Blood Ties - Chapter 1
Blood Ties - Chapter 1
Lex shifted in his seat and rolled his shoulders. The silk of his shirt felt good - sensual - as it slid back and forth over his skin almost making up for the stuffiness of his suit coat. He was still adjusting to the claustrophobic feel of the heavy fabric on his back. Even before he was dropped off at child services with a note pinned to his shirt, winter coats had been a luxury and he’d grown up accustomed to lightweight material and the sluggishness of a constantly numb body. He surreptitiously tugged the Windsor knot at his neck then slid his hand down and under the open flap of his jacket, creating a little space for air to flow over his ribs.
“You’ll get used to it.” A large hand clapped him on the shoulder and he stiffened. Lex looked up, blushing slightly at being caught fidgeting.
His boss always struck an imposing figure, one
befitting his station and status. He was an arousing combination of sophistication and sex appeal in his expensively tailored suit, the clean lines framing his athletic physique and hinting at the physical power underneath that matched the man’s mental prowess.
“Y-yes, sir,” Lex stammered still intimidated by the older man even after working for him for the better part of six months.
The boss grinned, squeezing his shoulder. “Relax, kid. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Lex relaxed, tight muscles going lax under the reassurance.
Winking, the other man’s smirk turned sharper. “Besides,” he leaned forward conspiratorially, “I’m not who you should be worried about. You need to keep an eye out for…”
A muffled pop was followed almost immediately by shattering glass as the picture on the wall exploded, cutting off the older man’s sentence. Instinctually, they grabbed each other and dropped to the floor.
Lex kicked the table over to use it as a shield just as another bullet whirred overhead, imbedding in the drywall and raining dust down on them. He pulled his gun from his shoulder holster, consciously forcing his nervously shaking fingers from holding the grip too tight. He closed his eyes and took a calming breath to center his thoughts
like he’d been trained. Opening them, he shot a hard look at his boss that warned against argument, a complete change from the intimidated boy of a few minutes ago.
“Kitchen!” Lex jutted his chin in the direction of the swinging door behind them, this table chosen specifically by the head of security
for its easy access to the exit. “Go!” He snapped going so far as to push the other man when he didn’t move. “Now!”
He watched as the door swung in the wake of the boss’ departure then peeked around the corner of the table. A man stood across the room near the bathroom hallway, using the wall as cover. Wood splintered next to Lex’s head as a bullet bit into the edge of the table.
“Son of a bitch,” he cursed, splinters digging into his face and hand.
Another chunk of table disintegrated and he pressed his back to the solid top of his shield. His breath huffed out, chest pistoning erratically as panic overruled the tremulous grasp he had on his training. He closed his eyes and gathered himself, steeling his resolve. He whipped out from behind the table and fired two shots in rapid succession, the first hitting his mark in the shoulder, the second in the chest. Letting out a relieved breath, his gun arm drooped.
Movement to his left caught his eye and he spun around. A man popped up from behind the bar, gun leveled at his chest. Lex flinched at the retort, body bracing
for death, only to gasp when his would-be killer dropped, a red rose blooming across the crisp white of his shirt.
He turned to see which direction death was coming from this time and felt his knees go weak at the sight of the new arrival. Face shadowed and body silhouetted by the bright sunshine filtering in through the open door at his back, Lex recognized his savior. He began to shiver as adrenaline ebbed and gripped the edge of the upturned table for support. The figure rushed toward him and grasped his biceps. Lex winced, thankful for the thickness of the hated jacket, as strong fingers dug into muscle and flesh.
“Where is he?” The words were growled, hurried and heavy with worry. When Lex didn’t immediately answer, his mouth open but the words refusing to come, he was shaken roughly. “Alexander! Where is he? Is he safe?”
Blinking his eyes to clear the daze left in the wake of a near-death experience, Lex licked his lips and mumbled, “Kitchen.”
He suddenly found himself on the ground, shaky knees unprepared to support his weight when he was abruptly released. The breeze from the swinging door into the kitchen blew across his face and ruffled his hair. The faint scent of Eternity wafted to him on the gust of air.
“You okay, kid?” He hadn’t realized there was someone else there until a warm hand touched his arm. Christian Kane crouched beside him, face light but tinged with concern.
Lex stared into the man’s blue eyes, finding peace in the crystal depths where most only found intimidation. He let them center him, calm his lingering jitters, and finally was able to nod numbly.
“Your first right?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. Lex didn’t need an explanation. He was the rookie and his lack of “real” action had been the basis of most of the ribbing he took from the others on the security
team. It was inevitable though. You didn’t work for the town’s oldest and most powerful family business without expecting some form of violence from time to time.
“Let’s get you up.” Chris helped
him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed.
