“Aye. I drove ‘im out to Camarillo where the FBI ‘as put the family up in one of our safe’ouses. They were very insistent that I bring you some food, knowing the ‘ospital grub’s a bit on the dodgy side.” He gave my current hospital tray a dubious glance before looking back at me.
“You drove him.”
He nodded. “Aye. I’m the usual driver in case ya can’t remember with all the brain damage you suffered from loss of oxygen after ya were shot.”
I frowned at him. “What’re you talkin’ about? I didn’t suffer any brain damage.”
He crossed his arms and I took brief note of the bulging muscles in his forearms and shoulders beneath the muscle shirt he wore. “Really? Because ya could’ve fooled me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because ya sent Cachi away even though ya well aware of the way he feels about ya.”
“The way he feels about me?”
“’E didn’t tell you ‘e’s in love with you then? Because ‘e told me ‘e did.”
My eyes widened. “He told you that?”
He smirked at me. “Aye, and even after that, ya sent ‘im away.”
I stared at him for a few seconds before dragging my gaze up to the ceiling tiles whose holes and creases were becoming very familiar to me. “Well, he shouldn’t have said it.”
“Why?”
I glanced back at Mars. “Because he ain’t in love with me, that’s why!”
“Oh reeeally? Ya can’t see it? Because even if he ‘adn’t said it, Cachi wears his ‘eart on his sleeve. It’s written all over ‘is face when anyone talks about ya, Rex.”
I swallowed hard, searching my good friend’s eyes for the truth. I wanted to hang onto every word he said, even though hearing them hurt. “Well, I wish he wouldn’t have said anythin’ to you or anyone else. Y’all musta got an earful while you were waitin’ for me to wake up.”
The disbelief on his face was surprising. “Blimey. You’re a bit of a tosser, you are. Cachi barely said a word to anyone but Joshua and Marcello for two days. ‘E refused all food, and even when a kind nurse brought him scrubs and showed ‘im a room where ‘e could get cleaned up, ‘e refused to shower and change in case someone came out of ya room to tell us you were awake. ‘E waited for you to come back to life just like the rest of us. Most of the time, he ‘ad a rosary in his ‘ands, and ‘e was praying for ya.Mickey offered to take ‘im to the chapel, but ‘e wouldn’t leave the waiting room. He was sat in a corner and prayed for two fucking days, Rex. So, no, he didn’t tell anyone ‘ow he felt about your stupid arse.”
I sat there letting all his words sink in and hating every one of them with a passion. I didn’t want to think about how torn up Cachi had been over my injuries, but it was clear, I hadn’t known the extent of it, even after Candy’s conversation with me.
“I don’t know what to do about it,” I finally admitted. “I do have feelin’s for him, but when I think about bein’ in a chair, possibly for the rest of my life, I know I have to ignore them feelin’s. He’s a twenty-five-year-old kid who fell in love with an older man. Even before we started up, I knew he was too young for me and now that my work has put him in the cartel’s crosshairs, I wish I would’ve never pursued him.”
“First of all, it’s not ya work that put ‘im in their crosshairs. It was Wallace, Steele, and that Marcello idiot who made the decision to bring ‘im in just because a cartel goon shopped at his uncle’s shop. They could’ve gone to Cachi, brought ‘im in for questioning about his involvement or lack of involvement with the cartel. Instead, they used ‘im in their little valet operation just to see if one of the cartel big wigs treated ‘im any differently than they did the rest of the drivers.
“So, no, you can’t say that ‘e’s in danger because of something you did to put ‘im there. The way I see it—the way any of us see it—it’s all Wallace and Steele’s fault for jumping to conclusions about Cachi, not you. So, stop feeling guilty, Rex. That man loves you and I’d guess ‘e’d probably love ya regardless of whether you were an FBI agent or not.”
I nodded slowly, feeling like a total heel. “You’re right, Mars, but I still don’t want him to feel responsible for nursin’ me back to health. I can’t let him do that, don’tcha understand?”
“Even if ‘e wants to?”
I felt tears then. I shook my head, unable to stop them from tracking down my face. “No, even if he wants to.”
He shrugged, looking downright unhappy. He nodded at the Tupperware container. “Well, enjoy your tea. I’ll see you later. On the way in, Candy said ‘e’s sending us ‘ome to get some sleep and then, we’ve got work to do, starting tomorrow. We’ve got a cartel to ‘unt down now that they’ve made it personal.”
“Because of me, right?”
“Aye, because of you, brother. They ‘ave no idea that they’ve unleashed a dragon. We’re going to get these bastards for what they did to one of our own, Rex.” He sighed. “Anyway, one of us will always be around, though.”
“Here at the hospital?”
He smiled. “Aye. Candy printed out a ‘ole schedule. Mickey’s got first watch.” He glanced at the chair in the corner and nodded at it. “That thing folds out to a bed but apparently, now ya out of immediate danger, they’ll be moving ya to a private room. Oh, and SAC Bradley ‘as somehow found enough money in the budget to post a couple of agents outside your door ‘round the clock, just in case the cartel shows their ugly mugs.”
I admit, that was a surprise. I hadn’t even thought about there being a possible danger to me here in the hospital. “That’s awful nice of the SAC. Tell the guys I’m glad they’re goin’ back to work and to be careful, will you, Mars?”
