Bind (Manhattan Lux Book 1): Manhattan Lux (15 page)

“I did see Dr. Shelley,” Wyatt said, “and what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Jack cracked his knuckles. “I’m going to work those glass shards out of your shoulder, asshole, and you’re going to tell me why you’re still allowing this shit to go on.”

“Don’t start. Please.” Wyatt let his head fall forward and forced his shoulders to droop so that Jack could get at the knots. He’d take the massage, but he wasn’t inclined to take the lecture.

“I will not. Your knee is ruined, that’s a fact. But you’re going to ruin the rest of your body if you keep hanging onto what is literally dead weight.”

“What you two talking about over there?” Aiko called.

“I thought you had a SIM card to crack?” Jack answered.

“Yeah well it’s still drying out.” Aiko wandered over to them and sat up on the counter just under the monitors. “So c’mon then. What’s with the foreplay?”

“Wyatt,” Jack began, “has, as you know, what he lightly refers to as a bum knee.”

“Yeah?” Aiko nodded.

“In fact, this knee is so badly damaged it’s basically being held together with the military doctor’s equivalent of duct tape, screws, and stubbornness.”

“Jack.” Wyatt glanced up at his friend. “There is no military equivalent of those things. It’s literally just those things. Duct tape, screws, and stubbornness. If none of that works, it’s not fixable, so blow it up. That’s in the handbook.”

“Well thank you for clearing that up.” Jack dug harder into the muscle in Wyatt’s back. “It only serves to bolster my point of view on this matter.”

“What matter?” Aiko said, her brow knit in confusion.

“It doesn’t matter,” Wyatt protested.

“Oh the matter matters,” Aiko quipped. “If the matter didn’t matter you wouldn’t be so reluctant to discuss what matters.”

Jack stopped massaging for a moment to stare at Aiko. “You truly are exhausting, you know that?”

“Thank you!” Aiko pulled a stick of gum from her pocket and unwrapped it, folding the piece into her mouth cheerfully. “I try so hard. It’s nice to know my work is appreciated.”

“Oh my God enough!” Wyatt shrugged Jacks’s hands off of him and stood up, swinging his arms wide, the joints in his shoulder popping loudly.

“Damn, Tinman,” said Aiko. “You need some oil.”

“No, just a kneecapitation.” Wyatt said, bitterly.

“Huh?”

“Wasn’t supposed to keep it,” he said, avoiding Aiko’s eye. “They’ve tried to take it from me three times, and each time I refuse to let them do it.”

“Why?” Aiko said quietly.

“Because! They got enough of me already!” Wyatt’s voice grew louder, harsh, each word spit out like he could barely stand the taste. “I was proud to be a SEAL.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Hell, I still am. But I’ve lost enough.”

“Too much,” said Jack.

Wyatt caught his gaze, held it, fire burning in his eyes. “Yeah too much! I lost friends. Good men. The
best
. I held their guts in my hands and watched them bleed out in front of me. I see those faces…every night…when I close my eyes…I can see them…Barnes…” Wyatt’s voice cracked and both Jack and Aiko moved to comfort him but Wyatt scrambled away, held up his hands to ward them off. “That mission. Right in the middle of…in the worst of it….Barnes got me out. He’s why I’m here. I survived, because he saved me. I’ll be damned before I dishonor that. Dishonor him.”

“Wyatt, it’s not dishonor—” Jack began, but as he moved a figure was revealed in the doorway.

Jinx stood there. Those beautiful dark eyes were huge and haunted. She’d heard every word.

W
yatt’s stomach sank
, churned, and threatened to rebel on him.

Fuck.

She’d heard it
all
he realized, the whole sappy, sordid
poor little SEAL
story that he never meant for her to hear. At least, not like this.

Fuck.

“Um,” Jinx shuffled into the room, and cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but Bryce just arrived, and Malcolm asked me to give you this note.” She handed a slip of paper to Jack.

