Quinn paced downstairs while he waited for his lawyer to arrive and take the tin box containing the damning evidence that would put Perry in jail. He felt like he should be able to calm down now that they had a lead, but after everything that had happened, he just wanted this part of his life to be over.
He wanted to hand the evidence off and walk away from the insanity for a while, if only to clear his head so he could think rationally about what would come next.
Quinn didn’t care about the court and interviews with investigators, but he cared about how August would react. Seeing the man he loved losing his mind in the basement had been an eye-opening experience, and Quinn knew that wouldn’t be the end of it.
Therapy was going well, but it wasn’t an overnight cure. More episodes and nightmares were bound to follow, and Quinn had to be prepared for how to handle them.
And that wasn’t a deal-breaker for him. Quinn knew this wasn’t the smoothest start to their relationship, but he was determined to build something with August, and he wanted to play an active role in his healing.
It was becoming more obvious whenever he thought about their future and the journey to get there. August was his person—he hadalwaysbeen his person, and if Quinn wanted a happily ever after with him, he would have to fight for it.
Quinn jumped when there was a knock on the front door, startling him from his staring contest with one of the old paintings on the wall. He felt like he was on autopilot as he went to the door and handed the tin box over without saying a word.
His lawyer was a good guy, and he understood the high stress of the situation. They would talk later, once Quinn knew August was okay, and he had the spare time.
It turned out that sending his lawyer away quickly was a good call, because Niko came running down the stairs just as the door was shut and locked again, looking panicked.
“August?” Quinn asked.
Niko was wearing only a towel, and his hair was dripping wet, so when he frantically shook his head, he sent droplets scattering everywhere.
“The shower was fine, but after we got out, his eyes got distant again, and he won’t move from the corner of the bedroom. Nollan is trying to calm his breathing down by talking him through it, but nothing is working.”
No, it wouldn’t. Quinn suspected that August needed something more than laces around his wrist and breathing techniques. That wasn’t something Nollan and Niko could do, but that’s why Quinn was here.
“Can you take Nollan out for a while?” Quinn asked, already heading for the stairs so he could get to August. “Let him have a break too and eat something. I’ll let you know when I have August under control.”
Niko nodded as he led Quinn to the bedroom, unable to say anything else.
Quinn was prepared for what he walked into, but it still hurt to see August cowering in the darkest corner of the bedroom, like a terrified child expecting a beating.
Nollan had August wrapped in a blanket and was holding him tightly, whispering softly while he stroked August’s damp hair to relax him. He looked up when Niko and Quinn arrived, eyes wide and pleading as he shushed August’s next sobbing gasp.
“I’m sorry,” said Nollan. “I tried—”
“Don’t be sorry,” Quinn said as he knelt beside the younger man, squeezing his arm to reassure him. “Leave August to me and go with Niko. I’ll make sure he gets to the game tonight, but you guys need to step away and let me do this.”
Nollan was a sweet and easygoing guy, so he didn’t argue or offer to stay. His gaze was downcast as he nodded and stood, giving Quinn a weak thumbs-up before shuffling to Niko and bumping shoulders with him.
Quinn placed a hand on the shaking pile of blankets, smiling at Niko and Nollan as they left the room and shut the door to give them privacy. Quinn waited until he heard them go down the stairs before his focus swung to August and the task at hand.
The suitcase with his ropes was under the bed, and Quinn knew August was going to need a deeper session to get out of the panicked headspace he was in, but he needed to hear consent first.
Quinn had been…hesitant to use them since he realized August had been forced to give up control in the past. He had hoped to reconfirm August’s boundaries after the hockey game, but they would have to readjust the schedule now and do things on the fly.
“August, you need the ropes,” said Quinn. “If you give me a green light, I can make you feel better, baby.”
Quinn waited, giving August time to answer even though his terrified gasps had Quinn’s adrenaline rushing through his body, making him shaky.
“Green—green light.Please.”
Quinn crawled over to the bed since it was only a short distance away and grabbed the suitcase handle so he could drag it out. He was trying to be fast, so he stood, seized one of the memory foam pillows from the bed for August’s knees and tossed it onto the floor, then set the suitcase beside it.
“Over here, August,” Quinn ordered, keeping a close watch on the shaking form under the blanket. He didn’t want to be too overbearing, but he knew August needed to be told what to do for him to feel safe.
It was a balancing act when August was reactive like this, but Quinn had spent enough time with the man to know how to handle him.
August slipped the blanket off his head just like Quinn knew he would, staring dazedly at him. His shoulders were still rising and falling rapidly, but one look at the suitcase and the pillow on the floor made him catch his breath, pausing his hyperventilation.
