by Aliana James
“Mr. Andrews. You have a slight concussion. You need to lie down.”
“No, I need to go home.” Fear pooled in his gut and his eyes darted around the emergency room. He didn’t know what he was looking for and wasn’t sure that he would spot it if he did. Tyler had been attacked in the hospital. There was no way he was staying here.
“Sir.” The doctor pulled the curtain back. “You have a concussion. You need to lie back.”
The room stood still for the moment. He put his hand back on the gurney to steady himself. He couldn’t bend down to fix his shoes. He would have to shuffle along in them. Wires tugged at his skin and pulled at his arm. He needed them to take all this crap out of him.
“I’m not staying here.”
“Sir, I can’t let you go. You’re not stable by yourself. You need to have someone with you.”
The doctor and a nurse attempted once again to steer Travis back to sitting on the gurney. Exhaustion washed over him and he almost gave in before a voice spoke.
“I’ve got him.”
Never in a million years had he thought he’d be happy to see Kane standing at the end of the hospital bed. He rose to full height and shrugged the nurse’s arm off of his shoulder. He shuffled toward Kane.
“What happened?”
“Ugh, I got jumped in an alley and landed in a dumpster.” He’d been up all night and didn’t want to talk anymore. He wanted to leave and sleep in his own bed.
“Have you spoken to the police?”
“Yeah, they took a report.”
“I’ll track it down. You look like shit.” Kane gave him a small smile.
“Feel like shit too.”
The doctor let out a huff and barked orders at the nurse before turning back to Kane.
“He needs to stay for observation.” She held up a hand as both of them started to talk. “I know that he won’t. That’s against my orders and you…” She turned and pointed at Kane. “…will have to sign paperwork. Please listen to me. He needs to be woken up every two hours. If he has a temperature, is nauseous, or his head wound starts bleeding, you need to call 911 so he can come back to the hospital.”
“He’s staying.”
Alec. He peered over Kane’s shoulder and cowered at scowl on Alec’s face.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Kane moved to the side to allow Alec to stand in front of him. The nurse was about to say something when Alec leaned close to his ear. “Get in the fucking bed.” The nurse paused for a moment, nodded at Alec, and guided him back to bed.
He didn’t have the strength left to fight Alec.
Alec
“And you are, sir?” the doctor asked.
“Alec, his husband. Is he going to be okay?” His eyes darted to Travis. A huge bandage lay across his forehead, and an even larger one ran the span of his cheek. Travis’s right arm was wrapped up and even from where he stood he could see the skin was purple underneath.
She consulted the chart before she answered. “His wounds have been cleaned and bandaged. The head scan showed no signs of a brain injury. However, he is exhibiting signs of a concussion. We want him to stay here for observation. We’ll repeat the scan in a few hours.”
He nodded but everything she said was a blur. His thoughts locked on brain injury and stayed there. What the hell happened?
She gave him a small smile and shifted her attention to Kane as he approached. Alec wanted to strangle him for almost letting Travis leave the hospital.
He entered the cubicle, slid next to his husband’s bed, and stared at the bandaged man. As he leaned closer, he saw bruises on his hands and the other side of his face. He was half in a jacket, the bandaged arm out and matching sweatpants, not only a size too small but not Travis’s style.
Travis’s eyes fluttered open and locked with Alec’s.
“Hey,” Travis said.
“Hey,” Alec said. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Sorry.”
“Not your fault.” Alec watched Travis drift off to sleep, so much he wanted to say to him.
Kane stood at the foot of Travis’s bed. “They’re going to move him to a private room.” He nodded in reply, his gaze locked on Travis’s chest to make sure it moved.
The doctor stepped in and pulled the curtain closed. She lowered her voice as she glanced at him. “Mr. Bennett, I am concerned about the laceration on his cheek so I’m putting him on a round of low-dose antibiotics.”
“Is it deep?”
“Yes, a resident in a plastic surgery rotation stitched him closed. The scarring should be minimal. And he will need to follow up with a doctor in a couple days. If you have one who you prefer, I suggest you give them a call immediately so they can decide how to proceed.”
He nodded, and she stepped away as two men in suits joined the two and transferred Travis to a gurney. He opted not to follow immediately. He didn’t want to draw any more attention to Travis.
Kane walked next to him. “He’s okay, Alec.”
“No, he’s not, Kane, and you were ready to let him leave.”
“I understand you’re pissed.” He grunted. Kane was lucky he didn’t punch him in the face. “When I got there, he was in the middle of an argument with the doctor and the nurse. He was screaming that he couldn’t stay.”
He paused and looked at Kane. “He didn’t want to stay because of what happened to Tyler.”
“Got it in one guess.”
“Damn it. Speaking of Tyler, shit, wasn’t his surgery this morning?” Alec asked.
“Yeah, that’s why I was here. He should be in recovery by now.”
“Sarah and Henry? Are they here?” Alec imagined them huddled in the waiting room.
“Sarah was. She asked where Travis was.”
He was sure she was already worried and if she was already here, she’d kill him if he didn’t call.
“He needs to rest and I need to find out what happened.” Alec shook his head. “I’ll call her in a little while.”
