“Your guy?”
“Yeah. Noah Pierce. He works for me.”
“Works for you. Were you doing something illegal?”
Morgan shook his head, “No. We were attacked in my home.”
“Hmmm, well then, it’s a good thing I ate my Wheaties for breakfast, isn’t it?” he said as he pushed to his feet and walked out the door.
Twenty-Three
Noah’s eyes drifted open for a split-second but everything was blurry.
When they drifted open again, he saw the ugly white tiles that seemed to be a requirement for every hospital in the universe and heard the beeping of a machine. But they drooped closed before he could look around.
A few seconds, minutes, hours later – he really wasn’t sure – he managed to open them again and this time he turned his head slightly to see……
Morgan Doyle sitting in a chair near his bed, his chin on his chest as he slept.
Talk about deja-vu.
This is exactly how he had met Morgan a little over a decade ago.
“Fuck. Please tell me I haven’t been dreaming this entire time and the last ten years never happened,” he croaked out from a throat that felt like it was lined with glass.
Morgan’s head snapped up and he chuckled, “Been watching Dallas reruns lately?” he said as he stood up, grabbed a cup that was on the table and brought the straw to Noah’s lips.
Noah sucked that shit down like it was a premium whiskey.
“Ugh. Thank you,” he mumbled as his head dropped back to the pillow.
“Luther?” he whispered as he stared at Morgan.
“In ICU. Should be okay but won’t know for sure for a few days.”
“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Morg.”
“Not your fault.”
Noah opened his mouth to argue but Morgan cut him off. “NO! Stop it, just fucking stop it. You are not responsible for Jacob Knight or his actions. You met a man when you were in college, Noah. A professor. You fell in love. It’s not your fault that he turned out to be your worst nightmare. That’s on him, it’s all on him.”
A tear slipped out of the corner of Noah’s eye and fell down onto his pillow as he nodded.
“I killed him, Morg,” he choked out.
Morgan’s eyes went wide, “Who? Jacob?”
Noah shook his head, “No. I killed Jesse. I fucking killed Jesse,” he wailed as the tears rained down onto his pillow.
Morgan stood and yanked back a curtain that Noah hadn’t even noticed and there, in the other bed, looking like a sleeping angel, was his Jesse.
Noah’s breath hitched as he looked from Jesse to Morgan, “He’s…..he’s…..”
“Okay, Noah. He’s going to be okay. Broke a rib and has a concussion from hitting his head when he fell but he’s going to be just fine.”
Noah squeezed his eyes shut, “Oh, god,” he said on an agonizing sob that sounded like it was ripped from his body. “I thought, I thought….”
Morgan pressed his hand to Noah’s cheek, “You thought wrong, Noah.”
Noah turned his head again to just stare at Jesse. Then he tried to sit up, “Shit, I need, I need to touch him, Morg. Please.”
Morgan held him down, “Hang on. Let me go get the nurse and we’ll see about moving your bed closer. But we need to move all of this equipment too, so stay put!” he said, using a very stern voice.
Noah looked up at him and smiled, “Yes, Dad.”
Noah’s eyes turned again and locked onto Jesse’s sleeping form and that’s where they stayed until Morgan and the nurse walked back inside a few minutes later.
“Now why did I suspect that you were going to be a troublemaker?” the nurse said as he walked up to Noah’s bed.
Noah frowned and turned his head to give the nurse a piece of his mind but then he saw the smile on the man’s face.
“It’s okay, honey. If my man was as handsome as he is,” he said as he swept a hand out towards Jesse, “I’d be wanting to touch him all the time too.”
Noah frowned again at the man. The nurse held his hands up, “Don’t worry, gorgeous. I promise not to get too handsy with him. Bailey,” he said as he put his hand to his chest, “knows when he’s in dangerous territory.”
“Just so long as Bailey knows to tread carefully,” Noah said as he scowled at the handsome nurse.