Jack glanced at the note and gestured for Aiko to join him. “Take a few minutes” he said to Wyatt. “We’ll be meeting in Jinx’s office when you’re ready.”

Jinx closed the door behind them, then crossed to Wyatt and laid her palms gently against his chest. “You okay?” she asked softly.

He exhaled, and emotion tightened his throat. He didn’t trust himself to speak, so instead he pulled her in, wrapped his arms around her, held tight, and found that spot he liked, the one at the hollow of her neck.

“Yeah,” he said finally, when he found his breath. “I’m okay now.”

“Good, because I’ve got a question for you.”

Wyatt pulled back and gazed at her. A tendril of hair had fallen into her eyes, so he caught it and pushed it back behind her ear. She smiled up at him, her gaze soft and shining. He saw an openness there now, a tenderness that suggested she’d lowered her defenses. God he loved this woman. “What’s the question?”

“What would you say to Barnes?” she asked. “What would you tell him, if he were here? If he were the one with the bum knee and the massive displacement of guilt?”

Sucker punch. Right in the gut.

He released her, took a few steps back and held his hand up when she tried to go to him. “Wow,” he stuttered. “You could’ve pulled that one. Just a little.”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “Gotta rip that Band-Aid off cowboy. You told me that yourself.”

“Get me a time machine.” His hands fisted at his sides. “I’ll go back to this morning and strangle myself.”

“You know what you would tell him Wyatt. I know you do, so let’s hear it.”

He couldn’t look at her. Dirty fucking trick was what this was. Some kind of psychological warfare designed to teach him a deep life truth/epic realization he had to have, so that he could move on, have a better life, and yadda yadda
mother fucking
yadda.

Then the tears started, pricking at the corners of his eyes, rolling hot and fast down his face, faster than he could wipe them away.

I need to punch something.

His eyes roamed wild, searching for a victim.

Concrete wall?

Nope.

Bank of expensive monitors?

Nope.

Sweet and beautiful and mean as rusty nails woman that he desperately loved and who was so, so, so, fucking mean right now?

Extra nope.

Forget punching. Kick something instead.

He kicked the chair and went down a second after. The heavy dull thud of a meatbag hitting the rock bottom truth of the depths of his own stupidity. He sat there, ass on the cold tile floor, bum knee sprawled out in front of him, back up against the wall, and groaned in frustration.

Well isn’t this is a pretty little metaphor?

Jinx crossed the room and sat down next to him. Wyatt let the tears flow. Couldn’t’ve stopped them if he’d tried.

What the fuck? Let it all out.

He didn’t seem to have any dignity when it came to this woman, why not let her wipe the snot off his face too? See what she was signing up for, that is, if she still wanted it. Wanted him.

Jinx caught his hand, dragged it into her lap, threaded her fingers through his, and held on tight.

“You done being ridiculous?” she asked.

“Mostly.” Wyatt sniffed, and nodded, but still he couldn’t look at her.

“So you gonna share or not? C’mon, what would you tell Barnes?”

He inhaled deeply, hoping for a second that the massive intake of air might cause him to pass out and he’d be able to avoid her question.

Wait for it… Nope.
Still conscious.

“I’d tell him,” he said, tightening his fingers in hers. “I’d tell him…to stop being a baby. That his bum knee is gonna turn into a bum leg and then fuck up the rest of his body and then the rest of his life. I’d tell him that just because…” his lip quivered and Jinx edged closer to him, lifted his knuckles to her lips and brushed a soft kiss there. The small gesture gutted and strengthened him all at once, and this time he looked up.

Jinx held his gaze, and he found no judgement there in her eyes, just support, compassion, and…something else. Something he hoped he wasn’t imagining. He steadied his breathing, then told her what she wanted to hear, what he knew was true. “If it were Barnes here, instead of me, and if I was the one who had to set him straight; I’d tell him to nut up and get the fucking knee lopped off. I’d tell him that he’s not less of man because of it. Not less of a SEAL. I’d tell him we’d all still be proud of him, that we’d still love him and that he’d always have our support.”

