Chapter 18

Nick

The last two days had been far too long, and he needed to get Malachi into bed, and not for any other reason than to sleep. As for when they woke—that was a whole other idea.

"Come on. Time to sleep."

"But—"

"Nope. No excuses. Up. Now."

He slid his arms under Malachi's armpits and pulled, dragging him to his feet.

"I need—"

"Sleep. You're right. You do. Come on."

Malachi slumped and rubbed both hands over his face. "Okay."

"Get some rest. I'm sure we'll see you later or tomorrow," Felix said.

Nick wrapped an arm around Malachi's shoulders and led him from the room, waving at Brett before they left. "You're going to have a cracking headache after looking at the screen for so long," he said. Malachi hummed, and Nick smiled. A tired Malachi was a cute Malachi.

They entered the suite, and Nick didn't even bother trying to shower because they were both exhausted. He stripped Malachi down to his boxers and tucked him in bed, even forgoing a teeth brush; one night wouldn't kill them. Malachi snuggled into the pillows, already on his way to sleep, and Nick undressed and joined him. Pulling him back against his chest, Nick sighed and pressed his lips to his nape.

"Sweet dreams, darling," he muttered, already sinking.

He was rudely awakened by his phone blasting through the quiet. Scrambling to reach the bedside table, he answered without looking. "What the hell?"

"Nick, we need you," Dominic said.

Nick sat upright, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep. "What?"

"Get over to our place now. We need your help."

"Okay. I'm coming."

Dominic ended the call, and Nick scrambled from the bed, hopping over to his discarded clothes and dragging them on.

"What's wrong?" Malachi asked, yawning.

"No idea. Dominic needs help. I've got to go."

Malachi swung his legs over the bed. "I'll come, too."

They dressed quickly, Nick grabbing his gun, and within minutes, they were on their way. Luckily, Dominic didn't live too far from Windsor Castle, and with it being the middle of the night, they were there faster than usual. He parked haphazardly in their driveway and headed for the door. The door swung open before he'd even reached it, and Dominic ushered them in.

"In the kitchen."

"What's going on?"

"You have to see it."

Nick's stomach swooped, and his hands twitched with the need to reach for his gun. He entered the kitchen, and a roar blasted his eardrums, jerking him to a stop. He stared at the people in front of him: Randall, Owen, Evan, Brett, Felix, Landon, Colt and Viola.

"What the fuck?"

"You need a break. We all do," Dominic said, slipping past him to join Randall. "We decided to intervene. This may not be as good as one of your parties, but it's the best we could do at short notice."

He grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses and poured some into each before handing them to Nick and Malachi.

"Let's toast to—"

"How about giving me a heart attack?" Nick joked, though he was touched they were trying to help. It had been nothing but issue after issue since Malachi had stayed with them. Poor guy might need a breather.

"That's Malachi's job, not ours," Owen quipped, earning a blush from Malachi.

Nick chuckled and wrapped his arm around him. "Let's toast to…us. We're damn good at our jobs, and we're damn good people."

"Cheers to that."

They clinked glasses between them and drank, and then Dominic put some music on. "No work talk tonight," he said. "Talk about anything other than that."

Nick grinned and wandered over to Randall. "Hey, Randall. What's Dominic sound like when he—"

Dominic grabbed him in a chokehold, and if it hadn't been for Randall being quick off the mark, Nick's drink would've ended up on the floor. Dominic took him down, keeping a hold on him, and Nick couldn't do much about it, laughing as he was.

"All right! All right! I give in!" Nick shouted, and Dominic let go. Nick slumped on the floor beside him and glanced over, breathing heavily. After a beat, he said, "Thank you."

Dominic gave a small smile and a nod. "I know what it's like. The worry. The need to figure it out. The panic when you can't. We'll get the son of a bitch. Eventually, we'll get him, and he won't know what hit him."

Nick breathed through his nose, trying to withhold his emotions. When he could, he grinned. "Where's the karaoke?"

"Not a chance in hell," Dominic said, climbing to his feet and reaching a hand down to drag Nick up, too.

"I'm sure your neighbours would love it. It's Raining Men, Hallelujah!" Nick sang, his voice cracking as he knew it would.

Dominic ignored him and turned the volume up. Giving him the middle finger, Nick smiled and headed back to Malachi, who was deep in discussion with Felix. They'd become two peas in a pod since they'd started researching together.

"I hope this isn't shop talk," he said.

"I'm just explaining to Malachi how to kill a man with a fork," Felix deadpanned.

Nick raised his eyebrows. "I would've thought that was fairly self-explanatory, but okay." He grinned.

Felix narrowed his eyes. "You don't have a leg to stand on, my friend. You weren't exactly sleeping the other night when the boss told you to relax, were you?" He tutted towards Malachi. "It's a good job you've already broken him in." He winked.

Nick scraped his teeth across his bottom lip, having no clue what he was on about, and focused on Malachi. "Are you having fun?"

