I hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower off. I truly wanted Avery to stay, but he had his own time schedule. Hopefully, Avery and I could find time to spend together and learn things about each other, including how to manage our schedules and make time for each other.
“I’m going to the kitchen to clean up our lunch mess. Is there anything else I can do?” Avery reached for his briefs to pull them on.
“Leave those under my pillow, sweetheart. I’ll be in the kitchen in a few minutes. Help yourself with anything you want. Dump those hot beers, okay?”
Avery nodded and kissed my cheek before I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. After a quick wash up, I got out and dried off, anxious to get back to the sexy man who had rocked my world fifteen minutes prior.
I pulled on a pair of sweats and a tank, hoping maybe I could talk him into another round before I took him to his apartment.If I could convince him to stay, I’d be thrilled, but it was easy to see Avery was dedicated to his job. I gave him a lot of respect for it.
The house was quiet, which seemed odd. I hadn’t turned on music that would play throughout the house, but maybe I should have? Did Avery like music?
“Sweetheart? Do you want some music?” No answer.
Ossie barked. “I’m coming, mongrel.”
When I walked into the kitchen, Ossie was still barking. I saw what he was barking at—Avery was lying on the floor with a bloody nose.
I dropped next to him and leaned to put my head on his chest. His heart was beating but his breathing was shallow.
What the fuck happened in ten minutes?
I stood in the waiting room of Johns Hopkins Hospital fighting my instincts to pummel the shit out of someone because they wouldn’t tell me anything about Avery’s condition. I’d given the cops his information—or as much as I knew—when they arrived after I called 9-1-1.
The police went through his wallet, and after one of the cops talked to a paramedic who was working on Avery, the guy nodded and turned to me. “Special circumstance. We’re taking him to Johns Hopkins Hospital instead of one of the others. Meet us there. We need the room to work so you can’t ride along.”
Without waiting for me to say anything, they loaded him up and took off. The cop handed me Avery’s wallet before they left the scene.
Pacing the waiting room was not what I wanted to do that day. I’d imagined being in bed with this beautiful man after making love to him. I adored the guy. What the hell was I going to do if I lost another person I loved?
“Family of Avery Langhorn.” A nurse walked in with a chart, and since I was the only person in the room, I raised my hand.
The nurse walked over and smiled. “Mr. Langhorn’s in a medically induced coma right now. He’ll be going to surgery soon. When his family arrives, we’ll be able to tell you more. We’re doing everything we can for him.”
I wasn’t sure what the hell that meant. All I wanted was for Avery to be fine. What the fuck did I have to do to make sure that happened?
Chapter Nineteen
Avery
“Hey.” The guy standing in Holden’s kitchen with two giant dogs scared the fuck out of me. “Who are you?”
I’d seen him and the dogs when Holden and I were at Two Bitches for lunch. The guy had come through the restaurant with those dogs straining on the leashes before he left through the front door when we were at the café with Oscar.
“I’m EZ. Happy mentioned me to you before, right?” The sexy guy slipped off his sunglasses to reveal red eyes. I wanted to laugh, but if he knew about Happy, maybe I could get some answers.
“Wait. You came here to talk to me about Happy?”
“I did. She’s disappeared, and I need you to bring her back. I’m not after her, you know. I’m looking for Hal. I think he has her, but I need you to draw them out. Happy can’t be away from her heart for long, and when she comes to find you, he’ll follow her and I’ll get him.”
“You’re using me as bait?” That was just my fucking luck.
“Eh, kinda. I won’t let you get hurt, Avery, but Hal needs to meet his ends. This won’t hurt, okay?” He touched a finger to my head, and I collapsed.
My eyes opened in a smokey place. Everything was blurry, but EZ was sitting next to me with those two big dogs on the floor staring at me.
“Where am I?” That seemed important to know.
EZ laughed. “Where everyone ends up. You’re just early. Once I get what I want, you can go back to your life. I just need you for a little time. As you said, you’re bait.”
