Chapter 21 Tennant
“You should get some rest, Tesoro,” I tell him softly.
He scoffs. “You should get some rest.”
Huffing a bitter laugh, I rub my fingers over Benjamin’s cold hand. “I will when he wakes up.”
“And I’m staying with you.”
“Hol…” I look at him, and his tired brown eyes are watching me just as carefully. “You need to rest. They…didn’t give me all the details about what you’ve been dealing with, but I can guess.” I pointedly don’t look down at his bandaged arm.
Hollis sighs. “There was a video… Of Emilio…”
I stiffen. Releasing Benjamin’s hand, so I don’t accidentally hurt him, I turn fully toward Hollis. “What video?”
He grimaces. “I…I can’t…”
“Shh. It’s okay, Tesoro.” Reaching for his face, I kiss him softly, swallowing down his pain. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Hollis shakes his head. “I should be stronger. How can I be the Owner Emilio needs if I fall apart so easily?”
“It’s not easy, Hol,” I tell him firmly.
“We both know it’s not. After everything you went through, sitting alone with your pain for so long…
anyone who says it was easy deserves to get stabbed.
I do not blame you one bit for having such a visceral reaction.
I just wish I was here to catch you when you fell. ”
He lets out a big breath. “I need to learn to be strong for me, Ten. I agreed to do Doc’s stupid therapy because I don’t want to let you down, or Jude, Roman, and Lio…
I love you all, you’re so very important to me.
I wouldn’t be who I am without you, Tennant. And I want—I need—to be better for you.
“I don’t want you to see the video. The things they did to him… You don’t need to see that.”
“You’re not doing this alone, Hol. Not only that, I need to do this for Lio. I need to be able to help him. You’re not doing any of us any favors by trying to keep it from me, Tesoro. I know you’re just trying to protect me, but you can’t, not from this.”
He takes a shuddering breath. “Fine. You can ask Leandro about it. Only he, I, Doc, and Soren have seen it, and I’d like to keep it that way.
Lio is owed some privacy, especially since everyone is going to want to make sure he’s okay once he’s home.
You saw how well it went when what Allesandro did to him got out. ”
I grimace. “Yeah… Don’t worry. Anyone who makes an issue over the video will have to deal with me.”
He glances at Benjamin. “I’ll stay with him.”
“Thank you.” Looking back towards my love, I pick up his hand again and bring it to my lips.
“I know he’s caused some issues, that his doubt in me and our relationship is concerning.
I’m not happy about it, but I don’t know what else to do.
” I hate the vulnerability I’m forced to show when discussing this, even to Hollis.
“I’ll talk to him. You’ve done nothing but show him how much you love him, Love. The rest…it’s up to him. If he can’t get over himself, this will never work; and I refuse to let him break your heart.”
I laugh a little. I should probably be upset that Hollis is basically saying he’ll kill Benjamin if he hurts me, but…I don’t expect anything less from my Tesoro.
Pressing another kiss to Benjamin’s hand, I set it down gently and turn to Hollis, kissing him deeply, enjoying the way he feels against me.
It’s been too fucking long since we’ve had time together, and the way we’re both feeling now…
taking him away and having my way with him sounds better than anything else.
“Soon,” I say against his mouth. “As soon as the Boys are back and safe, I’m going to lock you up somewhere for a while.”
He laughs and nips at my lips. “Not if I kidnap you first.”
“We’ll see who comes out on top…” I tease.
Hollis moans and kisses me harder, my dick hardening at the feel of him and all the wonderfully dirty things I want to do with him.
Pulling away, I rub my thumb along his bottom lip. “I need to go, otherwise I’ll drop to my knees and suck your cock, Tesoro.”
He groans. “Don’t fucking tempt me, Love.”
Pressing another kiss to his lips, I finally get up. Leaning over Benjamin, I brush his dark hair away from his face, and press a kiss to his cheek before leaving the room. It hurts to leave him when I’m the reason he’s in that bed, but I trust Hollis to care for him.
Leaving the medical suite, I head for Leandro and Hollis’s office. The door is closed, but I highly doubt Leandro is in bed yet. The boy is as much of a workaholic as Hollis is, so after knocking once, I push the door open.
