Chapter 4
NOAH
Minho had been lingering a short way down the corridor, waiting patiently for me to make the first move, and honestly it had me all twisted up with anxious panic.
I hadn’t seen him since… Shit, it’d been way too long—-and he looked so damn good.
My heart raced, my breath quickening as he met my eyes and slowly prowled closer once Skye was gone.
“Hey,” I said in a small voice, stuffing my hands into the kangaroo pocket of my hoodie and praying it was bulky enough to drown my shape. My primary physician had been very firm that I needed to give the chest binder a break until my ribs could heal, and I didn’t disagree. They hurt.
Jared had blocked access to all the guys while I was unconscious—-everyone who didn’t know my real identity, anyway—-and I hadn’t lifted that restriction once I woke up. Sure, I told Tor and Skye it was to protect my secret, but in reality? I was scared.
How much did they all know, really? How much did Ace remember and who had he told? Xavier would know, at a minimum. But did Minnie know?
He stopped right in front of me with a troubled, thoughtful look on his gorgeous face, and my heart lodged so hard in my throat I worried I couldn’t breathe.
Then he let out a heavy sigh and reached out a hand to brush some loose hair back from my face, his fingertips skimming my cheek and making my whole body tingle.
“Chicken, I was so worried,” he whispered with a rough voice. He wet his lips as his hand hovered between us, and I noticed his fingers were trembling. Shit, he was just as nervous as I was.
Swallowing hard, I grabbed his floating hand in mine and interlaced our fingers tightly, just like how he always held my hand before this whole mess. “Skye told me you’ve been visiting,” I replied in an equally hushed voice. “I’m sorry you couldn’t see me. It was…um…complicated.”
Minho just nodded, accepting my weak--as--water explanation without a question as he tightened his hold on my fingers.
“I’m just relieved to see you’re actually okay.
Tor and Skye gave us updates, but it felt like they were hiding something major from us, like they were lying about you actually recovering, you know? ”
I bit my lip again, words failing me. They were hiding something major, and that sat in my gut like a pile of cement. Tearing Team Olympus apart with lies and secrets had never ever been my intent.
“I’m okay,” I said, instead of all the things I should be saying.
Minho’s gaze dropped away from my face and his thumb stroked the back of my hand. “Skye said your ribs are still pretty sore but…can I hug you?”
A gust of relief ran through me so hard I basically collapsed into him as he pulled me closer, and magically my doubts and worries about whether he was pissed at me disappeared. The way he held me close and pressed his face to my hair said everything I needed to know.
“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” Jared said quietly, popping our bubble of warmth only a moment later. “We need to get out of here. Security just caught a tabloid photographer floating around one of the waiting rooms.”
Shit. The hospital was the best in the area for privacy and discretion, but it was inevitable that sooner or later the media would try their luck.
Considering the whole damn attack, including the aftermath of Torin dragging my lifeless body out of the pool and administering CPR was live streamed—-albeit without sound—-to my entire platform audience, it didn’t take a genius to work out I’d be in a hospital somewhere.
“Can I drive you home?” Minho asked without releasing me from his embrace, his arm tight and possessive around my shoulders.
“That way Jared and Kel can take Isla home, and I can give Skye a ride back to the house later?” The edge of hopefulness in his tone was tugging at my heart, and honestly, I wanted to spend time with him.
“Your choice, Noah,” Jared replied with a shrug, his attention focused along the hallway in the direction of the main foyer. “But we can’t stand here much longer, unless you want to be all over social media looking like this.”
I snorted a laugh, still resting my head on Minnie’s chest. “Thanks, asshole, nice way to imply I look like shit.”
My manager scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You nearly died and spent a week in a coma. Of course you look like shit. Where are you parked, Min? I’ll bring your car around to the rear exit.”
Minho gave Jared the information and his keys, and I marveled at how comfortable my team was becoming with my manager. From what I’d been told, they’d spent a lot of time together in the hospital waiting area over the past ten days, and there was a noticeable warmth between them now.
Well, some of the team. As far as I knew there were two members of the team who hadn’t visited at all. Which was understandable seeing as they couldn’t see me, but still…it sort of hurt to know they didn’t even try.
