“When can I see him?” Linc asked.
“That’s not my call,” she said, not unkindly, before turning and disappearing once more.
The senator turned on him then, shoving a finger into his face. “You stay the hell away from my son. This is your fault.”
Linc snorted, contemplating breaking the man’s short, stubby digit. “My fault? You called him a sodomite. You told him he wasn’t worthy of your love. You’ve been breaking his heart his entire life. You wanna have me arrested, fine. But you won’t go anywhere near him without his consent. Do you fucking hear me?”
Monty scoffed at him. “How do you intend to stop me?”
Charlie stepped forward. “My father called our attorney. He’ll be here any minute. He’s going to file an emergency injunction for a restraining order.”
“A restraining order… against me? A senator?” He looked to Charlie’s father. “You better control your daughter.”
The man shook his head. “Charlemagne showed us the bruises. She’s been documenting them for years. They’re very compelling. No judge will overlook them. Not with your behavior tonight and certainly not with your family values platform.”
Monty looked taken aback. “My behavior? This man just tried to kill me.”
“You had it coming,” Charlie shouted. “Somebody should’ve knocked you on your ass years ago.”
Charlie’s father shook his head, lowering his voice. “You’d be smart to just walk away, Monty. Just let the boy go. You’ve done enough harm.”
“I called Jackson too,” Charlie told Linc.
“You called him? You have his number?” Linc asked.
“What can I say? I work fast,” she told him with the barest hint of a smile.
Before anybody could say anything else, a woman appeared in pale blue scrubs. She approached Linc. “He made it through surgery. He’s stable. He’s in recovery, but he’s not awake yet. We had to harvest a vein from his leg to repair the damage to the brachial artery, so he has a rather substantial wound on both his left arm and his right leg. He’s got good blood return so we’re hopeful there will be minimal damage, but with this sort of injury, there’s always the possibility of amputation.”
“My God,” Monty muttered.
Linc ignored him. “Will he be able to use his left hand again?”
She gave a gentle shrug. “We aren’t sure if there was any nerve damage yet, but right now our main concern is perfusion, making sure he maintains blood flow to the limb and monitoring for infection.”
The knot in Linc’s chest loosened. Wyatt was stable; they could get through anything else together. “When can I see him?”
“As soon as we’ve moved him into a room.”
Monty stepped in front of Linc, causing the surgeon to take a step back. “Excuse me. That’s my son. I’m his next of kin.”
She frowned. “Your son is a grown man. This man is listed as his emergency contact on his phone. His paperwork says fiancé. I’m not sure what to tell you, sir.”
Monty looked like he was going to have a stroke at the word fiancé. Linc might have embellished a little on the admission paperwork, but it wouldn’t be a lie for long. Wyatt was his. Maybe he was too young or Linc was too old or they were both just too fucked up for a relationship, but it didn’t make it any less true. Linc loved Wyatt, needed Wyatt as much as Wyatt needed him.
He had no idea what would happen going forward, but whatever it was, they’d deal with it together. As long as Linc didn’t end up in prison.
The senator’s phone rang, and he moved to the far side of the waiting room to answer it, still holding the towel to his bruised and battered face. Where was Wyatt’s mother? His grandmother? Had Monty even told them?
His phone vibrated against his leg. Ellie’s name flashed across the screen. “Hello?”
“Charlie texted me. She said Wyatt was hurt. Is he okay? Are you?”
Linc frowned. “What?”
“Relax, Linc. Do you think I couldn’t tell you were into him? Did you think Charlie wouldn’t give me all the dirty little details as soon as we talked?”
“How long have you two been talking?” he asked, bemused.
