Chapter 48
FORTY-EIGHT
Tony
AFTER JEZ AND HEATH went to be with Gage, I was left alone with Knox in the huge hospital room. I’d never really felt awkward or tongue-tied in his presence before, but I’d also never watched him change clothes right in front of me.
Down, boy.
Maybe a concussion lowered your inhibitions or something? At least, that was going to be my excuse until someone with a white coat and a stethoscope told me differently.
Knox seemed oblivious to my discomfort as he sat down in one of the chairs across from the bed. He flinched as he settled back, and I couldn’t help wondering if he was hiding more injuries than whatever was making him limp around on his right leg.
“How much did the others tell you about what happened, when I was in the shower last night?” he asked.
Do not picture Knox in the shower.
Do not picture Knox in the shower.
Do not picture Knox in the shower.
“I know Gage saved me when the roof came down,” I said. “There was an explosion, right? I didn’t imagine that part?”
Knox nodded. “A bomb, yes. Probably Lorenzo Vozzina’s work, although that’s just a theory so far.”
I wavered between being shocked, and being decidedly not shocked. Then something else occurred to me. “Hang on. When they were wheeling me in here last night, Bud was here. He said something about Paolo being hurt? But... if Vozzina was behind the bomb... wouldn’t that mean—”
“That he saw a way to kill multiple unrelated birds with one stone? Yeah, it would.” Knox’s normally affable expression settled into hard lines, and I couldn’t help a little shiver of reaction.
“Wow,” I said inadequately. “That’s cold.”
I wasn’t sure there were any circumstances that could make me feel sorry for Paolo, after everything he’d done. It was still chilling to think about it, though.
“The Paolo situation is sitting right at the top of my to-do list.” Knox’s tone was as stony as his features.
Then his face softened slightly as he met my eyes.
“Well, almost at the top, anyway. Tony, I’d like you to stay with the pack, once they release you from observation.
I’m not comfortable with you being alone in a low-security apartment. ”
My thoughts stuttered like a needle jumping tracks on an old vinyl record. “You want me to stay in the pack house?”
“We’re not going back to that house,” Knox said, confusing me even further.
“I have other properties. Aside from not wanting to be in the place where Lorenzo Vozzina will expect us to be, I also have no intention of asking Jez to live in the same house where she was held prisoner. She’s mated to my packmates, and it looks more and more as though that won’t be changing anytime soon.
She doesn’t deserve a constant reminder of how things started out. ”
Yeah... this conversation probably would have been easier without the concussion.
“Okay,” I said. “Sorry. This is kind of a lot to take in.”
Knox’s half-smile was grim. “I know. No need to apologize. And no one’s going to force you to pack a bag and come with us—but I hope you will. If for no other reason than the fact that Heath is going to be a basket case if he has to worry about both you and Jez at the same time.”
Something about that idea made warmth bloom in my stomach. “You think so?”
I tried to make the words sound skeptical, but I was pretty sure they just sounded hopeful.
“I don’t think. I know,” he shot back. “Look, you don’t need to answer right away...”
“I’ll come with you,” I said, too quickly. Because, sure? Why not upend my entire life for a relationship that was barely a few weeks old?
“Good,” Knox replied. “I’ll arrange movers to transfer anything you’d like to bring from your apartment.”
Wasn’t it supposed to be lesbians who kept U-Haul on speed dial?
“If you’re sure,” I said. Then, partly to change the subject, and partly because I was genuinely curious, I blurted, “Isn’t it weird for you, having Jez mated to the others? After, you know...” I gestured in a rapid circular motion with one hand. “... everything.”
Knox gave that a moment’s thought.
“I suppose it should be.” He rubbed his knuckles over his jaw, where black stubble was beginning to darken his skin.
“But... the others may not have mentioned the fact that while it was Gage who saved you when the bomb went off, Jez was the one to save all of us in the end. She can sense Gage’s location through the bond—maybe because she’s his scent match.
She can probably sense Heath’s location as well.
.. but the point is, she and Heath ran back into the collapsing building to get to him, and rescued you before the slab of concrete hanging over both of you fell. ”
I shivered, trying not to picture it.
Another of those grim not-smiles flickered over Knox’s face. “And, all that aside, I kind of like her. As a person, I mean—now that I’ve seen the parts of herself that she tries to keep hidden.” A sigh gusted out of him. “Which is probably fodder for six months of therapy, at a minimum.”
“It’s better than hating her, surely?” I suggested.
