Gio laughed softly. His grumpy Sacha would have looked very unimpressed and teased Gio mercilessly. “He’d say, ‘Well, aren’t we bougie?’”
“Remember that White Party Colton’s friend threw? The one with the scented toilet paper?”
Gio had to quickly cover his mouth so he didn’t bark out a laugh. When he could control himself, he replied. “Sacha went to the bathroom, and when he returned to the table, he was so quiet, I leaned in to ask him what the matter was, and Sacha replied—in a whisper the entire table heard—that his ass smelled like wood sage and sea salt, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.”
Jack laughed, and Gio joined him, remembering that night and the startled expressions of the other guests around the table. They had no idea what to make of Sacha, and Gio had barely been able to hold back his laughter.
“And then right after,” Jack said with a snicker, “He whacked my arm and said, ‘Pass the dinner rolls.’”
Gio and Jack laughed before the room went quiet again, filled only with the beeps of hospital machines and the woosh of the ventilator. Jack closed his eyes, then opened them, a tear escaping.
“Tell me he’s going to be okay. If it comes from you, I’ll believe it.”
Gio swallowed hard, his voice quiet when he spoke. “Sacha is fighting with everything he has right now. I believe that down to my soul.”
Jack nodded, but he didn’t reply. It took a few hours, but the staff moved Sacha to one of the VIP hospital suites. The VIP suite looked more like a hotel suite than a hospital room, except for the medical bed positioned across from the seating area. There was a dining nook with a counter and a small refrigerator, as well as an en-suite bathroom. It was spacious and private, which is what they needed once the family started visiting.
And although Cookie could technically stay with Gio, he needed daily exercise and regular potty breaks, so Gio decided it was best he stay with their family. Now that Sacha was settled in the private suite, Gio had cleared it with the hospital administrator to allow someone to bring in Cookie and Chip for visits as soon as Sacha woke up. Those visits couldn’t come soon enough. Chip needed to see his daddy. He’d begun refusing his food, and his anxiety was causing him tummy troubles.
A short knock on the door was all the warning Gio had before Fitz, Red, and Laz walked in, bringing Gio one of Sacha’s large duffel bags packed with essentials for both him and Sacha. He thanked them and placed the bag by the sleeper sofa, where Gio would be sleeping until Sacha regained consciousness.
Fitz carried a large shopping bag over to Sacha’s bedside, and his bottom lip quivered as he took out a big, soft, fluffy blanket to cover Sacha, then he turned and broke into tears. Jack pulled him into his arms and gently rubbed his back in soothing circles. It was difficult to see someone as lively and spirited as Sacha lying so still.
Laz and Red held each other, and although Laz was the one wiping away the wetness on his cheeks, heartbreak was written all over Red’s face. Red put his hand on Sacha’s arm and closed his eyes. Gio swallowed hard and sat on the loveseat, smilingsoftly when Laz came and sat beside him. His baby brother didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. He let his head rest against Gio’s shoulder, and Gio sighed.
Sometimes he marveled at how he’d gone from a family of two—Colton and Laz—to the small army he had now. They were far from perfect, and magnets for trouble and hijinks, but Gio was grateful for every one of them. He had no idea how he would make it through this without them. They had been one of the many gifts Sacha had brought with him into Gio’s life.
The Kings, Jack, and Sacha bickered and fought often, cursed and infuriated one another, and at times even came to physical blows, but the love they had for each other and their loved ones was fierce.
They had taught Gio the true meaning of family, of being there—not out of some misguided sense of duty, but because theywantedto be there, because they had chosen their family, and that bond was everything.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning,after Gio had showered and dressed, he walked out of the bathroom to find breakfast on the small dining table. Jack sat drinking his coffee, eyes still puffy. Gio worried for him. Jack had been going home here and there, but not for long; Gio hoped he was getting some rest, because he hadn’t slept while he was at the hospital.
“Ace and Colton are going to stop by in a bit.” Jack lifted his gaze to meet Gio’s, his expression grave. “Don’t ask Ace about his hand.”
Gio frowned as he sat. “What happened to his hand?”
Jack sighed. “He and Lucky got into it over something stupid, which isn’t really anything new for them. You know how hotheaded they can be. Except this time, it was more, you know.” His gaze shifted to Sacha, then back to Gio. “Ace lost his cool, and if Colton hadn’t gotten through to him, he could have hurt Lucky. He ended up punching the wall instead and hit a stud.”
“Oh no,” Gio gasped. “Is he okay? What happened?” Aside from Ace experiencing what must have been significant pain, both physically and, no doubt, emotionally, after realizing he’d almost seriously hurt his cousin.
“He fractured his right hand, including his middle, ring, and pinky fingers. So he has a cast on those three fingers and his hand, which goes halfway down his forearm. Scared the shit out of Colton.” Jack frowned into his coffee. “He’s never seen that Ace. None of you has.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Ace can get pissed, like really pissed, just like the rest of us, but when he fights, he uses his head because with the kind of training we have, he knows how dangerous it can be to let his emotions cloud his judgment. Youneverlet yourself get blinded by rage or grief. This whole situation is bringing up a lot of old feelings, which brings me to Sacha. He, um, he doesn’t do well with sedation,” Jack said. “And with this kind of sedation…”
“Doesn’t do well how? Does he have trouble waking up?”
Jack shook his head, his frown deepening. “The last time he was anywhere close to being this sedated was after the ambush, before we came home.”
“When you lost your brothers.”
“Yeah. Our circumstances played a big part in it. We were in the middle of a war zone when he lost consciousness, so when he woke up, he believed we were still there and that he’d been taken hostage.” Jack pressed his lips together in a thin line. “I know we’ve joked about how the short guy is the most dangerous, but that doesn’t make it any less true. It took Ace, Lucky, Red, and me to restrain him and keep him from taking out the staff. He tried to strangle one of the nurses with his IV tubing.”
Gio shifted his gaze to Sacha. It was hard for him to reconcile that part of Sacha with the man he had fallen in love with. Gio wasn’t naive. Sacha had a very different life long before meeting Gio—a painful, heartbreaking life filled with danger and loss. But so much had happened since then, so much had changed.