Bailey made a cross-your-heart motion with his finger and then he walked around Noah’s bed to where all the equipment and IV’s were. He began coiling wires and tubes on Noah’s bed next to his body then he looked at Morgan, “I’m sure a big, strong man like you would have no problem moving that chair for me?”
Morgan barely refrained from rolling his eyes as he turned around, picked up the chair and started walking with it to the opposite side of the room. As he did, Bailey leaned down and whispered into Noah’s ear, “I could’ve easily done that myself but why waste the view of all those flexing muscles. Damn that man is stacked.”
Noah snorted a laugh which made Morgan turn and look at him, “What?”
Noah shook his head, “Nothing.”
Morgan frowned as he sat down in the chair he had just moved and watched as Bailey slowly moved Noah’s bed until it was next to Jesse’s.
Noah waited until Bailey had left the room, “Why aren’t you with Luther?” Noah said with a frown as his stomach suddenly started doing somersaults.
Even though Morgan had said he was okay, Noah’s mind began replaying that scene again.
Luther went down.
Luther had been shot.
Had Luther died?
“Beau’s with him. He’s still unconscious in the ICU. He’ll text me if he wakes up. I wanted to be here with you for a bit.”
Once again, relief flooded through Noah. “He’s going to be okay, then?”
“Should be. There might be some residual issues that we have to deal with later but overall he should be fine.”
“Good,” Noah said on an exhale then he just stared at Morgan for a minute until pain swept across his face, “God, Morgan, I am so sor….”
Morgan shot to his feet, “Stop! Just stop, Noah. I won’t tell you again that none of this is your fault, do you hear me? None of it.”
A groan along with a whispered, “Noah?” tore their eyes over to the other bed.
Noah squeezed Jesse’s fingers, “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”
Jesse’s eyes blinked a few times before managing to land on Noah’s face….and then he smiled. And everything was right in Noah’s world once again.
“Noah,” Jesse breathed out, like it was a prayer, like it meant the whole world to him. “I thought you were gone.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Noah saw Morgan head towards the door as he silently left them alone. “Never. I’m here, Jess, and I’m staying. I swear on my life, I’m staying.”
A sweet smile spread across Jesse’s tired face, “You came back.”
“I did,” Noah said, smiling too because he couldn’t help but smile around this beautiful man.
“For me,” Jesse whispered.
“Always for you, Jess. I’ll always come back for you.”
Jesse’s eyes slid shut as he smiled, “I’m glad.”
A knock on the door drew Noah’s attention away from Jesse for a moment, “Come in.”
Kelly stuck his head inside, “Okay to visit?”
“Sure. I’m not sure how long he’ll be awake though.”
“That’s okay, I just, I just had to see for myself that he was alright,” Kelly whispered as he and Cole walked over to the edge of Jesse’s bed. Kelly placed a hand on his thigh and squeezed gently, “Hey, bro. How’re you feeling?”
“Head hurts and my ribs too but other than that, I’m okay. Actually, I’m more than okay because my Noah came back.”
My Noah.
Noah didn’t think he’d ever belong to anyone again. He never thought he’d want to. But he wanted to belong to Noah. He wanted that more than he wanted air to breathe.
Noah bristled at those words and his eyes went immediately to Jesse’s, watching them widen, watching him frown as the meaning behind them sunk into Jesse’s mind.
“What….” Jesse began saying but Noah squeezed his fingers to distract him. “I’m fine, baby. I swear.”
“Where’s Jacob? Did you, um, did you kill him?” Jesse said.
Noah shook his head, “No, I didn’t. I don’t know exactly where he is,” he said and when he saw the panic forming on Jesse’s face, he quickly added, “But he’s in custody somewhere, I promise you that.”
Jesse let out a breath of relief and Noah thought that would be the end of the conversation. He was wrong.
“What did he do, Noah?”
“Jess…”
“No. Don’t keep things from me, don’t lie to me, don’t treat me like I’m glass. Tell me.”
“Jesse.”
Jesse shot upright in the bed, “No!” he yelled and then his body began swaying and his face went white as a sheet, “Oh, shit,” he groaned.
