Chapter Nine #2
“You listen to me. I don’t appreciate having a half dead kid dumped on my living room floor, putting Kace’s medical license at risk.
” It was obvious he had missed the first part of the conversation.
He had no clue who was on the phone. “Don’t interrupt me.
I don’t give a fuck what your boss has to do, but right now, he’s letting this kid die.
If he doesn’t do something, he will fucking die.
I don’t care what it takes, but this isn’t happening while I watch.
If I call his mom and pretend like he’s missing Christmas because he’s tied up in a meeting or some other bullshit, and then these fuckers dump his dead body in a ditch, they will wish they never met me.
I promise they’ll never see me coming. You know I have the training to back up my threat.
Fuck my mental health. I’ll see all these fuckers dead. ”
Kace had never been prouder of anyone. No matter their history, at the end of the day, Lucas was twenty-eight.
He was a real person, just as caught in the web of a powerful man as the rest of them were.
Kace genuinely liked Lucas. He couldn’t watch this happen, but he also couldn’t stop it.
His throat swelled as he listened to Jamison hang up one call and immediately make another to Lucas’ mom.
He sounded so kind and calm. It was obvious he had been more entrenched in Lucas’ life than he let on.
Kace had never felt more useless, and he had definitely lost patients before.
This was different. Lucas stood a chance in a real medical facility.
This was home-ec sewing class. This was just a slow death.
He had internal injuries Kace couldn’t fix like this.
The second Jamison disconnected his call, his phone rang again. He quickly answered. “Hello?” His gaze shot to Kace’s. He nodded as if whoever was on the other line could see him. “Understood. We’ll be ready.”
Jamison stuffed his phone in his back pocket.
“Come on.” He steered Kace back into the bedroom like a man on a mission.
He started barking orders as soon as he cleared the doorway.
“Get ready. There’s a helicopter on the way to transport Lucas to a private facility.
We need to have him prepared to go straight out the door.
Shaw is joining you to make sure no questions are asked. ”
Hektor jumped to his feet. “I’ll wait outside and lead the way.”
Kace nearly cried at the reprieve.
Ajax looked relieved as hell. He held Lucas’ hand in a tight grip, as if lending him strength. “You hang in there, mate. Just a little longer and this’ll be a bad dream.”
“It’s been a nightmare for a long time.”
Kace looked away. He hoped he woke up soon and this night never existed. Help couldn’t arrive soon enough. He had never felt so close to breaking down. Kace needed Jamison to hold him.
Lucas had never liked feeling out of control.
He didn’t understand how anyone stood getting high.
He was out of his head and he hated it. Nothing would come into focus beyond Ajax’s face.
He felt the rattle in his chest. Death was so close, he could feel the icy grip.
He supposed, as far as final sights went, Ajax wasn’t a bad choice.
The guy was one hot daddy. He had to focus on any wild thoughts he could.
The movement of being transferred to a gurney and rushed down the stairs was absolute hell.
He would cry, but fuck that noise. Lucas wasn’t weak. He wouldn’t be weak.
Everything went by in a blur until Ajax’s face hovered over him again. Lucas tried to chuckle. He needed to be the unserious one all the way to the end.
“I’ve always thought you have great hair. Like a lion’s mane.”
A smile exploded across Ajax’s face. “Jealous?”
“Nah. I’m just surprised you still have so much at your age.”
Ajax roared with laughter, but his grip on Lucas’ hand never lessened. At least he wasn’t alone. He had always expected to go out in the worst way, totally devoid of comfort. But Ajax was here, so it was okay.
“Thank you.” His eyes closed without his permission. He felt like he floated away, leaving his body behind. His voice sounded far away. “Tell my mom I love her and I’m sorry I wasn’t better.”
In a vague way, he heard people shouting, but it was distant, as if he walked away, leaving the scene behind. He had somewhere else to go. Maybe he would finally be happy.
As much as Jamison wanted to go to bed and put this bullshit night behind him, he couldn’t stop pacing. He had a bad feeling if he closed his eyes, he would end up back in a war zone. Blood covered way too many places. They couldn’t go to bed like this.
