miserable. Exactly how Jack felt.
“I wanted to,” Jack said, taking a seat next to him. He hated this feeling, the awkwardness between them, being away from Fitz. “Whatever happens between us, you’ll always be family, Fitz. You can always count on us.”
“Jack,” Fitz said softly, turning to cup his cheek, his lashes wet from tears. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I got scared, not of you but everything going on, and…” He stood and slowly paced the floor. “King isn’t the only one with terrible timing.”
“Huh?”
Fitz stopped in front of Jack, and Jack couldn’t help himself. He took Fitz’s hands in his and pulled Fitz in between his knees.
“I know relationships are hard work, and I know I can be a bit of a diva sometimes, and I won’t always understand your job and what you do, and I’ll worry, but—”
“Whoa, easy, sweetheart. Breathe.”
Fitz breathed in deep, then let it out slowly. “What I’m trying to say is that I want to make this work because I—”
“Jack!” The door slammed open, and Jack quickly got to his feet, his arm going around Fitz on instinct at the alarm in Sacha’s voice.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Maury. He said something happened to Sil.”
“Shit. Where’s Maury?”
Joker held his cell phone out, and Jack quickly took it.
“Maury?”
“I tried calling you, but it kept going to voicemail.”
Jack checked his phone and cursed under his breath. “Yeah, sorry. I forgot to charge it last night. Battery’s dead.” He handed his phone to Joker, who left to get it charged. They always carried chargers with them. King was going to chew his ass if he found out Jack had let his phone die. “Maury, what’s going on?” The panic in Maury’s voice sent a chill through Jack.
“Oh my God. Something’s happened to Sil.” Maury sucked in a sharp breath. “This is my fault. I should have known he’d gotten into something he shouldn’t have, but I didn’t want to believe it. I mean, it’s Sil.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“He called me, and fuck, he sounded so terrified. He said he was so sorry, that he’d gotten in over his head and should have told me. He begged me not to tell you, but Jesus, if you’d heard him? He was sobbing. How could I not call you? I don’t know what to do! I can’t fix this with a computer.”
Jack understood Maury’s panic. His team had been trained in basic self-defense, but it wasn’t their job to get involved in anything dangerous. They were cybersecurity. Any action they saw tended to be from behind a screen.
“Okay, calm down. Where are you?”
“On my way to work. He’s in the parking lot waiting for me.”
Shit. HQ was minimally staffed, with them only taking emergency calls due to the storm. “Okay, park around the corner near the dress boutique, and I’ll come meet you. We’ll go see him together.”
“Okay.”
Jack hung up and gave Joker his phone. “Sil’s in trouble. He’s gotten himself mixed up in something, and by the sounds of it, it’s bad. He’s waiting for Maury in the parking lot at work. I’m going to meet Maury and go with him.”
“I’m going with you.”
“I want you to stay here with Fitz.”
“Jack?” Fitz stepped up beside him, worry written all over his beautiful face.
“Fitz, Sil is in trouble. He called Maury, but with everything that’s happened, I don’t want Maury going in there alone. Joker is going to stay with you.”
“No,” Joker said, shaking his head. “Saint is here. He can stay with Fitz.”
“After what happened last night, I won’t take that chance. Saint is perfectly capable, but if we’re dealing with the same person, and I know you’re thinking the same thing I am, then Saint is going to need backup. If they’re trying to get me away from Fitz, I want you here. Call Lucky and Mason. They’re the closest. Have them meet me by the dress boutique around the corner from work.”
“Fine.” Joker tapped Jack’s cheek. “You be careful. Take my Jeep. And charge your fucking phone on the way there, dumbass.”
“I love you too.” Jack ruffled his hair, grinning at the warning glare he got. He turned to Fitz and kissed him, a quick but passionate kiss that told him they weren’t over. “I’ll be back soon, and we’ll talk. I want to make this work too, Fitz.”
“Be careful, Jack. Please.”
There was so much Jack wanted to say, but he didn’t have the time to get into it, so he hurried out of the house. The