rip out the man’s throat without a question asked, his words pure venom.
“…stray dog always comes back to the porch where it was fed. Especially when it realises the leash was never actually removed.”
Well. Didn’t realise Jack adopted any dogs lately.
““Jack?” I try to grab his attention. My dove is so focused on this man he doesn’t even realise I’m here.
I say his name again. Nothing.
Then the man speaks again, and I hate it. His voice grates and it makes me want to rip out his tongue and feed it to the dogs. But violence is apparently illegal in this country, so I force myself to ignore him and look at Jack.
My breath escapes me quick and sharp. “Jack. You good?” This time he hears me.
His head turns slightly, and the terror in his eyes makes me want to do two things: pull him into my arms and keep him safe from the world, and tear the man beside me apart piece by piece, and make sure he doesn’t see the light of day again.
I turn my head back to the man, keeping Jack in my line of sight. “I think you need to leave.” My words drip with deadly precision.
I’m begging this fucker to step up. My fingers itch with the desire to beat him into the floor.
He looks me up and down, assessing. I can see him weighing up whether to push this further.
Oh please, fucker. Please, I’m begging you.
His smile when he meets my eyes is pure evil, and a sliver of recognition runs through me. I ignore it when he stands, straightening the lapels of his jacket, giving me a small huff of breath as he moves to leave.
I refuse to budge, and I pull my body tight, towering over him, forcing him to look up at me.
I hear CJ scoff as the man goes to step between us. “Stay the fuck away from him.” CJ’s voice leaves no room for discussion.
I watch the man, as his eyes lock onto CJ, and then he moves to Deck, calculating. I know a brawler when I see one, and right now, this piece of trash is deciding if he’s stupid enough to test us.
Please, I think, my grip tightening into a silent threat, give Deck a reason to put this mutt down. He so much as breathes wrong in Jacks’ direction, I’ll hand Deck the cleaver myself.
The man looks at me, and he barks out a quick laugh, full of contempt. He sneers at us, then lets his eyes slide back to Jack.
“It was good to see you, Jackie.”
Jackie? Do they know each other?
He pushes between Deck and me and walks toward the door. He doesn’t leave though. No. He pushes my boy even further.
“I’ll see you soon, Jackie.”
Then he walks out.
My head snaps back to Jack, just in time to see him slump to the floor, tears streaming down his face and a ragged sob tearing out of him.
* * *
I race around the counter and feel a sharp pain jolt up my knees and into my hips as I land next to Jack. I sit, and I pull him into my lap, wrapping my arms around him, his head tucked in against my neck.
His uncontrollable sobs tear at my heart, and I feel utterly useless as his fingers wrap tightly around my shirt, pulling it into a ball in his palm.
“Baby? Who was he?” My words are soft, gentle as I speak to him. My fingers brush his hair off his forehead, and I press a light kiss against his skin.
Before he can answer, Finn arrives, dropping down next to me. He takes one look at Jack and his lips tighten into a thin line.
“What happened?” He asked me.
“He had a visitor. A man. Tall, dark hair, black eyes. A real dick.”
I see shock flick across his face. He looks at Deck, then back to Jack. His hands move straight to his hair, fingers tugging at it with so much force that Deck steps in immediately.
Deck moves behind him, grabs both of Finn’s wrists in one hand, and pulls them away before he can do more damage. He holds Finn’s hands easily, steadying him, then runs his forefinger along Finn’s cheek.
“There you are, Little One.” Deck’s voice is quiet as he leans in and presses a kiss to Finn’s nose.
After a moment, Finn pulls in a deep breath, and nods at Deck. “I’m okay, Lumberjack.”
“Do you know who it was?” Deck asks quietly.
Finn nods, “It’s his dad.”
My heart drops into my stomach at those three words. Jack had run from his father. How the hell had he found him. But then Finn’s next words hit me like a stomach punch.
“Him and his uncle saw his fight in Vancouver. They found him on the dead-end road and left him there to die.” Finn’s tears fall silently. Deck lifts his hand and holds Finn’s cheek.
“They knew he was here?” Deck beats me to the question.
Finn nods and looks at Jack as he nuzzles into my neck, pulling my attention back to him. I kiss Jack’s forehead again. “I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe.” I don’t know if my words are meant more to comfort him or me.
