Chapter 26
Vincent
“Thanks for the update, Ev,” I said just before hanging up the phone.
“How’s Reese doing?” Dom asked as he slid a cup of coffee across the kitchen island to me.
Cade was standing on the opposite side of the island, coffee in hand.
Beck had finished making a sandwich for Brody a few minutes earlier and had gone with Ethan to take it and the pain medication upstairs.
Cain had excused himself to check the perimeter of the house.
I hadn’t expected to see either Cain or Ethan again, but it was comforting to know both men were here to watch out for Brody, his men, and Nathan.
I’d been caught off guard when Ethan had hugged me, but I had to admit, it had felt good – like reuniting with an old friend.
And considering all the abuse Ethan had suffered at the hands of his vengeful ex, he looked really good.
He’d put on some weight, and that constant fear that had seemed to be a permanent part of his expression had been nowhere to be seen.
“He’s in recovery. Still groggy so they don’t know the full extent of the damage,” I murmured. “One of the bullets was lodged near his spine, so they’re worried about possible paralysis,” I said with a sigh.
Everett had sounded gutted when Ronan had handed him the phone.
The older man hadn’t managed more than a few words, not that I could really blame him.
I was glad that he at least had Ronan and Nash to lean on while they waited for more news.
If the damage turned out to be permanent, Nathan would never forgive himself.
Hell, he’d likely never forgive himself as it stood now.
Even though he’d done nothing wrong.
“I should have seen this coming,” I said as I scrubbed at my face with my hands.
“None of us did,” Dom said. “To go from half-hearted threats to this,” the man said with a shake of his head. “The guy’s obviously not right in the head.”
“I need to talk to Ronan about getting some guys on Nathan and Brody’s parents. I doubt he’d go after them, but who knows,” I said.
Cade spoke up. “Ronan mentioned sending some guys down there to sit on their place in Louisiana. I think he made the call before he got on the plane to Missoula.”
“Good,” I said with a nod.
“Major Fucking St. James,” Cade said with a grin as he looked me over. “What are the odds?”
I chuckled and shook my head. Cade had always been the kind of guy who said exactly what he was thinking. “About as good as you getting married, I guess.”
Dom snorted and Cade shrugged. “If you saw my husband, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
“Jesus, Cade, are you ever going to remember that’s my little brother you’re talking about when you say shit like that?” Dom said.
“What about you?” I said to Dom. “You said you were married and with kids, no less.”
Dom nodded. “Four kids,” he confirmed. “Eli is our oldest, then Tristan. Tanner’s almost ten and Sylvie’s five. Logan and I have been together for almost eleven years now.”
“And if I’m not mistaken, there’s talk about maybe another baby on the way,” Cade remarked casually.
Dom took a swipe at his brother-in-law. “Just trying to keep up with you and your brood. Five kids,” Dom added as he jerked his chin towards Cade.
I shook my head as I watched the two men.
I hadn’t even known them to be friends in the military before I’d been discharged, but looking at them now, they were so much more than that.
I hated the regret that lanced through me as I once again considered how different my life would have been if I’d said yes to Dom all those years ago.
“What about you?” Dom asked. “You and Nathan, that’s…unexpected.”
I laughed. He had no idea.
“Yeah, didn’t really see it coming,” I admitted.
“Ronan told us what happened to your…to David,” Cade said quietly. “And your brother.”
I nodded. Since I hadn’t told Ronan about either man, I had to assume he’d heard it from Everett at some point. Surprisingly, it didn’t anger me.
“Things didn’t quite work out as expected,” was all I said.
“They rarely do,” Dom murmured. “When I lost my wife to cancer, I figured life was about waiting until my own number came up so I could be with her again. But life decided to throw me a curveball and sent me Logan. Not everyone’s lucky enough to get a second soulmate,” he said.
His eyes pinned mine. “Hopefully you’re smart enough to recognize it when it happens to you. ”
I sighed, because it didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was saying. “Second chances don’t do you a bit of good if you aren’t in any position to accept them.”
“Vincent-” Cade began, but I put up my hand.
“Not all choices can be undone. I know that better than anyone.” Before either man could say anything, I straightened and said, “I should go check on Nathan.”
