Authors: Joyee Flynn
The next half hour was a blur to Garreck. Dante was taken away by the paramedics, and then Gabriel got him into his truck as they followed them. The next time he blinked they were pulling up to the hospital and rushing into the reception area. The nice lady knew Gabriel, so she shared information with them even though Garreck wasn’t technically family.
Then they were moving to a waiting room. Then there was nothing to do but wait as Garreck tried to collect his thoughts. Another hour passed before a tall, good-looking man stepped up to them.
“Are you here for Dante Hammerstone?” the doctor asked, glancing down at a chart.
“Yes. Is he okay?” Garreck replied, his voice quivering.
“He’s in a lot of pain,” the man said with a sympathetic smile. “He dislocated his right shoulder and broke that arm. It seems that’s what he landed on when you guys jumped. He’s got several lacerations on his back that we had to stitch up. I’ve given him a prescription for a muscle relaxer and pain meds since his back with be bruising. He’ll be stiff and sore, but no permanent damage.”
Garreck let out a small whimper as he half collapsed against Gabriel at the news.
“You can take him home in a little while,” the doctor said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “Just make sure he gets lots of rest and comes back when it says to on the discharge papers to get those stitches and cast off.”
“We’ll take care of it, doc,” Gabriel replied as he shook the man’s hand. Garreck didn’t know what to do, so he hugged the doctor. The man did save Dante in his eyes after all. The doc chuckled and gave him a quick hug before disappearing.
“We can stay with you for a while, right?” Garreck asked, not having yet addressed the original reason for their trip. “We didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Of course you can,” the large man answered as he led them back to their seats. “Neil and Ryan are ecstatic to see you both. You are welcome to stay as long as you want, Garreck.”
“Thank you, Gabriel,” he sighed, leaning against him for strength after the sat down. Gabriel was being so nice to them, and considering what they’d been through and the false hope they’d had with
Austin
, they needed to catch a break. Now all Garreck had to worry about was helping Dante get better.
The doctor was good to his word about taking Dante home, and an hour later Gabriel was helping a very drugged Dante into his truck. Garreck followed with the meds, instructions, and what was left of Dante’s clothes after jumping from a moving truck. Needless to say, they were rags. Thankfully, someone had given Dante a pair of scrubs to wear, otherwise his ass would have been hanging out of one of those hospital gowns.
They drove as Dante rattled on about all kinds of whacky stuff. He tried to grope Garreck a few times, saying he was horny. But Garreck put a stop to that since Dante was in no condition to play. Dante sat there and pouted, but still kept his arms around Garreck.
“I’m just glad you are safe and we found Gabriel,” Dante whispered in his ear, nuzzling Garreck’s neck. “I hope you know I’d do anything for you, baby.”
“I know, Dante,” he replied, his eyes burning with unshed tears. Considering what Dante had had to do to get them here, Garreck didn’t doubt the man’s statement in the slightest. They were silent as Gabriel pulled off a rural road and into a long dirt driveway. Glancing around, he could see why Ryan and Neil were happy here. It was breathtaking.
There were horses trotting around in a gated paddock, some tilled fields, a huge barn, and a gorgeous house. It wasn’t like
Austin
’s mansion, but it was just a nice. Even better since it had that homey look to it. Garreck could imagine them all sitting on the porch swing having a beer before bed, discussing their day like a loving family.
“Garreck!” Ryan called out as he came over towards the truck after it stopped with the cutest baby ever in his hands. He got out of the truck, careful to help Dante. It didn’t work very well since he seemed to have gone back from happy, horny drunk to about to pass out. Gabriel got there in time before both of them fell and swooped Dante up into his arms.
“Thanks,” Garreck sighed as he closed the doors of the truck before trailing after them. He smiled widely at Ryan, giving him a half hug so he didn’t smash the baby. “Is he yours?”
“Yes, this is our son, Daniel,” Ryan answered, his face full of such love and pride as he smiled at the tyke that Garreck’s heart swelled. “And Neil’s pregnant.”
“We might be, too,” he whispered, his heart instantly sinking as everything rushed back to him.
“Come inside,” Ryan said as he took Garreck’s hand. “We’ll get Dante settled, and you can tell us everything, okay? You look like you could use an early supper and a stiff drink.”
“Several.” He giggled as they walked into the large ranch house. Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as they seemed after all. If nothing else, they were safe with Ryan, Neil, and their mate. They could come up with what came next in their lives after Dante was better.
Chapter 6
Austin
was officially losing his mind. It had been hours since his mates had run away with no money and no place to go. God only knew what horrible things were happening to them as he paced around the kitchen.
“That’s it, no more coffee for you,” Kelley said as she took the mug out of his hand. “Tiny and Wolf just called. They’re on their way back.”
“Anything?” he asked, having a glimmer of hope until she shook her head. “Fuck!”
“What about your friends that helped rescue them? Would Garreck and Dante go to one of them?”
