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Hopefully, they’d be there together, sooner rather than later.
“Ready to join the crew again?” Roman asked after a peaceful moment of holding each other. “I’ve got a couple more things I want to go over with everyone.”
Wyatt looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun so he could see every fleck of green in Roman’s eyes. “Yes,” he said, going up for a kiss. “But promise me that you’ll always trust me enough to listen first, react second. Okay?”
He nodded, kissing Wyatt back. “I promise. And I apologize, again.”
“It’s alright,” Wyatt said. “You can have a proper apology tour later tonight. I want to see you begging for that forgiveness.”
“Oh really?”
“Hands and knees.” Wyatt winked at Roman, feeling a twitch between them.
“It’s a date, then.” They kissed, this one a little more passionate than the last few. Roman’s hand slid down over Wyatt’s ass, grabbing a handful and giving Wyatt no doubt that the night ahead would be bed-board breaking.
They just had to get through the day first.
Chapter 25
Roman Ashford
The rest of their boat ride remained uneventful. Roman went over some last-minute details, and then they settled in for the hours-long ride down the Florida coast. The mood was a heavy one. Even though there wasn’t a cloud in the crystal-blue sky, he couldn’t shake the feeling that a storm was brewing on the horizon. Maybe it was the mini scuffle he and Wyatt had, or maybe it was the fact that they were heading toward a secret underwater lair filled to the brim with Pride members… maybe it was both?
Yeah, it was probably both.
Roman sat up in his seat as Tor stumbled over, a bottle of water in his hand and an apologetic look on his face. He sat down next to Roman, looking relieved once he was firmly planted on the couch cushion. “Hey, Roman, mind if we chat for a second?”
“Sure,” he said. His eyes darted to a smiling Wyatt, hanging out on the other side of the boat with Bang Bang and Phantom. Doc was lying down with a hat over her face and her legs tucked up against her, and Mustang still sat behind the steering wheel, not having said a single word since they started on their way. “What’s up?”
“I overheard you and Wyatt arguing earlier.”
That… well, it wasn’t great. Roman shook his head. “I don’t normally lose my cool like that. The stress of today really got to me.”
“No, listen, it’s okay. I understand where you’re coming from. Wyatt and I have a past—but I can assure you that’s all it is. Past. We’re nothing but friends now.”
“Well, thank you for telling me that. I appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Tor clapped his hands on his thigh before adjusting his glasses higher up his nose. Was he nervous about something? He hadn’t been part of the team for all that long, but Roman still felt good about being able to read him. “That’s not all I came over to talk about, though.”
“What else is on your mind?”
Roman leaned in, his eyes probing Tor’s. Was there some kind of news Roman hadn’t foreseen? Something that Tor had been holding back this entire time? He looked at his watch. They only had about fifteen minutes left before they reached their destination, meaning there was even less time than that to pivot or change the plan if he had to.
“Is this about the heist?” Roman asked, needing to cut directly to the chase.
“No, it isn’t. It’s about something completely different.”
That allowed Roman a moment to relax, the tension slipping from his shoulders.
“It’s about me,” Tor said after a deep exhale. “And Phantom.”
“Huh?”
Roman knew the two didn’t exactly get along, but he didn’t think it was bad enough to cause a sit-down chat. He needed them all working to the best of their abilities today, and that meant getting over any friction between them.
“I know I’m new and all. I don’t want to mess anything up, but I figured I should tell you. I was trying to tell Wyatt when I got knocked over, but I guess you can just let him know for me: Phantom and I are together.”
Roman’s eyebrows jerked up before he could control them. “Oh, that’s… okay, wasn’t expecting that.”
“I’m not big on secrets. And I told Axle—Phantom—that I wanted you to know. You respected me enough to bring me onto the team, so I want to respect you in the same way.” Tor smiled, his eyes shining bright underneath the bright sunshine.
“Thank you, I appreciate that. And here I was thinking you were about to say you two could never work together again. That would have been messy.”
Tor laughed, the sound blending laughter between a hyena and a child. It was outrageously contagious and led to Roman laughing along with him. “Nah, me and him work together just fine.”
