And the rest, but Liam took Jamie at his word anyway, and left the room, though each step away from Zac was like a kick to the gut.
He’d only gone a little way down the corridor before he couldn’t bring himself to go any further. Phone in hand, he found a quiet corner and called Rosa, blurting out the vaguest explanation in the world before asking her to go to the house and take the dogs for the night. He hung up before she found the words to respond.
Next he left Mike a voice mail, telling him he’d be out of the office until further notice and the business was in his hands, and then, after warning Mike he’d likely need a monumental favour from him sometime soon, he made the call that had driven him from Zac’s side in the first place.
It took a while for Sea Rave’s California office to pick up, and even longer for the girl who answered the phone to find Marv, the company’s US director . . . and Cory’s youngest brother.
“Hey, dude,” Liam said when he finally came on the line. “What was the name of that rehab retreat we sponsored last year?”
Sleep wrapped itself around Zac like a comforting quicksand, sucking him under every time the flicker of light stinging his eyes grew too bright to bear, but like most pleasant things he’d experienced, too soon the comfort of oblivion began to fade.
Groaning, Zac rolled over, reaching for Jamie, who was bound to be sleeping like a corpse, whatever time it was, making the most of being tucked up safe in Zac’s bed, but a jolt of pain stilled him before he found Jamie’s bony ribs. “Shit.”
“Easy.” Warm hands that definitely weren’t Jamie’s gripped Zac’s shoulders and rolled him back the way he’d come. “Don’t move too much yet.”
Zac’s brain was sluggish, like he’d loaded himself with junk cut with Valium, but as he opened his eyes, it rebooted, replaying his last memories at rocket speed, dizzying and terrifying him in equal measure.
He bolted upright, ignoring the agony in his left arm and the sharp scratch in his right. Where the hell was Jamie? And the men who’d come for him? Had they found him? Killed him—
“Zac.” The warm hands on his shoulders tightened their hold. “Calm down. It’s okay, I promise. You’re safe here. Jamie’s safe. Everything’s going to be okay.”
His eyes found the hands, struggling to focus enough to see who they belonged to. He looked up as his vision cleared and as kind brown eyes stared back at him, there was no doubt in Zac’s mind that he was fucking dreaming. “Liam?”
“It’s me.”
It couldn’t be. Zac didn’t believe it. Liam had chucked him out of his house, cast him aside as the no-good junkie he was. Why the hell would he be here, in a hospital room, smiling and holding Zac so tenderly that Zac would’ve cried if it had been real?
Go back to sleep, idiot. Zac closed his eyes, but his head was spinning too hard for him to stand it for long. Nausea surged through him. He opened his eyes again, but found his tongue too late to warn imaginary Liam that he was about to puke all over his vintage Vans.
Zac heaved painfully over the side of the bed, fearing with each retch that the hallucination would evaporate and perspective would return, confirming that Jamie was indeed dead, and Zac had honoured his memory by diving back into the junk. But it didn’t happen. As his stomach emptied itself on the shiny hospital floor, the hands rubbing his neck and stroking his hair from his face only became more vivid.
The sickness finally eased.
“Come on now,” Liam said gently. “I know you’re confused, but I need you to trust me for a moment and lie down, okay? Then I can tell you everything that’s happened while you’ve been sleeping.”
“How long have I been out? Where’s Jamie?”
“He’s safe. And you’ve been in and out since he brought you in a couple of days ago.”
Zac shook his head. “No . . . that’s already happened. I’ve already done this. Jamie brought me here months ago, but that’s over. I’m clean. I don’t do that shit anymore.”
“I know. And I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to tell me that before, but this isn’t about the drugs. You got hurt, remember? In the flat? Someone was looking for Jamie and they found you instead.”
Zac’s brain whirred too fast to match Liam’s words with what his brain already knew. “I don’t understand. Why— How are you here?”
“Lie down, Zac.”
Dazed, Zac obeyed, allowing Liam to arrange him in a way that was instantly less painful. “I’ve done this before, you know that, right? I OD’d and Jamie brought me to a hospital. He saved my life.”
Liam smiled tightly. “No wonder you’re so close. He’s probably saved you again. From what I can tell, it was him who called the ambulance.”
“He shoulda left me on the floor of that squat. Saved you all the trouble.”
“Don’t say that. I know you’ve had it hard, but you’re still here for a reason.”
Guilt hit Zac in a dizzying wave. Life had been shit for him at almost every turn, but Liam hadn’t had it easy either. “I’m sorry.”
“What for? It’s not like you stabbed yourself.”
