Pressing my lips together, I stay quiet. Because Hollis already gave us the answer, but I’d rather not sign my best friend’s death warrant—the Martellis are already wary of him.
“He knew too much,” I said quietly. “Doc would never spread our personal business like that, not even to a colleague who was here to ‘help’.”
“Are you thinking he’s a plant of some kind? That one of the moles we’ve been hunting turned him when they learned we were bringing in a therapist?” Jude asks.
“Makes sense,” Hollis muses. “Leandro and I have been going through the USB drive Javi gave us. We have all the pieces, and have already flagged one of them—who I don’t believe is the culprit, simply because they haven’t been here long enough. But, Stanley is simply another piece of the puzzle; one that will lead us to the final mole.”
“How many did Javi manage to dig up?”
“His theory and information pointed to one or two people—and no, the nanny didn’t fit any of the framework he gave us. With the one I have flagged? All evidence is now pointing to two moles, for sure. Give Leandro and I another few days, and we will hopefully be able to give you definitive answers. Getting Cole back is our priority right now, but we are looking into every avenue possible.”
“Okay.” Twisting my upper body, I press my lips to Hollis’s, groaning at the feel and taste of him. He keeps the kiss sweet, but it’s no less hot or claiming.
When it breaks, he lifts a hand and smooths it across my tear-stained cheek. “I love you, Amore.”
“Ti amo, Hol.”
Tennant moves to the side of Hollis’s chair and swoops in for a kiss next. This one is harsh, all teeth and tongue as he makes me bleed. “You ever fucking scare us like that again, Giocattolo, and I will kill you, understand?”
I let out a whimpering breath. “I’m sorry.”
Ten smirks. “You will be.”
Hollis loosens his hold on me and I climb back onto the hospital bed, moving to kiss Ignacio—who is a contradiction to Tennant. His touch is soft and sweet, though he moans in pleasure when he tastes the blood on my lips.
I kiss Jude next, who opens the bleeding wound on my lower lip further. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I shudder against him, enjoying being passed around from lover to lover like the toy I am. It makes me feel…normal, for the first time in too fucking long.
Pieces of me have been shattered beyond oblivion, but for now, I am safe and loved, and I actually truly believe that. All my insecurities may have been thrust in my face, but of all the things that bastard said, I know he was wrong about one thing: loving the way I do will never be wrong, not when the people I love are these men.
Iglare at the empty doorway, waiting for Doc to get his ass here. There’s no reason my subjects should have just been fucking traumatized by that sham of a therapist. I knew Stanley sucked, but Doc made the choice, and now? Now I’m stuck trying to fix this fucking situation.
One subject—after a well-deserved homicidal rage—is sedated, and the other went through dissociation.Fuck. I should have tried to overrule Doc. I sure as hell will in the future, because this is completely, utterly unacceptable. Guilt—a weird, twisted emotion—invades my mind, and I shudder at it. Fucking hell, I hope I’m not actually getting attached to these fuckers. Maybe there’s something in the water? I should certainly take more care if I’m getting invested so easily.
“I’m here,” Doc grumbles as he walks in, running his fingers through messy hair. My heart, as always, gives a little thrill atseeing him. Fuck. A school age crush should be gone by now, but it isn’t. “What is the emergency that has you dragging me in here on one of my very few rare days off?”
“Oh, let’s see here. Lio is covered in blood, although the new therapist’s office looks fantastic with that new crimson addition. Too bad Stanley is dead.”
Doc stutters to a stop, his hand slamming on my desk, as if to keep himself upright as his jaw drops. I stand up, stalking around the desk until there’s barely any space between us.
“W-W-What?” Doc grits out, shaking his head as if in shock.
“Both of us knew Stanley was a fucking horrible therapist! Why on earth did you choose him? You know Roman is already resistant to doing therapy, and if Stanley wasn’t already dead, I’d gladly do it myself, because he deliberately went after Roman’s insecurities! From what we’ve been able to piece together, the man essentially blamed the kid for being some sort of failure, and even managed to say Roman’s relationships aren’t real. You and I knew Stanley was a piece of shit. So tell me, Doc, why? Why did you set up my subjects to get hurt? And I expect a damn good answer from you.”
“That’s impossible. I mean, yes, I knew Stanley wasn’t the right therapist. And that, yes, he’d likely die, but I figured it would take a week. Not…this. And definitely not by preying on Roman’s insecurities. I just figured he’d mouth off, and well, someone would eventually end him.”
I stare at this infuriating, yet still way too sexy man, my jaw dropping. I can respect him playing chess. I really can. Hell, I’m usually right there when it comes to setting things in motion, and making sure someone dies in such a convoluted way? Brilliant. Truly. But, fucking hell. This…this is too far.
“Well, unfortunately, since I didn’t know you were making that play, and you left me to be the one to do the introductions, I had no fucking clue there was any set up, and was forced to lethim interact with Roman. Thankfully, I insisted Lio be allowed to sit in as well. I can just imagine if I hadn’t…”
Doc winces, and yeah, it’s not pretty. But fucking hell, this is a mess. With a huff, the fury drains out of me. Seeing Doc’s guilt… Yeah, he fucked up, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the asshole. Not that he’s ever seemed to pick up on it.
Turning around, I go over to my desk and sit down, waving toward the guest chair. “Take a seat. Let’s walk through this.”
A sharp glare has me holding back a smile. Fuck. I love how feisty he is. I raise an eyebrow at him, and he scowls. “I’m not your Boy.”
“No. You’re not. Sadly. Because you’d be on your knees for me if you were. But right now, we need to figure out how the fuck we get this shitshow fixed. I have a list of the therapists I want brought in. I’ve given the list over to be checked…but, after this, I think we need more than that. I want your opinion.”
The confusion on Doc’s face is adorable, but it doesn’t take long before he sighs and gives in, choosing to sit across from me. I slide him over my wishlist and let him read through the names. From his low whistle, he’s either impressed or wondering about my sanity. Probably both.
