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Slater stood first and held out a hand to me. I glanced up at him, and took his hand.
“Thank you,” I told him when I was on my feet.
“Any time you need a friend, I’m here.” What he was offering me, I didn’t think he did to many outside of his close friends and family.
“Same,” I said and meant it. I wasn’t social or overly friendly. The way Slater helped me, I’d do the same for him without hesitation.
“Let’s go,” Bruno grunted, his massive body next to us.
“I’ll see you there,” I said to JJ as I walked past him.
On the drive to Jordan’s, Dash and Tristan tried to assure me it would be all right. I was more focused on not having another panic attack. Walking into the lion’s den that was the Altair building in East Dremest, I had to have my wits about me. Jordan loved his son. For all the shit they’d been through—I didn’t know everything but heard bits and pieces from the guards talking—Jordan wouldn’t hurt his child. He cared in a way only Jordan could. But JJ was about to see how Jordan was with me. And learn why he was that way.
Bruno drove us through the city with ease, bypassing traffic from the stadium. He took as many alternate routes as hecould to get us out of there. The SUV finally stopped in the garage beneath Jordan’s building. It was heavily guarded, like everything else concerning him.
Dash and Tristan each held my hand as we rode up the elevator with three other men and Bruno. I thought Xaiden and his men would come, but Dexen told them to go home and he’d fill them in later. Xaiden had looked like he wanted to argue, but when he took in his partners, the way Val was poised to throw a punch and how Corbin appeared ready to drag them away, Xaiden nodded and left without a fight.
My breath left on a shaky exhale when the elevator doors opened, and we were ushered into Jordan’s private home. I’d been here before, though I tried to avoid returning. The place screamed money and not how I liked. I was more understated, preferring comfort. Jordan wanted to flaunt how much he had.
At the top of the tenth floor was where Jordan lived. The buildings in Dremest weren’t overly tall, not skyscrapers, so he had a view of the city from where he sat in his home. Black marble flooring led from the entryway into the rest of the space, where there was an open floor plan. To my right was the living room and the floor-to-ceiling windows that were tinted and most likely bulletproof. I’d never asked, preferring not to know. The walls were adorned with paintings that probably cost more than my house. Other pieces of art were spread throughout. Vases, sculptures, even the furniture wasn’t welcoming. Like if I sat on it, I better not spill anything, or it would literally be my head.
Jordan walked to us, his hazel eyes bouncing from JJ to me. His normally well-styled silver hair wasn’t as tame as it usually was. The calm, slick boss was gone, and in his place was a man who was so concerned, he was angry.
“Are you okay?” he yelled before stopping in front of me.
I could only nod and try to swallow past the lump in my throat.
“Hey,” Dash said loud enough to grab Jordan’s attention. Dash was typically a calm, happy guy. He wasn’t a fan of Jordan’s though. “Maybe don’t yell at him the second we get here. I know empathy isn’t your strong suit, but he’s had a hell of a night.”
The room was deadly silent. I didn’t need to see the others to know they held their breaths like I did. Maybe not JJ. He’d spent decades with this man.
Jordan leveled Dash with a glare. “Talk out of place again—”
“I’m so fucking done with you,” Dash cut him off. “By you making Bruno go with Romeo and Tris tonight, you opened this entire bag of bullshit that Romeo has to handle. Worse is, he has to do it here, not in the comfort of his home. You do remember he has feelings, right?”
“Dash,” Greer hissed.
“No, you all walk around like this man is God. I gotta tell you, I don’t give a fuck. All that matters to me is you three and my men. That’s my priority. I think you forget Jordan is just a guy like the rest of us.”
“Just a guy,” Jordan said low and stalked close until he was in Dash’s face. They were even in height, their faces level, each pissed. “You’re lucky I don’t want to upset Romeo or I’d gut you in front of him. How dare you speak to me like that. I’ve let a lot of what you’ve said slide in deference to him, but if you say one more—”
“Enough,” I said. My panic attack had calmed, exhaustion quickly taking its place. I pushed between Dash and Jordan so I could get Dash out of the line of fire. “You asked us to come here. We did. I’m fine. We’re all fine.” An explanation about what happened at the stadium wasn’t necessary. Bruno relayed what we’d been told over the phone on our way here.
Jordan’s eyes briefly flitted to JJ. “You too?”
JJ scoffed. “Your concern overwhelms me.”
“Just because we don’t see each other anymore doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
“Your version of caring is not the same as mine. And it was your decision to keep me out of your life. You told me to leave and not come back.”
“So you and your men were safe, not because I didn’t want you there.”
“Newsflash, I’ve never been safe. Not with you as my father. Fuck’s sake, do you have any idea how many bullets I’ve dodged during my life?”
Jordan left us to go to his son. “You would have dodged a lot more had it not been for Dexen and my men watching over you.”
“If you were a regular father, I wouldn’t need anyone watching me.”
