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“You. After you broke up with me, I, well, didn’t handle it very well. I started drinking way more, sleeping a lot more, losing any motivation I had. I was pretty fucked-up, not going to lie. The depression set in and stayed for a while. It became easier to push everyone away than let anyone in again, so that’s exactly what I did.”
Theo’s confession made Wyatt speechless. He hated the fact that he was the one to derail Theo’s life, that he was the one who’d hurt him so bad he was terrified of getting hurt the same way again. Even though he didn’t regret his decision, he could still feel the pain over it emanating from Theo. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I get it, we weren’t going to work out. I was just a twenty-one-year-old guy head over heels with a fling. I’m not the first person who’s gotten their heart broken that way, and I doubt I’m the last.”
“I never saw you as a ‘fling,’ Theo. I really did have feelings for you.” I just had much stronger feelings for someone else.
“We don’t have to rehash the past. I’m just telling you so you know where I’m coming from.” Theo pushed the door open a little wider, the hinges creaking. A breeze rustled the trees and lifted the drapes. “And just to be extra clear, I’m not saying this because I want to get back with you. I understand that will never happen, and that’s likely for the better.”
Wyatt didn’t care that Theo’s words were so blunt. They made him feel more comfortable, actually. He didn’t have to be scared of one-sided feelings resurfacing. “So you want to join us? And then you’ll help out?”
Theo nodded, eyes beginning to resemble that of a puppy’s. His mile-long lashes fluttered up and down, his pouty lips curling ever so slightly. Wyatt didn’t have many options laid out for him to choose from. He could either say no and turn Theo away, then be forced to scrap all his plans and start over, or he could accept Theo’s offer. Bring him into the Rainbow’s Seven and find a way to work alongside him without any unnecessary drama popping off.
It was a risk, possibly throwing off the well-balanced chemistry between the group, but it was a risk Wyatt had to take.
“Fine,” he said, hoping to all hope he wasn’t making a bad decision. “You can join the crew. I’m sure you’ll get along with them, but if you don’t, then you’ve got to be okay with leaving.”
“Of course, Wyatt. I’m not a stage-five clinger, obviously. I know when I’m not wanted.”
That comment did actually hurt Wyatt. He hated being the bad guy, hated having to be the one who inflicted enough pain to leave clear scars. He reminded himself that it was what needed to happen, and it was a decision that allowed him to find his way back to Roman. He absolutely didn’t regret that; he just felt a pang of guilt for hurting Theo as bad as he did.
“Let me grab some things, then. What’s the plan?” Theo asked, his excitement levels rising, clear in his voice. He hurried past Wyatt, going up the stairs and taking them two at a time. “When am I shutting down an entire prison system?” he asked from his upstairs bedroom.
“This weekend,” Wyatt replied, unable to believe his ex was currently packing up a bag to help him break his current boyfriend out of prison. “If everything goes off the way I planned it, we should have them out before dinnertime.”
“And then what?”
Wyatt chuckled, the absurdity of the situation settling in. “We go after our money. Finish the job that started it all. We end up being rich beyond our wildest dreams and live happily ever after. Sound good to you?”
“Very,” Theo said, smiling wide as he hopped down the stairs, a heavy brown leather backpack strapped to his shoulders. He looked like someone about to go on a week-long vacation to Cancún, not someone who had just offered to help in a prison break. “Is that our ride out there?”
Theo was already at the door, looking out to the parked truck with its tinted windows, Mustang’s shadow moving in the front seat.
“It is,” Wyatt said, suddenly feeling nervous. What if the rest of the Rainbow’s Seven thought this was a bad idea? He wasn’t used to making decisions on the fly, but this leadership role that had been thrust upon him seemed to be requiring some quick decision-making. “Come on, let me introduce you to Mustang.”
Wyatt swallowed down the nerves and walked toward the truck, passing by a fragrant rosebush in full bloom, the red flowers attracting a near countless number of bumblebees. The buzz was audible as they walked past it, Wyatt opening the passenger-side door and hopping in. Theo climbed into the back, smiling in the rearview mirror and putting a hand out.
