“Okay, I have a question.” Ruby raised her hand from the computer console like the geek-at-heart she was. Liam and Ace exchanged an amused glance.
“Yeah?” Knox raised his gaze to hers.
“How did you communicate with the people who worked for you and especially with this Vex dude?” She twirled a section of her red hair around her finger.
Knox rattled off the name of a communication app. “You want my phone?”
“Uh huh.” Ruby nodded. He unlocked it then tossed it to her. She snagged it with one hand, then beamed. “I’ve got this. Continue.”
She flipped around and started hammering on the keyboard, completely ignoring everything they were saying. JRad, her mentor from the Men in Blue, had a hell of a reputation in their industry, but Kennedy had no doubt the student would surpass the teacher someday, if she hadn’t already.
“Unfortunately, that’s pretty much what I know. They were keeping us in the dark about most of the operation. I got the feeling they were on the cusp of making this shit able to be mass produced instead of putting out small test batches.” Knox shrugged.
“Okay, let me make a few calls and then we can pick up again.” Jordan snagged the headset James held out to him, then ducked behind the display screens into the nook where Kennedy had kissed Marcus during the grand opening.
When she glanced over at him, he was grinning back, obviously reliving the same memory.
“I’m sorry I’m such a fucking loser.” Knox ripped a bit of skin from his cuticle, making Kennedy wince. She took his hand in hers and lifted it to her mouth, kissing the raw spot he had aggravated.
“You’re not.” Marcus angled his chair to face Knox squarely.
James joined them, hopping up so that he sat on the table beside Kennedy. He swung his legs, his hot pink sneakers zipping through the air. “Hey, I thought I’d come over and say I really admire you for doing this. I know it’s hard enough to open up about your personal life, but doing it in front of these do-gooders must be extra difficult.”
Kennedy silently thanked James for easing the tension. Of course he was an exceptional communicator having been part of a committed threesome and also having six additional lovers as part of the Powertools crew. If they weren’t open and honest, their complex lifestyle would never work.
“Uh, thanks. I guess.” Knox groaned. “Don’t make me out to be some kind of hero, though. I’m just a junkie who ruined his chances with a woman way too good for him.”
“From my perspective, your odds with that lady look pretty damn stellar,” James said with a kind smile. “And maybe even for a two-fer with an equally great guy. This pair should have been a perfect match on their own, yet somehow never quite got things to work between them until you showed up. Just saying.”
Knox lifted his head then and looked between Marcus and Kennedy. “Yeah, why is that exactly?”
“Because sometimes people need a third person to bring them together. Or keep them together. My wife, Devon, did that for Neil and me. We probably wouldn’t have lasted without her.” James shook his head as if chasing that horrible possibility from his mind.
Aarav ambled closer, taking up a spot beside Marcus though he looked at James, not Knox when he asked, “Could you say more about that?”
Kennedy tried to play it cool, but her heart was thundering. Could he be asking for himself? Was there some reason he thought having another person around might make it easier for him to approach Sola?
Her best friend was across the room, joking around with Nolan and Liam. Aarav couldn’t seem to go more than three seconds without glancing over his shoulder at her to make sure she was still there and safe although there was no threat to them in the office, despite the thunder that had begun rumbling in the distance. The news had predicted strong storms that evening and it looked like they had been right.
“I guess Neil and I were kind of stubborn. Stuck in our way of doing things. Which was okay for a while, but Devon brought out parts of us that we held in check around each other. She lets me be silly and goof around with her, and she lets Neil explore the side of him that gets off with women. As for her, she likes to take the lead with me but surrender to him. It’s just different than how we are alone. And without her…we might not have been enough for each other. Neil and I had started arguing a lot even though I knew he was my person. We couldn’t seem to get it together until Devon whipped us into shape.”
Aarav slicked back his wavy obsidian hair with his palm. “I know that feeling.”
“Can I give you some unsolicited and probably shitty advice?” Knox asked.
“Sure.” Aarav grinned. “Can’t be any worse than I’m doing myself. Hell, you’ve been here like two days and you’ve already snagged a couple of amazing people.”
“Uh, yeah. I guess. Though I’m pretty sure theysnaggedme.” Knox finally cracked the hint of a smile. “Anyway, if we’re talking about that firecracker of a brunette over there, you should probably quit thinking so hard and do something. She keeps looking over at you like she’d rather have you than that pizza for dinner.”
“She does?” Aarav peeked over his shoulder at the same time Sola looked their way, as if she could feel the heat of his stare.
“Yes,” Marcus, Kennedy, Knox, and James all said at exactly the same moment.
“She’s waiting for you to make a move.” Marcus elbowed Aarav. “How many times have I told you this?”
“Sola isn’t the kind of woman to sit back. If she liked me, she’d have said so by now.” Aarav’s shoulders slumped. “That’s one of the things I appreciate about her. She knows what she wants and she goes and gets it.”
“Maybe not when it comes to love.” James leaned in. “None of us think straight when our hearts are involved. The consequences of a wrong decision are too fucking scary. So…Knox…”