"Jesus, Nick. You've been here fifteen minutes," Felix said. "Give the man a break." He walked off, shaking his head.

Nick watched him go, a little surprised at the outburst. Felix wasn't usually one for snapping at people—except for bad guys—so his slight show of temper was out of character. The man grabbed a bottle of beer and rested his hip against the counter, staring out of the back window and into the darkened garden.

"Hmm."

"I think he's stressed," Malachi said. "He was practically tearing his hair out as we worked earlier. Every avenue we tried was a dead end."

Nick sighed and slid his arm around him again, pressing his lips to his temple. "I know it's hard, but we'll figure it out. I know we will. Felix is the best of the best. He just doesn't believe in his own abilities some days."

Brett stopped beside Felix, muttering something he couldn't hear over the music, but he saw how Felix leaned towards him, and when Brett cupped his nape, Felix's eyes closed.

"Huh."

"Leave it alone, Nick," Malachi said. "That one is not for you to meddle in."

Nick gaped at him. "How dare you! I'll have you know I have an excellent track record of predicting and helping people to get together."

"Maybe so, but that one needs to be left to work alone."

"Why?" Nick was truly interested in what Malachi might've seen that he hadn't.

Malachi shifted closer, lowering his voice. "They spend most of their time together, so they've already got a rapport. They just need to first figure out that they care for each other—if they haven't already—and then admit it. If they can manage that, they might have the chance to build something new from what they already have. But at the moment, the barest wind could blow their foundations. You need to let them do their thing and not mess with those supports."

Nick stared at him. "You truly do have a way with words. It's beautiful."

Malachi flushed. "Thank you."

Despite it being the middle of the night, everyone seemed in fine spirits, and Nick realised exactly how much they all needed the break from work. Sometimes—and not to the Sutcliffes' fault—their work could be long and stressful, especially Brett's role, but they were all such good friends as well, that they all supported the others. Nick had never known a workplace like it. And he wouldn't change it for the world.

Three hours later, he was ready to sleep again, and so was Malachi.

"Thank you all for the amazing night, but we're going home to bed." He'd switched to soft drinks after his half a glass of wine at the very beginning and was confident in his ability to drive. Tucking Malachi under his shoulder, he said goodnight to everyone and led him to the car. He doubted Brett or Felix would sleep when they returned. Knowing them, they'd go straight back to work. It had surprised him that they'd even been there that night at all. But their relationship was something Nick would study from then on. He was intrigued.

"Sleep, sweetheart. I'll wake you when we get there." He closed the car door, his man already falling when Nick saw something under his window wipers. He pulled it free and unfolded the paper, expecting to see an advert for a club or something similar.

But his blood ran cold when he saw a photograph of Malachi's mum and grandma with a red target painted over the top of them.

Nick's heart tripled its rate, and he froze, unsure what move to make. Should he wake Malachi to check on them? Should he keep quiet and check on them himself? Why had he taken the guards from them once Malachi was healthy?

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he muttered.

Malachi would never forgive him if something happened to them. He pulled out his phone and dialled Felix.

"That was quick. You back already?"

"No, I'm outside. Do you, by any chance, have eyes on Malachi's family?"

Felix paused. "No. Should I?"

"Fuck." Was it a ruse to get him to go there? To get them to go there?

"Talk to me, Nick," Felix said, the words not in his ear.

He glanced up and handed Felix the paper. "I don't know what to do, Felix," he whispered. "It'll destroy him if something's happened to them. Do I tell him? Do I not and check for myself? What do I do?"

Felix dragged him into a hug, then stepped back. "You do what you would've done before. You ask for help." He disappeared back inside the house, and within seconds, everyone was outside. Landon and Viola disappeared from the driveway, possibly checking for anyone around. Owen and Colt got into a car and drove off. Brett was on the phone. Dominic and Randall came over to him.

"Wake him up, Nick. Tell him. He won't trust you ever again if you keep stuff from him," Randall said.

Nick inhaled and rounded the car, opening Malachi's door again. He crouched beside him. "Malachi? Sweetheart? Wake up for me. Come on," he coaxed as Malachi slowly roused. "That's it. Open your eyes, sweetheart."

When he did, Malachi gave a dopey smile, but Nick couldn't return it. Malachi frowned and blinked a few more times. "What's wrong?" He yawned.

"I need you to do something for me, but I need you to stay calm first."

Malachi sat straighter, his gaze darting around. "What?"

"I need you to call your mum. I know it's late, but it's important."

"Why?"

Nick swallowed hard, hating the pain he was causing. "They've been targeted, and we need to make sure they're okay."

"What!" Malachi grabbed for his phone, fumbling with it. Nick put his hand over Malachi's. "No! Let me call her!"

"Malachi," Nick's voice broke, "you need to be calm; otherwise, you'll worry her."

"I'm going to worry her, anyway! I'm calling her in the middle of the night!" But he took a breath and then another one. "Okay."

"You can't tell them what's happening. I know that's hard, but we need to keep it between us for now. Can you do that?"

