Page 21 of Hitting the Jackpot (Las Vegas Littles #4)

Lake eyed the watch. Jesse had promised him one that would give him access to the entire place. Everything that Jesse had built.

That was how much faith that Jesse had in them.

Lake would work every day to ensure that he lived up to that faith.

Mason held open the door for him and Lake slipped inside. The parking garage opened to the hall behind the stores and offices on this level. And Lake knew where the back door to the coffee shop was.

“That wouldn’t be lunch for my boyfriend, would it?”

“It is.”

“I’m stopping at the coffee shop. Want to come?” Lake asked.

“That was my next stop,” Mason replied.

“Cool. I know the shortcut.”

“There’s a shortcut?” Mason asked.

“And that nifty little bracelet will get us in.”

“Oh, you know about that? So, the one that Jesse ordered for you isn’t a secret,” Mason said.

“He told me. I have a card right now that gives me access to all the floors.”

“I have everything but the boss’s penthouse,” Mason said.

“That makes sense,” Lake agreed. He stopped by the back door of the coffee shop and nodded to the sensor. “Jesse promised Dom one as well, but he said there was no way that Dom could have access to the penthouse.”

Mason laughed. “Probably a good idea. He might wake up with googly eyes on all his stuff.” He held the door open once the light flashed green.

“Please don’t give Dom that idea,” Lake begged.

“Hopefully he won’t be staying in the penthouse that much longer,” Mason said.

Lake turned. “What do you mean?”

Mason grinned. “Didn’t you just move into a new house?”

“I did.”

“A nice big house,” Mason added.

Lake frowned. “He wouldn’t want to move in with me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

No, Lake wasn’t. But he lived with Remi and Dom. Friends. Jesse was rich enough to buy the entire neighborhood. Why would he want to live with other people?

“Look.” Mason stopped and held Lake’s arm. “He hasn’t said anything to me and I don’t want to overstep.”

“Okay.”

“But I’m sure you know that Jesse is close with his brother.”

“I’m aware.” Lake didn’t know where this was going.

“He was a mess after Jacob moved to California,” Mason said.

“Jesse told me it was hard.”

“I was really starting to worry about him, then something interesting happened,” Mason explained.

“What?”

“He met you,” Mason said. “The light came back into his eyes and he was a man on a mission. He was immediately smitten.”

Lake grinned. “He told me that too.”

“Good. Just don’t think that how you live would be a deterrent to him. He likes having those he cares about round him.”

Lake got it. What Mason was saying, and he had to agree. It worked for them. The found family, the communal living, all of it. Why would Jesse be any different? Jesse had gone home with him and loved every minute of it. Even the chaotic breakfast with Dom and Remi.

“Just think about it,” Mason told him.

Lake wouldn’t be able to think of anything else.

Shouting had both of them jerking.

“What the hell?” Mason asked.

Lake didn’t think. He dropped his stuffies, hoodie, and backpack before running for the front. Ezra was out there!

He hit the swinging doors hard, making them slam against the wall as Lake barreled through them.

An older man had Ezra pinned to the wall by his shoulders as an older woman had a finger pointed in his face, yelling awful things.

“Back off!” Lake roared. He raced over and pulled Ezra away from the couple.

“Lake?” Ezra’s voice shook as he sobbed.

Lake pushed Ezra behind him. “Stay away from him!” All Lake could see was red. This had to be Ezra’s parents. No one else would have the nerve to attack Ezra in such a public setting.

“Keep out of this you…weirdo!” the woman screeched at him. She was looking Lake up and down with disdain.

This woman was judging him? Lake would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious.

“I demand you move,” the older man said. “That is our son. We have the right to talk to him.”

“No, you don’t,” Lake said firmly. “No one has the right to treat anyone like that. Family or stranger. You need to leave.”

“I called security and Jesse. They’re on the way,” Mason whispered.

“Take Ezra into the back,” Lake ordered.

“No! Lake.” Ezra grabbed the back of his shirt.

“Can you please check on Zeb and Al?” Lake asked. “I dropped them.”

“But, Lake—”

“Please, Ezra,” Lake murmured.

“You aren’t going anywhere!” the old man yelled. “We aren’t done here!”

“They’re never gonna stop!” Ezra cried.

Oh yes, they were. Lake stepped away from his friend.

“Come on, Ezra. Let’s go into the kitchen,” Mason said.

