Chapter 3
3
P anic slammed into Pierce as Brett doubled over, clearly in pain. “We need to get you to the hospital.” He rose, reaching for his phone, but his pocket was empty. Shit, I left it outside. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Brett nodded.
He raced to the backyard, his heart beating like mad. Lightning bugs had descended, dotting the air like the fairy lights around the tent. Pierce barely noticed them as he all but ran to the table. There, he found his phone, seconds before a scream rent the air. Spinning, he found Avery clutching the back of a chair. Avery screamed again, clearly in trouble.
Avery’s uncle pushed through. “Oh my gods, the baby’s coming.”
“Someone call an ambulance!” another guest shouted.
“No!” Wilder yelled as he sidled up and scooped Avery into his arms. “We’ll get there faster if I drive.”
Pierce stood frozen for two seconds, haunted memories slamming into him. He inhaled the rose-scented air, willing back the pain, before remembering Brett was waiting on him. He spun and raced back inside.
Only, Brett was gone.
He searched the lower floor of the house, returning to the kitchen to ask the staff if they’d seen anything. They hadn’t. Pierce walked outside and didn’t see Brett’s car. Reaching for his phone, he dialed Brett’s number.
It went straight to voicemail.
“Where the fuck are you? I know you’re not okay. Call me so I don’t worry.” As soon as Pierce hung up, he jumped into his car and started it, suddenly realizing he had no idea which direction to go. Had Brett taken himself to a Crisis Center—or had he gone home? His gut told him home. Pierce didn’t know Brett’s address. He had it in the office, but he had no time to waste going there. He called Max in hopes he could cajole the man to look up the address.
A text arrived after the second ring. Pierce lowered his phone to eye it.
I’m going home. It’s just a bug and I’ll be fine. I’ve texted Avery, but please tell him I’m okay and that I had to leave. He’ll know why.
I’m going to bed as soon as I get there.
Pierce inhaled sharply, not liking that at all. He’d seen how pale Brett had grown. He’d seen the telltale signs of pain. It didn’t look like any bug he’d experienced.
You should go to a hospital.
Pierce got no reply. He faintly heard Max calling his name and lifted the phone to his ear. “Yeah, sorry. Can you go to my office and look up an address for me? It’s an emergency.”
“Sure thing,” Max replied.
Pierce prattled off the instructions on how to get into his computer and where to look.
“Found it,” Max said a few minutes later.
Pierce entered the address into his navigation system as Max relayed it. “Got it, thanks.”
“Service has gone we—” Max got out before Pierce hung up. His finger had already been in motion. He felt bad he’d cut Max off, but he’d apologize later.
Brett was the priority, and he trusted Max to do what was necessary.
After racing across the province, he pulled into a small apartment complex in a sketchier part of the Beta Quadrant. He’d been under the impression that Brett was some spoiled rich kid. When he’d originally applied to work at Lambeau’s, it was supposedly because his parents had cut off all his credit cards after a wild night of partying and forced him to pay his own way—though his financial issues had turned out to be temporary. Of course, Pierce didn’t learn any of that at the interview. He’d overheard the story from Brett’s own lips a year later.
Maybe it had been a lie. Probably was. Why else would Brett still be working for Pierce if he had money? Why would he live in a shady part of the province?
Looking around the neighborhood, he almost didn’t want to get out of his car—but he was more worried about Brett being there alone and in a vulnerable state. Pierce leapt out and soon found himself navigating mostly dark paths, stairwells, and hallways with more smashed lightbulbs than whole ones until he reached apartment 3B. The light above the door flickered on and off. When he used the door knocker, it came off in his hand.
“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered to himself.
No one came to the door. He pounded on it with his fist.
“Who is it?” came a deep voice that sounded nothing like Brett’s.
Pierce blinked a time or two. Did Brett have a partner he didn’t know about? His stomach twisted at the thought. No… no… he would’ve had a plus one if he had a partner. Right? “I’m looking for Brett Boyd.”
The door opened a crack. Brett peeked out. “What the fuck are you doing here, Pierce?”
Pierce eyed Brett. He looked sleepy, as if he’d already fallen asleep that quickly.
“I was worried about you.”
Brett stared a moment, silent. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
“It’s not nothing if you ran away from your best friend’s big night. You’re in pain and need to see a doctor.”
Brett winced. “The night was almost over anyway.” He shook his head. “Something I ate earlier is messing with my stomach, that’s all. Avery already knew I wasn’t feeling great. If you go back, can you tell him I’m really, really sorry I ducked out? In case he didn’t get my text.”
“You’re the last thing on his mind right now,” Pierce said.