Lex looked over the damage the short gunfight had caused to the restaurant. He had a passing thought
of how Giovanni and his family would pay for the repairs when his gaze landed on a set of highly polished dress shoes jutting out from behind the bar. There was a red starburst dotted with soft gray on the mirror behind it, cracks in the reflective glass fingering out from the center, where rifled metal met its end after passing through too forgiving flesh. He jerked his gaze away as a crimson rivulet trailed down to drip on the liquor bottles shelved at the mirror’s base.
His eyes drifted, coming to a stop on the body of the other man, lower half obscured by the wall he’d hidden behind. He was prone, torso bridging a lake of red - liquid life slowly absorbing into expensive nylon. Lex felt light-headed, stomach churning. He’d done that, he’d killed that man. There was a strange buzzing in his ears and hot acid burned his throat.
“Whoa, there. I think you need some water.” Chris tugged on his arm, but Lex’s body felt leaden.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dead man lying in a puddle of his own blood. He heard Chris sigh, the rush of air sounding sympathetic, then felt the warmth of a body when the stockier man stepped up close.
“You did good, kid,” Chris’ voice was soft and soothing in his ear. “He was going to kill you. Came in here with the sole purpose of being the only one leaving. You just had better aim.” Chris urged him toward the door to the kitchen. “Now, about that water.”
Lex staggered after him, feet still moving on autopilot, the two of them stumbling through the kitchen door. Chris propped him against the counter and moved to get him a glass of water. Giovanni and his wife, Vera, hovered behind the daughter, Maria, who was kneeling on the ground next to Jensen, a damp washcloth in her hand, spots stained pink where it appeared she’d cleaned the nicks on Jensen’s face caused by the shattering picture. It never ceased to amaze Lex the reaction people had to Jensen. He was their Don, their protector, and they loved him.
Jared was on the man’s other side. His hands were ghosting over Jensen, visibly shaking even from across the room, searching for injuries. Finding none, Jared clasped Jensen’s arms. Jared looked so small, so frightened, and Lex couldn’t look away.
Jared was the reason that Lex was in this upscale restaurant confined by his suit, the reason he had somewhere safe to sleep and enough food to eat. Jensen might be the brains of the organization, but Jared was the eyes and ears. Nothing happened in Jensen’s territory that Jared didn’t know about and when he got wind of the runaway orphan trying to sell himself on the street, Jared had come up to him and made him an offer. Lex came with him right then, went to stay with a family that Jared knew and trusted, and in return all Lex had to do was keep his nose clean and finish his education. There was no soul binding pledges of loyalty, no indentured servitude. When Lex graduated, he could decide then to either work for Jensen or seek employment elsewhere. No questions, no repercussions. Lex had been young, just shy of his fifteenth birthday, but he wasn’t stupid and he knew a good deal when he saw one. Needless to say, he’d gone with Jared that night and been delivered to the doorstep of Jeffrey Dean and Kim, a couple who looked at Jared like he was an angel and talked about Jensen like he was the second coming. They’d welcomed Lex with open arms, introduced him to people as their nephew and treated him so much like he was, that sometimes it was hard to remember they weren’t blood. They fed him, loved him, supported him and he finally realized what a family was supposed to be. When he graduated, it was a no-brainer. He walked up to Jared, seated in the back row of the auditorium with a proud look on his face, and told him he wanted a job. If it wasn’t for Jared, Lex would probably had become another statistic, an unclaimed body in the morgue that turned into an unadorned grave at the cemetery. He owed Jared everything. So it was unsettling to see the man so vulnerable.
“Can’t even leave you alone for two minutes to go get the car,” Jared shook his head, voice trying and failing for lighthearted.
Jensen wrapped his fingers around Jared’s wrists, reassuring with warm pressure. His normally sharp, perceptive eyes were soft and tender. “You know me, never a dull moment.”
“Gonna have to keep you on lockdown.” Jared’s voice went thick and he swallowed.
“Nah, I was in good hands. Little Lex there took care of me.” Jensen leaned around Jared and winked at him.
Jared looked at him over his shoulder. “Yeah, he did.”
Lex flushed under the combined men’s praise and caught staring at the picture they created, thankful when Chris gave him a distraction in the form of the glass of water. He watched them over the lip of the glass. Their hands touched with a careless intimacy, casual affection shared without conscious thought. Their words were soft, soothing, like one would talk to a lover. Lex jolted at that thought.
He’d been around Jared since the day the older man had driven him away from that street corner, but his experience with Jensen had been limited so far. Lex was just now allowed to accompany the boss out when he conducted business and even then he’d been relegated to watching the car. Today, was his first time outside posh German engineering and also his first time witnessing Jared and Jensen in something less than a professional setting. He’d never known, would never had guessed, that these two titans of the crime world might be something more.
