Chapter Thirteen
“YOU CAN WAIT OUTSIDE,”
the nurse said.
West wanted to argue, but Jonathan was in good hands. There was no reason for him to be here, and no matter how much he wanted to stay with Jonathan, he had things to do.
He hadn’t seen Taylor since they’d arrived on scene at the shop. Lisa had told him to go to the hospital with Jonathan, and West hadn’t stopped to check with Taylor to ask if it was okay. Lisa wouldn’t have told him to go if it hadn’t been, but still. West needed to talk to his captain, and he had to find out what happened to Sal. Hopefully, he was already rotting in a cell, although considering the state he’d been in, West was ready to bet that he was somewhere in the hospital, handcuffed to a bed.
He glanced at Jonathan to be sure he would be fine without him. Jonathan rolled his eyes and nodded, and West knew he didn’t have any more reasons to stick around.
Jonathan could do this. He needed to be independent after everything that had happened with Sal, to show himself and everyone else that he was strong enough to face life on his own. West wanted him to have that. Jonathan had been incredibly brave, and West was proud of him. He’d make sure to spoil him as soon as he was allowed to go home.
That wouldn’t happen anytime soon, which meant that West had time to talk to Taylor. His captain had texted to tell him he and the others were in the waiting room so that was where West went after kissing the top of Jonathan’s head. A few of the nurses and doctors he walked past on his way there nodded at him, probably recognizing him from one of the many times he or another member of his team had spent time here. They worked fewer fires than one would expect, but most of their calls were medical, so they’d gotten to know a lot of people at the hospital.
West was still wearing his uniform, but the others had gone back to the station to shower and change. As soon as he stepped into the room, Austin raised West’s bag that he’d grabbed from his locker.
“If I didn’t already have a boyfriend, I’d kiss you,”
West said as he grabbed the bag.
“At least give Jonathan time to heal up so he can kick your ass if you try.”
“As if I want to kiss you.”
Both West and Austin shuddered. They’d never gone down that road, and they weren’t planning to. West had Jonathan, but even if he didn’t, he’d never looked at Austin that way.
“How’s your boy?”
Jeremy asked.
“He’ll be fine. He inhaled some smoke, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was after the grocery store fire. Sal banged him up a little, and he’ll bruise, but he’ll be fine.”
It was still bad enough for West to want to find the guy and kill him, but he wasn’t leaving Jonathan alone long enough to do that. Sal didn’t matter, anyway.
“Sal didn’t hurt him?”
Austin asked.
“He threatened him and burned his store down, but Jonathan will be fine, and that’s what matters the most.”
Austin squeezed West’s shoulder. “It is. You tell Jonathan that we’ll help with the cleanup, all right? We’ll have to wait before we can go inside the shop, but as soon as we can, he won’t have to worry about a thing.”
West looked at the members of his team. They were more like a family than coworkers, and he loved that. He’d left his family behind years ago and hadn’t talked to them since then, but he didn’t need to. He didn’t need his biological family. He had everything he could ever want right here.
West sent his friends on their way since there was no reason for them to wait with him. Jonathan would hopefully be released from the hospital soon, and West would take him straight home so he could shower and get comfortable. Austin was the last to leave. He was worried that Sal would get free and find Jonathan and West. He wanted to protect them, which was sweet but unnecessary. Taylor had confirmed that Sal had been placed under arrest and was handcuffed to his hospital bed.
Austin was headed home, but West was going back to Jonathan’s room. The nurses had to be done with him by now, right?
“It seems like your friends care a lot about you,”
someone said as West moved to leave the waiting room after Austin.
He turned to look at the man who’d spoken. He’d been sitting in a chair by the window the entire time West had been talking to his team. West had noticed him when he’d come in, but he hadn’t given the man a second thought. He did now that the man got to his feet.
“We’re family,”
he said, wondering what this man wanted.
He stopped in front of West and watched him for a moment. It was enough for West to feel itchy and like he should leave.
The man offered West his hand. “I’m Kent.”
“West,”
West said without shaking the man’s hand. Who was he? What the fuck was happening?
“I’m the leader of the local dragon shifter clan,”
Kent said in a soft voice that would ensure that no one could hear them.
The waiting room was empty except for them, but there was still a chance someone might come in. Kent couldn’t do anything to West, which was a relief because West knew who Kent was now. He wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t been able to smell it over the disinfectant. “You’re Sal’s father.”
Kent nodded and dropped his hand. “I am.”
“Are you here to threaten me?”
“I’m not. I’d like to talk to Jonathan.”
JONATHAN LOOKED UP when he heard the door open. If it was another nurse checking in on him, he might have to scream. He’d reassured all of them that he was fine just five minutes ago, for fuck’s sake. He realized that this was their job, but he wanted to be left alone until the doctor said he could go home.
The only exception to that would be West, and Jonathan smiled when he saw him come into the room. That smile vanished when he realized that West wasn’t smiling back. His expression was grim, which meant that something had happened.
“What’s wrong?”
Jonathan could only think that it was one of his friends. Had something happened to Christy? She’d been at the shop, but she stayed out, and West had told Jonathan that she was fine.
“There’s someone here who wants to talk to you,”
West said.
“Is it Christy?”
West shook his head. “It’s Sal’s father.”