Brett’s face fell and what looked like tears shimmered in his eyes. Remembering their earlier conversation, Pierce could’ve kicked himself for saying it like that. “I didn’t mean it like that… not that you weren’t missed. About the time you left, he went into labor.”
Brett gasped.
“He’s likely not looked at his phone and might not for a while,” Pierce added. He glanced into the apartment over Brett’s head, but the place was in near total darkness. Where was the guy with the deep voice? “When I left, Wilder was shoving him into the passenger seat before heading to the hospital. I can drive you… and we can have someone check you out while we’re there, too.”
Brett blinked a few times, searching the air unseeing. “I should be there…” A second later, he winced, nearly doubling over.
“Brett… let me drive you to the hospital.”
“No,” Brett barked. He backed away from the door a step, cringing. “What if I’m contagious? I shouldn’t be near Avery and the baby right now. You shouldn’t be here, either. You might get sick then take it to everyone at the restaurant.”
That thought hadn’t even crossed Pierce’s mind and made him pause a few seconds. Food safety was usually one of his top concerns, but Brett’s well-being had eclipsed that. He shook his head, sensing Brett was trying to get rid of him. There was no real alarm for the restaurant and its patrons. “Let’s go find out what it is so we can see if there’s something to be worried about. If you’re contagious, we’ll both leave the hospital and stay away from Avery until it’s safe.”
“No,” Brett said, emphatic.
Pierce frowned. The desire to grab Brett and toss the guy over one shoulder crossed his mind. His body tensed, ready to take action—but he had no right to do that. He was Brett’s boss, not his mate .
Not his mate.
A stabbing pain hit Pierce in the chest. He backed up a step, fighting the intense emotions boiling inside. “Fine. At least I know you’re not alone. Tell your friend to keep an eye on you and take you to be seen if this gets any worse.”
“Not alone?” Brett frowned.
“Whoever answered the door.”
Brett chuckled—and it helped ease Pierce’s anxiety some to hear it.
“You mean this guy?” Brett asked in a deep baritone.
Pierce scoffed, shaking his head.
“Consider him my security service,” Brett said. He screwed his eyes closed, as if in pain again, but reopened them seconds later, exposing his beautiful, blue eyes under the flickering light above.
“Is that all you have in this place? Security-wise?”
Shame crept over Brett’s face. “It’s all I can afford.”
“Then maybe your boss needs to give you a raise,” Pierce muttered.
“Yeah, maybe he does. I’ve worked my ass off this year.”
Pierce hadn’t offered the same starting salary he’d given Avery—simply because he hadn’t expected Brett to step up and do the job so well. As the months progressed, he’d been happily surprised, but had totally forgotten the lower wages he’d set early on. He didn’t handle payroll besides signing the checks, so it had slipped his mind until that moment. “You have. And you deserve to be compensated. Maybe even some back pay—if it’ll get you out of this shitty neighborhood.”
Brett held his gaze. “It might.”
Pierce knew he should go and let Brett rest, but he didn’t want to walk away.
Brett didn’t tell him to go, either, but he did cringe in pain.
Pierce scooped the beta into his arms, kicked the door closed, and then realized he was shrouded in darkness. “Light?”
“Put me down,” Brett said, breathless.
When Pierce didn’t move, Brett punched his shoulder.
“Put me down!”
Pierce allowed Brett to slide down his body until the guy’s feet hit the floor. He walked away, and Pierce’s eyes had adjusted enough to see the faint outline moving nearby. A light flicked on, and Pierce winced at the sudden illumination.
The front door was reopened seconds later.
Pierce turned to see Brett standing beside it.
“You don’t have the right to touch me like that. Go. Now.”
Pierce frowned.
“Now,” Brett repeated, a little more strongly.
“I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t be,” Brett said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Earlier it was ‘I’m fine.’ Now it’s ‘I’ll be fine,’ hmm?” Pierce asked.
“Go,” Brett repeated, ignoring his insinuation.
Everything in Pierce’s body screamed for him not to go, but what choice did he have? He marched out and turned to face Brett, only for the front door to be slammed in his face.
Fuck.
“Call me if you start feeling worse!” he yelled through the door. He pressed a palm to it, with no desire to leave, even if Brett had kicked him out.
He left, against his better judgment.
Pierce wandered back to the parking lot… where he didn’t see his car. Searching around, he scanned the lot, sure he’d parked right there. No red sports car anywhere in sight. In a matter of minutes, it was gone. Lifting his hands to scrub his face, he cussed under his breath before reaching for his phone. He sat on the curb, waiting for the Guard to arrive, sure he’d not be welcomed back inside Brett’s apartment to wait.
What a fine fucking night this has turned out to be.