Salinger

My mistake wasn’t taking Tia to the brothel. My mistake was falling asleep. With no windows to let in the morning light, and no clocks to tell us what time it is, only the sound of Hux and my cell phones wake us up.

“Shit,” Huxley mutters, sitting up on the floor where we all fell asleep. He searches his pants pockets, before pulling out his phone.

Tia is curled up in my arms, one leg wrapped around me.

Don’t want to move. Still feel like I’m dreaming.

“Get up, both of you,” Huxley mutters.

“What’s wrong?” Tia asks sleepily.

“It’s morning, and Banks and Giles are wondering where the hell we are.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, grateful Fallon isn’t home, or he’d have both of our balls.

Banks and Giles, I can deal with. But I know they’ll both be pissed, especially if they ever found out where we spent the night with our wife.

In a goddamn brothel.

“Pass me my phone,” I say to Hux as I sit up. “I’ll call them and let them know she’s all right.”

“Just texted them,” he says, tossing my pants and shirt at me.

Tia stands, her legs wobbly, and despite the trouble we’re surely in, I can’t help but smile. Damn, she looks like she’s been properly fucked.

She walks towards where her clothes lay in a pile, and for a moment I forget about the other men, my focus on the goddess in front of me. Naked, her hair hanging in tousled waves down her back, I moan when she bends over to pick up her bra.

Huxley makes a similar sound, and she turns blinking at us both innocently. “What?”

“Do we really need to rush home?” I ask, my cock already hard and ready for a repeat of last night.

Huxley sighs and starts to dress. “As much as I want to stay, we need to get her back before Banks and Giles have a fucking aneurysm.”

Knowing he’s right, I pull my pants on and check the dozen messages on my phone, mostly from Giles and Banks, but there’s one from my father as well. There’s still no news about survivors, but he wants me in the office later this morning for a meeting.

Work is the last thing on my mind, but I need to stay in touch with what’s going on for Tia. I can’t rely on my father to keep me informed. I’m not sure I trust him to do what’s right for my wife. Not sure I trust my mother either, even though she seems to be helping us. But I know if it came down to it, they would choose Alaska over my wife. Hell, even over me.

Huxley stays at the shop, which leaves me to drive Tia home and face the wrath of Banks and Giles.

“Where were you?” Banks yells the second we walk in the door, his anger directed at Tia.

Giles is sitting on the couch, and even though he doesn’t say anything, I can see the torment in his eyes. And I know they must think she ran off again.

“It was my fault,” I say quickly, causing both men to turn to me.

Tia is holding my hand, and her grip tightens. “I’m sorry, we lost track of time, and--”

“You lost track of time?” Banks paces, dragging his fingers through his dark hair. “Do you know how worried we were when we woke up and you weren’t here?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Where were you?” Giles asks his voice calm, eyes steady.

“We were... um...” She chews on her bottom lip and glances up at me.

“Fucking awesome,” Banks says. “More secrets.”

“No.” I sigh. “I took her to my club. I have a room there--”

“What club?” Giles asks.

“You took her to a goddamn brothel?” Banks looks incredulous, and it doesn’t surprise me that he knows about the place. The men who frequent it, run in the same circle as him. But I know he’s never been there before. The girls that work there aren’t into the kink that he’s known for.

And I wonder if that’s why he hasn’t made a move on Tia yet.

Giles looks confused. “What’s he talking about?”

Shit. Hell. Fuck.

“It’s fine,” Tia says. “Honestly, it’s not what you think. The women are--”

“Jesus,” Banks runs his hands over his face. “You let her meet your whores.”

“They’re not my whores. And yes, I wanted her to see the place.”

“Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Giles snaps.

“Huxley and I run a small, clean, brothel that’s connected to his shop.”

Giles’ face pales. “And you took Tia there?”

“It was my idea,” Tia says.

“Your...” Giles shakes his head. “Did anyone touch you?”

“No. God no. Just...”

“Just what?” Banks snaps.

“Just me,” I say, stepping in front of Banks when he moves towards Tia.

His eye twitches as he stares me down. We’re the same height, but even though he’s not as built as Giles, Emerson, or Fallon, he still outweighs me by a good twenty pounds of muscle, and I have no doubt that he could pack a good punch.

Still, I hold my ground.

I won’t let him, or anyone else, take away from the night Tia and I had. It may seem tainted that I made love to my wife for the first time in a brothel, but to me it was perfect. I’d shared a part of myself with her, and she’d surrendered herself in return.

“Please, don’t fight,” Tia says, stepping between us, placing a palm on each of our chests, but it’s Banks she turns her face to. “We have enough to deal with. I’m sorry that I worried you. It won’t happen again. I just needed...” She looks at me. “I just needed some time with Sal.”

“Seems like you’ve been spending all your time with him lately,” Banks says, and I hear the jealousy in his words.

Tia drops her hands and tilts her chin up to him. “Maybe I have. But he’s not pushing me away.”

Banks grunts, glaring at me. “Some of us have work to do.”

“You’re not the only one with a fuckling job, Banks. I have a meeting I’ve got to get to myself. A meeting with the Director. You may think I’m just a puppet, but my father runs the goddamn show.”

