Unwind With Family and Friends

"Mr. Hines!" Star ran up to Lanet and wrapped his tiny arms around him.

"Mommy, Pops, Uncle Beau's boyfriend is here!" he announced, his excitement ringing through the room. Beau felt heat rush to his face.

That's a little embarrassing. He thought

Zane snickered behind him, clearly enjoying the moment.

"Hey, bro," Teddy said, glancing between Beau and Lanet with a raised eyebrow.

"What's up, Teddy?" Beau replied, trying to play it cool.

"I didn't know we'd have visitors," his father chimed in, walking into the room.

"But Grandpa, you're a visitor too! How would you know who's coming and who's not?" Star giggled, making everyone laugh, including Beau's father, who ruffled Star's hair affectionately.

"Smart mouth," Beau's father muttered with a grin.

"Pops, this is Lanet. Lanet, this is my father," Beau introduced them with a nod.

"Mr. Langley, a pleasure to meet you." Lanet shook his father's hand enthusiastically, a shy smile spreading across his face when Beau's father pulled him into a bear hug.

"Pleasure to meet you too." Beau's father clapped Lanet on the back.

"And this is Lanet's friend…" Beau started to introduce Zane, but his father cut him off.

"Mr. White, we've met."

"Oh?" Beau blinked, surprised.

"Mr. Langley, if I had known I was coming to your home, I would've made sure not to show up empty-handed," Zane said, there was genuine regret in his tone that made Beau even more confused.

Beau's father gave a warm chuckle. "This is my son's home. I'm just a frequent visitor here." He and Zane shared a casual, yet comfortable hug.

Beau raised an eyebrow and curiously he asked. "How do you know each other?"

"He's Jack's son," his father answered, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"As in Jack, who paid for my medical school? Old Jack?" Beau asked, trying to wrap his mind around it.

"Yep, that's him."

Beau blinked in surprise. "It sure is a small world." He didn't know much about Jack except that his father worked for him and that the old man was an elite who cared for his workers' wellbeing and their families.

Zane nodded in agreement. "Small world indeed. We'll have to catch up on that."

"Well, I hope none of you have eaten yet, because we're ordering takeout," Beau said, clapping his hands together.

"Uncle Beau, may we please get pizza? Please, please, please?" Star begged, his eyes wide and pleading.

Beau couldn't resist the request. "Of course," he smiled.

"I'll order the pizza and some drinks," Zane said, already pulling out his phone.

Beau, instinctively reaching for his own phone to place the order, hesitated. "It's alright, I got it."

Lanet leaned in. "Babe, relax a little. He'll pay."

Beau shoved his phone back into his pocket, already making a mental note to pay Zane back—he wasn't used to elites doing anything for him, a little doubt crept in and he wondered if Zane had an ulterior motive.

Soon, the pizza arrived.

"Zane, this is a lot of pizza for only eight people. Please keep an eye on my nephew, make sure he doesn't eat too much," Beau said as he set the boxes down on the counter.

"How much is too much?" Star asked, his voice full of mischief as he peered at the pizza.

Everyone settled around the kitchen island, picking at slices of pizza, their conversation easy and full of laughter. The tension from earlier seemed to slip away, the atmosphere was a welcome distraction.

After they finished eating. Zane and Lanet continued chatting with Beau's family and friends, while Beau tidied up the kitchen, with a little help from Stanz.

"Does it get weird?" Stanz whispered, her voice low enough so only Beau could hear. "I mean, with him knowing that we stole from him, I feel like it's a trap or something," Stanz added, glancing over her shoulder at Lanet.

Beau understood the concern. It wasn't as though he hadn't thought about it before, but seeing that Lanet didn't hold it against him was enough to calm his nerves. "I didn't understand at first, honestly. I still don't, but hey, I'm past those doubts. Besides..." Beau leaned into Stanz, "I kind of had vile intentions in the beginning, so I wouldn't blame him if he did anything."

Stanz gave Beau a crazy look, with her face scrunched together. The group knew Stanz was the one with the loose screw in her head, but Beau, they knew he was worse. Besides stealing he enjoyed the thrill of playing mental games with his victims. Testing them to see if they'd break or rival his intelligence.

"You psycho." Stanz shifted slightly away from Beau as if he could infect her.

By the time they finished cleaning up, the others had already left, leaving only Lanet and Zane behind.

"I should get going too. Thanks for the lovely evening, guys," Stanz said, waving as she headed out.