Leandro doesn’t look up from his screen, even when Boston gets up and makes her way over. “I’m not going to ask if you’re sure about this, but I’ll stress the importance of not letting anyone else know what’s on the video. Not even your boyfriend.”
I frown and look up from where I’m petting Boston. “What happened?” I ask carefully.
“Benjamin thought that, since he is Emilio’s Second, he had a right to view the video. He was shut down, but it’s something to watch out for. He is not entitled to anything.”
I watch Leandro carefully, as the venom in his voice is unusual. He doesn’t allow anyone to get under his skin, so his disdain for Benjamin is…concerning.
“What do you have against Benjamin?”
He doesn’t answer, and I wait him out until he finally sighs. “He doesn’t respect you. He may love you, sure, whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean. But he doesn’t respect you, or Roman, and he definitely doesn’t respect Lio. He’s lucky I haven’t killed him yet.”
“Stay out of it, Leandro,” I warn.
“If he really cared about you, he’d get over himself and—”
“Enough.” My word is final, and he snaps his mouth closed. Turning to face me finally, his navy blue eyes are dark and hard. Anyone else would flinch away from the emotion in them, but Leandro doesn’t scare me, he never has. “We’re handling it. Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary.”
He sniffs in disagreement, but doesn’t say anything, which is almost more worrisome than him arguing his point. Fuck. I’m going to have to watch the situation and make sure my son doesn’t kill my lover. That’s just what I fucking need.
“Can I see the video, please?”
“Sit there, don’t fucking touch anything.” He nods to Hollis’s desk.
I’d never pretend to understand the work the two of them do in here, as the hacking process is far beyond my capabilities, I’m just thankful both of them are on our side—well, at least Hollis is, and he has some control over Leandro.
Leandro brings up the video on Hollis’s screen, and we sit in silence as it plays out.
Holding onto the edge of the desk, so I don’t do something stupid—like punch the monitor—I watch as my Baby Boy is used against his will.
Whatever they did to him…that wasn’t his choice.
I don’t know how…but it has to be some type of drug.
I need to talk to Doc, Dr. Ranlen, and Soren to see what they think about the situation.
When the video ends, I blow out a breath and sit back in the desk chair. “There’s another one,” Leandro says carefully. “It came in about an hour ago…I haven’t told anyone yet.”
“Play it.”
The desk chair hits the wall with a bang as I stand, violence erupting in every pore as I watch that fucking bitch hurt my Little Prince in the cruelest of ways.
“How close are you to finding the source?”
“I’d rather not say, thanks.”
“You will find me something,” I order. “Any fucking thing that will get that bitch in front of me. I need them back, Leandro.”
“I’m working on it,” he says tiredly.
Sighing, I tell him, “Go to bed. We’ll update Carter on the new video in the morning. He is not allowed to see it.”
“No shit. No one else deserves to see that, especially not Carter or Hollis.”
A bit of my ire eases, knowing Leandro is on my side with this. “Do whatever you need to, and then go to bed.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Do you care?”
“Yes.” His tone is flat. “You, Hollis, and Roman have done a lot for me over the years, and even though Roman is an annoying shit, he doesn’t deserve what’s happened to him. I care, more than I want to, less than what he deserves, but I do care.”
I nod absently. “Then no, I’m not. But that’s for me to deal with, not you. Just work on finding them.”
“I will.”
I leave him, but I don’t know if I can handle going back to Hollis and Benjamin. Not now. Neither of them needs the stress, and I will not risk Hollis hurting himself further by telling him about Roman’s video. That’s something Doc and him can discuss after I talk to Carter.
Fucking hell.
My fist going through drywall isn’t as satisfying as it should be. There’s no blood or breaking of cartilage. No pain and suffering behind my victim’s eyes.
Balling my fist again, I go to punch another hole in the wall, except noise from down the hall draws my attention.
Bringing my hand down to my side, I turn and watch as Dominic, Jayden’s assistant, pushes fucking Ignacio down the hall. “I didn’t realize your duties include babysitting,” I say flatly.
