"But, Liam, I—"
"You what? Need to look out for yourself? Just like the former co-workers you told me about. I get it. Really. It's not personal, it's business, right?" He moved toward the door. "I'll see you at Friday's game." If he still had his job by then.
What the hell was he going to do if he really lost it?
He yanked the door closed behind him and stomped to his car on an ankle that still wasn't right. Slamming into his car, he cursed and pounded his fist against the steering wheel. He'd been fighting for his job with all he had, and that might still not be enough to keep it. Hot bolts of anger surged through him and the ache in his chest spread, making breathing difficult.
His phone chirped with messages from Slade, Dom, and Adam.
Slade: Going BASE jumping. Now. Need my buds. Address below. Get here.
Dom: Slade, what the hell is wrong with you? This falls under the reckless things you're supposed to be avoiding. DO. NOT. JUMP.
Adam: FYI, it's illegal. Both the team and the cops will have your ass for it. Dom and I are heading over now.
Liam paused with his thumbs over the keypad. The more he thought about it, the more he liked Slade's idea.
Liam: On my way. Slade, wait for me. I'll do it with you.
He tossed his phone onto the seat and turned onto the freeway. Might as well jump too. After all, he had nothing left to lose.
SLADE
THE ACHE IN HIS STOMACH hurt worse than the time he’d taken a ninety-mile-an-hour fastball to the gut. She didn't want him anymore. He downed a shot of whiskey. After the initial burn, a chill seeped into his skin.
Worthless. Unlovable. Unwanted.
The words that had repeated themselves in his head all his life replayed over and over. He couldn't deal. Not now. The only thing that made sense was getting away.
Slade pushed away from the bar and strode toward the door of the pub. He had a date with the skyscraper across the street.
Liam, Dom, and Adam burst into the room. Dom's dark eyes snapped between anger and concern. "Slade, what the hell?"
Seeing his friends set off another wave of unrest that skittered just under his skin. Why did they still hang around him? Was it only a matter of time until he did something to push them away too? He rubbed his hands over his face, and then looked at them, helpless to admit what he needed.
Dom's heavy hand settled on his shoulder. "Slade. What's going on?"
Slade looked from Dom, to Adam, to Liam. How to explain all that had transpired? "First off, Tiffany let on that she had the chance to get me back after Jeannette died, and but the challenges she encountered outweighed how much she wanted me."
"Shit, Slade." Liam let out a low whistle.
Dom patted him once more before moving his hand away. "I'm sorry."
"Did she actually say that?" Arms crossed, Adam raised a brow.
"No, but it sure as hell feels that way. There were challenges there, but come on, man. I was her son. You know how I grew up."
Slade looked out the window. The city pulsed with its own energy and he felt an answering beat in his blood. "Savanna dumped me. I'd been waiting for the thing that would push her away, and asking her to come do this with me was apparently it. Doesn't matter that I fucking needed her. Needed to know that I wasn't alone. That she loved—" His throat thickened. He rubbed his hand over his face again and focused on pushing those feelings down and locking them away. When he had a handle on his control, he looked up. "Time to jump."
"Slade, no. That's too big a risk." Dom's hands covered his shoulders and he turned Slade toward the door. "I'm pulling the big brother card. Let's go home."
"We're not brothers. I don't have any family. I don't have anyone." Drawing away from Dom, he closed in on himself. Sooner or later, everyone would leave.
"Bullshit." Dom glared at him. "You'll always have me. And these guys. You know that. We love you, even when you're being an idiot."
Slade met his gaze, swallowing hard. Gratitude, disbelief, love, and hope tumbled through him.
Dom slung his arm over Slade's shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "You're family to me. Don't forget that. I know I won't."
Slade clung tight. Tears burned his eyes. He hadn't cried in years, not since he'd been a kid, afraid and alone. But here he was, close to losing it in the middle of a bar in the middle of the city on display for anyone to see.
Adam's hand covered his other shoulder. "You'll always have us."
Liam rested his hand on Slade's head and then he threw his arms around the group. "Slade, you know you're the brother I never had. I won't let anyone break up the act. No matter what, that bond won't break."
Slade raised his head. "Were you really going to jump with me, Li?"
Liam nodded. "A little dangerous for me, but I'd do it because you needed me."
"But your ankle. You could re-injure it. It's not fully healed." The depth of Liam's friendship was as deep as the ocean. As far as he'd go for Slade, Slade needed to go just as far to protect him. "We're not jumping. Dom's right, let's go home."
"Thank you." Dom's labored sigh felt like a load off his shoulders, too. His bud steered them toward the door.
Home meant the bar section of the restaurant on the first floor of their apartment building. They took up one side of the bar, with Slade sitting between Dom and Liam, and Adam on Dom's other side.
Dom ordered the first round of shots. "To Slade,
