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“I don’t feel . . . I can’t . . .”

Zeb was struggling to speak. Mason noticed his eyes cross and hurried to catch him as he passed out. All he could do was hold him as noise erupted around them. He’d wished to have Zeb in his arms one day, but he’d never imagined it would be like this.

CHAPTER 6

MASON

“Turn the light off,” said Mason, as he laid Zeb down on the bed.

They had a first-aid room at the restaurant, given accidents in kitchens weren’t unusual, and it also acted as a chill space if someone had to decompress after dealing with an obnoxious customer.

Zeb was still out cold. His pulse was erratic, but he was breathing. Sebastian had offered to get his doctor out rather than deal with the emergency room on a holiday weekend. Mason had agreed, provided he could get here quickly. He wouldn’t hesitate to take Zeb to the ER himself if needed.

“Do you think Kaden did this to him?” asked Hunter.

His tone was hushed, but he had Deacon with him. Everyone else was still in the private dining room. Sebastian had gone into fix-it mode, and Ethan had gone to speak to Lieutenant Simmons, with whom he had something going on. If Kaden had done this to Zeb, then Simmons was going to need to get in line. They hadn’t seen Zeb for a month, though, so anything could have happened. He might not even be with Kaden anymore. This could have been someone else.

“Let’s wait until we can talk to him before we make any assumptions.”

“Mason,” said a weak voice,

He looked down at Zeb, whose eyelids were fluttering. He never called Mason by his name. It was always “boss,” even if they were socializing with the others.

“I’m here,” he said. “Hunter and Deacon are as well, and we’ve got a doctor coming.”

“Water.”

“On it,” said Deacon, rushing off.

Why didn’t they have a sink in here, or a fridge with drinks? That’s something he would fix tomorrow. Deacon was back in less than a minute.

“I grabbed one from the fridge and one at room temperature.”

He passed them to Mason, who looked at Zeb.

“Cold,” he rasped.

Mason opened the bottle and put his hand behind Zeb’s head. He noticed his hair was greasy, which wasn’t like him. He always took great care of his appearance. What had happened to him? Had he been on the streets again? If that had happened, why hadn’t he come back to Mason, or Hunter, or any of them? None of the people in that room would have turned him away. Once Zeb had taken a few gulps, Mason gently lowered his head back onto the pillow.

“I’m sorry to ask, Zeb, but is Kaden going to come here looking for you?”

Zeb shook his head. “Not yet.”

What the fuck did that mean?

“He’s away until Saturday.”

Before he could ask any more questions, the doctor arrived and took over. Mason was asked politely to get out of the way so the woman could work. He didn’t recognize her, but she had a calming manner that appeared to put Zeb at ease.

“Who’s that?” he asked Sebastian, who was waiting outside the room.

“She’s the wife of my usual doctor. We don’t know what’s happened, so I thought a woman would be better for Zeb.”

This guy was one of the most caring people Mason had ever met.

“You can tell them to send the bill to me,” said Mason.

Sebastian frowned at him. “Zeb’s family. You have a problem, take it up with Charlie.”