Page 4

Chapter Four

Connor

No matter what job Connor did, they all had one thing in common and that was too much report writing. Marines? Reports. Secret Service? Reports. Private military contractor? Reports. The only silver lining to the whole thing was that he was now officially working alongside his fiancé. That suited Connor’s obsessive need to keep Theo close just fine. Granted, they worked two very different angles of the same company, but he reckoned it was the only circumstance that would keep them together without it coming across as clingy or possessive. And Connor was nothing if not those two things, not after everything they’d been through in their lives. Almost losing Theo, not once but twice, was enough to send chills down Connor’s spine. The fact that he himself had almost died the last time around made the neediness reciprocal.

Connor pulled the SUV into the driveway of Amarat Associates headquarters and killed the engine. HQ wasn't some big brick building in the heart of DC—it was a family home in Anacostia, burgeoning to the brim with a boatload of people at any given time of the day and night. The fact that his own mother often spent most of her free time there was icing on the cake. He loved having all his loved ones close. His mama lived with them, so the time they spent together at the Gendry house was another added bonus. Fact of the matter was, Connor had missed having her nearby. His brush with death had put a lot of things into perspective for him.

The weather was warm for September, and the fact that it was a Saturday morning meant the neighborhood was alive. The Gendry household seemed bursting at the seams with the same liveliness. The twins were teasing Luke’s dog in the front yard. Loud music could be heard through the open windows of the house. Lance was, strangely enough, standing on the roof of the front porch with a new gadget in his hands, pointed at the sky like someone from a sci-fi movie. Connor wouldn't ask. It was easier not to ask when it came to the Gendry boys.

“Let’s try to make this quick,” Theo groused from the passenger seat. Theo hated driving, but was forced to do a lot of it. Connor thrilled over the opportunity to lessen his load and be the driver for their work commute.

“I only got a handful of reports. We’ll be in and out in a jiffy, Teddy.” Connor climbed out of the vehicle and met Theo around the front.

“I swear, they're worse than children.” Theo dubiously eyed the shenanigans and scrunched his nose. There was no heat behind the words and Connor found Theo’s morning grouchiness endearing. It was good to see him more and more like his old self as they settled in for the long haul. Connor snagged Theo’s hand and brushed a thumb over the band around his ring finger as they moved toward the front door.

“Good people.”

“The best,” agreed Theo with a fleeting smile.

They exchanged greetings all around before slipping into the home, bypassing the living spaces as they ventured to the Lair. At least, that’s what Connor called the basement of the house. The majority of the space was dominated by the imposing bank of monitors and servers and whatever the heck else Theo and Taz had built up to becoming the technical backbone of the business. The rest of the space was home to a workroom-slash-storage room, built up around the washing machine, dryer, and all the other guts that kept the house running.

Connor parted ways with Theo at the base of the stairs. They had a little work to do—Connor with his reports and Theo doing something involving network security for a company on their books. He didn't understand, nor would he try to. He could barely manage the basics, evidenced by his single-digit typing style as he settled into a beat-up old futon in the workroom and input his password into one of the company’s laptops. Theo and Taz had both ribbed Connor over it more than a time or two.

A few careful clicks on the track pad brought up the report system. It was all routine stuff. Simple security duties and a few reports on the other jobs he’d gotten done over the week. He sighed and clicked on a button a second time, but the machine didn't respond. Muttering under his breath, he clicked a third time. Stupid computer. He gave it a little shake to see if that would get things moving.

Things got moving for sure. Connor startled as a loud chiming sound came from the shitty speakers of the laptop. The once frozen screen lit up like an emergency beacon as pop-up boxes with red alert symbols began appearing. When even louder alerts started clanging in the Lair, Connor real quick dumped the laptop on the table and backed away before it could burn him or something.

“Teddy!” Connor’s voice bellowed over the cacophony as he stared at the laptop. “Baby, I don't know what I did!”

Theo sprinted into the room and skidded to a halt at the table, mumbling curses under his breath as he pulled the computer closer. All Connor could do was stand dumbfounded as his partner’s hands dashed over the keys. His movements were deft and hurried. The cussing stopped as Theo’s concentration took over, a wrinkle appearing between his brows. Within seconds, the laptop stopped chiming and whining. Hell, the thing stopped working all together, the screen pitch black where it had once been a flurry of boxes and alerts. Evidently, whatever happened wasn't over yet. Theo took off again, disappearing back to the larger bay of bigger computers in the adjacent room. More than a little lost, Connor trailed behind with an apology hanging on the tip of his tongue.

“I'm sorry—”

“Call Taz.” Theo didn’t glance toward him, his eyes locked on the largest screen. Suddenly, the computer chair sailed across the room on whining wheels as Theo kicked it out of the way and stepped into the free space, his hands jumping back and forth between two different keyboards, his eyes darting all over the half dozen monitors clinging to the cinderblock wall. Connor knew enough to know he better do as asked and stay the hell out of the way. He wrangled his cell from the pocket of his cargo shorts and dialed the number for Theo’s ex.