Chris cleared his throat quietly, shrewd eyes trained on him. “You got something to say there, kid?”
Lex almost choked on his swallow of water, forcing it down with a wince. “N-no, sir.”
“Good.” Chris’ voice didn’t broker any argument, the tone as final as a slamming door or more accurately, judging by the protective look in his eyes, a gunshot.
“Is everything alright?”
Lex sloshed his water down the front of his shirt, Jensen’s voice too close and shocking in its proximity. He felt trapped, caught like a thief with one hand in the till. Jared and Jensen stood before him, Giovanni and his family bustling out the door with broken, Italian accented English chattering away about contractors and damage, and Lex swallowed. The affection of a few minutes ago was gone, carefully hidden behind the masks that Lex now realized they showed the outside world.
“Yeah,” Chris chuckled, grabbing a dish towel from the counter and ineffectively swiping at the water dotting Lex’s jacket. “Kid, here, is still a little addled from everything he just saw.”
“You okay, Alexander?” Jared reached out and cupped his elbow, the warmth of his large hand bleeding through the multiple layers of fabric. His eyes were filled with concern, soft hazel regarding him with worry. Lex knew that Jared had truly hoped he would decide against joining the family, like a mother-henning uncle had urged him toward the collegiate and civilian route, but Lex had settled his heart and mind on working with Jared the moment “Aunt” Kim hugged him for the first time. In some kind of archaic mindset, he felt that since Jared had given him a life, that that life belonged to Jared. There was also the possibility that he’d watched too many movies.
He nodded mutely, jerking forward and spilling more water when Chris slapped his soundly on the back. Jared moved back just in time to avoid the splash zone.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine.” Chris took the glass and handed Lex the towel before he became any more sodden. “Like I said, just a little shaken by it all.” Sharp blue flashed for a fraction of a minute.
“Okay. You’re sure?” Jared squeezed his elbow again.
“Yeah,” he finally managed to croak. A safe feeling flowed over him, originating from the wide hand on his arm. There was such strength in that grip, yet Jared held him so gently and Lex couldn’t help but wonder what Jensen felt when those hands were on him.
“I think it’s time to leave.” Jensen broke his musings. “Chris make sure Gio and Vera have Steve’s number. I’d like him here by tomorrow at the latest. Also, when we get back to the house, call Dani at the gallery and have her send over something to replace the picture that was damaged. Maybe the one to the left of reception.”
“Yes, boss.” Chris took Jensen’s coat from Maria and held it out as he shrugged into it.
Jared released Lex’s arm, worry deepening the furrow between his brows, to take his and Lex’s coat from Vera. He handed the thick wool coat to Lex, eyes narrowed in scrutiny. “I’ll drive. Chris, sit in the back with Jensen.”
“Sure, Jare,” Chris agreed without hesitation.
Jensen regarded them with a measured look, gaze locking with Jared’s for a long moment before nodding once. Lex got the distinct impression that somehow the two men had carried on a full conversation with just that look.
Jared held out his arm and Chris then Jensen stepped out of the kitchen. Jared and Lex made up the rear and Lex didn’t miss the way that Jared’s hand rested tenderly, lovingly, on the small of Jensen’s back as he ushered Jensen into the waiting vehicle. How had he missed it? The touches, looks, soft words all seemed to make so much more sense now that he felt like a blind, oblivious fool.
He climbed into the front passenger seat, clicking his seatbelt as Jared slid into the driver’s seat. They rode in silence, the only sound the gentle hum of the car and the soft music on the radio. Jared seemed at ease, either completely unperturbed or unaware of Lex’s inner contemplation. The older man lightly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of whatever song was on the radio, lips moving soundlessly to the lyrics. The car pulled up to the stately Ackles home, built by Jensen’s grandfather in the 1920s. Michael Ackles had been the first Don and had constructed his home to be intimidating to those who crossed him and yet welcoming to those he considered friends.
Jared navigated the car through the large wrought iron gate and into the garage. He killed the engine and hesitated for a moment. “Alexander?”
“Yes?” He’d stopped at the call of his name with his hand on the door and one foot on the concrete flooring of the garage.
“Once you’ve gotten settled, please meet me in the back study.” Jared’s voice was flat, no indication of anger or seriousness and Lex began to worry. Did Jared know that he’d figured out their secret? Was he going to be threatened? He’d seen Jared’s particular version of persuasion and he had no desire to be on the receiving end.
“Yes, sir.” He pushed his way out of the car and forced the door shut with trembling hands. His face must have shown some of what he felt because Chris shot him a confused look. He smiled in return and quickly made his way into the house. The only thing he could think to do was promise Jared that he’d never say anything and hope his boss believed him.
