Chapter 1
“I hate fucking parties.”
Jacob King choked on his bourbon at his brother Joseph’s words. Joseph gave him a side-eyed glare, but damn it, the guy was hilarious. When he could suck air, he replied. “You hate everything.”
Joseph rolled his eyes. “Not true.”
Pushing Joseph’s buttons probably wasn’t smart, but the bourbon was going down easy tonight which, according to Tori, always made him a bit stupid. He grinned. Stupid was fun, especially around his brothers. He pointed at his brother with the same hand that held his glass of bourbon. “Name one thing.”
“Ember and Blake.” Joseph rasped his wife and son’s names. A rare smile appeared. “That’s two.” A satisfied sneer crossed Joseph's face.
Jacob shook his head. “That’s a given, and it wasn’t what––”
“Miss Amanda,” Dixon piped up.
“Frank,” Drake added.
“Knives.” Chief sniggered the word and lifted his damn snifter of cognac.
“Fighting.” Adam leaned back in his chair and let a shit-eating grin spread across his face.
“Family and, believe it or not, I think that even includes you, Jacob,” Justin added as he sat down in the plush back room of a club in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Jacob straightened. “Hey––”
“That godforsaken desert,” Christian said and nudged his husband, Jared, who nodded and added, “Torturing the people who go through the training courses in that godforsaken desert.”
Maliki Blue laughed and grabbed the bottle of bourbon that was behind him. “That’s the truth, but I’ll admit I know one thing this man is madly happy about that none of the rest of you do.” He poured the men gathered another round except for Chief and Jason. Jason had his ever-present soda and Mike drank that damned frou-frou cognac that he’d taken a shine to when he was undercover as David Xavier.
The door opened, and Zane Reynolds ushered in Nic DeMarco and Chad Nelson. “Son of a bitch! Do you get that everywhere you go?” Zane shut the door behind him and motioned to Chad, the rumpled country singer. “The high-class clientele out front mauled Chad. I could only imagine what would happen if he walked through a honky-tonk.”
“It’s part of the job.” Chad tugged on his shirt and tried to see the back. “Did she rip it?”
“No, but it was a close call. Man, those fans need rabies and distemper shots.” Nic ambled over to the bar and grabbed three tumblers.
“I rarely enter through the front doors. Jazz arranges for us to enter and exit through other entrances. She keeps us out of the public eye and safe.” Chad tugged on the sleeves of his shirt and took an empty tumbler from Nic. They dropped into chairs and held out their glasses. “What did we miss?”
Jacob answered, “About four rounds of great bourbon and Joseph declaring he hates parties.”
Zane chuckled. “What about the one in Belfast?”
Joseph barked out a laugh. “That wasn’t a party, that was a melee, and it was one of the best times I’ve ever had.”
“Your definition of a good time needs work,” Jason chuckled and turned back to Maliki. “You were going to say something?”
“Not if he values his life, he wasn’t.” Joseph leveled a stare at Mal.
“Dude, lose the grump, I wouldn’t actually say anything to them unless you brought it up first.” Maliki finished the bottle and headed to the bar to get another one.
“Brought what up?” Jacob turned to stare at his oldest brother.
A slow smile spread across Joseph’s face. Jacob had seen that pride before. Hell, he saw it in the mirror every time he thought about his boys. Jacob blinked. Could Joseph and Ember be… “No.”
Joseph nodded.
“No way!” Justin hooted.
“Yeah, we’re pregnant.” Joseph’s smile lit the room up.
“Holy hell! Congratulations.” Jacob gave his brother a bear hug and then got the fuck out of the way as the rest of the men took their turns congratulating the oldest King.
Joseph flipped off his best friend. “You were told not to mention it tonight, asshole. This weekend is about you and Poet.”
“It still is! There is more than enough happiness to go around. Just don’t let our mothers find out about the baby or they will plan the world’s largest baby shower.” Mal pulled a box of Cuban cigars from behind the bar. “Besides, now I can smoke one of these bad boys.”
Joseph narrowed his eyes and grabbed a Cohiba Siglo VI. “Damn straight, and as this is your bachelor party, shouldn’t we be doing some drinking and smoking anyway?”
Jason took a cigar and smiled. Jacob loved to see his brother be able to partake in the camaraderie. His addictions didn’t extend to smoking, so watching him get involved in the festivities was a damn good experience. Jason clipped the end and lit up before he spoke, “Yes, but now we are celebrating both occasions.”
“Besides, it’s much more fun to irritate you. Mal just laughs the shit off,” Drake said and then clinked his glass with Dixon.
Joseph slowly turned his attention to Drake. “Boy, you better back up, or we’ll talk about a certain cabin that no longer exists.”
Jacob laughed along with everyone else as Drake’s face flamed. “I offered to pay for the damage.” The sullen, muttered reply ignited another round of laughter.
“Where are you and Poet going for a honeymoon?” Nic’s question settled the commotion to a low roar, although Dixon and Drake continued to mutter between themselves while glancing at Joseph. Well now, that could be of interest. Get those two plotting together and more than a mere cabin could blow up.
Jacob tuned back into the conversation as Mal replied, “An all-inclusive resort on Aruba. Beachfront, all the alcohol, food, sun, and surf we can stand for two weeks.” Maliki raised a glass and nodded to Joseph. “His idea.”
Joseph’s head whipped around. “What? So not my fucking idea!”
“Yes, it was. All you could do was go on about having Ember to yourself for two weeks in Aruba. Sounded damn good, so I looked into it. Should be heaven.”
Joseph rolled his eyes. “Just don’t stop by, if you know what I mean.”
“No worries, I’ll have better things to do than find your grumpy ass.”
“Aruba for two weeks. Damn, that sounds like heaven, especially after all these snowstorms.” Justin leaned back. “Coldest winter in the last three decades. I hate the snow sometimes.”
“Aruba, isn’t that another desert?” Christian lifted his glass. “The man loves the desert.”
“But it is a tropical desert island with beautiful beaches, and it’s fucking warm.” Zane lifted his glass and downed it in one go. “I could deal with two weeks laying on the beach.”
Jacob couldn’t help laughing at the glare Joseph sent Zane’s way. This shit was getting fun. “I’m due vacation time. Aruba sounds fucking phenomenal.”
Joseph slowly turned his head toward him. “Do not start.”
“What?” Jacob smacked an innocent expression on his face. “Like you own the fucking island?”