“Hello?” Taz’ voice was wary.

“Howdy, hey.” Connor pulled the device from his ear and hit the button to turn it on speakerphone. “Teddy, talk.”

“Taz, get the fuck back here ASAP.” Theo’s hands never stopped moving. Connor marveled at his adept ability to multitask.

“Theo?” Taz still sounded baffled.

“Taz, we’ve been breached! I'm dumping the mainframe onto deck nine before I sever the system. Code Red. I need your kill keys!”

“Fuck. Fuck!” Taz’ strained voice was full of panic and Connor heard a loud thump before the man continued rambling. “Lemme know when you're ready, Angel.”

Connor bristled at the old pet name, the briefest flare of old, unfounded jealousy there and gone in a flash. He held the phone closer and watched Theo work. Connor had no clue what he was was actually doing, but it seemed like this was a big fucking deal.

“And… go!” Theo’s hands paused for a microsecond, hovering over the nearest keyboard with a noticeable tremble.

“Alpha-niner-India-four-six-eight. Victor-seven-Oscar-two-nine-five. Kilo-four-Zulu-three-seven-seven.” The words were spoken in precise, deliberate enunciation and Connor briefly boggled over Taz’ proficiency with the phonetic alphabet.

There was a pregnant pause where the room went deadly silent but for the whirr of the many computers. A split second later, the room was utterly silent as the white noise ceased completely and every single monitor went black while they all held their breath. Theo released a gusty sigh and braced his palms on the desk, his head hanging between his shoulders in what Connor could only describe as defeat.

“Fuck me sideways!” Taz’ shout rang out over the phone and startled them both. “We’re five minutes out.”

With the call coming to an abrupt end, Connor quietly returned it to his pocket and took a tentative step toward Theo. He made a soft sound before lifting his hand to rest a palm between the hunched shoulder blades and began rubbing a small circle when his lover exhaled again.

“Teddy, what the hell was that?”

“Someone broke into the company's servers. They were exfiltrating files left and right. Knowing what is on these systems, it’s…” Theo choked on his words before continuing in a quieter voice. “It's not good, Con.”

“Did I—”

Theo pushed off the desk and pivoted, his head shaking a vehement no. “Not at all your fault. I need to talk to Taz to see what he has been up to before we start figuring out what they managed to grab before I killed it. And trying to figure out who they were. Hopefully.”

Connor was apprehensive, the air thick with crackling tension that erupted into a feeling not unlike static electricity as the pounding of footsteps clattered overhead before tumbling down the stairs. Taz all but fell into the basement, his fists clenched and his eyes spitting fire.

“What the fuck did you do?!” He crossed the distance in a flash, so fast Connor’s response was delayed by a fraction of a second, just enough time for Taz to advance and plant his palms against Theo’s chest with a forceful shove. “What did you do?!”

“Hey!” Connor bellowed, reaching out to grab the back of Taz’ sweatshirt before hauling him away from Theo’s stunned form. As soon as he did so, Theo sparked to life, livid in a way Connor hadn't ever seen before. He sprang forward and returned the push with one of his own. Connor swiftly adjusted stance to position himself between the two black cats ready to go toe-to-toe.

“Quit, both a’ye!”

“That’s enough!” Luke arrived as backup, immediately scanning the situation and sliding in to help Connor keep the two grumpy little shits from ripping one another's hair out.

Unable to vent their frustrations through shoving like pissed off school kids, they resorted to screaming. Shouting at one another devolved into yelling over one another. Connor wasn't surprised by Taz’ temper, but he'd definitely never seen Theo reach this level of anger this fast.

Luke lifted his hand, positioning his middle finger and thumb between his lips to unleash an ear splitting whistle that finally broke the spell. Taz and Theo stilled, their chests heaving, fists clenched, and eyes glaring.

“One at a fucking time, understood? Theo, go.” Luke dipped his chin, his gaze perpetually bouncing between the two men to stay alert to another possible eruption.

“I didn't do shit but save your ass! I'd just walked in to do my fucking job and found your computers still patched into a fucking forum, asshole!” Theo flung a dramatic hand toward where Connor had been sitting with the laptop in the adjacent room. “As soon as Connor logged into the system, it all popped off.”

“What—oh fuck. Fuck, no.” Taz went from feral to forlorn in a millisecond. The fight drained from his body as the blood drained from his face just moments before he physically folded in on himself, bending over to brace his hands on his knees. Connor had seen enough of Theo’s panic attacks to recognize the signs—Taz began hyperventilating, his body became wracked with tremors, and he damn near choked on his own tongue before sinking to his knees with a strangled sob.