He brushed past Kane and entered the room. Travis lay in bed, monitors beeping in time with his heart. Alec pulled a chair over to the side of the bed. His only worry right now was Travis.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Travis
Sunlight filtered through the blinds and blinded him. A few hours led to him staying in the hospital overnight, something about blood test results. His head ached, and being woken up every two hours did little for him except make him cranky. His body, stiff and sore, protested as he attempted to press the call button for the nurse.
“Hey,” Alec said and reached for the button in his hand. He pressed it and a voice came over the speaker behind his head.
“My husband is awake.”
“We’ll be right in, sir.”
A woman entered the room and assisted him in using the bathroom. As he washed his hands, he refused to glance at the mirror. He’d save that for when he got home. While he was in the bathroom, his sheets were changed, pillows fluffed, and a breakfast tray sat on the tray table.
The nurse assisted him back to bed and pulled the table with his breakfast in front of him before she left. Still so tired, he closed his eyes for a moment.
“Do you want to eat something?” Alec asked. He shifted the table closer and sat on the edge of the bed.
His eyes remained closed as he answered. “I want to go home.”
He swore Alec had called everyone they knew yesterday and then paraded them through his hospital room. His parents, Jonas, a plastic surgeon who removed his bandages cleaned his wounds—painfully—and then put all the bandages back again, Alec’s grandfather with Thalia. His sister called from California twice to check on him. Kane made a short appearance with Tyler, fresh from his minor leg surgery, who wheeled in to see him.
He didn’t want to talk anymore, to tell one more person what happened, where he’d been attacked or explain how much pain and discomfort he was or was not experiencing. He and Alec couldn’t have a simple convers
ation without a nurse or a doctor interrupting them.
Alec patted his hand, and he opened his eyes to stare at his husband. His blond hair, disheveled and unruly, stuck up on one side likely from him sleeping in the chair, his clothes wrinkled and his deep blue eyes filled with worry.
“Alec, I’m fine and I want to go home. Now.”
Alec’s tone was sympathetic but it was getting on his nerves.
“You’re not fine. They need to run another cat scan.”
“They need to? Or you want them to run another cat scan? I’m going home, Alec.”
“Fine, get up and walk out of here and we’ll go,” Alec replied.
He pushed the table to the side and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The first attempt at standing didn’t go well, and neither did the second. If the dizziness didn’t slow him, his exhaustion did.
“Fine. We’re leaving after the next scan.”
Alec helped him back into the bed, pulled the blanket over him, and tucked it around him. He wanted to reach over and smack that smug look right off his face.
Alec
Alec helped Travis out of the car and into the apartment building. The scan took longer than expected but the doctor was happy with the results. Travis had a clean bill of health with several warnings to rest for the next week. Happy to be home, Travis waved to a stunned Luis. The doorman rushed to get the elevator and accompanied them to their floor.
“I hope you get well soon, Mr. Andrews. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Luis said.
“Thank you,” Travis replied.
Damian stood in the hall in front of the door to their apartment and Travis stopped so quick that he had to scramble not to walk into him.
“Who are you?” Travis asked as he backed up and nearly tripped. He grabbed Travis’s arm to study him and he howled.
“Shit, sorry. It’s okay, Travis. This is Damian. He works for Kane.”
Travis nodded as Damian moved to the side to let them pass. Kane held the door open. Alec helped him shuffle down the hall and when he turned toward his room, he stopped him.
“My room, Travis,” he said. If he had any say in the matter, Travis would spend every night from now on in his bed. He just crawled under the comforter and turned to his side.
Alec left the door open and walked back to the living room. Damian and Kane both stood, but it was Kane who spoke first.
“How is he?”
“Cranky. Dizzy. But the scans are clean so that’s good news. He needs rest.”
Kane nodded. “That’s good. I wanted to keep you posted. My guys found a set of prints on the dumpster that Jonas told me about. They match the ones on the bat we found from Tyler’s attack. My guess is they wanted more money.”
“So the same guy who attacked Tyler attacked Travis? I don’t understand.” His voice rose, his hands balling into fists at his sides. All the pieces clicked into place. Kane had let his feelings for Tyler cloud his judgment. “You promised me and Travis that Tyler was safe. Sat at that table.” He pointed to the dining room. “Told Travis, promised him that you had it taken care of. And now you’re standing here telling me that it was the same fucking guys?”
Damian winced and backed up a few steps. He couldn’t blame the poor guy.
“Alec, keep your voice down,” Kane said.
He believed in Kane, in his ability to secure the family and trusted him with the safety of his husband. He glanced to his bedroom, hoping that Travis couldn’t hear any of this. Kane was damn lucky, because the way he was feeling, he might have ripped him to shreds.
“Get the fuck out of my house, Kane.”
Kane paused, eyes wide.
“Fine,” Kane hissed. “Damian stays.”
There was no time to worry about Kane, his feelings, or their friendship. Kane needed to do his damn job.
The front door closed and footsteps came up behind him.
“Sir, Kane suggested I stay inside so your neighbors stop asking questions,” Damian said.
“Makes sense.”
Damian nodded and left him alone in the kitchen.
