“What’s this?” Jack picked up the envelope and removed the fancy invite inside. “Four Kings Security cordially invites you to our fifth annual black-tie dinner and charity auction event benefiting military veterans and their families. Join us for cocktails, dinner, dancing, and a—” Jack’s head shot up. “No.”

  Ace’s grin was pure evil. The bastard. He waggled his eyebrows at Jack. “Oh yes.”

  “Are you doing this?”

  The fucker pretended to look disappointed as he placed a hand over his heart. “Alas, I’m no longer an eligible bachelor.” His evil grin returned. “But you are.”

  “A bachelor auction? Really?” Jack narrowed his eyes. “Wait, so none of you are being auctioned?”

  Ace shrugged.

  “But it’s just a date. For charity. We both know Colton would be fine with that.”

  “King, Red, Lucky, and I discussed it. We decided we didn’t want to take the focus off the charity event or overshadow the rest of the guys on auction. I mean, I wouldn’t want King to feel bad if I brought in more money than him. It would bruise his manly ego.”

  Something would bruise all right, but it wouldn’t be King’s ego. “King would get four times whatever someone ponies up for you.”

  Ace’s offended gasp made Jack laugh. “Ouch! Harsh.”

  “It’s that ‘Daddy’ vibe he gives off,” Joker said, hopping up to sit on Jack’s desk. “Like bees to nectar.”

  “First off, get your ass off my desk. Second of all, please, please, walk up to King and call him Daddy. I will pay good money for you to do that right now.” Jack pulled some bills out of his wallet and tossed them on his desk.

  “Pay good money to do what?” Lucky asked as he entered Jack’s office.

  “For Joker to call King Daddy,” Jack offered cheerfully.

  Lucky pulled his wallet out and removed several bills. “I will give you this if you go to his office right now and do that.”

  “Do what?” Red asked, poking his head in. He narrowed his eyes at them. “Whatever you all are up to, I want no part of it.”

  Ace patted Joker’s shoulder. “We’re paying Joker to walk into King’s office and call him Daddy.”

  Red’s eyes went huge. “I’m taking a break and won’t be anywhere near this building. You’re on your own.”

  Jack had never seen Red move that fast.

  Joker threw his head back and laughed before growing serious. “You are all out of your fucking minds.”

  Lucky waved the bills in Joker’s face. “Come on. Easy money.”

  “Yeah,” Joker said with a snort. “And all it’ll cost me is my life.”

  “You’re right,” Ace said, dropping down onto the couch to Jack’s left. “Ain’t no one in this place got the balls for that.”

  “Got the balls for what?” Ryden asked from the door.

  Jesus, was everyone hanging outside his office door just eavesdropping? He blamed Ace. Whatever happened, it was no doubt Ace’s fault. Shit. Jack spun in his chair to face Ace, groaning at the wicked grin on his face.

  “Ace, no.”

  “Bro, no,” Lucky said in agreement.

  “What? What’s going on?” Ryden asked, stepping into the room.

  Ace stood and shoved his hands into his pocket, his innocent expression fooling no one. “We have a bet going on that no one has the balls to walk into King’s office and call him Daddy.” He pulled his own wallet out and added to the growing pile of cash on Jack’s desk.

  Joker shook his head sadly. “So far there are no takers.”

  Ryden peered at them. “Just walk in and call him Daddy?”

  “That’s it,” Ace replied, smile wide.

  Ryden shrugged. “I can do that.”

  Jack quickly rounded his desk and stopped in front of Ryden. “Look, you’ve been here longer than six months. Your grace period for getting away with shit where King is concerned is over. Do not listen to these assholes.”

  “Come on, Jack. Leave the soldier alone,” Joker said, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

  Jack cringed. Joker was such an instigator.

  Ryden took a step around Jack. “The fuck did you just call me?”

  Joker blinked at him. “What?”

  Never call a Marine a soldier.

  Ryden marched over to the desk and grabbed the cash. He stuffed it into his pocket, then poked Joker in the shoulder. “You want to see some balls? Never send a Snake Eater to do a Marine’s job.” He stormed out of the room, and Jack turned to glare at his friends.

