It shouldn’t have hurt, but it did, like a hot branding iron pressed against his heart.
“Okay. Thank you.” Xavier turned away, careful not to look at Liam or anyone else in the waiting room. If he felt like shit about his relationship with Randy now, how much worse was it going to be when he pushed Billy to file charges against him?
Chase opened his eyes, blinking sleepily. He didn’t immediately recognise where he
was, yet he didn’t feel that jolt of fear he usually did when waking in a strange place. The events of yesterday filtered through his mind and he thought he should try to get up but didn’t, feeling uncharacteristically lazy. Instead, he lay there and watched the dust motes floating in a strip of sunlight coming through a gap in the curtains. He even let his mind wander into fanciful thoughts, making up little stories about what those motes might be and spinning adventures for them in his head.
“It must be the drugs,” he grumbled when he realised what he’d been doing. Chase
rolled onto his back and carefully draped an arm over his eyes. Otherwise he didn’t trust himself not to drift back into la-la land. If he kept that up, he’d soon be spouting poetry and shit like that.
That’d go so well with my tough guy image.
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knew he was tough, and mean, and crazier than a shit-house rat at times. He could spout all the poetry in the world and those things wouldn’t change.
A tap on the door had Chase removing his arm from his eyes and trying to sit up
unsuccessfully. The door opened and Josh came in, dressed in the most godawful bright hot pink scrubs with… Chase squinted and wondered if he had sleep in his eyes still, because that sure as shit looked like penguins all over his scrubs.
“You like them, don’t you?” Josh crooned.
Chase blinked rapidly and penguins danced behind his lids every time he did, so he
gave up and looked at Josh’s face instead—or, he meant to, until he saw the mug of coffee in Josh’s hand. As soon as he spotted it, the aroma reached his nostrils and Chase took a deep breath. It was almost as good as drinking the stuff.
“Admit you like them and I’ll give you your coffee,” Josh said in that almost-singing way he had.
Chase considered glaring, or just taking the coffee away from the guy, but he had to admit, the whole hot pink thing suited Josh, and the penguins were…well, he’d never admit it out loud, but they were kind of cute. He settled for, “I don’t hate ‘em, but I’d never wear them.”
Josh snorted and set the coffee on the nightstand. “Like I’d
let
you!” He put a knee on the mattress, then gestured at Chase. “Can you sit up, or do you need help?”
“I need help,” Chase admitted, only hesitating for a couple of seconds before
answering. He was surprised he was able to admit the truth, but something about this place, these people here, made him feel things he didn’t want to examine too closely.
“All right, just…let’s do this.” Josh gave him a wicked smile, then straddled Chase’s hips. Josh kept himself upright on his knees, but it still seemed erotic and wrong to Chase.
He was fairly certain Nick would strangle him if the surly guy walked in. “Here we go.” Josh scooted up and hooked his arms around Chase.
Chase was too stunned, because now he was kind of pressed to Josh from stomach to
chest, and Josh’s groin was rubbing against Chase’s belly as Josh dragged him into an upright position. There wasn’t anything sexual about it, but there could have been, and
that
freaked Chase out just a little.
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Josh seemed completely unaware and unaffected as he settled a pillow behind Chase’s
back, then crawled off the bed. “That FBI agent called and asked if he could move your interview until later this afternoon. Seems he’s got someone he’s close to who’s been hurt and is in the hospital.” Josh shrugged and handed Chase the coffee. “I told him that was fine, and that he could just interview you at the hospital since you have to go in for physical therapy today at three.”
It really sucked that he’d just got out of the hospital and already had to go back for PT, but considering the way he’d ached—still ached this morning—it was probably for the best.
Chase took a long, deep drink of coffee, closing his eyes and moaning softly as the rich flavour hit his tongue. His skin prickled and he opened one eye to find Josh staring at him. A pink flush tinted Josh’s cheeks and his mouth was parted slightly. He licked his lips, then grinned as he chuckled softly.