“Tell us, Little One.” Deck says.
Finn sighs, then looks at Jack. “Jack?” He’s asking him for permission.
Jack doesn’t speak, just gives a small nod. His lips move to my neck, nipping and sucking at my skin. I let him. If he needs that connection, he can take whatever he needs from me.
The café is empty now, so CJ locks the door before coming back to us. He sits on the floor beside me and waits, silent and steady, waiting for Finn to begin.
“We were both here last week when Jack’s uncle decided to pay him a visit.” Finn’s words pull a choked sob from Jack, and if he could bury himself deeper into my chest, he would. My arms tighten around him, and he sucks harder at my neck.
“I’ve got you, dove. I’ve got you.” My words are barely audible, as I rock him slowly. The sucking softens until his lips simply rest against my skin.
“He threatened Jack. They call him their Stray Dog., they always have. Told him they saw his fight, saw him at the road, and left him for dead.” Finn looks at Jack, then at me. “He threatened him. Threatened me.”
The instant he says “Threatened me,” Deck’s body tenses, spine straight and rigid.
“He… threatened… you?” His words are deadly. No one threatens Deck’s little one.
Big mistake.
But then again, no one threatens my dove.
Finn nods and his tears start again. He shifts until he straddles Deck, and Deck’s large arms wrap around his back, swallowing the kid completely in his hold.
“I told him he wasn’t allowed to come back. Clearly he didn’t listen.” Finn’s words are muffled against Deck’s chest. “They want him back.”
Like fuck…
I look at CJ. “We need to find them. Find everything out about them.”
He nods. “I’ll get the team onto it now.”
CJ pushes himself off the floor, already pulling out his phone. He starts speaking as he walks to the front door. He stands there watching, eyes constantly moving, scanning for any danger.
Pulling my eyes back to Jack, I notice he is watching me. His mouth is slightly open, his breath warm against my skin. I wrap my fingers around his throat, my fingers settling over his pulse. Relief loosens my chest when I feel it beating calm beneath my hand, steady and warm.
I kiss him gently. “Okay, baby?”
He nods. “Yeah.” Wriggling in my lap as he tries to pull himself even closer, and I laugh quietly because my boy is already tight up against my body.
Finn sits there in Deck’s arms and starts to tell us about Jack and his upbringing. His dad sounds like Father of the fucking Year.
We all knew Jack and Finn had met when Jack was eight and Finn was nine, but what Finn hadn’t told us was what happened after.
Jack was never forthcoming about his past outside of the ring with me.
I knew he had been trained in an national underground fighting ring since he was eight, and that he had fought for Gabriel and Finns’ father.
He and Finn had been been transported throughout America, and across the border into Canada to fight as well.
His mother died when he was young. She apparently had an accident at home, something about falling down stairs if I recall.
Outside of that, he never told me about his father, except that he is a complete “fuckwit.”
My lips find Jack’s temple and I hold them there, feeling the heat of his skin under them. His scent wraps around me as I breathe him in.
By the time Finn finishes, my boy is back to some kind of normality, and I know it is time to get him home.
“Come on, baby. Let’s get you home, okay?”
He starts to get up, and Finn moves quickly to help him. Jack lets Finn pull him into a hug. Jack lets Finn hold him and I watch as the two boys—raised with such brutal, unrelenting violence—hold each other with unexpected care, whispering to each other like they’re sharing secrets.
CJ has been leaning over the counter listening to Finn, and with every story of abuse Jack suffered, his body tightened. CJ doesn’t stand for abuse of any kind. His fiance Eli suffered at the hands of a violent manipulative man who had ended up kidnapping him and Finn.
CJ had taken back what was his.
We had gone to Port Angeles to get Eli back and had burnt Adrian’s house to the ground with him inside.
We get Jack to the car, and I climb into the driver’s side, starting the truck. Jack winds the window down, and Finn leans in, laying a hand on Jack’s shoulder.
“You’ll be okay, Jack. Just for once, do what Silas says. Please.” Finns’ voice is begging.
Jack nods as Finn steps back from the car, and I press my foot to the gas, pointing the truck toward home.