“That’s what I thought.” Theo’s smug, indignant words didn't match the meek tone used to voice them as he, too, shrank where he stood, his palms blanketing his face with a noticeable shake. Connor and Luke exchanged glances before easing closer to soothe their respective partners' frayed nerves.

“Y’all having a fight club you didn’t tell us about—” Liam, one of Luke’s younger brothers, only made it halfway down the stairs before Luke halted him in his tracks with merely a glance. Recognition alighted on the guy's face as he glanced at the tense scene and literally backtracked up the stairs, backwards. Connor shook his head, still baffled and reeling.

“Reckon someone wants to tell me what we do next?” Connor tugged Theo even closer, encircling him in a tight embrace to lend his support where he could.

“Theo… m'sorry.” Taz, for all his typical defensiveness, sounded insecure and uncertain, like a scolded child.

“Yeah. Same. We need to figure out the extent of and mitigate the damage.” Theo gradually pulled himself from Connor’s arms and vigorously rubbed his face. “I need your help with that.”

“Yeah, shit. Of course.” Taz seemed to pull himself together in much the same way, for all intents and purposes. He wasn't fooling Connor, and he definitely wasn't pulling the fleece over Luke’s eyes, either.

As quickly as the two had been ready to rip one another’s throats out, they recovered. Connor stood back and tried to make sense of how they could go from homicidal one second to working seamlessly side by side the next as the monitors began blinking back to life, one by one. He rattled his head and huffed a cautious laugh, giving Luke another sidelong glance to hopefully garner some clarity from the man.

“Don't look at me. I don't fucking know, bud.” He shrugged and jerked his chin toward the stairs. “We’ll be the snack bitches so they at least eat today. Beer?”

“Reckon I might as well.”

Hours passed. Way too many hours, in Connor’s opinion. He and Luke swapped snack duties, creeping in to refresh drinks and a supply of moderately healthy foods that could be crammed in while the two became fused with the blue-glow labyrinth of a world Connor would never understand. The whole house was on high alert, aware of the tension smoldering in the subterranean world beneath their feet. For that reason alone, the response time was instantaneous the moment bickering became audible. Connor and Luke both jockeyed for first place in the race down the stairs. Fight club was looking more and more likely, after all.

“Make it make sense! I know you know something!” Theo’s curls were as wild as his gesticulations as he cornered Taz in his rolling computer chair.

“I can’t tell you!”

“Bullshit!” Theo whirled away, his hands still erratically flying to punctuate his words. “You're a shit liar! Tell me why they stole what they did!”

“Enough!” Luke bellowed, muscling Theo backward till his shoulders hit the farthest wall. “Calm. Down.”

Oh, shit. Connor’s protective rage instantly flared as he gripped Luke by the bicep and hauled him away from Theo.

“Fuck you!” Theo barked at Luke with seething intensity. Connor’s first lesson in dealing with trauma survivors—you never told them to calm down.

“Out of line,” Connor grit out through clenched teeth, his glare broaching no argument as it bore into Luke’s gaze.

“Taz, talk.” Luke dipped his chin toward Connor in assent before shaking himself free and putting much needed space between himself and Theo.

“Luke, I can’t—”

“Now, Timothy!”

Taz slumped deeper into his chair and dropped his face into his hands, muffling the words but not enough to lessen the blow. “They stole that information to formulate an attack because Elias is planning to run for President against your fucking mother, okay?”

Connor's eyes snapped toward Theo and caught the instant the words hit him right in his core. He didn't even have to think about his actions as he propelled himself forward to yank Theo into his arms.

“No. He wouldn't… no.” What started as a small, jerky movement became a frantic bid for denial as Theo’s head shook back and forth. “No.”

“Yes.” Taz looked up and the devastation in his face was enough to give Connor pause. Outside of himself, Taz was the one person who knew full well what the implications of what he’d said were.

“He would have… he would have told me.” Theo’s shock was slow growing until it wasn't. Lost and reeling, tears sprang to his bright hazel eyes as he searched Connor's expression for an answer neither of them had. “No.”

“I'm sorry.” The words were so soft and plaintive, Connor earnestly believed that Taz was also fighting back tears. “I'm sorry, Theo.”

“He… it… no.” Despite his stammered words speaking in denial, the truth burrowed in and Connor had only a blink of the eye to react before he bore Theo’s full weight in his embrace. Too many times, he'd held his defeated lover’s body when the burden of it was too great. Never had he imagined the source of the pain would be Elias.

“Baby… lemme get ye home.”

Nobody spoke, but the harried looks told enough of the tale as Connor glanced over Theo’s tousled curls and communicated in silence with the pained expressions on both Luke’s and Taz' faces. There wasn't anything that could be said. Not in the face of something this big. Connor tore his eyes away to concentrate on the most important thing in that moment—his Theo.