“And hasn’t anyone said that to you?” Jinx asked.

Wyatt shrugged, scoffed and rubbed the last of the tears out of his eyes. “Yeah, they have.”

“And? Their opinion doesn’t matter?”

“No, it’s not that.” He thumped his head against the wall, and looked back down at her, wondering. Maybe he wouldn’t have to say it, maybe she’d just see it and spare him the humiliation of having to voice it out loud.
C’mon
.
You know the only opinion that really matters to me.

“Do you think…” she hesitated, and he closed his eyes, waited patiently while she found the words. “But that doesn’t make sense. We only just got together, so that can’t be why you’ve been reluctant to get it done.”

He exhaled. “No, it wasn’t you specifically,” he admitted. “Just the idea of you, the idea of the woman I might end up with. I just didn’t picture myself limping to the altar, or having to put my leg on before taking my kids to the park. I just didn’t think—”

“No,” she cut him off. “You didn’t think. Anybody worth having in your life, Wyatt, any woman worth having, she wouldn’t give a shit about that. It’s not our bodies that makes us worthy of love, it’s our soul, our character, our heart. Look at my dogs, each of them has battle wounds, and each one of them is precious to me for who they are.”

“Did you just compare me to your dogs?” He snickered, and kissed the side of her head.

“Yes,” she said solemnly, looking up at him. “I did, and there is no higher compliment I could pay a person than to say they’ve got as much heart as my guys. And you do Wyatt.” She laid a hand on his chest. “This is what makes you who you are.” Her hand trailed down his chest and rested on his knee. “Not this.”

“So you won’t think less of me? You won’t um…” he was getting choked up again.
Keep it together, keep it together.
“You won’t be less attracted to me or something, because you think of me as less capable? Less manly?”

“That assumes I think of you as capable and manly now,” she said, and he was so grateful for the teasing in her tone.

He grinned. “Oh man, kicking a guy when he’s down.”

“C’mon cowboy, you know I have a fondness for rescue cases.”

“Oh ow!” He clutched his chest and winced. “Right through the heart with that one.”

Jinx reached up and ruffled his hair like she would one of her dogs. “C’mon Wyatt, who’s a good boy. You are!”

“Oh my God woman, you go too far!” Wyatt tackled her, rolled her to her back and attacked, nuzzling her neck until he found a ticklish spot and she was gasping and giggling beneath him.

When she’d had enough, he stopped, their play turning to kisses, deep and furtive, until Wyatt pulled his head away and rose, perched above her on his arms.

“And just like that,” Jinx said, brushing lock of hair out of his eyes. “We’re back.”

* * *

T
hey found
Aiko waiting in the hallway.

“Jesus, it’s about time, you two! Jack’s waiting.”

“What is your obsession with stalking us?” Jinx asked her sister.

“Not stalking, loitering,” said Aiko. “Waiting for you two to stop canoodling so I can get back to work as a matter of fact.” Aiko squeezed past them into the room and crossed to the cup of rice on her desk that held the SIM card. She plucked it from the rice, looked it over carefully, and shooed them away. “I’ve got some hacking to do. You dirty birdies go find Jack, tell him I’ll join you guys as soon as I have something to share.”

Wyatt brought Jack and Bryce up to speed on the morning’s developments. There was a brief argument when he told them what he’d found in the apartment, about the mess and the blood. When Jack heard that he was ready to call the cops, arguing that if Daisy was in danger or hurt, they couldn’t keep this to themselves any longer. To Wyatt’s surprise it was Bryce that held him off.

“Don’t bother,” he said. “She’s fine. Emailed me this morning. Asked for money and told me to leave her alone for a while.”

“What’d you do?” Jack asked.

“What I always do,” Bryce snapped. “I gave her the fucking money.”

