CHAPTER 18 #2
“No, maybe we should clear this up here and now,” Deacon said, his stare never leaving my face.
He was such a contradiction. On the outside he was a mountain of a guy, even more built and slightly taller than me.
He was intimidating as hell if you didn’t know him, but knowing him I also knew he wasn’t aggressive or intimidating at all.
I had seen him with Ava, how gentle he could be with her and the easy way in which he could put her at ease while also making her feel safe.
But there in that moment, as he started at me with determination and some challenge in his eyes, I was pretty sure he’d throw down with me if our conversation came to blows.
He was a complicated guy to work out and I didn’t like that.
I was good at reading people. It was a skill that made me a fucking great detective, but I just couldn’t get a good read on Deacon.
“Ava is ours. We fell in love over a decade ago and nothing has changed that. If you think you can sweep her out from under us, you’re wrong,” told him flatly.
“She doesn’t belong to anyone, and Ava will make her own decisions about what she wants.
If you love her like you say, then you know that as well as I do.
And I do believe you love her, that both of you do, and I’ve heard her say she loves you too.
I have no intention of trying to steer her away from either of you.
We’ve already been through this. I just want the chance to date her and get to know her.
If it works out between us, then yeah, it will obviously turn into a complicated with the three of us and one of her, especially since you seem to dislike me so much,” he said as he pointed a finger at me.
“Is it so wrong to just see where things go, if that’s what Ava wants too? ”
“No,” Jack spoke up. “It’s not, not if it’s what she wants and I think it is, Mason.
You have to stop being an ass to Deacon and let this happen.
Ave knows we love her, and I don’t think she wants to walk away from us.
She just has feelings for Deacon too. She needs both of us =, right? That’s what we always said.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Well, maybe she needs Deak too,” he told me and I found myself nodding. I knew he could be right. There had to be a reason our closed off girl had trusted Deacon so easily and built feelings for him. I couldn’t take that from her, even if I wanted to.
“I’ll try,” I agreed reluctantly. “But if you hurt her I will bury you somewhere no one will ever find your body,” I added menacingly as I glared at Deacon.
Before Deacon could even form a response the door to the waiting room was thrust open loudly, waking both Ava and Ky instantly.
“Colt MacMillan’s family?” the doctor asked as he looked around at us all.
“Yes!” Kylan gasped as he shot to his feet and raced across the room. “I’m his fiancé and that’s his sister. How is he?” I looked to Ava and realized she was struggling to move the chair herself, so I walked over and pushed so she was beside Kylan.
“He’s out of surgery and stable for now. We’re keeping him under close observation for tonight as a precaution, but I don’t foresee any serious complications,” the doctor explained and Ky and Ava cried out in relief simultaneously.
“A nurse mentioned there was internal bleeding?” Jack questioned.
“There was. Mr. MacMillan had been stabbed three times. No vital organs were hit, but he had some internal bleeding and we were forced to remove his spleen. He had also lost a lot of blood, but as I said, he’s stable. The police are eager to speak with him as soon as he wakes.”
“Will he make a full recovery?” Ava asked shakily.
“Physically, yes. There will be some extensive scarring, but a plastic surgeon would be able to help with that if it’s something your brother wants to look into.
He was lucky. One of those stab wounds was millimeters from an artery.
As it stands, barring complications, he should be able to return home in a few days. ”
“Can we see him?” Kylan asked as he swiped tears from his cheeks.
“He’s just being moved from recovery. A nurse will come and let you know once they have him situated.”
Kylan dropped to his knees and hugged Ava hard, and she was holding onto him just as tight, as Jack and I thanked the doctor before he left the room.
“Come ok,” Jack said as he placed a hand on Kylan’s shoulder. “Let’s sit back down until the nurse comes in. He’s going to be alright.”
“Physically. That’s what the doctor said. He wasn’t telling us everything though, I could see it in his eyes,” Ky said as he rose to his feet and took a deep breath. His whole face was red from crying now.
“He’s alive and he will recover. That’s enough for now.
Whatever else he needs, we can make sure he gets,” Ava told him with a sniffle.
