Page 17 of Uncharted

“I’m going to be here for a while,” I warned Reno. “Now’s the time to run while you’ve got the chance.”

Reno winked, leaning his head against my upper arm and peering down at the screen as I prepared to start the video. “I don’t mind.”

“Your funeral,” I said, but smiled before hitting the video call button and mentally braced for what was probably going to be at least a two-hour call.

3

RENO

The sounds of the bar were familiar and welcome. It felt like ages since the last time I’d gone out, like really gone out, and I was thrilled I was getting to do it with the group. Well, sure, I was happiest about being able to spend time with Jake; the guy was my best friend, but it was nice to have the rest with us too.

No one had been surprised when Trevor and Mav elected to stay behind. You could get Trevor to go out, especially when it was a simple bar like the ones in the town closest to the outpost. The thing was, you could only do that if he was in the mood and there wasn’t a large group of people. So he had elected not to join us, and I couldn’t say I blamed him.

After pushing tables together so we could sit as a group, no one was surprised when I took my customary spot beside Jake. I noticed my brother and Aidan were sitting next to one another as well. There was a new energy between them, and although I hadn’t probed too deeply into my brother’s business, I was itching to know what was going on.

I was watching them as Aidan scowled at Carter, irritated about something Carter had blabbed to the group and then over to Mika as he appeared with our drink orders. Aidan glanced at him and their eyes lingered, but he was pulled back into the conversation as the drinks were handed out. It was obvious they were getting along a lot better than before, not that it would take much. But there was a sense of closeness between them that hadn’t been there, and I knew I couldn’t be imagining the way they seemed to be aware of where the other one was and⁠—

“Whatever you say, Jackson,” Colin said, bringing me back to the conversation and confusing me, because who the hell was Jackson?

“Hey!” Jake protested, making me raise my brow, not just at how offended he sounded, but because…Jake? “That’s doctor-patient confidentiality!”

“I’m not a doctor, and legal names are printed on every form you fill out or are about you,” Colin pointed out as the rest of us looked at Jake.

I stared at Jake in disbelief. “Your name is Jackson, really?”

“How the fuck do you go from Jackson to Jake?” Carter scoffed.

“How did I not know that?” I wondered aloud because, shit, I thought I knew Jake better than that. I wasn’t going to sit around and pretend I was supposed to know everything about Jake, but damn, I should at least know his name, right?

That created a whole new discussion about the origins of Jake’s name, from Jackson to Jake. I wasn’t surprised that Jake actually knew the history of his name, though I could see the others were taken aback by it. People liked looking at Jake and judging him on his looks, well…I guess they were also judging him on the fact that he didn’t take things seriously and being lost when he wandered into conversations.

It was still annoying.

Thankfully, we transitioned to poker, and I was more than happy to hand out the change we were required to play with. Technically, we could have played with actual money and not just change if we wanted. Real stakes had been banned at the outpost by Xander, and as Jake explained to Aidan, it was probably because Xander got his ass annihilated. Mainly by Jake, but also by Mika. Xander wasn’t here, but…eh, I wasn’t interested in losing money when all I liked to do was play for the fun of it.

The conversation pivoted to Aidan’s work, which caught my interest because I wasn’t privy to the work that he did. He’d certainly done some posts and videos, but unlike some people at the table, I hadn’t read his work. According to the group, though, it was good, and I made a mental note to look it up.

Aidan, though, was horrified to find out Xander had read some of his work.

“I didn’t think he gave a fuck,” Aidan said, his eyes wide with horror and fear.

“Oh, he gives a fuck,” Colin chuckled. “I mean, did you really think you were going to be given free rein to write your posts, newsletter blogs, or whatever you want to call them, and he wouldn’t check to see what you were putting down?”

I glanced at Jake, who was watching Aidan with a raised eyebrow. I wasn’t a mind reader, but I was willing to bet he was wondering how Aidan didn’t assume Xander would have been keeping an eye on what he was doing with the job he was assigned to. It wasn’t a secret that Xander wasn’t a fan of Aidan, or specifically of his work. It made sense for him to make sure Aidan was actually doing something.

“Don’t worry,” Colin said, taking the change I offered him for betting. “If he had a problem with what you were writing, you’d know by now.”

“We’d all know,” Jake chuckled, and I snorted, elbowing him even though no one here, not even Colin, would sell him out to Xander over…well, over the truth.

Mika snorted. “Bet you he’s still worried about what Xander thought of it.”

“Shut up, I am not,” Aidan protested, but I didn’t think anyone at the table was going to believe that for a minute. That included my brother, who shot him a knowing look and…I would swear there was a moment his arm shifted slightly. As if he were reaching to squeeze Aidan’s leg and calm him down or assure him everything was fine.

Jake’s leg bumped mine, and I glanced over at him curiously. His brow rose, and a small smile crossed his face, which felt as knowing as my brother’s had been toward Aidan. I wrinkled my nose at him, and he set his phone down, and I saw his screen was lit up. I almost looked away, thinking it was a text, but then realized it was a note-taking app.

‘If you keep staring, they’re going to notice and then you’re going to have to listen to your brother later,’ was typed on the screen.

I snorted harshly and nodded as Mika began dealing cards. Carter was eyeing Colin suspiciously, but even I knew there was no point in trying to measure Colin’s emotions. The guy was too good at concealing what he was thinking and feeling, clear because he’d kept his relationship with Xander a secret despite living in close proximity to all of us.