the guy draped the fabric over his head. Then he took deep, steady breaths to counter the anxiety building inside him. Guess he realized that bondage and blindfolds wasn’t his kind of kink.
“Are you going to fight me on this too?” Asher asked Rocky.
“Would it make a difference?” Rocky countered.
Asher chuckled. “Nope.”
“Fine,” Rocky said, echoing Jude’s irritation.
“Can we trust you to behave, or do we need to bind your hands again?” Tawny asked.
Felix, Jude, and Rocky were adamant they’d behave. The marshals escorted the men back to the van much more gently the second time around. They rode in silence for what seemed like forever, and Felix eventually drifted to sleep with his head on Jude’s shoulder. The van door sliding open startled him awake.
“Rise and shine, sleepyheads,” Asher said.
“This is not how I prefer my husband to wake me,” Rocky grumbled.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have given up on me so easily,” Asher countered.
Felix heard Rocky mumble something that sounded like “prick.”
“Keep going back to the damn sex club, and you’ll see just what kind of prick I can be,” Asher said.
Felix had been in the process of scooting to the edge of the van but froze at Asher’s remark. “How’d you know about that?”
“You think the FBI doesn’t have undercover agents working inside Mercy’s club?” Ginger Snap asked as he gripped Felix’s bicep and pulled him out of the van. He snorted. “Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent.”
“Mercy has facial recognition software for members and guests,” Tawny said. “You think he’s going to settle for fake names when he can wield his membership list as a weapon to keep politicians and cops in his corner?”
“So, that’s how he knew I was in the club both times,” Jude said. “It should’ve occurred to me.”
“I hate to sound like Cameron,” Ginger Snap said, “but all three of you were blinded by ambition and drive. Noble, but stupid.”
“Thanks,” Felix grumbled.
“So, Ford,” Asher said once they were walking, “how’d you get into the club?”
Rocky heaved a deep sigh. “My cousin is a member. He pulled strings.”
“The kissing-cousin variety?” Asher wanted to know.
“Fuck you, Yankee,” Tawny said. “We don’t all kiss our cousins down here in the South.”
Asher laughed and let the subject drop.
Felix heard water slapping against wood and caught a whiff of the fishy river smell as they neared the wooden dock where they’d left their boat. Once they stepped onto the floating platform, the marshals removed their hoods. It was still dark out, but the sun was flirting with the horizon. Tawny, Ginger Snap, and Blondie retreated into the woods, leaving Asher behind to talk to Rocky. Asher stood with his hands on his hips while Rocky crossed his arms over his chest. His friend looked utterly closed down, and Felix didn’t like it.
Jude pulled Felix into his arms and kissed him softly on his lips. “What a crazy night.”
Felix burrowed tighter against Jude, letting the bigger man’s warmth seep into him. “It feels like a nightmare.”
Jude softly said his name, so Felix looked up at him. “The whole declaration… It’s okay if you want to take it back. We were under duress, and I can’t expect you to—”
Felix shut Jude up by kissing him hard on the mouth. It was brief, but it got his point across. “I won’t take it back. I love you.”
Jude’s lips curled into a smile, flexing his dimples. “I love you too.”
The wood beneath Felix’s feet vibrated as footsteps echoed against the planks.
“Ready?” Rocky asked warily.
Felix pulled Rocky into an embrace and kissed his forehead. “You okay, Major?”
“No,” Rocky said honestly. Then he leaned into Felix and sighed. “I will be though.”
Asher narrowed his eyes as he watched them, and Felix flipped him the middle finger.
“Let’s go home,” Jude said, clasping Felix on the shoulder.
Felix released Rocky and stepped back. They took turns climbing into the boat bobbing in the water.
“Thank goodness for the trolling motor,” Rocky said. “I’m too knackered to row.”
Jude and Felix returned to the stern, and Rocky sat in the bow, facing them instead of Asher, who’d remained on the deck. Jude yanked the pull string, firing the engine to life while Felix untied the rope tethering them to the dock.
Jude turned the boat around and steered them back to where they’d left Rocky’s truck and boat trailer. The change in direction made it possible for Rocky to watch Asher until they rounded the bend. Felix couldn’t tell what his friend was thinking. Rocky had always been an enigma. A man who