“You were the one talking about our future and how we needed to be brave and go for it if we’re ever going to do better. We’re running out of time day by day, getting older. So much was stolen from us, we’ve got a late start. I’m ready to be bold. To believe that things can be different and that we’ve had enough bad luck to deserve a break. Maybe this is it…”
Jace sighed, paused, then nodded. “Okay. I’m in.”
Laurel flung herself into his arms and laughed out loud, the peal ricocheting around the room when he caught her and cradled her to his chest. She peeked from beneath his arms—which banded around her, sheltering her as always—at James. Her brother grinned and leaned against his husband as his wife settled onto his lap and kissed the trail of his, hopefully happy, tear.
Grateful, Laurel looked around the room at Jordan, Sola, Aarav, Kennedy, Marcus, the two big guys—Ransom and Levi—and, of course, her brother with his spouses. In one evening, she felt like she might have gained an entire new family of sorts. That terrified her. It had been a long damn time since she’d had to care—or worry—about anyone but herself or Jace.
And, hell, she still couldn’t seem to sort things out quite right with him after decades of trying.
Finally, she looked at Nolan and slow blinked at the heated gaze he was shooting her and Jace. One filled not with pity but with longing. She’d seen desire often enough to recognize it immediately. But unlike nearly all the other times it had been aimed in her direction, she didn’t feel like running away.
Instead, she leaned closer. “Sorry ’bout your luck, roomie. I’m pretty neat, but Jace…he’s a slob.”
“Hey, I wash my own clothes and almost always remember to put the toilet seat down.” He squeezed her, then laughed. “I guess there will be no more walking around naked after your showers, though—that’s gonna be a bummer.”
“Why? I certainly won’t object.” Nolan was quick to flash them a grin. “Hell, I’m not a big fan of clothes and I don’t even own pajamas.”
“Old habits are hard to break.” Laurel shrugged one shoulder. She couldn’t say what got into her. Maybe it was pure exhaustion making the filter between her brain and her mouth dissolve. Or maybe it was the thrill it gave her to be in Jace’s arms while another man stared at her hungrily. Or maybe a teensy part of her wanted Jace to know what it was like to be jealous considering she was practically a born-again virgin though he indulged in periodic hookups.
No matter what, it was going to be an interesting couple of months until Jordan could nail Draven and end a very long, very ugly chapter of their lives permanently.
Marcus chuckled, then said, “Why do I feel like Nolan has no idea what he’s getting himself into?”
Kennedy tapped him on the shoulder with the back of her hand and cackled. “I’m sure you’re right and I can’t wait for him to find out.”
Neither could Laurel.
8
The first few days Nolan spent with Jace and Laurel had flown by in a flash. He’d arranged for someone on the team to collect the rest of their stuff from their apartment. Shockingly few boxes of simple necessities had arrived later that same day. It was probably for the best given the limited storage in the tiny home they were sharing at Hot Rides, though Jace and Laurel acted like they’d hit the lottery and moved into a mansion.
Strike that. They hadn’t cared much for Jordan, Kason, and Wren’s sprawling mountain palace. But Nolan had seen Laurel sigh as she ran her fingers over the gleaming stainless faucet in the kitchen sink and the glossy surface of the marble island. With a compact space, the Powertools crew had easily incorporated bits of luxury in the tiny homes they’d built on the Hot Rides campus.
If Nolan was being honest, he didn’t mind the close quarters. It meant he got to spend all of his time getting to know his charges really fucking well. Ordinarily, he’d be bitter about being slapped on babysitting duty. All of the Shields knew it was Jordan’s way of spanking him for taking off to investigate Heels on his own the night of the raid.
Though he’d grumbled to the team, he had to keep reminding himself not to completely fuck up and let his guard down, because living with Laurel and Jace, watching over them, was as natural as breathing.
Just that morning, he’d tried to hide a smirk behind his napkin when Laurel had busted Jace’s balls while they ate breakfast on stools at the kitchen peninsula that doubled as a table.
“Sugar Shreds? Really? What are you, ten?” Laurel rolled her eyes as she cut up a banana to add to the blueberries already topping her oatmeal.
“Definitely never had stuff like this when I was a kid.” He shrugged.
Nolan tried not to cringe. No, little references like these made him pretty sure Jace had been dumpster diving to survive back then. “Hey, you’re never too old to enjoy a bowl of half-candy cereal. Pour me some?”
Nolan erased any lingering awkwardness by joining in. And even if the stuff was nasty, it was worth choking it down to see Jace’s less-rare these days smile. He’d have to run an extra five miles later but he’d live.
Laurel reached over and squeezed Nolan’s knee under the bar, which made it an even more worthwhile sacrifice. Somehow he had fallen into this role, smoothing over the unintentional emotional paper cuts they inflicted on each other, and he didn’t mind one bit.
They cracked him up when they dealt a bit of shit. Impressed him with their resilience, taking everything that had happened in stride and rolling with their new reality. Finding joy in things others would easily overlook while playing down the bad shit that came their way. He figured dogged positivity was a skill they’d had to learn early on to survive in Draven’s empire. He couldn’t think about that for long or he’d grab his gun and fuck up their entire well-thought-out mission in a flare of rage he didn’t often experience.
On top of that, they were innocently making him jealous as fuck as he witnessed their incredible intimacy. Hell, they were constantly touching each other. Even now they were cuddled up on the couch as Jace hummed a melody he and Kason had been working on in their first session the day before. His fingers idly combed through Laurel’s damp hair, which he’d dried with a fuzzy-as-fuck towel after refusing Nolan’s offer to scrounge up a blow dryer from one of their new neighbors. He’d said he didn’t want to impose, but Nolan wouldn’t blame the guy if he’d simply wanted to touch Laurel’s silky locks and encourage her soft moans as he massaged her scalp in the process.
Plus, there was the way they slept together.
Nolan would never admit to the rest of the Shields how much of each night he’d spent staring at the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms as the moonlight streamed through their window. The truth was, they were so damn exhausted they’d slept for more than twelve hours each of the first three days they’d been under his watch. His shoulders went back and his chest puffed up knowing they’d relied on him to keep them safe when they passed out, the weight of their responsibilities temporarily lifted from Jace’s ripped and tattooed shoulders and worry erased from Laurel’s soul.
Maybe that’s why Nolan was drawn to them, more every moment they spent together. They tripped his protector instincts. Or maybe it was because they were so damn appreciative for every tiny kindness their new friends in Middletown, who were quickly knitting themselves into an iron-clad support system, showed them. Their dazed wonder at simple decency made Nolan realize exactly how much he’d taken for granted in his life. So he’d arranged for a few surprises.