A crew showed up to scrub away the evidence while Kace silently moved in their wake, as if needing to do something. He had never seen Kace look so defeated. Jamison had never been more enraged. That was saying a lot.
His phone rang. Jamison checked the face. An unknown number appeared. It was too late for it to be anyone he didn’t know. He answered, praying he wasn’t about to have to call Lucas’ mom again. The news would likely kill her.
“Hello?”
“You’ll be happy to know Lucas pulled through surgery.”
Noir’s accented high-society voice wasn’t the one he expected to hear.
He didn’t give Jamison time to respond. “If you think I’m an evil bastard who would leave most anyone to die, you’re right.
But in this case, I wasn’t informed of how dire the situation was.
You can rest assured that will be addressed. Did you actually threaten my life?”
Despite everything, Jamison smiled. He was so fucking relieved he would get to tell Kace Lucas was okay. Nothing else really mattered. “I might’ve been at the end of my rope.”
“Mhmm. Well, it seems you hit that point at the right time. They lost him on the flight. Ajax did CPR until they had him on the table. If not for that, I don’t think I’d take your threat so kindly.”
“He’s just a kid. I know you don’t care who you exploit, but I do. He has a mom to care for and he’s all she has. I realize none of that matters to you. It matters to me.”
A loud, put-upon sigh rang through the line.
“You really shouldn’t presume to know what I care about.
This is also the only time I’ll pretend you didn’t cross me.
Tell your doctor Joesph will be by tomorrow with payment for his services.
Next time, just call Joesph right away. No one knows me for a reason. I don’t mingle at the bottom.”
Jamison rubbed his forehead. Next time? Fuck. Kace was on Noir’s radar now. There was no going back. “He’s my cousin, so, you know. I have him on speed dial.”
When Noir spoke again, Jamison heard the smile in his voice.
“So defeated already. Don’t worry. This isn’t common for my people.
I assure you; the problem has been handled.
” The barely suppressed laughter in Noir’s voice sent chills down Jamison’s spine.
He had heard rumors Noir was a psychopath who made serial killers look merciful.
It was likely a good thing cooler heads had prevailed by the end.
“That’s good to hear. I’ll let Joesph keep me updated on Lucas.”
“Fair enough.” The phone disconnected.
Jamison held it away and stared at the device for a moment. It had been such a crazy and horrible night. A Christmas Eve to remember, really. Fuck. He just wanted a normal life for once.
Kace wrapped his arms around Jamison from behind and kissed him between his shoulder blades. “Everyone is gone. I’ve locked up for the night.”
“Lucas made it through surgery.”
He felt the tension drain from Kace as he pressed his face against Jamison’s back. “Thank God.”
Jamison decided to leave out the whole dying on the way. Kace had already suffered enough. He turned and wrapped his arms around Kace. With his lips pressed against Kace’s forehead, he breathed in the man’s scent. “I’ve been thinking. How about Valentine’s Day?”
“What about it?”
“For our wedding.”
Kace cuddled closer. “That’s not much time to plan, but I’m sure we could pull it off.”
Jamison closed his eyes. He felt like crying. Jamison didn’t know if it was relief or everything catching up to him, but tears pressed against the backs of his eyes. “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I hope you wake up every day knowing that. You’re incredible.”
He felt Kace take a deep breath. “Can we go to bed? I want to hold you.”
“Yes. Please? I’ve never been more done with a day.” He kissed the top of his head and then took his hand. Together, they turned out all the lights before climbing into bed. The moment he had Kace snuggled against him, every bad moment of the day vanished. “I just realized something.”
“What’s that?”
“My worst day with you has still been better than my best day without you.”
A moment passed before Kace responded. “Valentine’s Day sounds amazing. It would be really cute to have heart balloons and red roses—almost like a Valentine’s party.”
Jamison smiled into the dark. He was definitely a man in love. “I promise I won’t cop out. Every year, you’ll still get a Valentine’s gift and an anniversary gift.”
He felt Kace smile against his chest. “Same.”
Jamison held Kace tighter. They had a plan. It felt great.