She bounced on her feet, her charming smile excited. “Oh, you’re a doctor.”
Vail laughed in embarrassment, his cheeks turning red. “Of history.”
“Hey, that’s still amazing.” She giggled. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Mifflin. I’m Nurse Brooke Green, but you can call me Brooke, and to answer your question simply, we reduce the sedation and slowly wake him up.”
“So, he’ll be awake when it’s in his throat?” Vail asked, glancing at the breathing tube, genuine curiosity and concern in his voice.
“Yes.”
They continued to talk, but my attention went to Fallon, and I focused on him. He was beautiful, innocent, and I couldn’t imagine how he’d feel when he woke up. I wanted to make sure I was with him when that happened.
* * *
They decidedto wake him a few days later, and even though I demanded to stay, the doctors told me it could take a while for him to wake up. It happened the sixth night he was in the ICU, and I got a frantic call from a nurse the following morning telling me he was awake and fighting, even though they’d tried to calm him down with meds.
Vail and I got in the car before Cillian and Rowen were up, and by the time we got to the hospital and into the ICU, Fallon was kicking and slinging punches. Three nurses had him pinned while another had a needle, as though they were going to inject his IV with a sedation drug, but the thought of him being put under again made my heart almost stop.
I shot into the room and shoved one of the nurses out of the way, ignoring the sound of irritation that left her, and sat on the bed so Fallon could see me. The tube was still in his mouth and his blue eyes widened. He whimpered, and I cupped his face in my hands.
“You’re okay, boy. You’reokay, I’m here.”
The fight slowly left Fallon’s body and his shoulders slumped. He whimpered again, and I nodded.
“I know, I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke.” I kissed his forehead. “Vail’s here, too. We’re not going anywhere.”
Vail waved over my shoulder. “Right here, Fallon, in all my greatness.” He beamed at Fallon, and I loved him for being so sweet and supportive.
A tear slid down Fallon’s cheek and I caught it with my finger before I kissed the damp spot. “Listen to me, everything’s going to be okay. I need you to listen to the nurses. We’re going to be right here, all right? You have to do what they say.”
He nodded slightly and more tears fell.
“They’re going to get that tube out of your throat soon, okay?”
Fallon shook his head, and I thought maybe he meant he wasn’t okay, but I shushed him with a kiss to the nose.
“We can do this a little longer, and then you can come home and fuck Vail’s brains out, and I’ll fuck your brains out whenever you want me to.”
One of the nurses made a noise that sounded like a smothered chuckle.
“Can you be good for everyone so that can happen sooner?” Fuck, I hated how terrified I sounded. After this was all over, I’d need to call Mom and check up on her. It’d been a while, and even though she admonished me for asking too many questions about how she was, she liked hearing from me—and Vail, too. They’d only talked over the phone because Mom lived in California now with her new husband, who had no idea what her son did, but I knew she was planning on visiting soon.
Fallon whimpered again and nodded, his grip on me tightening, and he stared up at me pleadingly.
“Be strong, then you can talk however much you want. We won’t stop you.”
Vail chuckled, and Fallon’s eyes got some of his old sparkle back, almost as though he was amused.
We’d get through this. We were Company men, after all.
8
FALLON
Nothing made sense.Maybe I was under water? I let out a deep breath. Vail was hugging me, and he was impossibly beautiful. There was nothing in the world except for him. My dick tingled. His lips were rosy and bright against his pale skin, and his brown eyes were full of love... no, they widened and shined with terror. Something ripped him from my arms. He was just out of reach, holding out his hand, begging me to help him. There were men holding him. I couldn’t move, couldn’t get to him. My body was paralyzed, and when I glanced down, I was tied with thick chains, large ones I’d once seen on a logging truck when I was a kid, impossibly huge and heavy.
“I love you, Fallon! They’re hurting me. Please, help me!”
Anguish rushed me. “I’m trying. I’m trying, babe. Hold on!”
