Page 17 of Mine to Keep (Bloody Desires #10)

ten

comfort

Sunlight streams through the window of the room, rousing me from my sleep. I open my eyes slowly, looking first at Talon on my left, then Javier on my right, both tucked tight to my body.

I sigh, looking up at the ceiling for a few moments. It’s been months since I woke up feeling well-rested. My muscles don’t ache, my eyes aren’t itchy, and my thoughts aren’t clouded. I also didn’t have a nightmare.

Ever since Adelane, I’ve had different variations of the same dream. Fire, skin tight under heat, gunshots, a heavy weight resting in my arms.

But last night, after coming my brains out and having Javier and Talon in my bed, I slept like I never have before.

Reaching over carefully so I don’t wake Talon, I grab my phone and check the time—seven fifteen in the morning. I slept for six hours. After getting snatches of sleep here and there for months, it feels good to rest so much.

With my phone in hand, I untangle myself from Talon and Javier, tucking the blanket back around them before I leave the room and walk out to the balcony. I shut the door behind me and take a seat on one of the lounge chairs outside.

If I was into scenery and shit, this would be nice. The view is pretty, the hotel overlooking a lake that has ducks and geese swimming along the surface and cormorants flapping their wings. The grass is lush and green, and the air smells fresh.

I take a few deep breaths, allowing myself to relax and pretend to be a regular person, at least for a few moments. Then I call Peggy.

“You know,” she says, sounding groggy, “there is a such thing as time zones.”

“My bad, Pegs.”

“All good. I need to be up anyway. What do you need, babes?”

“I need the dorm assignment and class schedule for someone named Cole. Don’t know his last name. Goes to that local college here. He’s?—”

“Cole Rollands, from Michigan.” I can hear her fingers moving rapidly across her keyboard as she reports Cole’s information.

“Was going to school in North Carolina, doing his post grad at Timber Creek University. Was in a relationship with Talon Smith up until three days ago when he was found with an English woman.”

“That’s him,” I say, not surprised she came up with his information so quickly.

“No dorm assignment. He lives in an apartment not far from campus. Looks like he doesn’t have classes today.”

“Send me his address.”

“It’s in your email,” she says as my phone buzzes in my hand. I pull it away just as the email notification disappears. “Anything else?”

“Yeah. I haven’t been paid for the Delham job. I know it got fucked up, but it wasn’t on me this time. The woman is still dead.”

Peggy hums. “Not sure why you weren’t paid. Let me call The Director. He knows what happened, as I gave him the information immediately after you called me. I’ll give you a call back when I have something.”

“Thanks, Pegs.”

After we hang up, I pull up my internet browser and find the article about the woman I took out. Since this phone is encrypted, I don’t have to worry about anything being traced back to me because of a targeted search.

Through the search, I find out the crime scene was discovered a few hours after I left, but no suspects mentioned.

In fact, witnesses didn’t mention a man entering the building, but they did see the woman that hired me, Elena Wright, running frantically up the stairs.

Hopefully, the police conclude that Elena found out Uria was sleeping with her husband and went over to confront her.

Shit went down and they killed each other.

The Void wouldn’t even need to try to cover it up. The story writes itself.

Though it does irritate my soul that I had two fucked-up jobs in such a short time. I’m Viper. Botching jobs isn’t me.

Sighing, I lean back in the chair, staring up at the sky.

If I’m honest, this is my first vacation.

Even when I took a month off, I was on high alert, walking my property with a gun in my hand, anticipating someone coming after me or getting an emergency call from The Void.

I wasn’t at ease the entire time. But being in a hotel room with two men I barely know has me feeling contentment I’ve only felt with one other person before.

What’s next for the three of us? Talon and Javier will have each other. Once all of this is over, I’ll be on my own again.

Why does that thought make my chest constrict?

I know what Peggy told me and what they shared with me.

Other than that, they’re strangers. How did two strangers shine a light on how lonely my existence has been?

Now, I think about how the brief light they shined on me will go out in less than a week.

May as well enjoy it while I can. If a week is all I get, I’ll soak up every minute so when I am alone, I’ll have some good memories. I’ll be their Daddy for a week. They deserve it.

I go back inside, order room service, then take a quick shower. After I get out and as I’m brushing my teeth, there’s a knock at the hotel room door.

As I’m bringing in our breakfast, a sleepy Javier steps out of the room, his hair all over his head. “Good morning,” he says shyly, a blush on his cheeks.

“Good morning, baby boy. Sleep well?”

He nods and sits on the couch, tucking his legs under him. “Yeah. Kinda cramped though. Not sure three grown men should sleep in a queen bed.”

“Did you and Talon want to sleep in your room?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“No!” he practically shouts. “No.” He lowers his voice to a normal volume. “The three of us can just move into the room with the king bed.”

“That’s a good idea,” Talon says as he exits the room and walks over to lay his head in Javier’s lap. “I felt like I was going to roll off the bed a hundred times last night.” He smiles over at me. “Good morning, Daddy.”

“Mornin’, little one.”

He giggles with delight. “So we’re switching rooms? We’re still gonna sleep together?”

Javier nods, rubbing over Talon’s cornrows. “Yeah. Not enough space for three grown men in a queen bed.”