Jonathan sucked in a breath. He remembered Kent. They’d only talked a few times, and he hadn’t known what to make of the man. He still didn’t. Sal’s behavior was obvious to everyone, including his father, but Kent had never said anything about it. Sal was an adult, so maybe that was why, but he’d never even tried to protect Jonathan. Sal had never hurt Jonathan in front of his father, but Kent had to have known, right? Everyone in their clan had known. They’d looked at Jonathan with pity every time he visited.
“Did he say what he wanted?”
“Just to talk to you. I can tell him to leave, though.”
That would probably be the best option, but Jonathan had things to say. Hopefully, Kent wouldn’t try to kill him when he did. At least Jonathan was already in the hospital.
“Will you stay with me while I do?”
he asked. He wasn’t sure he could do this on his own, but he didn’t have to.
“I’m not leaving you alone with him.”
That was uncompromising, but Jonathan was fine with it. He didn’t want to compromise. He wanted this to be over. “I’ll talk to him, then.”
West looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead, he nodded and stepped out of the room again. A few moments later, he came back in with Kent trailing behind him.
Jonathan stared at the man. It had been a while since he’d seen him, but he still looked the same—tall, with graying hair and dark eyes, as handsome as his son but with a softer edge that Sal would never have. Kent was a quiet kind of person. He didn’t need to yell to be respected. He didn’t need to scare people for them to follow his lead.
Jonathan had never thought badly of Kent. He was angry that Kent hadn’t done anything to stop Sal, but no one else had, either. He wasn’t even sure that Kent and the others knew just how bad Sal had become toward the end. He didn’t want to talk about it, and he wasn’t planning to. He just wanted this day to be over so he could go home and sleep.
“It’s good to see you, Jonathan,”
Kent said.
He kept a respectful distance from the bed, which was a good thing because Jonathan was pretty sure that West would have snapped if Kent had come any closer.
“I would say the same, but I’m not sure it is,”
Jonathan said.
Kent nodded. “I wanted to apologize for Sal’s behavior and my own.”
Jonathan frowned. “You’re apologizing?”
“My son hurt you. I didn’t know how badly things had turned until I spoke with the police earlier. I didn’t realize what he was doing, but that’s not an excuse because I should have. He’s not only my son. He’s also a member of my clan, and I should’ve kept him under control. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t, too. I needed your help, but I never got it.”
Kent still didn’t look angry. “I feel it’s partially my fault that my son is the man he is. When his mother died, I was desperate to keep him happy and safe, and I overcorrected. I turned him into a spoiled, arrogant man who thinks nothing of hurting people. I’m sorry you had to deal with that, Jonathan. I didn’t realize how bad things were, but I know now, and I’ll try to fix what Sal did if I can.”
Jonathan could see that West was trying very hard not to snap at Kent. Jonathan didn’t think that Kent would hurt either of them if West did, but he was tired. He didn’t want to be angry, especially not when Kent was apologizing.
Should Kent have done better? Yes, and not only because Sal was his son. He was here now, though, doing the right thing. As far as Jonathan was concerned, it was enough.
“What will you do if Sal attacks me again?” he asked.
“He won’t be able to do that for a long time. He’s going to jail.”
Jonathan sucked in a breath. “Really?”
“What he did was unforgivable. He destroyed your store. He could have killed you. Me and my clan have never stood for things like that, and we never will. My son will have to learn that the hard way. He won’t ever trouble you again, even if, by some miracle, he gets out of prison. I’ll make sure of that. You will never have to worry about him again for the rest of your life.”
Jonathan wasn’t sure that was a promise Kent could make, but he was okay with that. “All right. Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you for being so gracious about this. I don’t think I would’ve forgiven me if I were you.”
“Someone told me once that Sal’s actions don’t reflect on me, and the same goes for you. Neither of us is responsible for what Sal did. He is.”
“That someone was smart. I suppose I’ll have to work on that.”
Jonathan hoped that Kent would. He was right to feel guilty because of the way he’d raised his son, but Sal was an adult. He’d known what he was doing when he was hurting Jonathan, and that hadn’t stopped him. No one could have, not even his father.
But it looked like the justice system would succeed where everyone else had failed. If Sal really was going to jail, Jonathan wouldn’t have to worry about him for at least a few years. He couldn’t even imagine how peaceful that would be.
He couldn’t wait for it.
“Thank you for talking to me,”
Kent said as he moved toward the door. He paused and nodded at West. “I’m glad Jonathan found someone worthy of his love and who will protect and cherish him. He deserves that.”
West grunted but didn’t say anything. Jonathan could tell he was pissed, which wasn’t a surprise. Jonathan was too tired to be angry at anyone, let alone Kent, but from West’s expression, it looked like he was feeling enough for both of them.
West closed the door behind Kent. Jonathan leaned back against his pillow and took a deep breath, relieved when it didn’t hurt or feel tight.
“Have the nurses said anything about sending you home?”
West asked as he stepped closer to the bed.
“It’s going to take a few hours at least, but I don’t have to spend the night here.”
West took Jonathan’s hand and gently squeezed it. “Good. I know how much you want to spend the night in your own bed.”
“I still do. I was hoping you’d spend the night there, too.”
West laughed. “You don’t even have to ask.”