Lake waited until he heard the swinging doors move then he advanced. He headed toward the older man who had put his hands on Lake’s friend. “I warned you to leave.”

“What are you going to do?” Ezra’s father challenged. “You won’t do anything, will you? You might mess up your makeup. I’ve heard of people like you. If you’re my son’s friend, then we need to get Annabelle away from all of you.”

“Annabelle is Ezra’s daughter,” Lake said firmly. “You won’t take her anywhere.”

“She’s our blood!” the woman shouted.

“I’ve seen how you treat your blood,” Lake responded. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I also know that you tried to sue Ezra for custody and that your case was dismissed. You have no claim to Annabelle or Ezra. Leave now!”

The old man advanced.

Lake braced his feet. They would not get to Ezra. Not on Lake’s watch.

“They won’t be going anywhere.”

Lake’s shoulders stiffened and he didn’t dare take his eyes off Ezra’s parents.

Luckily, Jesse came to him. “The cops are already on the way.”

“Cops!” the woman shrieked.

“You have physically assaulted an employee of mine,” Jesse said.

He shifted enough that half of Lake’s body was behind him. The shaking started and Lake fisted his hands.

“Security will take you into holding until the cops have arrived,” Jesse stated.

Ezra’s parents must have seen how serious Jesse was.

“That’s not necessary,” the old man said. “We’ll go.”

They couldn’t go! Not with the threats that were made. Ezra was right. If they didn’t do something, this wasn’t going to end.

“You won’t go anywhere but to jail where you belong,” Jesse corrected.

“I didn’t do anything!” the woman yelled.

Jesse shook his head. “By attacking my employee here, we caught everything on camera. Security is downloading a copy of the recording now to give to the police. We have the threats you made to Ezra.”

“So?” the woman spat.

“Do you know what a hate crime is?” Jesse asked.

The woman glared.

“We need to leave.” The man tried to pull the woman toward the door but security stepped in their path.

Behind security, two police officers entered the shop.

“Officer Wright. Officer Glenbrook,” Jesse said. “Thanks for getting here so fast.”

“Just a warning,” the female officer said. “We had to put the call over the radio.”

“Which means Eric is already on the way,” Jesse said.

“They all are,” the male officer replied. “We better get this done fast before we have to arrest some of our own.”

Suddenly he felt lightheaded. Lake grabbed Jesse’s shoulder.

“Baby?” Jesse asked as he turned.

Lake opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“Lake!” Jesse grabbed his arms. “You’ve gone pale. Stay with me.”

“Take him into the kitchen,” Officer Glenbrook ordered. “We need to get his statement. We’ll talk to him there. He doesn’t need to see this.”

“Come on, baby. Come with me.”

Lake let Jesse lead him to the swinging doors. The shaking was getting worse. Lake didn’t understand. He’d been brave. Lake had stood up for his friend. He’d protected Ezra and Annabelle.

He knew he was in the kitchen, but the room wavered.

“Sit down for me, Lake,” Jesse encouraged.

That was a good idea. Maybe his knees would stop going weak. Lake pressed his back to the wall then just slid down. Jesse kept hold of Lake’s arms until the cold tile was under him.

“Mas, can you get Lake some water?” Jesse asked.

Water sounded good. Lake’s throat hurt.

“Lake?” Ezra crawled over to him.

Oh good. Lake could see clearly again. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Ezra set Zeb on Lake’s lap while continuing to clutch Al. “Zeb and Al are fine too. They thought it was a game. They’re not mad at you.”

Tears filled Lake’s eyes and he tried to blink them away.

“They’re not mad,” Ezra repeated.

“Not hurt?”

“I can check them over for you,” Jesse said while crouching in front of him. “First you both need to drink some water.”

Ezra leaned against Lake’s arm.

That helped the shakes. Lake nodded. “K.”

Jesse helped Lake drink before giving Lake the plastic cup.

Ezra began to move away but that wasn’t what Lake wanted.

“Stay,” Lake whispered.

“Are you sure?” Ezra asked.

“Helps,” Lake managed. It was taking a lot of effort to talk.

“Shh,” Jesse said as he sat on Lake’s other side. “You don’t have to talk. Just rest.”

Lake appreciated that. Closing his eyes, Lake leaned against Jesse and found comfort in being caged in by family.

“Is he okay?” Mason asked.