“You make drinking coffee sound like a sexual experience. Looked kind of close to an orgasm, too.”
Chase nearly sputtered, but that would have wasted the coffee and that wasn’t going to happen. Instead he swallowed a big gulp, then gasped at the burn. “It’s like a mouthgasm,”
he finally rasped out, wondering if it was possible that he was blushing. His skin sure felt warm all over.
“Well, at least you’re having some kind of ‘gasm’. That’s always a good thing.” Josh winked and turned around, heading back towards the door. “I’m going to bring your
breakfast, then help you to the bathroom and get you dressed. Be right back.”
Chase closed his eyes and went back to sipping his coffee, letting himself enjoy it
without worrying about the way he looked when he did so.
Xavier was in a foul mood by the time he got to the hospital. Guilt at having failed Billy and Randy was eating at him, burning away at his insides like acid. He walked up to the information desk and waited a good five minutes while the nurse there nailed him with a www.total-e-bound.com
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defiant look while she chatted away to someone about some soap opera. By the time she got off the phone and deigned to speak to Xavier, he was almost ready to scream.
“Can I help you?” Rachel—as declared by her name tag—asked in a bored tone.
Xavier gave her his coldest look, which didn’t seem to faze her at all. “I’m here to pick up Billy Burke.”
Rachel huffed and glanced down at something, tapping her finger on the desk. “Well,
he can’t go home yet, so you’ll have to wait.”
Xavier groaned internally. “The doctor said—”
“Yes, Dr Nichols had said Mr Burke could be released this morning, but there are
extenuating circumstances that have come up.”
Xavier’s first thought was of Billy’s health. He clutched the edge of the counter until his bruised knuckles throbbed. “Has his condition changed? Is he—I need to see him!”
Rachel’s expression shifted and she actually looked like a compassionate person instead of a bored, irritated nurse. “No, honey, nothing like that, so just calm down.” She gestured for him to lean closer as she darted glances about the room. Xavier bent, expecting the worst despite what she’d just said. “There’s an FBI agent here and he’s insisting Mr Burke be held until he can finish up interviewing another patient.”
Xavier sagged with relief before irritation had him standing up and stiffening his spine.
It would have been nice if someone had told him that before he’d come over here. Maybe he should make sure Liam knew that Xavier didn’t appreciate both his high-handedness or lack of courtesy. “Thank you, Rachel. I’ll just go check on Mr Burke, then.”
Xavier stormed down the hallway only to be stopped short by a dark-haired male nurse with piercing green eyes. The guy didn’t seem to have an ounce of fear in him as he stepped in front of Xavier and slapped a hand to his chest.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the nurse demanded, giving Xavier a look that
might have caused a lesser man to back down.
Xavier merely shoved the hand off his chest and stepped around the guy. Except that
didn’t work, because the dark-haired man side-stepped as well, and soon Xavier found himself doing that stupid side-to-side dance two people do when they are trying to get around each other.
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The nurse grinned cheekily and held up his arms. “Want to do it the right way?”
Xavier nearly tripped over his own feet as he goggled at the man.
“What?” the nurse asked, his grin stretching wider as his green eyes sparkled with
amusement. “Am I supposed to be scared of the big, bad dummy?”
Xavier snarled at the man, which only made the nurse laugh as he patted Xavier’s chest.
“Whatever, dude. You don’t scare me—and you’re not getting past me, either, unless I think you should. Personally, I think you’re a grumpy Gus and looking to tear into someone.
That’s not happening on my shift.”
Xavier knew he was gaping like an idiot, but this guy was so…so…he didn’t even know
how to describe him! But he was also right, so Xavier tried to pull himself together by taking several deep breaths. He forced his irritation down and managed what he hoped was a smile.
“I just wanted to check on my friend, Billy, and on my brother, Randy. That’s all.”
