Rocky fucking hated this. He wanted to shout out to the entire room that there was no fucking way this was going to happen. If he did that though, he’d be revealing his feelings for Aiden and he’d promised his baby he wouldn’t do that before the other man was ready to. Right in that moment however, Rocky really fucking wished he wasn’t a man of his word. He also wished he’d put conditions on his promise. If he had, he’d see no problem revealing the fact that Aiden was his, despite Aiden’s protests. It was a fucking matter of safety and the club was wanting to put his fucking Little boy in fucking danger!
Rocky was sure if anyone were to snap a picture of him they’d see steam billowing from his ears, and the fact that Aiden kept glancing over at him with a worried expression only helped solidify that belief. He wasn’t doing a very good job of masking his feelings but he’d lost one love of his life and now it felt like he was on the brink of possibly losing another.
The traitor had already shown that he had no problem with harm coming to the men of the club or the women they protected. What was to say the little bitch wouldn’t go so far as to hurt someone himself if he got caught. So far, he’d used the stupid assholes whose women had been liberated by the club to do his dirty work. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t come after the club guys directly if the prick lost patience. Or, found out about this fucking stupid ass plan.
Rocky couldn’t keep still anymore and he started to pace as the others talked. He couldn’t trust himself to offer input or he’d lose his cool and put a stop to the whole scheme. He couldn’t do that. Not here. When he got Aiden home though, that was another matter.
“You’re sure you didn’t let on that you’d found it?” Blade asked Aiden, leaning down to place his elbows on his knees, waiting for the reply.
“No, I was very quiet in my search and when I found it I didn’t know what you’d want to do about it so I made sure to act normal and give no hints to what I had found.”
“Since it hasn’t been removed from your office and the door has been locked with you not being here, it should be easy enough to just leave it there.” Stone interjected. “Give them some false information.”
Rocky couldn’t take it anymore, he had to say something. “And if they discover what Aiden’s doing?” The fact that he was practically snarling was not going to help hide how strongly he felt but he had to have this particular question answered. Thankfully, they were in Stone’s backyard. Hopefully, that meant the obvious rage in his words was slightly tempered. Doubtful, but one could hope.
“We’ll give him a signal word to let us know if he needs help since we’ll have our own bugs in there and will be monitoring them.” Blade was the one to answer Rocky’s question, giving him a knowing look that said he knew exactly where Rocky’s thoughts and heart were.
“And if he’s not in his office?” Yeah, okay, he was totally giving shit away, but in his defense, he wasn’t coming right out and saying it and most of these men had probably already figured out that the two men were together. They weren’t stupid. None of the men around him would bring up any potential feelings unless he or Aiden did first.
“I’d given that thought. I was planning to assign someone to be constantly around him.” Stone looked directly at Rocky as he continued, “Figured maybe you’d do it since he’s already with you until he’s at a hundred percent. Plus, y’all are working the remodel together. Just makes sense.”
Rocky was well aware from the merriment in Stone’s eyes that the reasons Stone was asking him were much more personal than that, but he appreciated the fact that his brother was being discreet.
“Do I get a say in this? Why do I need protection?”
Every man in the room turned as one to stare incredulously at Aiden before the words even had a chance to settle in the air.
“You kidding?”
“That a joke?”
“Be serious.”
Rocky wasn’t sure who spoke what since each reply came simultaneously but he was sure Aiden didn’t like those responses.
“You think I’m too weak to take care of myself?”
“Why would you assume that?” Blade rose from his seat and moved closer to Aiden as he explained, “I’d assign someone to any member of this club that was in clear and present danger. I’d make sure that they were never left unprotected, especially with recent events. Every single one of you are family to me, and I know you all feel the same. Family sticks together and family never fucking lets family walk into danger alone. So, you’ll take a fucking guard because you’re fucking family, and we won’t chance fucking losing you. Got it?”
Well, Rocky thought, that sure told him, as he watched Aiden stare at the other men in astonishment.
Chapter Thirty
Aiden
Despite the highly upset tone, Aiden couldn’t help but let Blade’s words sink in deep. He wasn’t assigned a guard because he was the weakest, he was assigned a guard because he was special to them. Aiden let that feeling sink in for a moment before turning to face Rocky. Was he right? Would the club accept him if they knew what he was hiding?
He’d always heard that a family were the ones who stood by you no matter what. Though Aiden had never seen it personally, he was wondering if he’d finally found the family who would be that for him. How wonderful would it be to have a whole group of people who accepted every part of him? Daddy said they would, and Aiden was coming to believe it. Was he willing to chance it though?
So many things could happen if he took a risk, and it blew up in his face. He could lose the home he’d made over these last years. He could lose people who had become important to him.
I could lose Rocky.
No, not Rocky. He’d never lose his Daddy. He was sure of that now. Maybe, if he had Rocky with him, he’d find the courage to take the leap. Daddy would catch him; he was sure of it. But, if things went wrong, it wouldn’t be just Aiden walking away from the life he’d built, it would be Daddy giving up everything to go with him. Aiden would have to think some more about it, but for the first time since he’d first decided to hide parts of himself, he felt hope he might not have to anymore.
Daddy hadn’t exactly been very subtle about his feelings during the meeting so far, and not a single one of the other men had batted an eye. They’d known Rocky was gay for years and it hadn’t affected their relationships. They didn’t even seem to be surprised that Daddy had feelings for Aiden. It was definitely time to think about coming out to the club. But, for now, he needed to get this meeting finished and say his piece before Daddy managed to get him alone to forbid it.
“Okay, let’s do it.” He told Blade with as much conviction as he could muster. “It’s probably the best way to end this.” Aiden pointed his gaze directly on Daddy’s furious stare as he continued, “It’s not like it would be believable from anyone else. There were only bugs in my office. It has to be me.”