  “Great. You just killed the new guy.”

  Jack and Joker exchanged glances before they bolted for the door, Ace and Lucky on their heels. Three of them got stuck in the door from trying to leave at the same time. Jack shoved Joker out, taking advantage of Sacha stumbling forward so he could dart toward King’s office.

  Jay sat at his desk, one leg crossed over the other, e-reader in his lap. He didn’t so much as bat an eyelash at the stampede heading his way, just pressed the button to turn the page, eyes never leaving his novel.

  “Let me know if I need to put in another order of pain-relief cream.” Jay looked up with a hum. “I might just do it anyway. Ten orders in a month and I get a free scented candle. I’ve been wanting to try their Midlife Crisis.”

  They all huddled around Jay’s desk near King’s door, which Ryden had conveniently left cracked open.

  “Why didn’t you warn him?” Jack whispered at Jay, who lifted his big blue eyes to Jack, his soft boyish features making him look far more innocent than he was.

  “Because he made fun of my bow tie and therefore must be destroyed.”

  Ace snickered behind Jack. “Marine’s got balls. Gotta give him that much.”

  “He’s got somethin’ all right,” Jay muttered, turning his attention back to his book.

  “Hey, Jay. Your Southern is showing,” Lucky teased.

  Jay put his hand to his chest and fluttered his lashes. “Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.”

  “You are adorable,” Lucky replied before everyone turned their attention back to King’s office.

  “Sure thing, Daddy.”

  Silence.

  More silence.

  “Fred, I’m going to have to call you back. Yeah, thanks.”

  Holy fuck! King had been on a call.

  “What did you call me?” King’s low, menacing rumble had Jack covering his mouth. He didn’t know whether to laugh or shout out a warning to poor Ryden.

  “Um. Daddy?”

  Silence.

  “Holy shit!” Ryden shouted before a blur of movement and color that Jack realized was Ryden, flew out from King’s office, and Jack didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Joker’s arm, and they scrambled their asses the hell out of there, running from Jay’s desk.

  “Ace!” King bellowed, and Jack knew what was coming next.

  “It was the Wild Cards!”

  Fucking Ace.

  Ryden hid behind Mason’s desk, and Jack motioned for him to get in the office. It was every man for himself, but still, Jack had to try. Ryden looked up at Mason, who glanced from King to Ryden and back before gingerly reaching down. Next thing they knew, Ryden was falling out from behind Mason’s desk. Everyone burst into laughter. Ryden got up and sped to Jack’s office in a crouch, as if King couldn’t see him.

  “You shoot a guy once and he holds it against you for life,” Ryden grumbled as he crouched beside them.

  Jack snickered.

  “Since you guys have so much free time on your hands, how about you get your asses downstairs to the mats.”

  Jack let his head fall against the door with a groan before turning to glare at Joker. “See what you fucking did?”

  “Motherfuck.” Joker punched Ryden in the arm. “This is your fault, asshole.”

  Ryden shoved Joker in return. “My fault? You’re the one who goaded me into it, jackass.”

  “And you couldn’t wait until he got off the call?”

  “I didn’t think.”

  “Clearly. Fucking crayon eater.”

  “Fuck you, Sacha.”

  “We’re all equally fucked,” Jack said, standing. He let out a resigned sigh. “Come on, assholes. Let’s go.”

  Ryden stared at him. “Wait, he really wants us down on the mats?”

  “Yep.”

  Ryden looked nervously from Jack to Joker and back. “What, um… what’s he going to do?”

  “Kick our asses.”

  “He’s going to spar with us?”

  Joker cackled while Jack shook his head. By the time they left the office, King was gone. “No. He’s going to kick our asses.”

  “Are you telling me none of you hotshots can take King down?”

  Joker snorted. “Don’t get cocky, Marine. No one in this building can take King down. They’ve all tried and failed. It’s hella fun to watch ’em try, though.”

  “Until it’s your turn,” Jack said with a chuckle, hitting the down arrow at the elevator.

  “Legit.”

  “Where’s your furry friend?” Ryden asked Joker.

  “Chip has his own training schedule, and it’s during hours when no one else is on the mats.”

  “Why’s that again?”