“Where is she?” Wyatt asked.

“No idea,” said Bryce. “Wouldn’t tell me.”

Wyatt caught Jinx’s eye from across the room. “What about the blood?” she mouthed at him, and he knew what she was thinking. The blood could’ve belonged to anybody, somebody that was missing, hurt, or worse. They couldn’t just let that go.

“I think at the very least we need to report a break-in, Bryce,” said Wyatt. “We can hand that off to the police. If they get a hit on the blood, they can follow up on it.”

Bryce didn’t answer, just nodded and folded his arms across his chest, his dark mood hanging over the room like a heavy storm cloud. Jack tried to change the subject, Jinx went to her desk to check email, and Kristie flitted in and out of the room with trays of coffee and what looked like some pretty tasty cupcakes.

Wyatt snagged a cupcake and attacked it.

“Thith thupcake is fugging amathing,” he said, dragging the back of his hand across his mouth. “Vant some?” He held the unfinished half out to Bryce, who merely raised an eyebrow and looked away.

“I know!” said Kristie, oblivious to the climate in the room. “It’s from SweetCakes, this new cupcake truck that just popped up. Seriously the best frosting ever, right?”

Jinx leaned over her desk and dipped a finger into Wyatt’s frosting, then brought it to her lips, and licked the tip. “Not bad.” She winked at him.

Wyatt gaped. “If I buy a dozen, do you promise to do that again later?”

“If you buy a dozen I’ll eat them all,” said Jinx, “And then we won’t be doing anything later other than binge watching Netflix and drinking Pepto straight from the bottle.

“Right, let’s focus,” said Jack, while Wyatt pouted. “To recap. We know nothing other than we’ve got an attempted security breach. Several of them. Obviously I’m not pleased.”

“Well,” Wyatt swallowed his cupcake and straightened to attention in his chair. “I wouldn’t say we know
nothing
. Those attempts at access to our network were ham-handed. All failures, and all very obvious. Which is, in and of itself, kind of interesting.”

Jack nodded. “I agree. Has Aiko made any progress on that SIM card?”

“I was just texting her,” said Jinx. She peered at her phone, then held it up to Jack. “She says ‘back off boss, miracles take time’. She’ll be here as soon as she has something.”

“Right.” Wyatt clapped his hands together so loudly that they all jumped. Rising from his chair he wiped his hands on his jeans and perched on the edge of Jinx’s desk. “We may know nothing, but we still need a plan.” He turned to Jack. “You called him?”

“Of course,” said Jack. “Malcolm’s picking him up now…”

The last word trailed off as Malcolm opened the office door and ushered in a very tall man in a very trendy suit.

“Aaron!” Wyatt crossed the room, shook the man’s hand and then embraced him. “What the hell are you wearing dude? You look like a sofa.”

“Plaid is in, don’t hate because I’m prettier than you.” The tall man grinned broadly and then began making introductions around the room.

“Anderson Cooper’s birthday party?” said Bryce extending his hand.

“Yes! That was it!” Aaron clapped both hands around Bryce’s and shook enthusiastically. “We had a great conversation about the role of—”

“The government and privacy rights of the individual,” Bryce finished the sentence for him. “Yes, again, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.”

“My pleasure.” Aaron nodded. “How’s the book coming then?”

“Already with my editor.” Bryce checked his wrist-watch. “In fact, I’m headed there now.” He turned to Jack and Wyatt. “I trust you’ll keep me informed?”

Jack nodded, walked Bryce to the office door, said goodbye, and shut it behind him.

“Hey!” a shout sounded from the other side, followed by pounding. “Let a girl in would ya?” Aiko appeared, flushed and out of breath and practically bouncing on her heels.

“Well, well, well,” she said, pacing. “Aren’t you guys just adorable. Sneaky fuckers. I said I need to know everything that’s going on, you say I
do
know everything and oh, no…that’s not true at all is it?”