I grin at both of them. “Explains why the two of you were practically sleeping on top of me.”

“That,” Talon says with a smile, “and I like to cuddle. Even if we had an Alaskan King bed, I’d have slept on top of you.”

I bark a laugh. “I ordered breakfast. We can eat and possibly go out?”

Javier shakes his head. “I’m still jet lagged, so I’d rather stay in. What about you, T?”

“Same.” Talon punctuates that statement with a yawn.

“Tomorrow, though, can we go sightseeing? Not around here, though. Don’t want to run into Cole.

But Toronto is close, right? Like a train ride or something?

We can go there and see the museums. Oh!

” he exclaims as he sits up, his eyes shining bright.

“We can ride that boat that gets us close to Niagara Falls! I’ve always wanted to get on that.

And they have stuff around where we can do some touristy shit. Please? Can we go? Please?”

Both Talon and Javier look at me, waiting for an answer.

This isn’t my first time in Canada. I’ve never cared about seeing sights or making memories when I came here. In the past, I’ve only cared about doing the job, getting paid and going home. But looking at both of their pleading faces, I can’t say no.

“Okay.”

“Yes!” Talon exclaims, clapping his hands like a child. “I’m so excited.”

I smile at them, adding food to my plate. I sit on the floor at the coffee table, while the two of them sit on the couch.

We talk while we eat—well, they talk. I listen and ply them with questions so they won’t ask me any. They do manage to ask me a few, but I change the subject, not wanting them to know too much about me. It’ll be easier when we finally separate.

Javier doesn’t give up so easily, though. “Come on, Knox,” he says, yawning widely. “You can tell us how old you are. We’re young, but we’re not kids.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Why is my age important?”

“It’s not. I’m just nosy.”

I smile and shake my head. “I’m thirty-five.”

“Old,” Talon jokes, then winks at me.

A chuckle leaves my lips. “Yeah, a little bit. Don’t know if an old man can hang with you young folks too tough. I need my rest.”

“You hung pretty well last night,” Talon says, biting his bottom lip. “You’re doing just fine.”

Javier chuckles beside him. “Do not be a slut, Talon.” He leans over and kisses Talon’s cheek, making him blush.

Yeah, the two of them will be just fine together after whatever this is, is over.

“You’re in security, right?” Talon asks and I nod. “What does that mean? What do you do?”

“I get paid a lot of money to make sure some people don’t bother the people that employ me.” Not an outright lie. “I keep people safe.” That might be stretching the truth a lot. “It’s not the most glamorous job, but it pays well.” That’s as close to the truth as I can get.

“I can imagine, if you can take trips to Canada just because. Maybe when I get out of grad school, I’ll make enough money to take vacations,” Talon says.

“I’m sure you will.”

We talk and watch a movie before both Talon and Javier say they’re tired and want to take a nap. It’s only around noon, but jet lag is a bitch. Sleeping like shit, then finally getting a good amount of sleep actually works in my favor. Especially for what I have in mind.

I lie down with Talon and Javier for a few minutes, letting them talk and cuddle with me before they drop off to sleep. I soak in their attention, loving how unguarded they are with their affection.

Once I’m sure they’re asleep, I quietly slip out of bed and get dressed. I pull a fitted cap and a pair of sunglasses from my bag, and slip in the false teeth I wore for Uria’s kill.

It’s risky, going to Cole’s place in broad daylight, but it’s the only time I’ll be able to slip away from my boys to get it done.

Wait, my boys ? No. I’ve never claimed anyone before. Even with Olivia, we knew what it was. We played but kept it professional outside of the bedroom.

I shake the thought off. I have a mission right now. When I’m finished, I can figure out what the fuck is going on in my head.

Instead of taking a taxi to his address, I jog. It’s only about fifteen minutes away, and it’s an easy way to get a workout in.

I check my phone once more to make sure I have the proper building for Cole, and walk up to his second-floor apartment. I knock on the door, keeping my head down so he can’t see me through the peephole.

“Who is it?” a deep voice asks from the other side of the door.

Adopting a British accent, I say, “Cole? It’s Cliff. From History. Listen, I got?—”

Cole pulls the door open with a clueless look on his face. “I don’t take history this?—”

Before he can finish his sentence, I punch him in the nose, breaking it immediately.

“Fuck, man!” he shouts as he falls to the floor. “What the fuck?”

I give him no more time to ask questions. I’m on him, delivering punches to his face and body, anywhere I can reach. He tucks himself into a ball, but I don’t stop until he’s a crying mess on the floor.

Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, I bring his nose close to mine and say, “The next time you think about fucking over Isla, think again.” Then I punch him again, knocking him unconscious.

I figured it would be best to blame his girlfriend so no one would come after Talon for Cole’s bullshit. Now he’ll think one of her friends saw the now-deleted video and came to fight for her.

I didn’t like how miserable Talon looked because of Cole’s bullshit. I didn’t like the tears streaking his face. I didn’t like how he felt like he had to sightsee in another part of the country to avoid a dickhead that decided to cheat on him instead of telling him their relationship was over.

Now he has someone that would defend him.

Even if he doesn’t know it.