“Adrenaline crash,” Jesse responded.

Lake started to lift his head. Was that all it was?

“No, put your head back on my shoulder,” Jesse said.

“You’re my hero,” Ezra whispered.

“I’m so proud of you,” Jesse added. “You did so good protecting our friend.”

“I’ve never been that scared before. They just wouldn’t leave and then all of a sudden my father threw me into the wall. I couldn’t get away!” Ezra said.

The swinging doors banged open, making both Lake and Ezra jump.

“Ezra!” Eric shouted, running in.

“Daddy!” Ezra called.

Eric grabbed his boy from the floor and hugged him tight.

“You okay, Lake?” Remi replaced Ezra’s weight.

Lake wished Remi would scooch in closer though.

“I’m fine,” Lake managed.

“I heard you were the bravest boy ever!” Dom climbed into Lake’s lap, setting Zeb on his own.

Now that was perfect.

“He was awesome,” Ezra praised.

Jesse shook his head. “I’m sorry Ezra. I had security following them. I already spoke to them. There was a miscommunication during shift change. I failed to keep you safe.”

Ezra snorted. “I’m fine. I had my big protector to watch over me.”

“This might be the worst thing that could have happened. No one was hurt. Ezra’s parents are going to pay for this,” Remi said. “We will play this out all the way to the courts. They attacked Ezra. They are going to pay this time.”

“Finally,” Ezra said with a sigh.

“It’s all going to work out,” Dom declared firmly.

Lake smiled as he was surrounded by family, love, and comfort. He had been a brave boy. It seemed he was able to claim that title more and more. Maybe one day he’d be brave enough to confront his own family like he had Ezra’s.

Baby steps.

Or in his case, maybe he should say size thirteen little steps.

Lake giggled.

Once he started to laugh, Lake couldn’t stop.

Tears fell from his eyes, but they were cleansing.

Dom started to laugh with him. Ezra soon followed.

“I have no idea what’s happening,” Jesse whispered.

That made Lake laugh even harder.

“Just roll with it, man,” Remi advised. “Just roll with it.”

“Sure,” Jesse said.

He didn’t sound sure. Lake tilted his head back to peer at Jesse. “Hi, Daddy.”

Jesse smiled. “Hi, baby.”

“I did good?” It was important. He was a brave boy.

“Bestest!” Dom told him.

“Are we regressing?” Jesse asked.

Lake giggled. “Not you, Daddy! You have to be big boy.”

“Gotcha.” Jesse winked.

“I’m going to talk to the officers and have them swing by the house to get the statements later. They’ll be plenty busy booking Ezra’s parents,” Eric said. He bent and passed Ezra to Remi.

“That sounds good,” Jesse asked. “Are Dane and Brandon home?”

“Dane went to pick Brandon up. They’ll meet us at the house,” Remi said.

“Yours or mine?” Eric asked.

“Ours,” Remi said. “Lake will be more comfortable there.”

“What about Ezra?” Lake asked.

“I’m good as long as I’m with you,” Ezra said before slipping his thumb in his mouth.

“K. I want to go home,” Lake said.

“Mas, can you make sure that Lake and Ezra’s shifts are covered? Then cancel my calls for the rest of the day, please,” Jesse asked.

“You got it, boss. I could order some food to be delivered. Your lunch is on the floor,” Mason offered.

“I’ve got the food handled,” Remi said. “Jesse might need some clothes though.”

“Slumber party?” Lake asked.

“Party!” Dom clapped.

“Yay!” Ezra said around his thumb.

“I’ll take care of everything,” Mason said.

“You wanna come?” Lake invited.

Mason grinned. “I have some work to do or I would.” He crouched in front of Lake. “But your Daddy has been trying to get to me to take my vacation for a while. I think I’m going to start planning that.”

“About damn time,” Jesse groused. “You work too damn much.”

His Daddy was being protective again. Lake loved it.

“I have a group of friends from high school. You guys remind me of them. I think I needed to see you together. To remind me that there’s more than work,” Mason said.

“They seem to be good at making people realize that,” Jesse said. He kissed Jesse’s temple. That sounded like praise.

“I agree.” Mason groaned as he stood. “You get them home and I’ll take care of everything here.”

“Home!” Lake demanded then yawned.

“They’re going to wear themselves out and sleep good tonight,” Remi said.

“Slumber party!” Dom declared.