“I suppose it is, yes.” He lifted an eyebrow, the barest hint of a twinkle entering his dark eyes. “And don’t call me Shirley.”
That startled a laugh out of me, which I immediately regretted when my skull throbbed. “Holy crap. You’ve seen that movie?”
“Tony, everyone has seen that movie.” He ran a critical gaze over me. “Now get some rest.”
Still hiding a smile, I settled down on the soft mattress and rearranged the blankets around me. I was starting to think that a person could get used to having an overprotective alpha guarding them while they slept.
The sound of the door opening woke me from a dream about going for ice cream with the pack, and not being able to read any of the labels showing the different flavors. I craned around, my bleary gaze settling on Jez. She closed the door gently behind her.
“Everything all right?” Knox asked.
“How’s Gage?” I added.
“The doctor finally showed up with a report,” she said, crossing to one of the room’s other chairs and dropping into it. “He’s asleep right now. They say he has a fractured femur, three broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and whiplash.”
Knox’s face got that hard-edged look again. I decided I wouldn’t want to be in Lorenzo Vozzina’s shoes anytime soon.
“Thank you for letting us know, Jez,” he said. “I assume Heath is staying with him?”
“Yes,” Jez said. “The doctor said he’d probably be out for a while, with all the painkillers and the anesthesia. Heath sent me back here to rest.” Her tone turned dry on the last sentence.
“And so you should,” Knox told her firmly. “You’ll be able to tell if Gage wakes up and needs anything, whether you’re in the room with him or not. How are your hands and feet doing?”
Jez instinctively stuck her bandaged hands beneath her arms, as though hiding them. “Fine. What about you? Are you going to let a doctor look at you?”
I frowned and sat up abruptly, ignoring the way it made my head pound. “What? You haven’t been seen by a doctor yet? What the hell, Knox?”
“There’s nothing serious enough to warrant taking doctors away from the other victims,” Knox said.
“I’ll get my knee looked at eventually, but I’m already the rich alpha who demanded high-end pack accommodations during the middle of a mass casualty event.
I don’t intend to also be the rich alpha who dragged a doctor away from emergency surgery to look at a twisted knee and some bruises. ”
Jez glared at him. “You singlehandedly held up a huge concrete slab for how long? I’m surprised you didn’t break your goddamned back.”
Knox shot her a wan smile. “Nice to know you care.”
“Of course I care!” Jez flared—but I was too busy making mental connections.
“Wait,” I said. “You told me there was a concrete slab about to fall on me and Gage!”
Jez scoffed. “About to fall? It did fall. That was probably what snapped Gage’s leg. We found Knox using a broken table as a lever to keep the other end from dropping and crushing you both! Or did he forget to mention that part?”
My eyes flew back to Knox.
“Of course I did what I could,” he said evenly. “It’s my duty to keep all of you safe, Tony. I didn’t do a very good job of it yesterday, but thanks to Jez and Heath showing up when they did, everyone’s still alive. I intend to do better in the future.”
I stared at him so hard that my eyes began to burn. Except... fuck. Fuck. Those were tears. I was going to break down crying in front of the guy who’d been my boss for the last year-and-change. And who was now my, what? My pack leader?
I pressed my lips together in a hard line.
Jez sighed and flopped down next to me on the bed. “It’s okay, Tony. From what I can tell, that’s just how these guys are. I swear, it’s like something out of those romantic movies you used to drag me to.”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever cast me in the role of leading man before,” Knox said dryly. “Thanks, I think.”
Fortunately for my self-esteem, Knox’s phone rang before I could genuinely start bawling.
He dragged it out of his pocket and answered. “Yes?”
I couldn’t make out the voice on the other end, but his expression sharpened like a junkyard dog that had just been offered a bone.
“Is that so?” he said. “I’m glad to hear it. Did you send the flowers?”
More indistinct speech.
“Perfect,” Knox replied. “Thank you for the update, Bud.”
He disconnected the call.
“Was that about Paolo?” Jez asked.
“It was,” Knox said with satisfaction.
“You’re sending Paolo... flowers?” I asked, my burning eyes forgotten in the face of my bewilderment.
“A bouquet with a note attached,” Knox explained. “A note with a reminder about the phone number that Paolo might consider calling, if he doesn’t want his trophy mate to have a second chance at making him disappear.”
Jez’s gray eyes narrowed. “And that phone number belongs to...”
The phone in Knox’s hand rang again, and a slow smile crossed the alpha’s face as he tapped the answer icon.