“Yeah—fuck,”said Niko.“Give me an hour, and we’ll be there.”
He hung up without a goodbye, and August collapsed onto the edge of the bed, opening and closing his tied hand just to feel the pressure in the knots. He sat alone in the dim lamplight of the room, repeating the action over and over, while calls came in from his agent and the team doctor, all of which he answered so he could coordinate visitation and give updates on his condition.
That’s how Quinn found him thirty minutes later, and August knew something was wrong the second he saw him.
Quinn shut the door and leaned against it, his green eyeshauntedas he met August’s gaze. “They let me see him.”
August was across the room before he could process how quickly he had moved. He hooked his good arm under Quinn’s thigh and lifted Quinn off his feet, not letting go until he was wrapped around him like before, holding him tightly as Quinn sobbed into his neck.
“H-He looksawful,” Quinn said through gasps. “The b-bruising and the stitch-stitches—doctor s-said his skull is b-broken. Scan said there’s brain a-activity, but they won’t know how bad it is unless he w-wakes up…”
Ifhe wakes up. That was what August was hearing.
“He had a fuckingstroke,” Quinn hissed, nails digging into August’s shoulders. “Like, what do you m-mean he had astroke?! How is this—”
August shushed him and rubbed his back, but he was lost for words.
“My sister—” Quinn curled his fingers into August’s hair. “I want m-my sister. I want Esme. I c-can’t do this—I can’t watch her soulmate d-die with no way tostop it.”
Quinn’s words lost all sense after that, and he broke down into uncontrollable sobbing. August could decipher a few, like Esme’s name andplease, but the rest was panicked babbling.
August knew that Quinn didn’t cry easily. He was willing to bet that the man hadn’t taken time to grieve the loss of his sister properly to spareEren and his nieces—because putting everyone else before himself was such a Quinn thing to do.
So, August let him have this moment.
He let Quinn cry in his arms for as long as he needed, brushing away his own tears as he rubbed circles on Quinn’s back and spoke quietly into his ear. There was nothing August could say to make it better. There were no magical solutions to guide him through his agony. The only option left was to be with him until Quinn calmed down long enough to catch his breath.
And soon, the sobs quieted into whimpers, and the whimpers turned into heavy breathing—and then there was echoing silence.
August didn’t move. He stood hugging Quinn with one arm until he finally unhooked his legs from around August’s waist and lowered himself to the floor. Even then, August didn’t let go. He cupped the back of Quinn’s head and scratched his fingers through his hair, using the same comforting touches that Quinn had used on him many times before.
“Thank you,” Quinn said hoarsely. “I—I needed that.”
Quinn tilted his head back, and his eyes were puffy and red, and snot was running out of his nose, but he wasokay.
“Do you think Niko can bring Emira and Alara here?” Quinn asked. “I want them close in case…things take a bad turn.”
August brushed his hands through Quinn’s soft hair and smiled. “They’re already on their way. Niko is probably close now, so I’m going to meet them. You can take a minute to clean up if you need it.”
The air was so fucking heavy with impending doom that August’s lungs felt crushed, but he needed to put on a brave face for Quinn and the girls.
Quinn bumped his forehead to August’s chest, nodding in thanks before he left for the bathroom.
August checked himself in a mirror to make sure his nose wasn’t gushing blood before putting on the hospital slippers and exiting the room. One check of his phone told him that Niko had just arrived, so he hurried to the elevators, making sure to follow the maps to the entrance so he didn’t get lost.
Niko and Logan were waiting for him, and all it took was a second-long glance in his direction to make Niko’s expression crumple.
“I’m good,” August said, raising a hand to stop Niko’s spiral before he had a chance to overthink things. “Can’t talk about it now. Let’s leave it at that.”
Emira and Alara pulled away from their chaperones as soon as August came close enough, and even though he knew he would get in trouble with the nurse for it later, he scooped them into his arms. They perched comfortably against his sides and copied their uncle, wrapping their tiny limbs around his neck, sniffling loudly.
“Gusty, where’s daddy and Uncle Quinn?” Emira asked.
“I’m taking you to see Quinn in a minute,” he said.
August tucked them closer, looking to Logan and Niko for an answer as to why the girls were so scared.
“They were watching the game,” Logan murmured. The man was a sickly shade of white, and he looked on the verge of tears like the rest of them. “I don’t know how much was shown live, but it was enough for them to understand.”