I was glad when they didn’t try to stop me. As I reached the front foyer where we’d entered the house, I saw Ethan coming down the stairs. He smiled at me and stopped when he reached the bottom step. “Wasn’t sure I’d ever get the chance to thank you,” he said softly.
“No thanks necessary,” I automatically said.
He cocked his head at me, but didn’t say anything.
“I watched the trial. You were amazing,” I said.
Ethan had been forced to testify in open court about the abuse he’d suffered at the hands of his ex-boyfriend.
I’d suspected the man had traumatized Ethan when I’d met the fucker after Ethan had begged me to take him to stop Cain from killing the man.
We’d arrived in time for the asshole to spew his hateful shit at Ethan and threaten to keep pursuing the young doctor.
Ethan had talked Cain out of killing the man, but I’d been less interested in allowing the courts to deliver a message that I could send the man just as easily.
So I’d shot him in the dick.
Message received, loud and clear.
Just before I’d blown a hole in his groin, I’d made sure the former cop knew what would happen to him in prison if he so much as even breathed Ethan’s name.
The move hadn’t stopped him from trying to come up with some lame-ass defense when he’d been arrested for beating and raping Ethan on multiple occasions.
He’d been convicted, of course. And I’d seen recent reports that he’d been charged with murdering another police officer and the man’s wife, a crime that carried the death penalty.
“I’m just glad it’s finally over,” Ethan said as his fingers automatically began toying with the ring on his left hand.
“When’s the big day?” I asked.
“Next month. And now that you’re back, Cain and I expect to see you and Nathan there. No arguments,” he said as he pointed his finger at me and gave me a stern look.
I nodded, but didn’t say anything.
What was I supposed to say?
That Nathan and I would have long gone our separate ways by then? “He still with Brody?” I asked.
“Yeah. Second door on the left. Quinn and Beck went outside to get some air so Brody and Nathan could talk.”
“Thanks,” I said as I began climbing the stairs.
“Vincent.”
I looked over my shoulder at him.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice going soft.
I held his gaze for a moment and saw the seriousness there. “You’re welcome, Ethan,” I finally said. Satisfied, he turned away, and I continued up the stairs. I knocked on the door I assumed was the one Ethan had been talking about, but when there was no answer, I carefully pushed it open.
Brody was asleep in the bed, so my eyes quickly searched out Nathan.
He was sitting in a chair next to the bed, but at some point, he too had fallen asleep.
His hand was covering his brother’s on the bed.
I was half-tempted to wake him so he could get some real rest, but decided against it.
I went to the room Dom had directed me to and found both mine and Nathan’s bags sitting on the bed.
Between the events of the day and the lack of sleep the night before, I was wiped out, and within minutes of lying down and closing my eyes, I was out.
I didn’t wake up until a familiar weight pressed against my side.
I curled into Nathan’s body and pressed my lips against his temple. “You okay?” I asked.
He nodded against me.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“After nine. Brody, Beck, and Quinn went to bed already. Dom went home – said he’d be back in the morning. Cade’s keeping an eye on things so Cain could get some sleep.”
“Did you and Brody get to talk?” I asked.
“A little. The pain pills knocked him out pretty fast, so I told him to sleep and we’d talk more tomorrow. Ronan called Dom to give us an update. Reese is starting to wake up, but he’s still too out of it for them to determine if there’s any permanent damage. He said Everett is hanging in there.”
“He’ll be okay,” I murmured.
Nathan nodded as his hands began skimming over my body.
It didn’t take much to get me going, so when Nathan pushed me to my back and covered my mouth with his, I gladly complied.
There was a certain franticness to his moves as he began tugging at my clothes.
I understood where it was coming from, though, so when he grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head and then went to work on his pants, I grabbed his wrists.
“Baby,” I said as I rolled him beneath me and ground our hips together. “Let’s change things up a bit, okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, okay,” he said impatiently. “Just…fuck me really hard, please.”
The desperation in his voice didn’t surprise me at all. Everything had spiraled out of his control in the last twenty-four hours and he was feeling rudderless. But as badly as he needed to not feel those emotions, I knew there was something he needed even more.
I brought his palm to my mouth and gently kissed the stitches I’d placed there what now seemed like a lifetime ago, but had really been only a week. Fortunately, the injury didn’t seem to be bothering him anymore, other than the dull pain that came with that kind of wound.