29. Worth

Half an hour later, having kissed Laurie so soundly I hoped his lips were still tingling, I got in the car with Carter, Matteo, Miles, and Ford.

"All set?" Matteo asked from the driver's seat.

Carter nodded, and he pulled away from the curb. Then Carter turned to me. "What exactly is going on with you and Laurie?"

I glanced at Miles. He shook his head. "I didn't say a word."

"He refused to give us any information, the bastard," Matteo said.

"Beck told me not to touch him. He told me to leave him alone because he needs to heal. He's been through hell with an abusive son of a bitch."

"And you did exactly what he told you not to do?" Carter asked.

"It's not that straightforward. But yes, I did."

"And Laurie knows your history?"

"He knows, and he was very willing despite that. He is a grown-up, and he's allowed to make his own decisions, no matter what my brother thinks." My brother, who was currently being held captive. "I didn't know Beck was going to go and get kidnapped."

Ford laid a hand on my shoulder. "Of course not, but I've seen you with guys before. This is different."

"It is so different. You fucking warned me, and I swore it would never happen."

"So this is when we get to say, ‘I told you so'?" Carter asked. "This is when I get to remind you I said it would happen, and you swore your turn would never come, and now it has."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, this is that time."

"Holy shit!" Ford's mouth dropped open. "You're in love with him?"

"I can't stand the thought of anyone else touching him. I can't stand the thought of spending a day without him, and I absolutely cannot stand the thought of him leaving New York. He's mine, and I intend to keep him here."

"Yep," Matteo agreed, "you're in love."

"I take it you haven't told him that yet?" Miles asked.

"No, I don't know if he would believe me. He thinks this can't be real. He says he doesn't belong in my world because he didn't grow up with money. He doesn't want to be a charity case, and he needs time to build his own life."

"All of that does sound reasonable," Carter said.

"Fuck off. Whose side are you on?"

"I'm not picking sides. You can give him those things day by day. As he sees how committed you are to him, he'll learn to believe you. You can let him have his own life. You could back off a bit and let him heal."

"We tried to not touch each other after the first night when Beck got angry with us. We barely made it three days, so I don't think backing off is an option."

"Maybe you're actually what he needs to heal," Miles suggested.

Carter and Ford turned to look at him, even Matteo glanced in the rearview mirror.

"Watch the fucking road," Miles snarled.

"It looks like Laurie might be very good for you," Ford said.

"He is. I want to start a fashion label."

Ford nodded. "That makes all the fucking sense in the world."

"I want Laurie to do it with me. He was majoring in design, then he had to drop out because he couldn't afford it. Beck tried to pay for his tuition, but Laurie wouldn't let him, then he fell in with Tommy, his fucking abuser."

"Where is that asshole now?" Carter asked.

"Still in St. Louis. After we take care of Beck and get everything settled once and for all with the cartel, we're tracking Tommy down, and we're going to make sure he never hurts anyone again. I want to make him pay, and I want to do it myself."

Carter nodded. "Then we'll make it happen."

"Laurie says nobody needs to go after Tommy, that he's just thankful to be free, but if he beat Laurie, he's just going to do it again to someone else."

Matteo snarled, "Did he hit that sweet young man?"

"Yes, but the emotional abuse was worse."

"He's going to die," Matteo declared.

That was when it hit me. Owning a fashion label together would be fun, and we could absolutely do that, but what would be even more meaningful would be helping people in the same position Laurie was in. We could give them what they needed to start a new life—clothes, job opportunities, a decent place to live. As soon as I was home, I was going to talk to Laurie about it. We were going to build something wonderful together. We could make our own label too, but neither of us was going to want to deal with the business side of things day-to-day.

"You're thinking awfully hard," Ford said.

"Are you suggesting that's unusual for me?"

"No. I'm suggesting you'd like other people to think it's unusual for you. Your dumb rich boy act has served you well."

"Well, I'm done with it. Unless I really need to bring it out to get something I want."

Miles snorted, and Carter turned around and glared at me. "Your money gets you anything you want."

"True enough, but I've got an idea."

Miles frowned. "That sounds disturbing."

I flipped him off. "An idea about something Laurie and I could do together."

"Jesus, you don't need to share the details," Ford said.

I huffed. "A charity we could build together."

Carter smiled. "Now that sounds like a very good idea."

"I want to talk to Laurie about it before I say anything else."

"Times up anyway." Matteo pulled the car into a dark parking lot, and the atmosphere turned serious as Carter shifted in his seat, ready to brief us all.