Kelly dove for the plastic bin on the side table and got it in front of Jesse just in time for him to heave out the contents of his stomach. When he was done, he collapsed back onto the bed with a groan.
Kelly went to dump the contents of the basin while Cole picked up the cup of water and aimed the straw between Jesse’s lips. After he took a few sips, he groaned again and said, “That was a really bad idea.”
“It was. And it’s why I’m not telling you everything that happened……right now,” he added when Jesse somehow managed to glare at him. “You need to heal. We both need to heal. After we do, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
His eyes stayed closed but one corner of Jesse’s mouth lifted in a smirk, “Anything?” he said.
“Yeah, babe. Anything.”
It wasn’t long before they both drifted to sleep and Kelly and Cole quietly slipped out the door.
Twenty-Four
Morgan flipped the page on the book he was reading on his eReader as he sat next to Luther’s bed, the rhythmic whooshing and beeping of the machines lulling him into a sense of contentment. Because that beep meant that Luther’s heart was still beating. Might seem like a small thing to some but to Morgan it was everything.
His phone buzzed with a text and he pulled it out to look at the screen. When he saw Niles’ name on the screen he was hit with a profound sense of what the fuck? He still couldn’t believe that he had Niles Constantino’s private cell number. Hell, he doubted that even the FBI had that information. But he did.
He pressed the message to open it up.
Niles: Any change on Luther’s condition?
Morgan glanced up at his sleeping husband before looking back down and typing his reply.
No. Still waiting for him to wake up after surgery.
Niles: Understood. Please keep me informed.
Will do.
Morgan slid his phone back into his pocket then returned his hand to Luther’s…..
Who promptly squeezed his fingers.
Morgan gasped and looked up.
Luther’s eyes were open and he was looking around. Morgan pressed the call button on the pillow next to his head then leaned over Luther, brushing his hair back from his forehead as he whispered, “Don’t try to talk, babe. You’ve got a breathing tube in your throat. I’ve got the nurse coming so they can remove it.”
Luther looked scared but he dipped his chin in a slight nod.
Morgan squeezed his eyes shut, “I love you, babe, so much.”
The nurse came in, quickly checked Luther’s vital and then picked up and phone on the wall to make a call.
A few minutes later, the doors to Luther’s room swished open again and Doctor Raines walked in followed closely by Nurse Bailey. They both looked disheveled, not like they had just woken from a nap but like they had just been……
Nurse Bailey winked at Morgan and then wiggled his eyebrows.
Morgan managed to stifle his snort but he gave Bailey a discreet ‘thumbs up’
As the doctor checked Luther’s vitals he talked to him, “Hello Luther. My name is Kylan Raines. I’m your doctor for this little visit. You can call me Doc Raines, Kylan, Ky or asshole. I’m not picky,” he said with a smile down at Luther.
“Or sexy pants,” Bailey whispered under his breath.
Morgan snorted a laugh as Kylan’s head whipped around to glare at Bailey, “No, not sexy pants. I have to draw the line somewhere,” he said and then he returned his attention to Luther, “I’m thinking you’d like to get that tube out of your throat, yes?”
Luther nodded once at him.
“Okay, we’ll get it out but I need to monitor your breathing and oxygen levels for a few minutes until I’m satisfied that you are breathing okay on your own. If I don’t feel that you are, I’ll either add oxygen to your nasal passages or I might have to put the tube back in. If the tube has to be reinserted, we’ll give you something to sleep first. Those things are a bitch when you’re awake,” he said with a smile and a wink.
He nodded at Bailey, who gently moved Morgan out of the way and took his place on the other side of the bed.
“Okay, Luther. This is going to be a bit uncomfortable. When the air goes off and I begin pulling, I want you to try to breathe out. And don’t worry if you gag or throw up. Bailey here is ready to capture anything you feel you need to disperse.”
Bailey leaned down to Luther’s ear and whispered, “He’s so sexy when he uses big words like that.”
Morgan covered his second snort with a cough and then watched Dr. Raines glare at Bailey again.