The man’s green eyes rounded. “Ohhh.” He still didn’t take his hand from Xavier’s
chest, though. “So you’re the guy who beat the crap out of his brother for hurting the little blond guy with the blue tips, right? Man, you have all the nurses drooling and a few of the doctors, too. Well,
I’m
not drooling, I still think you’re an ass, but hey”—the nurse held out his other hand—“good job on kicking your brother’s ass. Sounds like he needed it.”
Xavier sputtered, completely thrown off his game by this guy. “Who the fuck
are
you?”
he finally managed to ask.
The nurse chuckled. “I’m Josh, and I believe we have a couple of mutual friends, Adam and Les?”
Maybe that would get him past this little guardian from hell. “Yes, we do. Xavier
Talbot,” he said as he held out his hand. Josh shook it then pulled him aside. Xavier was almost afraid to find out what the man wanted. He was entirely too unpredictable in Xavier’s opinion. And certainly too damned cheery.
“So, you own The Xxchange, right?” Josh’s question was asked in a friendly enough
tone, but his body language made it clear he was still on guard duty. “And the blond guy, Billy, he works for you?”
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Xavier sighed and resigned himself to playing twenty questions, at least for a few
minutes until his patience ran out. He had a feeling that even then he wouldn’t get past this terrier in…in…Xavier couldn’t help it, he laughed as he looked at the man’s scrubs.
“What are you laughing at?” Josh snapped, glaring fit to gut Xavier on the spot.
Xavier shook his head and tapped the smaller man on the chest, right on a particularly happy looking penguin. “I just thought it’s a good thing Billy’s feeling rough, otherwise he’d probably fight you over these, that’s all.”
Despite being shorter, Josh still managed somehow to look down his nose at Xavier as he smoothed a hand down the front of his scrubs and knocked Xavier’s hand away. “Well, obviously
Billy
has excellent taste, too.”
Xavier could only agree. Both Josh and Billy were those vibrant types of people who
could get away with stuff that made mere mortals look like idiots. This time when he smiled, he didn’t have to work at it at all. “Indeed. He’s tried to help me out but I’m afraid I’m just a pretty boring guy,” he said as he gestured at his faded Levi’s and dark green T-shirt.
Josh made a humming sound, but didn’t comment as he looked Xavier over. Finally he
crossed his arms over his chest and arched one eyebrow. “Now, are you going to tell me why you were storming the hall like a bull chasing a red bandana?”
Xavier ran a hand through his hair as he considered his options. There only seemed to be one. “Well, I had intended to take Billy home this morning, but when I got here the nurse at the front desk informed me an FBI agent had requested that Billy be held until much later this afternoon. Apparently the agent is meeting up with someone involved in the Rollins case, here at the hospital. Why the hell he thinks that means Billy should stay here, I don’t know, but I sure as hell mean to find out.”
“Hmmm.” Josh glanced over his shoulder, then turned back wearing a smirk. “That
would probably be the same FBI agent who was asleep with his head on Billy’s lap when I came in this morning. I’m thinking Agent Stone plans on being the one to take Billy home.”
Xavier opened his mouth to argue then shut it abruptly . Billy was an adult and had the right to make his own decisions, but for some reason it still hurt and Xavier wasn’t sure why.
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else, he hadn’t really ever meant it. And he wasn’t sure how to handle it. It was like…Xavier flinched.
Fuck, it’s gotta be like having your kid grow up and leave home!
And it
hurt
, which Xavier totally had
not
been expecting.
Josh was looking at him with a mix of sympathy and curiosity in his green eyes, but
Xavier couldn’t talk about this new revelation. Xavier suddenly felt as old as Billy teased him about being. He needed to get it through his head that Billy was an adult, and actually believe it to be so. His shoulders drooped and he ached all over from fighting two nights in a row, but that was a small twinge to the pain in his heart. Between Billy and Randy, Xavier felt like one big walking bruise.
“Hey, it’s okay, you can go see him,” Josh murmured.
Xavier blinked at the man and wondered at the sudden change, but when Josh didn’t