Austen didn’t smile. “Oh, they’re not through.”
Rain’s gaze slid back toward the group of men who had each found chairs like they were part of an audience, and the showwas watching Rain sleep. He knew them. They weren’t their usual cocky selves. “What did you do?”
Edge cleared his throat. He crossed his legs at the ankles and uncrossed them again. “Like I said, we didn’t have an exact date and you just kind of dropped off the map.”
They were all in black—like dressed for a job. Suspicion and horror built. “And?”
“So we came to get you,” Field finished for Edge.
Rain stared at the usually laughing red-haired jokester. “You didn’t.” He needed someone to say that hadn’t stormed Austen’s home.
“We tried to call. We even tried the work line. You’ve never ignored us.”
At Edge’s claim, Rain rubbed his forehead. “Why do I have a feeling this gets worse?”
“Because it does,” Shadow said, sounding bitter. He knew Shadow would never willingly do something this stupid without protest, but Edge was the boss.
“Someone needs to spit it out. I’m in too much pain to pull fucking teeth today.”
“Do you need some meds?” Austen was back to looking like the worried mother hen.
Rain kissed him. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“Not suffering doesn’t lessen your toughness. I know you’re strong.”
“We cleared the surgical room, and you were left without medical staff directly after surgery. That’s when the blood clot broke loose and almost killed you. If we hadn’t shown up here, you would’ve been monitored and kept safe.” Shadow said the words fast, as if he couldn’t take everyone else’s silence and pussy-footing. After all, he was Rain’s shadow. They were too much alike to endure nonsense.
Horror washed over Rain. His gaze moved from guilty face to guilty face. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Field piped up. “For what it’s worth, your man threatened to kill us and make sure no one ever found our bodies.”
“As he should,” Tracker added. “It’s just as Edge said. We couldn’t reach you and that’s never happened. I tracked your phone here, and we worried you were being held against your will. We don’t know your man. He could be anyone. That surgical room could’ve been prepared as an attempt to extract information. It’s a home suite, after all. We didn’t expect you to have surgery in some dude’s house.”
“He’s not some dude,” Rain said, hearing the exasperation in his voice. “Austen is the top surgical physician in the world. He treats only the most influential clients. They don’t go to doctors' offices or hospitals. He goes to them or sees them here. Fucking Beau Bosi can’t walk into County General with a bullet wound.”
Nine heads bobbed in agreement, but Tracker continued to be their mouthpiece. “We know that now, but you should’ve said something sooner. You keep secrets.” He motioned toward Austen. “If he’s so special, why would you hide him?”
“Because he’s special.” Rain didn’t look Austen’s way as he made the confession. “I don’t know how to force all this on him.” He swept his arm wide their way. “Look at all of you. You don’t know how to act.” He focused on Shadow. “That doesn’t include you, babe.”
“I know.” Shadow sounded as confident as he should. He would never condone this.
Edge shot Shadow a look as if he was a traitor.
Rain’s temper made an appearance. “Don’t look at him like that. You’re the one who called for this bullshit plan. You almost killed me.”
Edge’s expression immediately shifted to guilty again. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s my job to keep you all safe. If any of you go missing, it’s my job to rescue you. What if someone had really taken you? Wouldn’t you want us to come for you?”
Rain pinched the spot between his eyes. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand their side, but he was tired. So goddamn exhausted, and it had nothing to do with surgery or almost dying. For once, he wanted something normal. That was what Austen gave him. A normal life with pampering and love. No one else truly cared if his foot fell off dancing. They would blame him for not quitting ballet and toss his rotten foot in the trash.
Austen sat with his back against the headboard and tugged Rain into his arms. He kissed the top of Rain’s head. “It’s okay, baby. I’d never let anything happen to you. No matter how many idiots stood in my way.”
A laugh burst from Rain at the bitterness in Austen’s voice. It would be a long time before he forgave this one, and Rain couldn’t blame him.
“I gave everyone on staff a hundred thousand apiece, if that helps,” Edge said, cutting through Rain’s annoyance.
A guy in scrubs came into the room. “Knock. Knock. Sorry. I need to take out your IV.”
Rain nodded and held out his arm. He stared at the guy while he worked. “Were you here?”