“What? It’s true,” Bailey said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Kylan’s gaze softened a bit and Morgan could see that he adored the carefree, fun-loving nurse.
“Ready, Nurse?” he said somewhat sternly.
Bailey nodded as he grinned, “Always, Doctor.”
Kylan inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring slightly and Morgan knew without a doubt that if he walked around to the other side of the bed, he’d see a tent in the good doctor’s scrubs.
But then the dynamic between the two of them shifted and they were completely professional and attentive as they disconnected the equipment. Kylan pinched his fingers around the piece that was still in Luther’s mouth while his other hand pressed against his forehead. Bailey held the plastic puke basin near Luther’s chest.
“Okay, Luther. Blow out if you can,” Kylan said and then he began pulling. There was a wet, sucking sound and then Luther heaved once as the tube slid out the last few inches. Bailey was there instantly, cradling the back of Luther’s head to lift it slightly as he placed the basin in front of his mouth. “I know it’s unnatural for guys like us but spit it out, Luther.”
“Bailey,” Kylan said in a deep voice.
“Hush, Doctor, Luther knows what I’m talking about,” Bailey said with a wink at Luther.
After spitting a few times, Luther leaned his head back and looked at Bailey. With a hoarse, gravelly voice and a wince from the pain, Luther said, “I haven’t spit since I was thirteen.”
Bailey’s eyes went wide and then he patted Luther’s shoulder, “You, Sir, are my hero.”
Both Kylan and Morgan snorted out laughs.
While Bailey gave Luther some ice water, Kylan listened to Luther’s heart, his lungs and monitored his O2 levels on the monitor. After a few minutes he declared, “Okay, you seem to be holding your own right now. We’ll continue to monitor things for the next day or so but for now you’re looking good.”
He moved around to the end of the bed and lifted the blanket to expose Luther’s feet. Pulling a pen from his pocket, he glanced up at Luther, “I’m just going to check a few things down here. Let me know if you feel anything I’m doing, okay?”
Luther frowned slightly but nodded his head. Since the doctor had bunched the bla
nket up in front of his feet, Luther couldn’t see what the man was doing so there was no way for his brain to mistake seeing what the doctor was doing and then telling him that he felt it.
Suddenly, Luther twitched. “Poking,” he whispered.
“Good, how about now?”
Luther hummed, “Feels like the massages my husband gives me.”
The doctor smiled slightly. “And now?”
Luther’s foot shot up in the air and almost clipped the doctor on the chin, “Do not tickle me. Fucking hate that shit.”
The doctor pulled the blanket back over Luther’s feet, “That’s good to know, just in case I want to, you know, keep my teeth.”
Morgan chuckled, “Yeah, I found that out the hard way too,” he said as he stepped closer to the bed.
Kylan glanced at him and then back at Luther, “Looks like you’re in good hands then, Luther. I’ll leave the two of you alone,” he said and then he glared at Bailey, “Nurse Bailey, a word if I may?”
“Absolutely, Doctor,” Bailey said and then he winked at Morgan again and walked out behind the good doctor, swaying his hips with every step.
Twenty-Five
Noah looked out the window of the car as it rolled to a stop. “I still don’t understand why we can’t go back to my house,” he mumbled as he stared up at Morgan and Luther’s log home.
Yeah, the place was nice, spectacular even. But he wanted to start his life with Jesse, together, in his home.
Beau looked at him, “Morgan said to bring you here until everything has been settled, until after the trial.”
“But Jacob knows I’m here, or at least he knows I was here.”
“Yes, but this place has a much better security system than yours and it’s not as easily accessible.”
Noah glared, “Fat lotta good that did us when Jacob showed up.”
“The system has been upgraded since then. And there’s room here for a security team to stay to, and,” he said as he held up a hand when Noah opened his mouth to protest, “And your place is still trashed from Jacob, remember? Everything’s been documented now and Morgan is sending over a crew to repair it but that will take some time.”
Blackbird Fly Home (Doyle Global Securities Book 1) Page 14