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“Like you are right now?” JJ motioned his hand toward Greer’s face. “We can’t tell the cops because that brings its own nightmare, thank you, asshole dad. We can’t tell Pey or Junior because that would drag them into it, even though they already are since they know about the drive. Which leaves us with the old man himself. We have to go to the source.”
I shook my head. “Not today. If we go in there like Pey would have, we’re no better off. We need to figure out how they found out about it and why they want it all of the sudden. If Junior has had it since before his dad passed, it’s been years. Something must have happened to trigger Malik to come here.”
Personally, I wouldn’t mind having Peyton on our side in this, filling him in, having him help. He was smart as hell and looked at situations in a way we might not. The three of us against Jordan Sr. and his men weren’t enough. Then again, for all his shit, he cared about his son. And he didn’t hate me. That was something. Maybe.
JJ stood and started pacing. “I should have fucking killed him. I should have shot Malik when he had his hands on your throat. Dad would have been pissed but he wouldn’t kill me. Anyone else, sure, not me. At least I don’t think he would. Malik can’t get away with coming here and hurting you like he did.” The more JJ said, the angrier he got. Like it was finally registering what happened and the base part of him was pissed someone tried to hurt Greer.
I was angry too and had Malik been in front of me, I didn’t think I could refrain from pulling the trigger. But JJ’s go-to wasn’t violence. It wasn’t murder.
Standing, I got in his path and put my hands on his arms. “Stop. Getting this angry isn’t going to help us.”
“When did you become the voice of reason? You would have killed him.”
I nodded. “I probably would have, but that’s not what should have been done. You did the right thing by letting him go. We couldn’t have taken on everyone who would have come for us. You don’t kill someone like Malik and walk away as if it’s nothing.”
He visibly deflated in my hands. “You’re right.”
“Okay. Now while I’d love to sit here and speculate about how Malik was able to take down Greer’s system and if your dad knows what happened here, I think we have someone who needs our attention.”
“Wait,” Greer interjected. “You think Jordan doesn’t know? Malik doesn’t do anything unless it comes from him.”
“It doesn’t make sense. Why not ask Junior for it directly? Why send Malik? There would be no situation where Malik showing his face here wouldn’t be met with aggression. This isn’t JJ’s apartment or shop.”
“Malik is the one who does everything for my dad,” JJ said. “My dad will get his hands dirty, but Malik is always there to assist. My dad could have told him to take care of it.” He shrugged. I didn’t have a clue any more than he did.
“We need a plan, but not today.” As I looked at them, I noticed how tired Greer suddenly was. How his shoulders sagged, and he rolled the tennis ball on the table instead of bouncing it. I noticed how angry, yet uncertain, JJ was. “Enough has happened. We don’t need to pile anything else on.”
JJ nodded and went over to Greer, reaching his hand out. “Come on. We have to get you cleaned up.”
Greer looked up at him with sad eyes. Ones filled with guilt. “Is it my fault Dex’s home got broken into? Were they looking for the drive there? Maybe I should have put it on a system somewhere then they wouldn’t have come to my home to find it. What if the others had been here? What if both of you were too? What if Malik tried to kill all of you? And my security system… They hacked it. How?”
“Hey.” JJ cupped Greer’s cheeks. “Dex and me, we can take care of ourselves. So can Pey, Dom, and X. The only iffy one is Junior.” JJ grinned, trying to lighten the mood. “You got your system back up, did what you needed to, so it was secure. The door is fixed. We’re all okay. Now let’s lock up, go upstairs, and get into the shower. We need to clean you up.”
JJ locked the back door, checked the front on our way to the stairs. We went to Greer’s room where JJ got the shower going and I carefully stripped Greer from his clothes. He looked so broken, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
“Listen to me,” I began. “You can’t take everything on yourself. It’s not healthy. Plus, it’s not in your control, any of this. Senior gave the drive to Junior as an insurance policy, right?”
Greer nodded.
“And Junior came to you and Pey because he trusts you both. So, you did what you do. You secured the drive. Hell, I’ve been staying here, and I don’t even know where the safe is. Malik wouldn’t have found it and even if he did and got it open, there’s another copy. But I know that’s not what’s bothering you. You wouldn’t forgive yourself if something happened to one of us. It didn’t. We’re fine. You can’t be everywhere all the time. You can’t constantly watch over us. Your brother can attest to that with Dom. He’s with Junior night and day but Dom’s on his own a lot.”
“If something were to happen to any of you…”
“I know, baby, but it didn’t.” I ran my hand down the side of Greer’s neck where a bruise had begun forming. “As much as I’d like to put a bullet in Malik’s head for fucking touching you, JJ has a very valid point. Where his dad is concerned, we have to keep the police out of it. We don’t know if the break-in at my place is related to this, but I’m guessing it is. We’ll figure it out. Together. The three of us.”
JJ came back into the room, naked. I couldn’t help but drink him in from head to toe. He only had eyes for Greer because he needed us right now. “Let’s get you in the shower. I want this blood off you.” I hated seeing it on his skin as much as JJ did.
Together, we got into that big shower, JJ closing the door to keep the steam and heat in. Together, he and I washed Greer. Not only his face and hands where the blood was but all over. He needed to be cared for, loved. This wasn’t about sex. Our bond went way deeper than that. I had a feeling if we weren’t here, Greer would beat himself up. Either that or do something stupid like go to JJ’s dad with the flash drive to keep him away from us.
With that in mind, I said, “We can’t give him the drive. It’s Junior’s. His dad gave it to him for a reason. I want it to remain safe.” I ran my thumb over Greer’s cheek. “Don’t get any big ideas to hand it over, okay?”
“I won’t. It’s not mine to take, but if one of you were about to die for it…”
“We weren’t.”
“We can’t tell Perry. He’ll want to give it to him too.”
JJ shook his head. “You were right by not telling them. This has to do with my dad. I’m not sure why he wants it now.”
