“What did you do?” Miles squinted.
“Boy, watch your tone,” Ted warned.
Miles slapped his hands on his hips, glared at him and then Ted, and marched out of the room, presumably to find Triton.
Diesel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“What’d you do?” Ted smirked.
“I might have made Triton think I don’t want him here.”
“Do you?”
“Hell yes.”
“Why’d you make him think otherwise?”
“I’m so much older than him. A while ago, I used to think it was him that needed to grow up and mature. Now, though, I think it’s me. Fuck. He’s got the world at his feet, and I’m looking at retiring,” he admitted roughly.
“Diesel.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you love him?”
He stared at his friend, swallowed, and then nodded. “I do.”
“Then isn’t he worth the risk?”
“He’s worth everything,” he whispered, and the weight on his chest lifted as if a crushing fist had finally released him.
Holy fuck. He stared at Ted. “I owe you a beer.”
Ted smirked. “Sometimes it takes someone else to point out the obvious.” His friend shrugged and settled into a comfy chair in front of the fire.
Ted made it seem so simple. And wasn’t it though? Wasn’t it as simple as him letting go of the past and embracing the future? Triton was worth it. Worth the risk to his heart and now Diesel needed to make things right with him.
Sheepishly, he rubbed a hand at the back of his head just as his phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he put it on speaker.
“Hey, Memphis, what’s up? I have Ted here with me. I put you on speaker. ”
“We arrested Clay and one of his gang trying to break into your house.”
“Are Zane and Isaac okay?” His gaze flicked to Ted.
Memphis snorted clearly over the phone. “The suspects were transported to the community hospital. Does that answer your question?”
“Yeah.” He gave a brief sigh of relief.
Ted chuckled. “How bad are they hurt?”
“They fucked the one guy up thinking he was Clay. Clay seems to have sustained minor injuries.”
“Need me down there?” Diesel asked.
“No, we’ve got it. Can you see if Triton wants to come down tonight and press charges?”
He clenched his teeth, causing his jaw to ache. He didn’t want Triton anywhere near Clay.
“Yeah.” He put Memphis on mute and made his way down the hallway. When he reached the closed door, he pressed his ear to it and heard Triton and Miles talking, their voices too hushed for him to hear.
He knocked gently on the door.
“What,” Triton shouted.
“Memphis arrested Clay,” he said quietly through the door.
Triton yanked open the door. He’d been crying; his face was blotchy and his hair was all askew. Miles was siting cross legged on the bed.
Triton stared at him wide-eyed.
“Do you want to go down and press charges?”
Triton shook his head. “Maybe tomorrow.”
“We really need to tal-” Diesel started to say, but Triton shut the door in his face.
Damn it.
Diesel headed back into the other room where Ted sat. Once there, he un-muted Memphis.
“No, he said maybe tomorrow,” he told the sheriff.
“Catching that bastard so easily feels almost anticlimactic,” Ted said.
“It does,” Memphis’s replied. “We’re still trying to round up some of Clay’s gang. These guys are all wearing the same prison gang tattoo. They’re like roaches. Where there’s one, there will be many more.”
“Fuck,” Diesel muttered.
“You going to go back home?” Memphis asked.
Diesel didn’t hesitate. “I think we’ll stay here a few more nights. Ted and Miles are here; we can all stay and enjoy my brother’s luxury.”
“Sounds good. I’m heading over to Axel’s place. I’m bringing him to my house. He’s being a pain the ass.”
“Call Whip. He’ll help with that.”
“Those two are like oil and water.”
“I imagine that Whip doesn’t take shit from Axel.”
“Whip can be an asshole. Axel doesn’t need that -.”
“Kidding, dude,” Diesel cut in. “You need to relax.”
Ted grinned at him, and Diesel winked. He loved getting Memphis riled up.
“You relax,” Memphis snorted.
“Night, Memphis,” he drawled.
“Night. Talk to you later, Ted.”
“See ya, Memphis.”
He hung up, poured him and Ted both a glass of scotch, and resettled on the couch.
“Hell of a thing,” he said, relieved.
“But fucking great.”
Diesel nodded and swirled his drink.
“Miles in with Triton?” Ted murmured.
“Yup,” Diesel drawled.
“Triton let you in the door?”
“Nope.”
Ted smirked and gazed into the fire.
“I know. I fucked up.” Diesel took a swallow, enjoying the burn.
“You said he was worth it. Don’t give up.”
He’d been holding Shawn’s actions as an example of someone his age instead of the character of the man. When it came right down to it, age really had nothing to do with the honor and integrity of a man.
“I’m not giving up.” He sipped at his drink.
He could admit that Shawn had done a number on him, but he’d done one on himself by refusing to admit that it wasn’t his fault. Shawn leaving wasn’t his fault. They hadn’t been compatible.
Triton had called him on his shit. “Maybe you need to grow up,” the boy had said. The words rang in his ears.
His smile grew.
“What’s so funny?”
“I fucked up,” he repeated.
Ted chuckled and lifted his glass in a silent toast. “We all do when it comes to matters of the heart. You should have seen how I chased Miles. People like to think that he chased me, but it was the other way around.”
He smirked at his friend and took another swallow from his glass.
Triton was turning into a firecracker. And Diesel liked it a hell of a lot.
What he didn’t like was his own actions. What the fuck was he doing? The longer Triton stayed mad at him, the bigger the chasm between them grew.
Ted was quiet and when Diesel glanced over, his friend was dozing.
He took another swallow of his drink and closed his own eyes. Visions of him and Triton together flashed behind his closed lids and he blinked them open against the sudden burn.
He knew in his heart that he and Triton were made for each other. And giving Triton time away wasn’t going to change that. Forcing Triton to reexamine their relationship wasn’t right. Just as him forcing his own baggage on Triton wasn’t right. He groaned softly beneath his breath.
He should have taken Triton at his word. He should have trusted that his boy knew his own mind enough to know that he loved him.
Even if he and Triton didn’t have forever, any time was damned sure better than no time at all.