The invitations were printed on heavy, cream-colored cardstock with gold-embossed lettering: The Global Tech Gala. It was the same event where, months ago, Elias had been a trembling recluse and Jax had been the invisible "hired gun" standing three feet behind him.
Tonight, the rules of engagement had changed.
"I can't do the tie," Elias muttered, his voice strained. He was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in his dressing room, his fingers fumbling with a strip of black silk.
Jax stepped into the room. He was already dressed in a midnight-blue tuxedo that made his shoulders look a mile wide. He didn't say a word; he simply moved behind Elias, his large hands replacing Elias's shaking ones.
Jax's touch was steady. He looped the silk, tucked it, and pulled it taut with a crisp, professional snap. He didn't step away once he was finished. He rested his hands on Elias's shoulders, meeting his gaze in the reflection.
"You're not that man anymore, Elias," Jax said, his voice a low, grounding rumble. "And I'm not just the shadow. We walk in there together."
Elias took a shaky breath, smoothing the front of his jacket. "The press is going to be brutal, Jax. They've had a week to chew on the Sterling scandal. Now they want to see the 'freed' man and the 'predator' together. They're looking for any sign of a cracks."
"Then let's give them a wall," Jax said. He leaned down, his lips grazing the shell of Elias's ear. "Remember what I told you in the cabin. I'm exactly where I want to be. Let them see that."
The arrival was a gauntlet of light. The moment the car door opened at the museum entrance, a wall of camera flashes erupted, bright enough to leave spots in Jax's vision.
In the old days, Jax would have stepped out first to clear a path. Tonight, he waited. He stepped out and then reached back, offering his hand to Elias. It was a deliberate, public gesture. Elias took it, his slender fingers gripping Jax's with surprising strength.
The shouting started immediately.
"Elias! Over here! Is the relationship a PR stunt?"
"Thorne! How does it feel to be a partner after being a prisoner?"
"Vance, did you buy his silence with the equity stake?"
Jax felt the old protective rage simmering in his gut, but he didn't let it show. He kept his expression neutral, his posture relaxed but commanding. He tucked Elias's arm through his own, their shoulders brushing. He wasn't guarding a client; he was escorting his partner.
They reached the top of the stairs, where the "Step and Repeat" banner awaited. The head of the gala committee, a woman who had ignored Elias for years, fluttered toward them with a predatory smile.
"Elias, darling! And Mr. Thorne. So brave of you both to come."
"It's not bravery to attend a party, Genevieve," Elias said, his voice surprisingly steady. He didn't let go of Jax's arm. "It's a social obligation. One we're happy to fulfill."
As they moved into the ballroom, the whispers followed them like a wake. Jax felt the weight of a thousand judgments. He saw the way the elite men looked at him-with a mixture of envy and disdain-and the way the women looked at Elias with newfound curiosity.
They were approached by a group of venture capitalists, the same ones who had whispered about Elias's "instability" only weeks before.
"Vance," one of them said, nodding. "The V-4 launch was a masterclass. And Thorne... I hear your security protocols are being adopted by the Pentagon. Quite a leap from... well, from where you were."
Jax looked the man in the eye. He didn't back down. "The view from the top is much clearer when you've seen the bottom, wouldn't you agree?"
Elias squeezed Jax's arm, a silent "thank you."
For the rest of the night, they were the sun around which the room orbited. They didn't hide. They danced-a slow, intimate sway that ignored the three-foot rule entirely. Jax held Elias close, his hand resting firmly on the small of Elias's back, marking his territory in front of the world.
When they finally retreated to a quiet balcony overlooking the city, the noise of the gala faded to a hum.
"We did it," Elias whispered, leaning against the stone railing. He looked up at the stars, his face illuminated by the distant city lights. "We didn't break."
"We're unbreakable," Jax said. He stepped behind Elias, wrapping his arms around him, pulling him back against his chest. "Let them talk, Elias. Let them write their stories. They don't know the half of it."
Elias turned in his arms, his eyes bright with a mixture of triumph and love. "They don't know that the lion is the one who chooses the cage."
"I told you," Jax murmured, leaning down to claim Elias's lips in a kiss that was both a promise and a celebration. "I'm not in a cage. I'm home."
The public mask had been worn, and it hadn't slipped. But as they stood there in the quiet of the night, Jax realized that the greatest victory wasn't the gala or the stocks-it was the fact that he no longer needed to be a shadow to feel like a man.