He took a huge breath. He needed to remain calm for Travis’s sake. He made himself a cup of coffee and then called Margie to tell her he wouldn’t be in for a few days. Antonio was his next call. He needed to pick up the slack in his absence and he’d have to talk to Travis, because there was no way he was going into the office anytime soon.
Travis
“Ssh, I’ve got you.” Alec’s arms wrapped around him and he burrowed into him. The bandages pulled and pain radiated down his arm but he ignored it as best he could.
The nightmare, so real, put him back in the alley, back in the dumpster. The fear of not being able to get out, of Jonas not finding him before his attackers returned stuck deep in his mind.
“Breathe in and out, nice and easy. That’s it,” a voice, faint and light, repeated over and over while hands rubbed circles on his back and soothed him. His throat tightened and his breath stalled. His mind flashed to the darkness, the smell of the dumpster, and he gasped.
He needed to move, to go, to leave.
The light. The darkness was where all the bad was.
“Travis.” Alec held him still against his body. “It’s okay. Everything is okay. You are safe. Are you listening? You are safe.”
A loud groan erupted from his throat and he opened his eyes. The light from the nightstand blinded him.
“Here, sip this slowly.”
His hands shook as he grasped the bottle of water and brought it to his lips, the liquid a welcome relief to his dry mouth. Alec took it from him, placed it on the nightstand, and sank into the pillows carefully arranging Travis’s back to his front. He was being held in Alec’s arms, not tightly, but with enough pressure to bring him comfort.
He glanced around the room and tried to will his heart to beat at its normal rate. The adrenaline seeped from his body and left a dull throb at the base of his skull.
“Need my pills,” he said.
Alec shifted and then a bottle rattled before he held two pills out for Travis. He took them and snuggled in. Worry replaced pain. Would another nightmare start when he fell asleep?
“Please tell me what happened, Travis,” Alec pleaded, the same request he’d had since the hospital and Travis brushed him off each time with the short version. He knew Alec wanted the details.
“I don’t want to keep talking about it, Alec.”
“That’s just it, though. You haven’t said anything about it. You’ve brushed off everyone.”
“It’s done. It happened, so what’s the use?”
Alec leaned in and kissed him gently on the temple. “Tell me so I can understand what happened, please, babe.”
A tear escaped from his eye and fell onto Alec’s arm. Babe. He’d never heard Alec use that term before.
“It was dark. The rain… it made it hard to see it was coming down so hard. I was lifted off of my feet and pulled into the alley. I tried to fight them off… punched, kicked… but my legs, they were off of the ground so I had no way to do any damage.”
Alec held the bottle of water up to his mouth and he took a sip. Tears were flowing freely now, and he hiccupped. Alec’s hands ran up and down his arm as he tried to continue.
“They dropped me, Alec. In a puddle.” He sniffed and used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes. The injured side of his face burned, and he grimaced.
“It was wet and cold and the shock of it stunned me so I didn’t move… God, I wish I had moved. Before I knew it, they were punching me and kicking me and I rolled up in a ball.”
He gasped and turned his body to face Alec’s. His eyes darted around for tissues and Alec handed him a couple to blow his nose and, patient as ever, waited for him to continue.
“They were speaking but between the thunder and the punching, I have no idea what they said.” He tried to tame the tears, but he couldn’t. Alec reached out, grabbed his hand and held it. He inhaled and press
ed his lips together.
“Someone grabbed my leg and pulled me across the alley. That was when my arm and my face got scraped up with the gravel.” The shaking overtook his body and a huge cry erupted from his mouth. He couldn’t continue, not right now. His throat squeezed him and it made breathing difficult.
“Okay. You’re okay.”
He kneeled in front of Alec, gripped his shirt with both hands and buried his face in his chest. He was safe.
He winced and turned his head to the side as the bandages shifted. Then he cried.
Alec
Movement in the hallway caught his attention, and he put his coffee cup down to investigate. Travis was standing in the hall, one hand braced against the wall. Sometime during the afternoon, Alec had gotten him to take off the hospital scrubs and put on a pair of pajama pants. The nightmare had terrified him.
Alec walked toward Travis as he raised his head. His bloodshot eyes focused on Alec.
“You’re still here,” he whispered.
“Where would I be?” Alec said, his voice low. Loud noises wouldn’t help. Damian came up behind Alec and Travis’s eyes opened wide.
“Do you need any help, sir?”
“No, Damian. I’ve got it, thanks.”
Alec put his arm around Travis’s waist and guided him to the living room. “I want to go to the kitchen.”
“You’d do better on the sofa than on a barstool.”
Travis paused for a minute before looking in the direction Damian had gone. “Who’s that?”
“He was here this morning, when we got home from the hospital.”
“Oh, I forgot.”
Alec guided Travis to the couch. Satisfied that he was comfortable, he grabbed a blanket and pulled the ottoman over to rest his feet on. Travis looked amused.
“You’re going to hover, aren’t you?”
“Damn straight.” Alec placed his hands on his hips and glared at Travis. “Don’t get up without me helping you.” He grabbed the remotes from the coffee table and handed them to Travis.