He peeled off his coat and hung it in the front coat closet then checked his messages even though the only people who called him were Uncle JD and Aunt Kim and they didn’t call while he was at work. He wandered into the kitchen for some water and drank it in measured sips convincing himself that he was savoring the tasteless liquid. When he couldn’t find any other reason to put off seeing Jared he made his way to the back study.
The room was used as the private office Jared and Jensen shared in the house. Jensen’s associates were not privy to this space. They only ever saw the big office near the front of the house, imposing mahogany desk backed by floor-to-ceiling windows and an antique sideboard that housed expensive liquors in the cabinet and lethal weapons in the drawers. Lex had been told that the sideboard had been in Michael’s office and was the only piece of familial furniture still left in the house.
He knocked on the solid wood door and waited for Jared’s quiet ‘Come in’. Jared was behind a small desk, wood worn along the edges showing years of use, finishing a phone call on his cell. He motioned for Lex to sit and continued his conversation.
Lex had been in this room one other time, right after he’d been hired and then he was so nervous that he was concentrating on not losing his lunch instead of the surroundings. He noted the pictures along the fireplace mantle - aged faded photos of two young boys. The first was a kid, Lex guessed he was about four, holding a swaddled baby on his lap with a look of pride and awe on his face. The second was again of two boys, clearly a younger Jensen and Jared, with their arms slung around each other and smiling at the camera. Jensen’s face was tilted toward Jared’s, his eyes more on the younger boy than the lens and they twinkled with what Lex recognized as budding love. Three and four shared a plain silver frame, both of Jared and Jensen but one at Jensen’s graduation - Jensen resplendent in his dark maroon robes - and the other at Jared’s - Jared equally as striking in his own deep red robe. The last picture looked to be a recent capture of the two men. They must have been at some charity event as both were dressed in tuxedos and seemed to have a glass of champagne in their hands. Their free hands were around the other’s waist and they were pressed together from shoulder to knees. Jared was beaming brightly at the camera, a laugh captured forever lighting up his face, and Jensen was watching him with that same awe and pride as the boy in the first picture.
“That’ll be fine, Jason. Thank you for looking into it. I’ll expect your call tomorrow.” Lex pulled his attention from the photos just as Jared thumbed the screen of his phone to end the call.
Jared placed the phone to the right of the desk blotter, the edges perfectly square to one another, and folded his hands over the dark green felt. “Alexander,” Jared began, “I think today you might have realized something that only a handful of people have been trusted with.”
“I - I,” Lex stammered, “I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t trying to find anything out. I just sort of hit me all of the sudden, but, Jared, you have to know that I would never tell anyone. I mean I wouldn’t. Ever. I swear!”
“Alexander,” Jared held his hand out in a ‘whoa’ gesture. “Calm down. I’m not mad. You’re a smart kid. Much smarter than most of the muscle that we hire. We knew that you’d figure it out sooner or later.”
“Are you going to fire me?” Lex couldn’t help how meek he sounded. Uncle JD and Aunt Kim would be so disappointed. They were thrilled when Jensen agreed to hire him, proud that Lex would be working with Jared and Jensen. They’d be heartbroken to know that he got fired because he couldn’t keep his mind to himself.
“Fire you?” Jared jerked back in shocked confusion. “Why would I do that?”
“Well,” Lex fidgeted, “Cuz I know now.” He couldn’t keep his mouth from adding, “I might tell someone. I’m sure it’s not something y’all want to get out.”
“Not particularly, no,” Jared conceded, “But if it does, then no harm really. Most people think we’re sleeping together anyway. I’ve heard it’s quite the topic of conversation at the coffee shop. Plus, I already told you that we knew you’d figure it out. If I was worried that you’d tell someone, I wouldn’t have hired you.”
“Then….why?”
“I wanted to give you the story myself. I’d rather you not get it from someone who might not know what they’re talking about. Like I said, people have romanticized us and I know that Mrs. Biggs has tried to cast us in her own fantasized Harlequin romance.” Jared got up from his chair and walked over to the fireplace.
“Oh.” It sounded dumb to Lex’s own ears, but it was all he could think to say.
“I guess we should start at the beginning.” Jared smiled at the displayed photographs. “This was my mother’s favorite picture.” Jared picked up the picture of the small boy holding the baby. “She always said that Jensen looked so smug in it like he was saying ‘look what I did’. “
“Jensen knew your mother?” Lex knew that Jared’s parents had passed when he was barely a teenager so it surprised him that Jared’s mother knew Jensen.
“Oh, yeah. He knew both of my parents. I guess that is where our story truly begins.”
