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Margot had arranged a car to pick them up from in front of a house two blocks over near the high school, so as not to pinpoint their temporary den to anyone watching. They had yet to get the upper hand over Carnell and didn’t want the black SUV convoy showing up unexpectedly and unannounced.

However, would their arrival ever be good timing?

Not likely.

Leo hopes Jay and Gideon have a plan for how this takedown is going to go and that they’ll share it with the group soon. Being left in the dark rankles—as Leo is a planner— and not knowing any part of the master plan goes against everything he stands for.

He and Jay had found golf-worthy attire in the back of the car, thankful that Margot’s reach had extended to this, too. With so much time spent in T-shirts and sweats, it felt great to wear something a bit fancier, even if they were changing in the back of a limo.

“Looking good, Leo,” Jay offers, as he adjusts Leo’s wayward collar. He follows it up with a finger down over the S/L emblem on Leo’s pec. “Handsome.”

“You too, alpha.”

Jay sighs, running a hand through his curls.“Wish we were playing a round for real. I know how you love that.”

“For real? I know how you don’t.”

It was true. Jay did not love golf. Not enough running, chasing, scoring, or violence. It’s not that Jay wasn’t good at golf; he was a solid twelve handicap pretty consistently when they played socially with Leo’s dad, which is better than Leo’s respectable sixteen. No, there’s nothing Jay doesn’t do well once he sets his mind to it.

“Yeah, of course. You know I like it when you like it.”

Sometimes, Leo just can’t with this man.

“Why are you so perfect?” Leo asks.

Jay barks out a laugh.

“What!? Why would you say that? I am so far from perfect.”

“No. I’m serious. If I’ve never asked before, it’s been a gross oversight on my part.”

“Now seems like a good time to ask?” he laughs again.

“You know me, no time like the present.” Leo shrugs. It had been impulsively asked; a joke, even though the sentiment was real.

“Leo. I am not perfect.”

“No. No, you are. Sensitive and loving. Self-sacrificing and loyal. Brilliantand talented. Hot as fu–”

“Stop. Seriously. What did you do, and how much will it cost?”

“Oh, fuck you. I can buy my own shit. I am serious here. We have ten minutes.”

“I. Am. Not. Perfect,” Jay argues and crosses his arms.

Leo would be more likely to believe he was annoyed instead of flattered if his ears weren’t bright red.

“You didn’t let me finish. You have a perfect dick. Perfect; and have I mentioned how much I love it? That thing you do when you—”

“That’s enough,” Jay interrupts. “I do not want to meet my mother with a hard-on.”

Leo laughs when his alpha adjusts himself in the too-tight golf pants. No one ever accounts for his alpha’s juicy peach of an ass when choosing outfits or costumes. At the last concert they had, Jay blew out the inside seam of his jeans in front of eighty thousand people.

“I am serious, though. You are the ideal man and the best alpha. The best of men.”

“Why are you doing this now?” Jay whispers, and his sweet, sensitive mate’s eyes are damp.

Why? Well, his sweet, sensitive mate is about to face the dragon in her den, and Leo would be remiss if he didn’t arm the hero with weapons of fortitude beforehand.