“Gabriel,” he gasped as he dove for his phone on the counter. It took him a few tries of fumbling to get it open and eventually dial the man’s number.
“You have some nerve calling here,” Gabriel growled as a greeting.
Austin
was taken aback by the venom in Gabriel’s voice.
“Wait—what? What did I do?”
Austin
asked, completely shocked, as he plopped down on the floor. “Garreck and Dante ran away because they saw something, but it wasn’t what they thought it was.”
“Oh, so you weren’t kissing your lover? You’ve always been a player, Austin, but I never thought you would cheat on your mates. I thought I knew you better than that, but I guess not. Don’t call here again. You don’t deserve them.”
Austin
cringed as he heard the click of Gabriel hanging up on him. Guess that meant his mates were with Gabriel, and Dante had seen Peter kissing him.
“Are they okay?” Kelley asked softly, kneeling down next to
Austin
.
“I don’t know, but I’d say they’re with Gabriel,” he sighed, leaning into her. “Guess I’m heading to Mitchell.”
“I’ll call for the chopper.”
“I can drive,” he replied, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, because I trust you to drive four hours in the condition you are in.” She snickered and picked up the phone. “You’re upset and will be going a hundred and twenty to get to them. Plus, you are confused and scared, which means you’ll be too distracted to drive.”
“Fair enough,”
Austin
sighed, thumping his head against the kitchen island as Kelley made the call. Next thing he knew she was dragging him upstairs to pack a bag since it was after dinner time and it would probably take him a while to talk his mates into coming back with him. Once that was done and the helicopter had landed, she led him out there as he stumbled along in a daze.
“Bring your men home,” she yelled over the noise, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He nodded as his eyes started to burn before closing the door and putting on his headphones.
Austin
gave her a slight wave as they took off and held on for the ride.
“You guys know where we’re going?” he asked after trying to shake himself out of his shock and focus on what needed to be done.
“Like Kelley wouldn’t have sent us that along with a drawn map.” The pilot chuckled.
Austin
had to do the same. It was true after all. Kelley was known and somewhat feared by most everyone who was higher up or came into contact with
Austin
in his companies. Another reason he adored her—Kelley didn’t fuck around. There was a job to be done, and she did what was necessary, even if it meant stepping on a few toes.
On the short ride,
Austin
tried to think of how to explain everything. That was assuming Gabriel even let him through the door. If he could get the man to just listen to him for two minutes, everything would make a lot more sense.
As they landed, the pilot reminded
Austin
to just give them a call when he was ready to be picked up. He nodded and hopped out, hoping they didn’t disturb Gabriel’s animals too much with the chopper.
Once they lifted back off,
Austin
slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the front door. He cringed as it flew open and a very pissed off Gabriel stood there.
Austin
wasn’t scared of the man, since they’d be equally matched in a fight. He just didn’t want it to get to that point.
“I say don’t call again and you fucking show up at my home!”
“Would you just listen to me for two seconds?”
Austin
shouted back, throwing his hands up in the air. “I don’t have a lover. Hell, I’ve not had sex in almost three years before my mates. Peter showed up at my doorstep and kissed me. I was in shock, okay? I didn’t kiss him back, and when I snapped out of it I shoved him away and tried to push him out the door!”
“Peter,” he replied, looking confused and still pissed off. Then suddenly,
Austin
saw the recognition in Gabriel’s eyes as they went wide. “As in
Peter
Peter? Like Peter the human who screwed you up for any other man ever?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s accurate,”
Austin
replied, flinching at the way Gabriel worded it. He hated to admit, but yeah, Peter had done a real number on
Austin
. “He’s alive.”
“How?”
“That’s another long story that I will more than willingly tell you if you will
please
just let me know if my mates are here and safe.”
Austin
just about begged, willing to do anything to see his mates again.
“Yes, they’re here. And while they’re safe, they’re definitely not fine,” Gabriel replied, stepping back so
Austin
could come in.
“How did they get here? They ran off while I was trying not to kill Peter and getting pieces of his story filled in. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have any money or anything.”
“Dante traded a hand job from a slimy truck driver to get us a ride,” Garreck said as they entered the living room. His voice was so cold,
Austin
shivered from it and the stare full of hate directed at him. “And then the guy didn’t want to give us up, thought no one would notice if he just kidnapped us. So we jumped from a moving semi and Dante was hurt since he took the brunt of the fall. Does that answer your questions enough so you’ll leave?”
“My mate did what?”
Austin
snarled, unable to control his reaction. Dragons were known for being incredibly possessive and territorial, especially about their mates. “That man will die for touching you.”
Suddenly, he wasn’t seeing like a human anymore. Fuck! In all of his years, he’d never gotten so upset he lost control of his shift. He vaguely heard Gabriel shouting as he shoved
Austin
back out the door. He did the best he could to get it under wraps, but it was too late. He was too far gone. But at least he didn’t shift in Gabriel’s living room. Though
Austin
was pretty sure there were some damages to the man’s porch he’d be paying for.