Lex shifted in his seat and rolled his shoulders. The silk of his shirt felt good - sensual - as it slid back and forth over his skin almost making up for the stuffiness of his suit coat. He was still adjusting to the claustrophobic feel of the heavy fabric on his back. Even before he was dropped off at child services with a note pinned to his shirt, winter coats had been a luxury and he’d grown up accustomed to lightweight material and the sluggishness of a constantly numb body. He surreptitiously tugged the Windsor knot at his neck then slid his hand down and under the open flap of his jacket, creating a little space for air to flow over his ribs.
“You’ll get used to it.” A large hand clapped him on the shoulder and he stiffened. Lex looked up, blushing slightly at being caught fidgeting.
His boss always struck an imposing figure, one
befitting his station and status. He was an arousing combination of sophistication and sex appeal in his expensively tailored suit, the clean lines framing his athletic physique and hinting at the physical power underneath that matched the man’s mental prowess.
“Y-yes, sir,” Lex stammered still intimidated by the older man even after working for him for the better part of six months.
The boss grinned, squeezing his shoulder. “Relax, kid. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Lex relaxed, tight muscles going lax under the reassurance.
Winking, the other man’s smirk turned sharper. “Besides,” he leaned forward conspiratorially, “I’m not who you should be worried about. You need to keep an eye out for…”
A muffled pop was followed almost immediately by shattering glass as the picture on the wall exploded, cutting off the older man’s sentence. Instinctually, they grabbed each other and dropped to the floor.
Lex kicked the table over to use it as a shield just as another bullet whirred overhead, imbedding in the drywall and raining dust down on them. He pulled his gun from his shoulder holster, consciously forcing his nervously shaking fingers from holding the grip too tight. He closed his eyes and took a calming breath to center his thoughts
like he’d been trained. Opening them, he shot a hard look at his boss that warned against argument, a complete change from the intimidated boy of a few minutes ago.
“Kitchen!” Lex jutted his chin in the direction of the swinging door behind them, this table chosen specifically by the head of security
for its easy access to the exit. “Go!” He snapped going so far as to push the other man when he didn’t move. “Now!”
He watched as the door swung in the wake of the boss’ departure then peeked around the corner of the table. A man stood across the room near the bathroom hallway, using the wall as cover. Wood splintered next to Lex’s head as a bullet bit into the edge of the table.
“Son of a bitch,” he cursed, splinters digging into his face and hand.
Another chunk of table disintegrated and he pressed his back to the solid top of his shield. His breath huffed out, chest pistoning erratically as panic overruled the tremulous grasp he had on his training. He closed his eyes and gathered himself, steeling his resolve. He whipped out from behind the table and fired two shots in rapid succession, the first hitting his mark in the shoulder, the second in the chest. Letting out a relieved breath, his gun arm drooped.
Movement to his left caught his eye and he spun around. A man popped up from behind the bar, gun leveled at his chest. Lex flinched at the retort, body bracing
for death, only to gasp when his would-be killer dropped, a red rose blooming across the crisp white of his shirt.
He turned to see which direction death was coming from this time and felt his knees go weak at the sight of the new arrival. Face shadowed and body silhouetted by the bright sunshine filtering in through the open door at his back, Lex recognized his savior. He began to shiver as adrenaline ebbed and gripped the edge of the upturned table for support. The figure rushed toward him and grasped his biceps. Lex winced, thankful for the thickness of the hated jacket, as strong fingers dug into muscle and flesh.
“Where is he?” The words were growled, hurried and heavy with worry. When Lex didn’t immediately answer, his mouth open but the words refusing to come, he was shaken roughly. “Alexander! Where is he? Is he safe?”
Blinking his eyes to clear the daze left in the wake of a near-death experience, Lex licked his lips and mumbled, “Kitchen.”
He suddenly found himself on the ground, shaky knees unprepared to support his weight when he was abruptly released. The breeze from the swinging door into the kitchen blew across his face and ruffled his hair. The faint scent of Eternity wafted to him on the gust of air.
“You okay, kid?” He hadn’t realized there was someone else there until a warm hand touched his arm. Christian Kane crouched beside him, face light but tinged with concern.
Lex stared into the man’s blue eyes, finding peace in the crystal depths where most only found intimidation. He let them center him, calm his lingering jitters, and finally was able to nod numbly.
“Your first right?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. Lex didn’t need an explanation. He was the rookie and his lack of “real” action had been the basis of most of the ribbing he took from the others on the security
team. It was inevitable though. You didn’t work for the town’s oldest and most powerful family business without expecting some form of violence from time to time.
“Let’s get you up.” Chris helped
him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed.