  “Are you kidding me? We’ve got a building full of former military sparring together. Shit gets intense. Chip’s a soldier. The last thing we need is for things to get out of hand and for him to think one of his boys is getting attacked. We don’t need anyone losing any limbs.”

  Ryden nodded slowly, eyes wide. “You know, sometimes I wonder whether I’d have been safer in jail.”

  The elevator doors to the basement slid open in time for them to see Ace soar by, landing with a groan somewhere to their left. Joker chuckled and patted Ryden’s shoulder as he slipped past.

  “Welcome to the family, pal.”

  TWO

  This was the life.

  No drama. No bitching. No scandal. No gossip. Okay, maybe a little gossip. He hadn’t completely retreated from society. With a cheerful thanks, Fitz took his second frozen margarita from Laz and pulled his legs up onto the couch, sitting cross-legged to face his best friend.

  “Do you hear that?” Fitz asked with a hum.

  “Hear what?” Laz cocked his head and listened.

  “Exactly. No divas shrieking in my ear, no claw marks on my back, no dirty looks because I dared to eat carbs, and best of all, no pervs going ‘oops, my hand slipped’ after grabbing my ass.”

  During his career, Fitz had been groped more times than fruit in the produce aisle at the supermarket. When he wasn’t fighting off unwelcome advances, he was wading through the lies from men who thought they could charm their way into his pants. Not anymore. He was done with it. All of it. It took him a little longer than he’d planned, but after two years, he’d opened Hair Comes Trouble and was living the peaceful, quiet life he’d been dreaming of for years.

  Something black and rectangular dropped onto his lap. “What’s this?”

  “An invitation.”

  Fitz opened the envelope, and the moment he saw the first three words, he shook his head. “Nope.” He slipped the ornately decorated card back into its envelope and held it out to Laz, who refused to take it.

  “Come on. It’ll be fun. When’s the last time you had a little fun?”

  “Last night.” Fitz dropped the invite onto Laz’s lap.

  “A bottle of wine and your hand doesn’t count.”

  “First of all, I don’t need a man to have fun. Second, don’t be judgy. Not everyone has a sexy G.I. Joe at his beck and call.”

  “Ooh, hiss.”

  Fitz sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m happy for you, you know that. Red is a great guy.” And it was the truth. His best friend deserved to be happy, and even when the abusive, cheating asshole that had been Laz’s ex had tricked Laz into pushing Fitz out of his life, Fitz had wished nothing but the best for Laz. He’d mourned the loss and had used mutual acquaintances to get news about Laz and how he was doing. When he’d heard Laz left the bastard, Fitz had been both overjoyed and relieved. Then Laz met Red, and finally he’d found someone worthy of his heart.

  “You can have a great guy too,” Laz said, his brilliant blue eyes filled with love for Fitz. “As a matter of fact, there’s a great guy who asks about you every time I see him.”

  Fitz’s pulse sped up, and he cursed himself. When was he going to stop feeling like a damned blushing virgin every time Laz mentioned Jack? And yet he couldn’t help himself. “He’s still asking about me?”

  “Never stopped.”

  Laz had taken it upon himself to keep Fitz up-to-date on all things Jack. “You know, there’s no one in the picture right now.”

  “I’m not surprised. Remember Diego?”

  Laz cringed. “Hey, if you’re dumb enough to try and push a man’s best friend out of his life, then you have no one to blame but yourself when you get a loafer full of steaming Belgian Malinois shit.”

  Fitz almost spit out his drink. He quickly swallowed before coughing into his hand. “You couldn’t wait until I wasn’t drinking to say that?”

  “Talk about good aim,” Laz said with a grin. “Diego was so pissed.”

  “Not as pissed as Lang. Remember the can of sardines Lucky hid in his Tesla under the driver’s seat? It was ninety-eight degrees that day and it sat there for the entire eight hours Lang was at work.” Just the memory of it had Fitz laughing so hard he was in tears. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”

  Fitz had briefly met Lang last summer at Colton’s house when Fitz stopped by to drop some clothes off for Laz, who was doing a shoot the next day. Jack, his new boyfriend, and the rest of the guys were getting together for a barbecue, and although Fitz had been invited, he’d been in the middle of getting his salon ready for opening day. By this point the argument between Jack and Lang over the Kings being around wasn’t a new one. Joker and Jack had gotten caught up on a job, so Lang took the opportunity to let his displeasure of the Kings be known. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong King to mess with.

