“Goddamn it, Lucas,” Sean said, and his voicewas strangely muffled.It sounded like he was speaking through aswollen throat, but Lucas knew Sean hadn’t taken any hits.It wasstrange, but Lucas’s brain was too addled with impact and pain togive it much thought.
He saw feet walking away, and when they got alittle farther he could see that it was Sean, his head hanging low,his step quick and desperate.Tinker followed after him, breakinginto a jog to catch up.
Only Mikey remained, so when the shadow fellover Lucas’s face, he didn’t need to roll over to know who itwas.
“You’re a fucking faggot, Cain.”
Lucas knew it was coming, but he still wasn’tprepared for the explosion of pain as Mikey’s booted foot landed inthe small of his back.Another kick was lower, hitting the muscleof Lucas’s ass, and that hurt, but nothing like the first one.There was a pause, and some part of Lucas’s mind replayed the scenehe’d seen countless times before—Mikey circling a fallen foe andchoosing the exact spot for his brutal kicks.
This time, though, there was the rush of feetand legs appeared in front of Lucas’s eyes.“Leave him alone,” Seanyelled.“It’s enough!It’s done!”
“He’s a fucking faggot,” Mikey insisted.
“He’s done,” Sean said.“It’s over.”
And then three sets of legs crossed throughLucas’s line of sight, heading away, leaving him alone with hispain.He let his eyes close and wished for oblivion.
ChapterTwelve
Mark was washing up after one of his raredinners at home when his cell phone rang.He answered it and hearda lightly accented male voice.
“Mark Webber?This is Karl Aachen, from theEmergency Room at the Health Care Center.I’m trying to track downa contact person for a recent admission, and he had a business cardfrom your Community Living facility in his wallet.This number wasgiven as the after-hours emergency contact.”
It wasn’t an unheard of call, but Mark’sstomach tightened anyway.“Yes, that’s right.Who’s the patient?Ishe okay?”
“His name is Lucas Cain.He’s being assessedright now.From what I know I’d say his condition is serious butprobably not life-threatening.”
Lucas Cain.Of course.“What happened tohim?”
“A fight, it looks like.The police areinvolved, and they’re sorting out the details.”
A fight.Cain had been out of jail for lessthan a week and he was already back to his old habits.He hadn’tlearned a thing from Jimmy’s death.“I see.Yes, he’s a resident ofthe facility.”At least until his parole was violated by thisnonsense.“What do you need from me?”
“I was told that you’d probably want to comedown?Dr.Tyson said you take good care of your residents andwouldn’t want the patient to be alone.”
Damn it, that was true.Mark had gone to thehospital to sit with residents on several other occasions.Hedidn’t do much of the church’s usual hospital work since thepatients most likely to want pastoral care in the wards tended tobe elderly and were too often uncomfortable with a gay priest, buthe’d always visited his residents.And he wouldn’t fall down on thejob now, as distasteful as it was.
“Fine.I’ll be there in an hour or so.Ishould just check in at the front desk to see where he is?”
“Yes, that sounds good.Hopefully he’ll beassessed by then and we’ll have him in a room.”
“He doesn’t have private insurance.So just award, okay?Whatever the government pays for, but no extras.”
Karl Aachen didn’t seem impressed by Mark’spriorities, but he said something in agreement and ended the call.Mark set his phone on the counter and returned to the sink.Butinstead of dropping his hands back into the soapy water, he stoodand looked out the window.
Lucas Cain was turning into a hell of anuisance.Mark had always tried to advocate for his residentsbefore, hoping to keep them out of trouble, but this time…he lookeddown at the sink and smiled at the appropriateness.This time, hewas washing his hands of it.Cain was on his own.
But Mark would visit.He’d fulfill therequirements of his office.He just wouldn’t work too hard at it.So he finished the dishes, changed out of his comfortable sweatpants back into black clothes and a clerical collar, and thenstopped on his way out the door.He walked into the living roominstead, a small, modestly furnished room that he hardly ever used.There on the mantle was the last family picture they’d had taken,the one where Jimmy was big and blustery and so very, veryalive.
No, Mark wasn’t going to make any specialeffort to keep Jimmy’s killer from getting into trouble for doingthe exact same thing that had led to Jimmy’s death in the firstplace.There was no way.
He had a short moment of doubt at thehospital when he peeked through the curtain drawn around the bedhe’d been told Cain was in.The man in the bed was too small,surely.Too innocent looking.Mark stepped forward and gazed downat the bruised and battered face, and then the patient’s eyesopened.Cold green.
“Cain,” Mark said.“Has the doctor seen youyet?”
Cain shut his eyes again, then said, “Yes.Downstairs.”
Of course.Cain had been admitted through theemergency room and would have seen their doctors.“So?What didthey say?”