The trip rolls his eyes. “Me either, but Jayden doesn’t trust this asshole on his own, so here I am.”
I look to the bane of my existence. “What are you doing?”
Ignacio shrugs. “Was going to go see if you wanted me to sit with Benjamin for a while, since Doc isn’t letting anyone in with Allesandro, and I need to do something.”
I snort. Doc doesn’t want any of us to kill the bastard, that’s why he barred his room. Hearing that Marcus brought the asshole here, on the brink of death or not, made me want to shove a knife into the other man’s kidney.
“Hol is sitting with Benjamin.”
Ignacio nods slowly. “And what about you?” I stare at him and he sighs. “Who’s with you, Ten?”
“I’m fine.”
“Right. Punching holes in the wall is normal.” He hesitates for a moment before saying, “Come to my room with me.”
“What?” Does this fucker have a death wish?
“You clearly need something, and you’re not going to find it sitting in a hospital room, or punching walls, so come with me. If I didn’t think Jayden would kill me, I’d offer myself up, but…I’m not exactly in fighting shape right now.”
I look from the man in the wheelchair to Dominic, who shrugs. “Fine,” I bite. “Let’s go.”
Dominic and Ignacio turn back the way they came, and I follow behind at a distance, unsure of what I’m doing, but continuing forward anyway. I will admit I’m curious about the man that captured my Topolino’s heart first, and that Roman is so head over heels for.
In his room, Ignacio moves with only a grimace from the chair to the bed. “Thank you, Nico,” he says. “I think I'll be staying here for the rest of the night, so you can go to bed.”
“Okay, call me if you need anything.” Dominic looks between the two of us and hightails it out of the room, probably to go gossip with the other two-thirds of his brain. Great.
“Sit.” Ignacio waves his hand to the chair near the bed.
I don't know why, but I comply, watching him warily. “Why don't you hate me?”
He sighs and laughs a little. “Should have expected that.” Taking a moment, he seems to gather his thoughts before looking up at me with understanding in his dark eyes.
“I loved Benjamin, probably from the moment I met him. So sassy and fierce, and he didn’t put up with any of our shit.
He survived Luca, befriended Lio, and agreed to live by Il Padrone's strict rules, simply to stay with the family he'd come to love. I admire his strength. What he endured to keep us safe from Jax…”
He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “We lost one another because we were each other's first, but not our forevers.
I fucked up, but so did he. I know why you hate me, and I don't blame you.
I am happy to know he has someone so willing to protect him.
But…he is not infallible, or blameless in our breakup.
“I love him. I will always love him. But…he is not mine. He'll always be my Little Mouse,”—he rolls his eyes at my snarl—“but I am Roman's. I am devoted to him, and while I don't care how many other relationships he has, romantic or otherwise, he is it for me.”
I raise a brow and he sighs. “Yes, I'm probably going to end up on my knees for Jayden, but that is only because Roman is far stronger and more accepting than I probably deserve. If he said so, I'd be only his. But he's not like that.”
“No,” I agree. “He's selfless, and wants everyone to be loved.”
Ignacio lights up when talking about the little shit. “Yeah, he does. And I love him for it. I'll give my life for him twice over, even though I know he'll protest. He can protect himself, but I'll always make sure he doesn't have to.”
I stare at him. Too many things running through me.
“I'm glad you didn't die. I don't agree with what Cristian did, but I do understand it.
I probably won't stop wanting to run a knife through you, but…treat Roman with the respect he deserves, none of that kid glove shit—he’ll be the one to stab you if you do that—and maybe I won't wipe the floor too badly with you when we finally spar.”
He laughs. “Oh, you think you can beat me?”
“Before your injury? No. Now…consider not getting your ass kicked incentive for getting stronger. Prove me wrong, Chaos.”
There's a fire in his dark eyes that calls to the darkest parts of me. He grins and I can see the challenge in his smile. It brings me joy to try to knock it off his face.
“You're on, Ten.”
Like him or not, I can't deny the bastard has earned some of my respect back. We'll see if he can get it the rest of the way. It'll be fun either way.