  “Served the guy right,” Laz said with a sniff. “I get that you want your boyfriend’s attention, but if you’re going to take offense to his friends being in the picture to the point where you pick a fight with a guy you know was a Green Beret, and on top of that push over his parked motorcycle, you have no room to complain when your car—a car that you can’t help but mention in every conversation—ends up smelling so bad the entire interior has to be completely replaced.”

  “Poor Lang,” Fitz said, shaking his head.

  Laz narrowed his eyes at him. “Oh bullshit. Don’t act like you felt even a pang of remorse for the guy.”

  Fitz blinked innocently. “What?”

  “You gave Lucky an alibi! You told the police he couldn’t have done it because he was with you the whole time.”

  Fitz shrugged. “I like Lucky. Besides, if Mason had been there or any of the others, they would have done the same for Lucky.”

  “Of course they would have.” Laz nudged him with his socked foot. “Admit it, you enjoyed hearing about Lang losing his shit.”

  “Me? Enjoy hearing about a grown man on his knees crying as he hugs his car’s tire? Never.” Fitz took another sip of his margarita until he couldn’t keep it in any longer. “Fine. I enjoyed it immensely.”

  “Ha! I knew it!”

  “He was such a douchebag! Talking down to everyone just because he’d worked on Wall Street. He told Ward Kingston that his company was ‘cute.’ First of all, I’m surprised King didn’t put him in a sleeper hold. Second, how is owning the most prestigious private security company in Florida ‘cute’? He even talked down to Colton, a man who is a billionaire.” Fitz motioned to the living room around them, one of the many rooms inside the multimillion-dollar mansion they were currently enjoying margaritas in.

  “I’m sure it had nothing to do with Jack,” Laz teased.

  “Nothing at all.” Fitz took another sip to keep from smiling.

  “You’re a lying liar who lies like a rug!”

  Fitz laughed at Laz and his ridiculous expression. “And you’ve been spending way too much time around Ace. What was Jack thinking? Even I knew Diego and Lang were all wrong for him. Anyone who knows the Kings, Jack, and Joker is well aware they come as a package deal.” You weren’t gaining a boyfriend, you were gaining a boyfriend, his insane family of former-military-turned-private-security hotties, a billionaire, an ex-detective, a computer genius, a photographer, and a highly opinionated Belgian Malinois who’d shit in your shoes if you wronged his people. Fitz couldn’t help his smile.

  “You’re thinking about him!”

  “I was thinking about Chip, actually.” Maybe he should get a dog. He’d always wanted one. Now he was home and settled, maybe it was time. He loved dogs. “It’d be nice to have someone to come home to and cuddle with on the couch. He’d want nothing more than my love, belly scratches, and treats.”

  “I didn’t know Jack liked to have his belly scratched.”

  Fitz stared at Laz, noting his very serious expression before they both broke into laughter. “I was talking about a dog, smartass.” The mischievous twinkle in Laz’s eyes warmed Fitz’s heart. There’d been a time not long ago when Fitz had feared he’d lost his best friend forever, and not just his presence. So much of Laz’s sparkling personality had been crushed by his abusive ex. Fitz tugged one of Laz’s black curls in an attempt to change the subject. “This is going to need a cut soon.”

  “I see what you did there. Also, last I checked, Chip was single too.”

  Fitz gasped and shoved his friend. “Fuck off.”

  Laz cackled and moved his glass away from Fitz. “Hey, watch the booze!” His expression softened as he met Fitz’s gaze. “Call him.”

  “After two years? And say what? ‘Hi, Jack, remember me? The guy who ignored all your incredibly sweet messages because he was a fucking hot mess. I know it’s been two years, but I’m ready now. Come and get me, big boy.’”

  “That sounds about right.”

  At the smooth, husky tone, Fitz smiled up at Colton and held his drink up in salute. “Thanks for inviting me over.”