Lex looked over the damage the short gunfight had caused to the restaurant. He had a passing thought
of how Giovanni and his family would pay for the repairs when his gaze landed on a set of highly polished dress shoes jutting out from behind the bar. There was a red starburst dotted with soft gray on the mirror behind it, cracks in the reflective glass fingering out from the center, where rifled metal met its end after passing through too forgiving flesh. He jerked his gaze away as a crimson rivulet trailed down to drip on the liquor bottles shelved at the mirror’s base.
His eyes drifted, coming to a stop on the body of the other man, lower half obscured by the wall he’d hidden behind. He was prone, torso bridging a lake of red - liquid life slowly absorbing into expensive nylon. Lex felt light-headed, stomach churning. He’d done that, he’d killed that man. There was a strange buzzing in his ears and hot acid burned his throat.
“Whoa, there. I think you need some water.” Chris tugged on his arm, but Lex’s body felt leaden.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dead man lying in a puddle of his own blood. He heard Chris sigh, the rush of air sounding sympathetic, then felt the warmth of a body when the stockier man stepped up close.
“You did good, kid,” Chris’ voice was soft and soothing in his ear. “He was going to kill you. Came in here with the sole purpose of being the only one leaving. You just had better aim.” Chris urged him toward the door to the kitchen. “Now, about that water.”
Lex staggered after him, feet still moving on autopilot, the two of them stumbling through the kitchen door. Chris propped him against the counter and moved to get him a glass of water. Giovanni and his wife, Vera, hovered behind the daughter, Maria, who was kneeling on the ground next to Jensen, a damp washcloth in her hand, spots stained pink where it appeared she’d cleaned the nicks on Jensen’s face caused by the shattering picture. It never ceased to amaze Lex the reaction people had to Jensen. He was their Don, their protector, and they loved him.
Jared was on the man’s other side. His hands were ghosting over Jensen, visibly shaking even from across the room, searching for injuries. Finding none, Jared clasped Jensen’s arms. Jared looked so small, so frightened, and Lex couldn’t look away.
Jared was the reason that Lex was in this upscale restaurant confined by his suit, the reason he had somewhere safe to sleep and enough food to eat. Jensen might be the brains of the organization, but Jared was the eyes and ears. Nothing happened in Jensen’s territory that Jared didn’t know about and when he got wind of the runaway orphan trying to sell himself on the street, Jared had come up to him and made him an offer. Lex came with him right then, went to stay with a family that Jared knew and trusted, and in return all Lex had to do was keep his nose clean and finish his education. There was no soul binding pledges of loyalty, no indentured servitude. When Lex graduated, he could decide then to either work for Jensen or seek employment elsewhere. No questions, no repercussions. Lex had been young, just shy of his fifteenth birthday, but he wasn’t stupid and he knew a good deal when he saw one. Needless to say, he’d gone with Jared that night and been delivered to the doorstep of Jeffrey Dean and Kim, a couple who looked at Jared like he was an angel and talked about Jensen like he was the second coming. They’d welcomed Lex with open arms, introduced him to people as their nephew and treated him so much like he was, that sometimes it was hard to remember they weren’t blood. They fed him, loved him, supported him and he finally realized what a family was supposed to be. When he graduated, it was a no-brainer. He walked up to Jared, seated in the back row of the auditorium with a proud look on his face, and told him he wanted a job. If it wasn’t for Jared, Lex would probably had become another statistic, an unclaimed body in the morgue that turned into an unadorned grave at the cemetery. He owed Jared everything. So it was unsettling to see the man so vulnerable.
“Can’t even leave you alone for two minutes to go get the car,” Jared shook his head, voice trying and failing for lighthearted.
Jensen wrapped his fingers around Jared’s wrists, reassuring with warm pressure. His normally sharp, perceptive eyes were soft and tender. “You know me, never a dull moment.”
“Gonna have to keep you on lockdown.” Jared’s voice went thick and he swallowed.
“Nah, I was in good hands. Little Lex there took care of me.” Jensen leaned around Jared and winked at him.
Jared looked at him over his shoulder. “Yeah, he did.”
Lex flushed under the combined men’s praise and caught staring at the picture they created, thankful when Chris gave him a distraction in the form of the glass of water. He watched them over the lip of the glass. Their hands touched with a careless intimacy, casual affection shared without conscious thought. Their words were soft, soothing, like one would talk to a lover. Lex jolted at that thought.
He’d been around Jared since the day the older man had driven him away from that street corner, but his experience with Jensen had been limited so far. Lex was just now allowed to accompany the boss out when he conducted business and even then he’d been relegated to watching the car. Today, was his first time outside posh German engineering and also his first time witnessing Jared and Jensen in something less than a professional setting. He’d never known, would never had guessed, that these two titans of the crime world might be something more.