Beau waved her off before joining Lanet and Zane at the kitchen island.

"Gosh, I feel like my stomach is about to burst open," Beau groaned, pressing a hand to his belly.

Zane turned to him. "Okay, but that little kid ate more pizza than you. Is that even normal?"

Beau chuckled, shaking his head. "If Star likes a certain type of food, it's not even about hunger anymore. It's about how much he can eat." He sighed. "And that's why you never have extra food he likes. Just enough for everyone."

"His birthday is in two weeks, right?" Lanet said suddenly.

 "Uh, yes?" Beau glanced at Lanet, wondering why this mattered to him.

"I saw the date on his birth certificate when we were applying for schools."

"Yours is in two weeks too right?" Zane turned to his friend

"Mine's December 12th, and Star's is on the 2nd. You never remember the day Zane." Lanet gave Zane an angry pout.

Beau groaned loudly, making both Lanet and Zane look at him in concern.

"Ugh, I just realized it's so soon. I didn't have anything planned out!" He threw his head back, annoyed with himself for not keeping track of Star's upcoming birthday.

Zane glanced over at Beau with a glint in his eyes. "While talking to Star, he mentioned he liked engineering?"

Beau paused, his mind quickly processing the statement. "Yes, he does. Why?"

"How about he comes to my workplace? We could give him a tour, and he could meet some of the biomedical engineers and—"

A smile spread across Beau's face before Zane could even finish. "Yes, yes, fucken yeah!" He didn't hesitate for a second. Star would be thrilled. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Star wasn't sure which engineering field he liked, but this could help narrow it down.

Beau jumped up from his chair excitedly and pulled Zane into a tight hug. "Thank you! And then we could throw him a little party at the end of the day!"

"Uh, you're welcome," Zane awkwardly chuckled, trying to detach himself from the embrace. But Beau was already too excited to notice his discomfort.

Without missing a beat, Beau pulled Lanet into a warm hug.

"This isn't a complaint, but why am I getting hugged?"

"I don't know, because you're my awesome man with an even more awesome friend," Beau grinned.

Lanet smirked. "I'll take that."

Beau smiled and settled back into his seat. 

"Oh, Beau, how was work today? You seemed a little off." Lanet's hand rested on Beau's thigh, squeezing gently. His fingers slid up and down in a comforting gesture.

He's probably just comforting me, except the warmth building inside me has thoughts of its own.

"Beau?" Lanet called softly, snapping Beau out of his thoughts. 

"Uh, well…" Beau took a deep breath. "The clinic's running low on supplies—mostly medicine."

"Do you guys need money?" Lanet asked.

"No, we've got enough to last a few more months. The problem is the deliveries. They're being delayed for some reason."

"What? Which company handles your orders?" Zane's brows furrowed.

"TMC Pharma," Beau answered.

"Did they give a reason for the delays?" Lanet's voice grew more concerned.

"It's a lot of excuses. Shortages. Then suddenly it's 'safety this, safety that.'" Beau rolled his eyes in frustration.

Zane looked at Lanet, confused. "If they were really facing shortages, don't you think it would've been all over the news by now?"

Beau's eyes flicked between the two men as they exchanged a quick, unreadable look. Something passed silently between them, and his gut tightened. Whatever they were thinking, he didn't have the energy to dig into it now.

"Well, that's about it for my day," he said, forcing a lighter tone. "Didn't expect you to drive down here so soon."

Zane leaned back, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the table. "I actually had something I wanted to ask you, but you left before I woke up. Since I wanted to check out your district, I figured I'd do both in one trip."

"Oh? What did you want to ask?" Beau tilted his head.

Zane pulled out his tablet, the screen lighting up with a digital map as he slid it across the table toward Beau. 

Beau picked it up, scrolling through the display and zooming in and out. A wave of recognition hit him.

Shit.

The map on the screen was the exact same one they'd stolen—the security system layout, the blueprints, everything.

Beau's blood went cold. He shoved the tablet back toward Zane, his hands trembling as a surge of anger welled up inside him.

"Beau?" Lanet's voice faltered, but Beau couldn't bring himself to meet his gaze. Instead, his focus locked on Zane, the fire in his chest threatening to explode.

Finally, he turned to Lanet, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. His pulse hammered as the thought echoed in his mind: Did he sell us out?

It felt like a knife on his back being twisted. He'd let Lanet into his life, into this world. And now? Now, he felt like a damn fool. Lanet betrayed them. Beau thought.