A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House Book 4) (39 page)

Jessie smiled, thankful the somber Aidan didn't linger. "I'll play any role you want."

"Perv."

"And you secretly love that."

Aidan eased back from the embrace and looked at Jessie, a hint of a smile coloring his features. "I do." He reached up and brushed his fingertips against Jessie's cheek. "I don't know how you put up with me."

"Kiss me and make me forget how insufferable you can be."

A teasing grin slowly spread across Aidan's face. He leaned in and placed a quick kiss against Jessie's lips and inched away, still grinning.

Jessie rolled his eyes dramatically. "That totally didn't help me forget anything."

Aidan, barely a breath away from him with the grin still plastered across his face, quickly kissed him again.

"Nope, still remembering everything." Jessie wrapped his arms around Aidan's neck and narrowed his eyes. "You're going to have to try much, much harder than that. You are a royal, teasing, pain in—"

Aidan latched on to Jessie's mouth with more force, reaching up and cupping the back of Jessie's head to hold him in place as he flipped them over on the couch and rested his weight on Jessie's body. Aidan replaced the teasing, barely-there kisses with a hard press of lips and forceful, never-ending surge of unmistakable desire and need. He firmly cradled Jessie's head, guiding him in place as he devoured Jessie's mouth in the heated exchange.

Jessie melted into Aidan's hold, gripping his shirt for purchase and moaning with each slide of Aidan's tongue and brush of lips.

He arched into Aidan, craving the closeness and warmth as every other thought quickly escaped his mind.

* * * *

Jessie rocked on the balls of his feet, waiting. He stole a glance at his wristwatch, relieved he had plenty of time to get to his client meeting at the courthouse.

The door swung open and Jessie's eyes widened. Cole greeted him, wearing nothing but his superheroes undies and a backward baseball cap, with a hint of his dark black hair peeking out the back.

Jessie shook his head and sighed. "You could have gotten dressed. You knew I was coming over."

"That's so boring." Cole grabbed Jessie's lapel and pulled him into the condo. "You're in my house. You're lucky I'm wearing anything at all. Besides, Ty got me these. I had to break them in." He waggled his eyebrows and made his way to the kitchen.

Ty emerged from the bedroom, a chuckle escaping him. "Morning, Jessie."

Jessie waved, trying to avoid looking at Cole who now pointed his comic book covered ass up in the air as he dug into the refrigerator.

"Sorry…I forgot to give these to Aidan last night." Ty walked over to the television cabinet and withdrew a small stack of DVDs then made his way over to Jessie. "We got a little distracted."

Distracted? Is that what the Calloway brothers called any sort of deep emotional discussion? Well, at least that was what he thought might have happened the night before. Even though Aidan usually quieted during their talks, he always listened and the thought that his brother carried any guilt for the death of their parents gnawed away at him. He hadn't been able to extract any information from Aidan when he'd arrived late in the evening and the curiosity drove him to the brink of madness.

"I want you to meet someone."

Jessie cocked his head, questioning. "Who?"

Ty extended his hands, holding the stack of DVDs. "My brother. My
real
brother. He's the one in the video with the big smile and loud laugh."

A flutter of excitement spread in Jessie's chest as he took the stack of DVDs. "Sounds like a guy I know. It's nice when he makes the occasional appearance."

"He's made more appearances since you came along." Ty shoved his hands in his jean pockets and quieted, looking down as if gathering his thoughts. He glanced up at Cole who hosted his own one-man show, singing and dancing in the kitchen as he worked his magic with breakfast. "Aidan told me about Nadia," Ty said, pitching his voice to keep the conversation between them. He looked firmly at Jessie. "He said you told him to tell me about her."

"I thought you should know."

Ty nodded, bobbing his head repeatedly as if unaware of the gesture. "I didn't know about her. I'm glad he told me." He chewed on his lips, his gaze casually traveling toward Cole. "He shouldn't carry the weight of that guilt on his shoulders. It's the kind of thing that slowly kills you a little inside." He spoke distantly, as if his words carried a deeper meaning. "We talked about…the accident. That was the first time…" He looked down at his shoes and his eyebrows twitched. He finally looked up, a mild shine appearing in his brown eyes. "It was the first time we've talked about the accident. I'm sorry I kept him here so late last night."

Jessie smiled, imagining the Calloway brothers' conversation—initial shock at the openness, quickly followed by the eagerness to reconnect on such a difficult and
personal
subject. "When he opens up, you have to totally take advantage of that tiny window."

"Yeah." Ty sighed. "I hadn't spoken to him like that in a while."

"He's trying," Jessie said, finally putting the DVDs into his messenger bag.

"He loves you."

Jessie stilled, wondering if Aidan had actually said those words to his brother.

"He's quiet about things like that, but it's obvious."

Jessie closed his bag and nodded. "He's a man of few words."

"He's got a big heart. It's a bit hidden, but I swear it's there."

Jessie chuckled, gripping the strap of his bag to busy himself. He looked over his shoulder at Cole, who now sang off-key, making up words to fill a song as he scrambled the eggs. "Not everyone is vocal about how they feel. Sometimes, you need to look beyond the words." He shifted his focus back to Ty. "I've got a meeting downtown I need to head out to before traffic really kicks in."

Ty pulled Jessie into an embrace. "Thank you." He quickly retreated, as if the gesture had been driven more by some instinctive reaction than a formal thought.

Jessie observed the subtle coloring of Ty's cheeks; seemed reveals of this nature were rare in all Calloways. "Thanks for the videos. I'll take care of them."

"I know you will," Ty said, his soft tone and the sudden warmth in his brown eyes implying far more than his words.