Chris cleared his throat quietly, shrewd eyes trained on him. “You got something to say there, kid?”
Lex almost choked on his swallow of water, forcing it down with a wince. “N-no, sir.”
“Good.” Chris’ voice didn’t broker any argument, the tone as final as a slamming door or more accurately, judging by the protective look in his eyes, a gunshot.
“Is everything alright?”
Lex sloshed his water down the front of his shirt, Jensen’s voice too close and shocking in its proximity. He felt trapped, caught like a thief with one hand in the till. Jared and Jensen stood before him, Giovanni and his family bustling out the door with broken, Italian accented English chattering away about contractors and damage, and Lex swallowed. The affection of a few minutes ago was gone, carefully hidden behind the masks that Lex now realized they showed the outside world.
“Yeah,” Chris chuckled, grabbing a dish towel from the counter and ineffectively swiping at the water dotting Lex’s jacket. “Kid, here, is still a little addled from everything he just saw.”
“You okay, Alexander?” Jared reached out and cupped his elbow, the warmth of his large hand bleeding through the multiple layers of fabric. His eyes were filled with concern, soft hazel regarding him with worry. Lex knew that Jared had truly hoped he would decide against joining the family, like a mother-henning uncle had urged him toward the collegiate and civilian route, but Lex had settled his heart and mind on working with Jared the moment “Aunt” Kim hugged him for the first time. In some kind of archaic mindset, he felt that since Jared had given him a life, that that life belonged to Jared. There was also the possibility that he’d watched too many movies.
He nodded mutely, jerking forward and spilling more water when Chris slapped his soundly on the back. Jared moved back just in time to avoid the splash zone.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine.” Chris took the glass and handed Lex the towel before he became any more sodden. “Like I said, just a little shaken by it all.” Sharp blue flashed for a fraction of a minute.
“Okay. You’re sure?” Jared squeezed his elbow again.
“Yeah,” he finally managed to croak. A safe feeling flowed over him, originating from the wide hand on his arm. There was such strength in that grip, yet Jared held him so gently and Lex couldn’t help but wonder what Jensen felt when those hands were on him.
“I think it’s time to leave.” Jensen broke his musings. “Chris make sure Gio and Vera have Steve’s number. I’d like him here by tomorrow at the latest. Also, when we get back to the house, call Dani at the gallery and have her send over something to replace the picture that was damaged. Maybe the one to the left of reception.”
“Yes, boss.” Chris took Jensen’s coat from Maria and held it out as he shrugged into it.
Jared released Lex’s arm, worry deepening the furrow between his brows, to take his and Lex’s coat from Vera. He handed the thick wool coat to Lex, eyes narrowed in scrutiny. “I’ll drive. Chris, sit in the back with Jensen.”
“Sure, Jare,” Chris agreed without hesitation.
Jensen regarded them with a measured look, gaze locking with Jared’s for a long moment before nodding once. Lex got the distinct impression that somehow the two men had carried on a full conversation with just that look.
Jared held out his arm and Chris then Jensen stepped out of the kitchen. Jared and Lex made up the rear and Lex didn’t miss the way that Jared’s hand rested tenderly, lovingly, on the small of Jensen’s back as he ushered Jensen into the waiting vehicle. How had he missed it? The touches, looks, soft words all seemed to make so much more sense now that he felt like a blind, oblivious fool.
He climbed into the front passenger seat, clicking his seatbelt as Jared slid into the driver’s seat. They rode in silence, the only sound the gentle hum of the car and the soft music on the radio. Jared seemed at ease, either completely unperturbed or unaware of Lex’s inner contemplation. The older man lightly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of whatever song was on the radio, lips moving soundlessly to the lyrics. The car pulled up to the stately Ackles home, built by Jensen’s grandfather in the 1920s. Michael Ackles had been the first Don and had constructed his home to be intimidating to those who crossed him and yet welcoming to those he considered friends.
Jared navigated the car through the large wrought iron gate and into the garage. He killed the engine and hesitated for a moment. “Alexander?”
“Yes?” He’d stopped at the call of his name with his hand on the door and one foot on the concrete flooring of the garage.
“Once you’ve gotten settled, please meet me in the back study.” Jared’s voice was flat, no indication of anger or seriousness and Lex began to worry. Did Jared know that he’d figured out their secret? Was he going to be threatened? He’d seen Jared’s particular version of persuasion and he had no desire to be on the receiving end.
“Yes, sir.” He pushed his way out of the car and forced the door shut with trembling hands. His face must have shown some of what he felt because Chris shot him a confused look. He smiled in return and quickly made his way into the house. The only thing he could think to do was promise Jared that he’d never say anything and hope his boss believed him.
