Free Bound for Keeps (Men of Honor) by SE Jakes

fine. Keep…ah, doing what you’re doing,” he assured them, slipped back into the office and sat on the couch.
    He heard their whispers, wondered if they were conferring about him or going about their other business of reuniting. He hoped for the latter, he thought as he lay curled on the cool leather, because he liked being in here, had come to think of it as the war room.
    That was a place he was used to.
    You almost gave away your hand, he reminded himself. Would have to be more careful from here on out. When he was sick, he wasn’t talking, helping these men. But now that he was on the mend, the urge to do shit, to get back to his former self, before Kyle, was taking over.
     
     
    Reed let Keith eat before insisting on checking him over. He knew the company who hired them had someone do that anyway as part of the mission protocol, but Reed always double-checked. Keith always grumbled, but conceded, mainly because he knew it was easier than arguing.
    He found contusions, scratches, all expected. He’d already been put on a heavy-duty antibiotic, since jungles and infections did not mix.
    “Gonna clear me, Doc?” Keith asked finally, his hands circling Reed’s wrists as Reed looked down at him. They’d done the impromptu exam in the kitchen and were still conscious that Shane was close.
    “You might have to try a little harder to get me to sign off on you,” Reed told him now, and Keith raised a brow.
    “You’ll get it harder, if that’s what you want,” he said quietly, and Reed’s body ached at those words.
    He straddled Keith’s lap, leaned in to him. “Missed you. So did Shane.”
    Keith put his hands on Reed’s hips and moved him back to glare at him. “Why are you pushing this?”
    “Why are you resisting?”
    “We don’t know him.”
    “That’s bullshit and you know it. Besides, he gives a shit about us.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “He was trying to stay up while you were gone.”
    “You let him track me?”
    “Come on, Keith, you know I’d never put you in danger.” Reed paused. “But he was the one who told me about the bridge and the road.”
    Keith glared at him.
    “I had no reason not to trust him.”
    “And no reason to trust him. Come on, Reed, there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
    “Like what? He was a Ranger. It’s perfectly logical that he would’ve been in the area blowing shit up seven months ago.”
    “He was discharged eight months ago,” Keith bit out.
    “So he got some dates mixed up. We’ve all done that—it’s hard to remember timing in combat situation, and blowing up a bridge counts.”
    “Someone’s mixed up, for sure.”
    “Ah, fuck you. And I know you won’t admit it, but the bridge was gone, right?” Reed shoved his boots on and headed outside, needing to clear his head. Keith followed in short order, shutting the door behind him, the howl of the wind giving them some much-needed privacy.
    “Reed, we’ve got to cut him off. We don’t know him, don’t know what he’s capable of. Just because he was right about a bridge…”
    “Don’t tell me you’re scared of him? Big, strong Marine like yourself?” Reed shot back and knew he was pushing it. But that was the only way to get Keith to accept anything—Reed’s head hurt from the amount of times he had to be the battering ram at Keith’s door.
    And he always won—always.
    He wasn’t wrong when he’d showed up at the door eight years earlier, to find Bobby and Keith inside, sharing dinner and watching TV. Wasn’t wrong when he’d stripped for them and let them fuck him, sandwiching himself between their bodies and the soft cotton sheets that had been like heaven.
    He’d come home—he’d known that. And he wasn’t about to let Shane walk away—or have Keith push him out.
    “I’m not scared—I’m sensible. This kid has been through hell. Combat. I think you remember what that’s like,” Keith challenged, but his eyes had glazed for a second, that faraway place