Jessie said his goodbyes to Cole and made his way to the parking garage. He sat in his car and sighed. He wanted to run home and binge-watch the videos, anxious to see a smiling, loud laughing Aidan come to life. He leaned his head back against the headrest, taking a deep breath. He reached for his phone and sent a quick text.

Leaving Ty's. On my way to meeting.

Aidan immediately responded.
OK. Don't be nice to people.

A laugh escaped him. Sometimes, Aidan had the oddest ways of saying things. He typed in a quick reply.
Don't worry. I'll be careful.

I always worry
, Aidan immediately responded.

Jessie had been more than careful on the few occasions he'd left for a meeting. Maybe Aidan's paranoia had rubbed off on him, but his senses had heightened when out on his own. How Michael had managed to come back into his life and still taint the somewhat peace he had found nagged him. He was usually better at focusing on the positive things in life and pushing away the negative. But somehow, this monster still found a way to extend its claws and pierce a wound he had hoped had healed over some time ago—as best as a wound of that kind could be managed.

He drove out of the garage and stopped at the red light, tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel. He pulled out his phone again when it buzzed with a new message.

Miss you.

A swell of emotions rose in his chest. The grip on his phone tightened as he read the two small words that meant far more from Aidan than most people could imagine.

Miss U 2. :)

A short and quick response to avoid any lingering thoughts Aidan might have pondered during the extended delay before the text had arrived. The light changed and he drove to his meeting with a permanent grin etched in his face.

"Jess, I'm home," Aidan yelled out, smiling. He'd never get tired of saying that out loud. He shrugged out of his sport coat, waiting for Jessie's reply, ignoring the ache in his muscles from another long day. Between too many consecutive late nights with the task force and Jessie's series of client meetings, they had barely spent much time together in the evenings. Aside from missing the contact to ground him and give him inner peace, he needed Jessie's positivity and the reassurance of goodness in the world.

"Jess?"

Nothing.

He glanced toward the kitchen then to the empty dining room table.

No laptop, no scattering of folders, no music filtering throughout the house. No Jessie.

He withdrew his gun from his holster, holding his firearm in both hands as he slowly made his way through the house, listening for the slightest sound. He stepped into their room and stilled. Jessie sat cross-legged on their brand new bed, staring down at the small pillow in his lap.

"Jess?"

He didn't move. He didn't respond.

Jessie's defeated, lowered shoulders twisted his gut. Aidan took off his shoulder holster and set it on the dresser with his gun. He sat on the bed, not really sure what to do or say. "What's wrong?" He tentatively touched Jessie's chin, raising his head. His heart ached at the emptiness reflecting back from Jessie's eyes.

He leaned in for a tender kiss, gently holding Jessie's face. He inched back and saw the pool of blue begin to fill, as if the touch of lips had turned the dial on a valve.

"What happened?" he asked, stroking Jessie's cheek.

"Nothing happened. I'm okay," Jessie said, looking away.

"You're not okay." He placed a kiss on Jessie's forehead, slowly stroking his hair and drawing him near, pulling Jessie's head to his shoulder.

Jessie anchored his fingers on Aidan's arm. "It's not a good day," he whispered.

"So no inspirational posters today?"

Jessie shook his head, burying his nose at the crook of Aidan's neck.

He wrapped his arms around Jessie's waist, pulling him off the bed and onto his lap. He held him close, stroking his back and peppering kisses on his head and temple.

"I'm sorry," Jessie whispered, snuggling into the embrace, clasping his hands together and bending his knees up into Aidan's body in a fetal position.

"For what?"

"I'm supposed to be stronger than this for you." He gripped the front of Aidan's shirt tightly, burrowing himself into Aidan's body.

Aidan held him closer, pressing his lips more firmly in Jessie's hair. "I want all of you. On your good and bad days. How about you let me be the strong one in this relationship today."

Jessie looked up at him, a barely-there smile touching his lips. He reached up, ghosting his fingertips over the stubble he always sought. "I'm scared he'll come back," he barely whispered, avoiding eye contact and letting his focus follow the trail of his fingers.

"Did something happen?"

"No." Jessie buried his face under Aidan's chin, pushing his nose up against the stubble. "Sneaks up on me sometimes if I think about it too much."

Aidan rested his cheek on Jessie's head, stroking his back and holding him close. He couldn't imagine how Jessie held it together most days. He was certainly entitled to a crap day. "Are you hungry?"

Jessie shook his head.

"You want to just stay like this?"

"Can we? For a little while."

Aidan inched back, tilting Jessie's face up by the chin, and pressed his lips to Jessie's. "For however long you want." He rose from the bed, still tightly holding Jessie in his arms, and walked over to the new couch in their bedroom. He pulled the throw over them to keep Jessie warm, then leaned back, letting the weight of Jessie's body push him into the couch.

He gently ran his hand along Jessie's back, hoping to push away the bad memories with each stroke. He brushed his nose in Jessie's hair, closing his eyes as the dark strands tickled his nose and caught in the annoying, ever-present stubble he refused to shave in the evenings because Jessie loved it so much.

There was nothing he wanted more than to give Jessie the peace he deserved, to free him of this shadow that always hovered just outside of their safety bubble. He held Jessie close, offering gentle caresses as best he could until Jessie's breathing began to level off into a steady rhythm, easing them into sleep.

* * * *

"Reyes, this is all taking too fucking long," Aidan said. He looked around at his fellow team members and sensed their frustration. Each day, his fear grew. Too many months without a lead meant the case would inevitably be thrown on the backburner.

"We're close," Manny stated. "And that's all I'm telling you. You need to back the hell away from Vega's case or I'm going to request it get transferred back to the department and you know what's going to happen if that's the deal."

It would find its place at the bottom of a stack of more current cases and potentially be reclassified as a cold case.
Son of a bitch
.