She’d been crying too and I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I walked over to her and scooped her from the chair, pressing her to my front and breathing easier as she melted against me and pressed her face against my neck, seeking comfort.
“Let’s just all sit down and take in the fact Colt is going nowhere. We have him back and we have to be really bloody grateful for that right now,” Jack suggested and I agreed completely.
AVA
I’m confused when I open my eyes and see the stark white wall opposite me. Then I feel stubble brush my cheek and smile as Deacon plants a kiss just above the corner of my mouth.
“Okay sweetheart?” he asked in little more than a whisper.
I remember then. We’d all been shown into a private room by a nurse an hour or so after the doctor had told us Colt was stable.
Colt was hooked up to an IV and heart monitor.
His face was bruised and swollen down the right die.
He looked pale and his whole torso was bandaged with stark white dressings, but he looked better than I had expected.
He was still knocked out by the pain meds and the nurse advised us he was unlikely to wake any time soon, so as Kylan settled right at his side, clutching his hand, which was bruised and scratched up pretty badly, Deacon had scooped me up from the chair I sat in, pressed me against his chest, and pleaded with me to just try and sleep a little.
I hadn’t wanted to in case Cole woke, but I must have passed out eventually.
“I’m good. Did anything change?” I asked as I used Deacon’s bicep to pull myself up so I was sitting astride his wide lap.
Jack was in a chair in the corner closest to the door, his head propped back against the wall as he slept with his mouth slightly open.
Ky was out too, Colt’s hand still clutched tightly and his head laid on the bed beside it.
“No. He still hasn’t woken up, but his vitals are steady. The nurses said it won’t be long now.”
“Where’s Mace?”
“Police found where they think Colt escaped on, based on what he was able to tell them when they brought him in. Mason wanted to check it out. I can call him if you want him to come back though?”
“No. He should check the scene before that fucker has time to rush back and clean up. We still have to stop him before he does this to some other poor innocent. I’d be there too if I didn’t need to be here so much,” I replied as I looked over to Colt.
He was still way too pale and I hated the bruising on his face and hands.
His knuckles were a mess and I knew he had fought like hell to escape.
I was so proud of him for that. He’d never been much of a fighter.
It wasn’t really in his nature. He was protective, especially with me, but he wasn’t the typical macho type.
I didn’t even know he could fight. I knew he worked out religiously at his home gym, and he had always been in peak shape as long as I had known him, but fighting?
It wasn’t who he was. I was the scrappy one between us and always had been.
“Jack went down the cafeteria and got some pastries and muffins. You should try to eat something. You need to take your meds too, right? Did you bring them?” Deacon worried.
“No. I’ll be okay for another few hours without them though, and I’ll eat something soon.
Just let me wake up first,” I told him. The idea of food was not appealing.
My emotions were like a whirlwind whipping around my mind chaotically and it was upsetting my stomach, not to mention my pain was making me feel nauseous too.
But I wanted to try and reassure Deak. He worried about me way too much.
“I’ll go back to Jack’s place and get your pills when Jack wakes up. I can stop for some decent coffee on the way back too.”
“Decent coffee would definitely be appreciated I told him as I turned to smile at him gratefully.
“How are you feeling?”
“Relieved that I have my brother back,” I sighed.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know. I’m okay, big guy. Stop worrying so much. I have some pain but I always do. I’m good,” I promised him as I cupped his cheek and looked into his captivating eyes. “I’m sorry about all of the chaos you’ve been dragged into since you met me.”
“You’re worth every second of the chaos, Ava. I don’t know what it is, but when I’m with you something inside of me just settles and I feel peace for the first time in a really fucking long time. I feel like I was meant to meet you that night outside Temple .”
“I feel something similar. I don’t like to be touched by others.
Even colleagues I worked with for years knew not to touch me in anyway unless they had to, but that night when you helped me, it felt different.
It felt safe. You make me feel safe, and I really like you Deacon.
I know everything’s fucked up right now, but if you can stick with me, I really want to get to know you better. ” I admitted.