Malachi inhaled again and nodded.

"Owen and Colt are almost at their house," Brett said. "Once you've spoken to her, ask her to let them in so they can check the house. We'll have people guarding them all day from now on." Brett growled. "We'll find them, Malachi. I promise you."

Malachi exhaled and dialled. The longer it rang, the more he trembled, and Nick grabbed his hand between his. When it went to voicemail, Malachi's tears overflowed.

"Try again. She might need a minute to wake and answer," Randall said.

Malachi licked his lips and dialled, closing his eyes while it rang.

"Malachi? What's wrong? What's happened?" his mother said, and there was a collective sigh.

"Hey, Mum. I'm sorry for waking you. I-I know this is stupid, but I had a nightmare that something had happened to you both. I'm going to sound overprotective here, but there are two guards at the house. Could you let them check everything is okay?"

Emily exhaled softly. "Oh, Malachi. You are a worrier. Okay, yes. Let me just get something a bit more decent to wear in company, and I'll let them in."

"Thank you. Their names are Owen and Colt." He bit his lip. "Can I stay on the line until you open the door?"

Emily chuckled. "Okay."

They listened to the rustles of clothing, and Nick hoped no one was in for a nasty surprise.

Brett gave him the thumbs up to say the guards had arrived and nothing seemed amiss from the outside. Nick would withhold judgement until the interior had been checked, too.

Finally, Emily came back on. "I can see two people at the door. Who is it?" she called. There was a murmur and a click before Emily came back louder again. "They're here. Are you feeling better now, Malachi?"

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Mum. Is Grandma okay?"

"She's fine. And you don't need to be sorry. I would be more upset if you lost sleep over a worry that one phone call could alleviate."

Malachi gave a watery chuckle. "I'm sorry, anyway."

"What are you doing worrying about me when you have a man to distract you now?"

Malachi's cheeks flamed in the light of the car, and Nick chuckled. "I'm not even…going there with you."

Emily's chuckle came across loud and clear. "But at least now you're not worrying. You're thinking of your man. A much better use of your time."

Nick rose, leaving Malachi to speak with his mother, and headed to Brett, anger building like a furnace in his stomach. "I don't like that this fucker knows where we all were. He has to be either following us or someone is telling him. Could he have a tracker or something?"

"I agree. I should be grateful that they're not targeting the royal family, but I'm not. They're now going after my family," Brett growled.

Nick raised his eyebrows. Angry Brett was a sight to behold on any day of the week, but pissed-off Brett rarely happened. When it did, everyone needed to beware, especially if the aim was them. But this was next level. He practically vibrated while standing in front of Nick, and as much as he agreed with him, Brett needed to calm down.

Before he could say or do anything, Felix came up and put his hand on Brett's shoulder, leaning to whisper something in his ear. Brett shuddered and closed his eyes, visibly reigning himself in.

Now Nick knew to watch them, their interactions were as clear as a windowpane, but were they already together or just pining for each other?

"Nick!"

Malachi's voice dragged him away from his musings, and he jogged back to the car. The phone was in his lap, and tears streaked his cheeks.

"Are they okay?" He knew they were, but he asked so Malachi could say the answer aloud.

"Yeah, both are fine. Mum checked on Grandma, and she was sleeping." He sighed shakily. "What the heck is going on, Nick?"

"I don't know, sweetheart, but we'll figure it out. I promise we will." He clasped Malachi's hands, squeezing and hoping it helped. When they got back to Windsor, he'd hold him as much as he needed for him to calm down and remember his family was safe.

Nick needed to do something because whoever this asshole was, he was getting too close. He couldn't believe, after all this time, they still didn't have a clue who was pulling the strings at the top. Someone was fucking with them all, taking each guard in turn, but what was the overarching plan? To unsettle them? To kill them all? To get them out of the way and aim for the Sutcliffes? Anything was possible, but he hated not knowing. In not knowing, there were no predictions; nothing they could do to sidestep a potential risk because they couldn't see where it was coming from.

And that scared the fuck out of him.

Smiling, he said, "Come on. Let's go home."

Malachi nodded, and Nick closed the car door. He stalked over to Brett. "Tomorrow, I want everything we have. I want to see it all. Every action, every piece of evidence, every spark of an idea someone has about who and why this is happening."

Brett nodded. "I'll be right beside you going through it all. Again." He sighed and shook his head, his gaze wavering. "It'll be all hands on deck. This has gone on long enough. One piece of good news from today—they finished closing the tunnels."

Nick nodded once and headed for the car, climbing in and driving off. It was only when he parked that Nick had a thought, and as they wandered down the corridors to their suite, he messaged Brett.

NICK: Can you get the car checked for bugs? It could be how he keeps finding us.

brETT: Good idea.

Brett's almost immediate answer soothed his anger a little. And as he settled Malachi back into bed, he held him tightly, whispering to him as they both lay there, troubled by what the future could hold. No one would hurt what was his. No one.

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