Page 9 of Operation Daddy

Fletch didn’t know how he was supposed to react. “Why aren’t you on your honeymoon?”

JJ answered for them. “We pushed our trip back a few days so we could be here for July.”

Fletch floundered. He had assumed—like Fletch had been—they were done with July.

Leary didn’t wait for him to work his way through any confusion. His green eyes swam with fear. “Tell me what Rex did.”

“How did you—”

“We should take this somewhere private.”

At JJ's suggestion, Fletch looked around. Everyone was openly staring. He nodded. Fletch took Leary’s hand and led him into a private room. Banks was serious about his clients having a quiet place to go if they got overstimulated.

The moment they didn’t have any witnesses, Fletch dove in. “You know about Rex? Who is he? What is he to July? How do I get to him so I can rip his fucking throat out?” The final question came out in a growl. His desire for blood hadn’t abated.

Tears filled Leary’s eyes. “Please, just take me to July.”

Austen appeared, slipping out of July’s room. “He’s out cold and should be left that way. Sleep is healing. July needs that right now.”

Leary’s shoulders fell.

JJ squeezed them. “I’ve got you. We just need to have a little patience. You’re a doctor. You know this.”

Leary nodded, but he didn’t look appeased. He still appeared as if he might cry at the drop of a hat.

Fletch led Leary to the couch outside July’s room. “Come on. Let’s have a seat. We can wait together, and you can tell me what you know.”

Leary visibly swallowed air, as if trying to self-soothe. “I thought he had ghosted me. He disappeared during our engagement party, and he stopped answering my calls and texts. I should’ve tried harder. My first thought should’ve been to check on him instead of getting my feelings hurt. I just thought he didn’t want to be my friend anymore since I was getting married. I thought he had gotten free from Rex, so it never crossed my mind Rex was the reason he vanished.”

Fletch’s chest was so tight, he thought he might also need Austen’s attention. “Start at the beginning. All I was told was that July worked for a government-run drug cartel and Rex was his boss. Beau said he was the one who bugged your house, but Rex had assured him that had nothing to do with him.”

Leary didn’t even flinch at learning July bugged his house. “Dang. That’s probably about my dad. I hate that Rex exploited our friendship like that. He should’ve been the first person who came to mind when we learned someone had been watching us. I don’t know why it never occurred to me that Rex would try to get the goods on my dad through me. I guess I assumed everyone knew my dad never comes around. July knew it.”

Regret poured through Fletch. July had known those cameras and bugs wouldn’t yield results. He simply followed orders to keep Rex appeased.

Leary looked more downtrodden by the second. “He must’ve been so scared.”

Fletch’s throat swelled. Leary was a good person. He should have known Leary would forgive anything.

Leary took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. JJ rubbed the hand he held, doing what he could to comfort his husband. Leary stared at nothing. A tear fell from his eyelashes and rolled down his cheek. Fletch had an overwhelming desire to hug him. Leary just looked innocent and easily broken. Fletch still had so many questions. In Leary’s panicked babbling, Fletch had learned a lot but somehow also nothing. He couldn’t take a Little’s tears. Fletch had always been that way.

He stood. “Come on. Like Austen said, we had to knock him out. Otherwise, he would’ve hurt himself trying to get away. But I don’t see why you two couldn’t sit with him. Maybe he’ll react better than last time if he sees you when he opens his eyes.” Fletch pushed the lever that opened the passage to the hidden bunker and paused. He looked over his shoulder. “Brace yourself. Whatever you’re thinking Rex did to him, it’s way worse than that.”

Leary visibly locked his jaw and gave Fletch a sharp nod. Behind Leary, JJ met Fletch’s stare. A silent message passed between them. Whoever this Rex guy was, he was dead. He just didn’t know it yet.

The next time July opened his eyes, he wasn’t as confused as the last time. He was in the middle of the bed with his IV arm resting on a pillow, with the lines draped over the headboard. He had a lump on either side of him and something heavy across his feet. His heart rate kicked up at the idea of being tied down. Then he turned his head and found JJ sleeping next to him. He immediately looked the other way. Yep, Leary was there too, except Leary stared back at him.

July burst into tears at the sight of him. Leary held him and shushed him. He found himself squished between the newlyweds as all the pain poured from him.

“I thought you hated me.”

Leary stroked his head. “No. I could never do that.”

JJ jumped in. “Don’t even think about that right now.”

It was as if the sight of them broke something loose. He let go of the seams he had been holding together for too long. “I’m so sorry.” July sputtered his way through the apology as each breath stuttered from him. He took panicked gasps between every word he spoke. “I watched your wedding from the big hill nearby. You two were so cute and I wasn’t there. I would hate me if I were you. What am I saying? I do hate me.”

The more hysterical he became, the tighter the pair held him, as if they physically held him together. The longer they didn’t pull away, the better July felt. His breathing evened out. His head cleared. Realization struck.