His cool, piercing blue eyes search mine for a moment before he wraps a hand around my elbow and squeezes. “If I know Luke, he’s going to want you here with him. So why are you giving someone of so little importance the time of day, hmm?”
I suck in a sharp breath. “Fuck me, when did you get so smart?”
Seriously, there’s no way I’m even partly responsible for raising him into this intelligent, rational being. He became this person all on his own. How did I get so lucky? For a brief moment, I’m so in awe—so damn proud—of the man he’s become that I forget about the constant itch to be at Luke’s side. The need to soothe, to croon sweet-nothingsin his ear, to run gentle fingers through those beautiful locks, to do everything in my power to take his pain away.
Only for a second though.
The waiting room doors fling open, the resulting bang against the wall making the elderly receptionist flinch. Although I only met them once, at their engagement party, I recognize the couple immediately. Jax barrels through the door, looking harried with sleep-mussed hair in a gray t-shirt and rumpled jeans. His fiancé, Maddison, enters behind him. She’s in shorts and an oversized, black sweater with the local fire department logo across the front. Her worn sneakers scuff against the floor as she hurries to match Jax’s stride. The obvious worry splayed across their faces has my gut twisting.
It had been evident in Jax’s voice, too, when I called him. The sleepy, slightly grouchy reaction to being woken up had quickly transformed into a panicky haste to see his baby brother when I broke the news to him. I only told him he had been assaulted, choosing not to reveal their mother’s existence—or involvement—yet. That’s Luke’s choice to make, and I will support whatever decision he chooses.
“Where is Luke Parker? He was brought in by ambulance. He’s my brother and I— Is he okay? I need to see him.” The silver-haired, wrinkled-faced receptionist does a double take as Jax spews the words out in rapid succession, his jerky movements portraying his nerves, even if the anxiety in his tone hadn’t. When Maddison runs a soothing hand up and down his back, Jax’s tense shoulders immediately relax. He grabs her hand, squeezing it to his chest like touching her brings him comfort.
The receptionist murmurs something quietly, too low for my ears to catch, before gesturing to me and Caleb. She gives them both an apologetic expression before turning back to her computer. I stand up to greet Jax, oddly nervous to meet him again. Which is ridiculous,because the idea of meeting a lover’s family has never put a riot of butterflies and twisting nerves in my belly before. It’s different with Luke though.
But then again, everything with Luke has always been different.
“What the hell happened?” Jax wastes no time demanding, eyeing my hand with clear distrust before shaking it. His eyes are narrow as they flit back and forth between my son and me, his jaw tense as he stares expectantly. If I had to guess, he’s wondering if Caleb and I had anything to do with Luke’s current predicament. Honestly, I don’t blame him. I appreciate all the protective-big-brother energy pouring off him.
Luke deserves that kind of energy.
“Two men jumped him in the parking lot when he was leaving work,” I explain again, having already told him this on the phone.
Jax is practically vibrating with impatience as he opens his mouth, probably to snap at me, before the waiting room door opens once more. A plump nurse with graying blonde hair pulled into a tight bun eyes us. “Luke Parker’s family?” she inquires.
“Is he okay?” Maddison asks, her small voice squeaking as she squeezes her hands together. Despite looking like he’s going to leap forward and shake the poor nurse for answers, Jax makes a soothing noise under his breath, so quietly I suspect I wasn’t meant to hear it, before pulling Maddison against his side, where his thumb rubs circles along her hip bone.
The nurse nods. “The doctor will be by in a bit to go over everything, but for now, I can tell you he’s okay. It’s going to be a long and painful recovery, but he’s awake. We had to give him quite a bit of medicine to get his pain levels under control, and he’s resting now. I can allow one family member in to see him.”
“That’s not acceptable,” I growl. My knee-jerk reaction is ridiculous because, of course, I know this is typical hospital protocol. It’s in the best interest of the patient, after all. But I don’t give a fuck about protocol. I want Luke to see that his entire family showed up for him, to feel the love and safety oozing off us as we surround him, as we shield him from the harsh world.
The nurse purses her lips. “It’s hospital protocol. He needs a quiet environment to rest and—”
“He was viciously assaulted tonight. He needs his entire goddamned family,” I snap, my nostrils flaring. Beside me, I’m vaguely aware of heads swinging to stare at me. Caleb’s eyes transform into a bug-eyed stare as he subtly tries to give me a warning look that I pay no attention to. Jax’s emerald eyes—God, they look so much like Luke’s—are staring at me a little too intently. Maddison tilts her head, giving me a curious expression.
“He’s right, ma’am,” Maddison begins quietly, her voice much sweeter than mine. “I promise we’ll let him rest.”
The nurse huffs, rolling her eyes before shooting us all a stern look. “Don’t make me regret this.”
It’s not until we’re all marching down the hallway, Jax’s eyebrows bunching together as his gaze continuously darts in my direction, that I remember who I’m supposed to be. I get a sinking sensation in my stomach because Jax and Maddison don’t know Luke has been living with me, much less sleeping in my bed. They don’t know that I would gladly trade places with him right now, or that I woulddiefor him. That my life would be over if anything were to happen to him. They think I’m just his best friend’s dad, his boss.
Shit, they probably think me being here is weird.
Jax and Maddison walk into the room ahead of us, and I hesitate outside. When I make a distressed sort of grunt, Caleb shoots me aconcerned expression. I shake my head, wiping sweaty palms on my trousers, and taking a fortifying breath. It feels wrong, wrong, wrong to pretend Luke isn’teverythingto me. For a moment, panic rises in my throat as my heartbeat becomes erratic. How do I walk into this room where his broken body is lying in that hospital bed and hang back like he’s just an acquaintance? He’s the love of my life and he belongs in my arms.
If Luke isn’t ready to come out to his brother yet, I can’t pull him into my embrace and soothe him. Can’t baby him the way he deserves right now, no matter how badly I want—need—to. I can’t make that decision for him.
Even though I want to shout to the world that he’smine, mine, mine.
“Alek,” Luke’s voice croaks. It’s nothing more than a broken, needy whisper, but I hear it all the same.
That’s all it takes for me to barge through the open doorway, breathing wild as I rush to his side. Jax grunts as I shoulder my way past him, his head rearing back as I essentially push him out of the way. I barely manage to keep from crying out, a wave of grief assaulting me as I get my first look at Luke since they pushed him through the ambulance bay and barred me from following.
He looksfragile.
His right eye is now swollen shut, the skin around it mottled in a nasty blue and black coloring. His lip is swollen as well, crusty flakes of dried blood still around the edges of the cut. There’s some kind of medical tape wrapped around his fingers, no longer dislocated, and a sling on one arm. The light blue-green of the hospital gown washes out the coloring of his pale skin.
“Alek,” he repeats, a whoosh of breath escaping him, almost as if he had been holding it the entire time we had been separated. When hiseye begins to shimmer, the fingers of his uninjured hand shaking as they reach toward me, I don’t hesitate.
