Page 14 of War Games (Jacky Leon #11)

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

T he rest of the day was a blur for me, but it was fine. Dirk drove. He helped me get through questioning the others we had to visit and was able to pay attention to his nose for lies. I tried to look out for him as he took the lead.

“Are you going to be like this tomorrow, or will the shock wear off by then?” he asked when we got in the truck for the last time, knowing our hotel was the next stop.

“I will be fine by tomorrow.” The reality was that I was vibrating with the need to tell Heath, but with Dirk next to me all day, I couldn’t do that yet. They were planning on going to a courthouse and secretly getting married without telling anyone. I couldn’t believe it, but I could understand the reason. There was something about the ring that made things more. A real reminder. I was wearing my engagement ring most days, always able to look at it and think of Heath. When it wasn’t on my finger, it was on a chain to wear as a necklace. I understood it so well. It seemed a little fast, considering they had fought for several days, but if this was what they thought they needed to remember their promises to each other, then I would stand behind it.

But I can’t tell anyone while we’re sitting in the damn truck.

So, I waited. We got to the hotel late, and once we were checked in, Dirk said he was going to shower, then would figure out dinner for us. I was supposed to look over everyone we were meeting the next day, but instead, I called Heath.

“Yes, darling?” His warm voice washed over me, but it didn’t calm me today.

“Dirk and Landon are engaged and planning to get married at the courthouse,” I said, the words flying out of my mouth.

“Huh?”

“Dirk and Landon want to get married,” I repeated, hoping he was just having a hard time hearing me. He wasn’t. He didn’t suffer from a lick of hearing loss.

“Um…”

“Heath, Dirk said they are getting married at a courthouse! Landon asked him yesterday morning!” I said, trying to keep my voice down so Dirk couldn’t hear me in the other room.

“I, uh…” My fiancé was too stunned for words. That was the third time I had told him, and for the third time, he couldn’t form a full and proper sentence in response.

“Is this okay? Are they in the position to get married? I know mate bonds are permanent, but doesn’t this feel a little… rash?”

“Well…” Heath blew out air. “Weddings are more common in times of war and potential fighting… things like that…”

“Okay, so we let them go to a courthouse and do this. I mean, I don’t know if we should be stopping them. That’s why I’m saying something to you.”

“I think… I will be upset if my son gets married and I’m not there,” Heath continued, choosing his words with obvious care that made me think he was jumping some real mental hurdles to piece together his sentences. “So, I will talk to Landon about that.”

“Okay, see. I think Carey should be able to see her brother get married. And Niko! He and Dirk are just getting closer again, and Niko is out of the state. We need to get him back.”

“They clearly don’t see the need to plan an entire wedding…” Heath cleared his throat. “We’re not going to ask them to do that. I’ll talk to Landon, though, about making sure family gets to see them tie the knot. Just a few close members of our families.”

“Yeah…” I nodded, accepting that.

Oh my God, they’re getting married.

“Jacky, I know you’re telling Heath,” Dirk called through the connecting door. “Why are you like this?”

“You caught me off guard. Of course, I’m going to talk to my fiancé about how his son has gotten engaged without telling anyone,” I said back, now trying to be loud enough for Dirk to hear but not upset all the other patrons of the hotel. “You didn’t think you two were going to pull this off without at least inviting Niko or Carey or, God forbid, your Alpha, Landon’s father, did you?”

Heath choked on noise as I snapped at Dirk.

“We would have said something over this weekend,” Dirk said, groaning. “Please don’t make this a big deal.”

“If it’s a big deal to you and Landon, why can’t it be a big deal to us?” I demanded.

“Jacky, please settle down. This is a good thing. We need something happy to celebrate after so much has happened in recent months… in recent years, actually.” Heath was finally over his own shock.

I smiled, knowing he was right.

“We do,” I agreed, smiling as I opened the door for Dirk to come in and bother me. “We’ll be back on Friday. You and Landon work on making sure we have a decent wedding for these guys.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks for letting me know. He’s inside gaming with Carey, and I’m about to ruin his week by making him host a respectable wedding for his future husband.”

Dirk clearly heard that, his eyes going wide as he scrambled for his phone. I grabbed it from him and wagged a finger.

“No, no. He gets to face his father without any sort of warning,” I said, making Heath laugh harder, catching on to what was happening on my side of things.

“This isn’t funny.” Dirk’s glare was very real, but it didn’t bother me at all.

“It’s hilarious.”

“Landon! Why didn’t you and Dirk tell anyone you planned on getting married?” Heath yelled at the top of his lungs. When he took my call, he’d been outside to get some fresh air and privacy away from his children. I laughed, knowing not only Landon was going to hear that. Dirk did, and I knew Carey inside the house would, too.

Carey’s excited and surprised shriek was the first response. Dirk leaned on the door frame, deeply horrified and embarrassed. I could only imagine what Landon’s face looked like.

“Who told you?”

“Doesn’t matter. You are going to throw a proper wedding for your husband,” Heath replied, and I could visualize the nonchalant shrug Heath had just given Landon.

“I need to convince Dirk that he doesn’t need to tell Jacky everything,” Landon said, groaning.

“We’ve got things here. It’s Tuesday evening… I can have something planned out nicely to have a wedding for them by Sunday. If Kick Shot can host the reception, we’ll be fine.”

“Call Oliver. He’ll make it happen,” I said, grinning at Dirk as I gave Heath the go-ahead. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. Stay safe out there.”

I hung up, keeping my shit-eating grin as I patted Dirk’s shoulder.

“How could you?” Dirk muttered, covering his face.

“Because we care about you and want to share these moments with you,” I said, rubbing his back. My grin faded as something else welled up in its place, a pain that I tried not to think about on most days. “And you deserve to have a wedding to celebrate your relationship with the love of your life, surrounded by people who fully support and love both of you.”

Dirk looked up from his hands.

“You’ll have one someday, too,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

I only nodded, glad he understood without me needing to say any more.

“Should we tell everyone else in the family?” Dirk straightened up, fixing his shirt.

“Only if you want. You have to call Niko, though.”

“I will. Right now. You can listen in. Or you can tell everyone else in the family. It’s fine if they don’t come. They are all really busy. Just you and Niko are fine from our side of things.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell them, though.” I smiled, pushing him back into his room but leaving the joining door open. I grabbed my laptop and a headset, calling whoever I could get. By the time I was done, I was going to make sure every single person in both families knew. I would even tell the entire pack if I had to.

For the first time in months, I was truly happy about something, and there was nothing throwing a shadow over it.