“Is that what you’re aiming for too? To be the Director one day?” Giles asks. “Because I’m not interested in being on camera as the fucking family of the Director.”

“Right,” I sneer. “Because you’re too honorable to do something so fucking shallow, right? Represent our state?”

“You really care about the State of Alaska?” Giles scoffs. “Maybe Tia loves you, but I see through you.”

I’m fucking furious. “Oh yeah? And what do you see?”

“A child who has never had to be a man. Sitting with a silver spoon and a crown on his head--”

“Enough!” Tia shouts. “Giles, how dare you say that to Sal! He helped get you free and he’s doing everything to help me. To help us.”

“Is that so?” Banks asks. “And what exactly is he doing?”

Tia runs a hand over her forehead. “I took a pregnancy test at the lab.”

That shuts everyone up.

Huxley goes white as a ghost. “What did it reveal?”

“It was negative,” she says flatly.

“Shit, Tia,” Giles says, offering her his hand. She accepts it but gives him a hard look.

“Listen to me. All of you. The fighting must stop. What happened to the men last night joking around over a video game? Where did those men go?”

Banks looks her squarely in the eyes. “They left the compound the moment we didn’t know what happened to our wife.”

“I’m sorry. I am. We should have come home, and I hate to have worried you, but we have to trust one another.”

“Right, that’s why you took a pregnancy test in private?” Banks asks. “Why you have meetings with the Director no one else was informed of? Why you disappear for nights at a time with Salinger to unknown locations?”

Tia’s eyes meet mine and I know she doesn’t want to reveal parts of my story that aren’t hers to share, but I see how keeping the truth back is hurting everyone.

“My mother is a private person. She hasn’t left her bunker since her stroke a decade ago. And she wanted to meet my wife. That’s where we went.”

“So, why keep that from us?” Giles asks.

I swallow. We kept my mother out of it because there is so much more to it than just that. Warren Throne is looking for his daughter. And Lawson fucking Jefferson is looking for his betrothed.

All eyes are on Tia, but hers have fallen once more to the floor. I love her but God, she is making things difficult in this house. The truth needs to come out, or it won’t be her father or Lawson that will break this family. It will be all the damn secrets.

“Salinger’s mother ran my blood work,” she tells them. “And… the truth is…” Her chest rises and falls and I can see the war going on in her eyes, not knowing how much to share, what to hold back.

I could make it easier on her, on everyone, and just tell the truth. But it’s not my truth to tell. Plus, I just gained her trust and I don’t want to do anything to damage our relationship. Even if I think she’s wrong.

“The truth is what?” Banks growls out.

“There was an abnormality in my blood. I think something may be wrong with me.”

Banks steps toward her, eyes narrowing. “What kind of abnormality?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. But I was scared. I’m scared about a lot of things. And last night, Salinger helped me feel good. So, I’m sorry we left and I’m sorry for keeping it from you, but now you know the truth. Your wife may not be able to give you a child.”

“We knew that going into it,” Giles says. “Hardly any women can…”

“I know, but--”

“It doesn’t change anything,” Giles insists. “It doesn’t change how I feel.”

Tia hugs her arms around herself. “Sal’s mom wants me to go back for more tests, but--”

“You have to do it,” Banks says with a forcefulness that makes us all draw in our breath.

“No, I don’t have to do anything,” Tia pushes back. Her words remind me that she is stronger than she sometimes lets on. I see glimpses of it, like when she stood up to my mother when they met. When it matters, she doesn’t back down.

The same way she hasn’t caved and told her husbands who she is, even though they are desperate to know. In her mind, she’s trying to keep everyone safe. And after everything Giles went through for her, I can understand why.

She’s scared of anything happening to her husbands - her family. But that desire to protect us seems to cloud her judgment at times. She’s so focused on not giving us information that could be held against us if Lawson or her father were to find her, that she’s putting herself at risk over and over again.

“You’re right,” Banks says. “You don’t have to do anything. But if you had a conscience, you would.”

“Oh, is that so?” She balks. “You know nothing about me.”

“And why’s that, Hypatia Curie?” he asks with a steel edge to his voice. He sighs heavily. “You don’t want to tell us the truth of who you are, fine. Put the past in the past. I may be able to live with that. But who you are now, does matter. I want to see your blood work.”

“Why?” Her eyes widen.

“Because I’m a scientist, and you’re my wife. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure if you do get pregnant that both you and the child survive. Because that’s who I am, Tia.”

They hold each other’s gazes for a long moment, and finally, I see her shoulders sag.

Her lips tremble. “Fine. I’ll do the tests.”

Banks gives a hard nod and there’s a sliver of satisfaction in his gaze. He doesn’t realize why she’s so against being poked and prodded. Why the tests scare her so much. I’m pretty sure she has post-traumatic stress from some of the things that were done to her under her father’s care. I’m not even sure if she remembers everything.

Banks doesn’t understand, but then again, Tia isn’t giving him an opportunity to. Until she comes clean, she’ll continue to push Banks away, and I’m starting to realize he isn’t a man you want as an enemy.