He peeled off his coat and hung it in the front coat closet then checked his messages even though the only people who called him were Uncle JD and Aunt Kim and they didn’t call while he was at work. He wandered into the kitchen for some water and drank it in measured sips convincing himself that he was savoring the tasteless liquid. When he couldn’t find any other reason to put off seeing Jared he made his way to the back study.
The room was used as the private office Jared and Jensen shared in the house. Jensen’s associates were not privy to this space. They only ever saw the big office near the front of the house, imposing mahogany desk backed by floor-to-ceiling windows and an antique sideboard that housed expensive liquors in the cabinet and lethal weapons in the drawers. Lex had been told that the sideboard had been in Michael’s office and was the only piece of familial furniture still left in the house.
He knocked on the solid wood door and waited for Jared’s quiet ‘Come in’. Jared was behind a small desk, wood worn along the edges showing years of use, finishing a phone call on his cell. He motioned for Lex to sit and continued his conversation.
Lex had been in this room one other time, right after he’d been hired and then he was so nervous that he was concentrating on not losing his lunch instead of the surroundings. He noted the pictures along the fireplace mantle - aged faded photos of two young boys. The first was a kid, Lex guessed he was about four, holding a swaddled baby on his lap with a look of pride and awe on his face. The second was again of two boys, clearly a younger Jensen and Jared, with their arms slung around each other and smiling at the camera. Jensen’s face was tilted toward Jared’s, his eyes more on the younger boy than the lens and they twinkled with what Lex recognized as budding love. Three and four shared a plain silver frame, both of Jared and Jensen but one at Jensen’s graduation - Jensen resplendent in his dark maroon robes - and the other at Jared’s - Jared equally as striking in his own deep red robe. The last picture looked to be a recent capture of the two men. They must have been at some charity event as both were dressed in tuxedos and seemed to have a glass of champagne in their hands. Their free hands were around the other’s waist and they were pressed together from shoulder to knees. Jared was beaming brightly at the camera, a laugh captured forever lighting up his face, and Jensen was watching him with that same awe and pride as the boy in the first picture.
“That’ll be fine, Jason. Thank you for looking into it. I’ll expect your call tomorrow.” Lex pulled his attention from the photos just as Jared thumbed the screen of his phone to end the call.
Jared placed the phone to the right of the desk blotter, the edges perfectly square to one another, and folded his hands over the dark green felt. “Alexander,” Jared began, “I think today you might have realized something that only a handful of people have been trusted with.”
“I - I,” Lex stammered, “I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t trying to find anything out. I just sort of hit me all of the sudden, but, Jared, you have to know that I would never tell anyone. I mean I wouldn’t. Ever. I swear!”
“Alexander,” Jared held his hand out in a ‘whoa’ gesture. “Calm down. I’m not mad. You’re a smart kid. Much smarter than most of the muscle that we hire. We knew that you’d figure it out sooner or later.”
“Are you going to fire me?” Lex couldn’t help how meek he sounded. Uncle JD and Aunt Kim would be so disappointed. They were thrilled when Jensen agreed to hire him, proud that Lex would be working with Jared and Jensen. They’d be heartbroken to know that he got fired because he couldn’t keep his mind to himself.
“Fire you?” Jared jerked back in shocked confusion. “Why would I do that?”
“Well,” Lex fidgeted, “Cuz I know now.” He couldn’t keep his mouth from adding, “I might tell someone. I’m sure it’s not something y’all want to get out.”
“Not particularly, no,” Jared conceded, “But if it does, then no harm really. Most people think we’re sleeping together anyway. I’ve heard it’s quite the topic of conversation at the coffee shop. Plus, I already told you that we knew you’d figure it out. If I was worried that you’d tell someone, I wouldn’t have hired you.”
“Then….why?”
“I wanted to give you the story myself. I’d rather you not get it from someone who might not know what they’re talking about. Like I said, people have romanticized us and I know that Mrs. Biggs has tried to cast us in her own fantasized Harlequin romance.” Jared got up from his chair and walked over to the fireplace.
“Oh.” It sounded dumb to Lex’s own ears, but it was all he could think to say.
“I guess we should start at the beginning.” Jared smiled at the displayed photographs. “This was my mother’s favorite picture.” Jared picked up the picture of the small boy holding the baby. “She always said that Jensen looked so smug in it like he was saying ‘look what I did’. “
“Jensen knew your mother?” Lex knew that Jared’s parents had passed when he was barely a teenager so it surprised him that Jared’s mother knew Jensen.
“Oh, yeah. He knew both of my parents. I guess that is where our story truly begins.”