Skye carried my duffel bag, and Minho kept hold of my hand as we followed the nurse’s directions to the rear exit, lingering inside until we spotted Jared pulling up in Minnie’s sleek black Aston Martin.
“Wait,” Minho said, tugging on my hand as Skye started to move toward the sliding doors.
“Here, just in case.” He pulled a charcoal Portia Levigne cap from his back pocket and placed it on my head, smoothing my blond hair behind my ears, then fixing the brim to shade my face.
“Cute,” he murmured, giving me a crooked grin and taking my hand once more.
I kept my head down and moved quickly as we exited the hospital, and the three of us slid into the car without any issues, but I still breathed a sigh of relief as the doors closed, knowing how heavily tinted the windows were.
Jared gave me a hand symbol to call him later, then disappeared back inside to take his wife and baby home.
They’d spent way too much time at the hospital, but I was insanely grateful to have them both.
If my mom had been here…well, I sure as shit wouldn’t be going home to my own apartment with my secret somewhat intact.
She’d have deliberately sabotaged the whole thing just to force me to quit the team, which I couldn’t blame her for, but that was not the help I needed right now.
Ever since she found out about my NoFear platform and Miles’s involvement as my cameraman, she’d been trying to talk us into quitting.
Miles nearly dying drove a huge wedge between us, and I was sure she blamed me for the accident, so when Jared mentioned she wanted to visit I’d been adamant about keeping her away.
I loved her, but we had wildly different ideas of how I should be living my life.
“You’ll need to give me directions, Chicken,” Minho said as we exited the hospital parking area. A glance toward the main entrance confirmed multiple photographers standing around like they were waiting for something to happen. “I don’t actually know where you live.”
“I do,” Skye piped up from the back seat, and Minho shot him a narrow--eyed glance in the mirror. Skye just gave him a toothy grin back, smug little shit.
Rolling my eyes, I leaned forward to input my address in Minnie’s GPS. “Skye went with Jared to pick up my clothes and toiletries the other day,” I murmured in explanation, like I somehow needed to justify why I’d allowed Skye so much access into my life outside of Team Olympus.
I didn’t elaborate that they’d gone to my apartment instead of Mount Olympus because I didn’t want Ace cornering Jared and demanding information. It was bad enough that he and Skye were at odds about the whole mess.
“When are you thinking you’ll come home?” Minho asked with a slight hesitation in his voice. “Is that still the plan? To come back to the team?”
I grimaced. “Yes, Leight hasn’t really given me much choice on that matter. He’s allowing me a week, unless my doctor intervenes to request more time.”
“Your ribs need to heal,” Skye reminded me with a serious tone. “That’s nonnegotiable.”
“Mmm,” I replied. I didn’t need them to heal fully—-that’d take anywhere from six to twelve weeks, and I didn’t have the time or patience for that—-just enough that I could wear my binder loosely without so much discomfort.
It went firmly against doctor’s order to not put the binder back on, but what choice did I have?
The longer I was gone, the worse the rumors and speculation would be.
And now that Clik Games were scheduled to announce the next challenge finally, I actually wanted to go back.
Except I’d have to deal with Ace.
“How is Ace doing?” I asked, anxiety damn near choking me.
Despite how terrified I was of what his reaction would be, I was genuinely worried about him.
The boys told me he’d taken a lot of stitches, in both his head and his wrist, where I’d accidentally slit his veins open while fumbling the zip ties underwater.
Shit, I nearly killed him myself, and all because I was panicking so hard about the water.
Minho seemed to sense the shift in my mood and reached out to squeeze my knee reassuringly. “He’s fine, Chicken. A bit grumpier than usual but otherwise, totally fine.”
“Knowing that your attacker is dead helps,” Skye added with a grunt.
The creep who’d attacked us had been found dead at the base of the cliff just hours after Ace and I had been taken to hospital. Apparently he’d tripped on the beach stairs and tumbled the rest of the way, snapping his neck as he fell. Good riddance, in my opinion.
“That’s true,” Minho agreed, keeping his hand on my knee as he drove. It was insanely sexy, even I could admit.
For the rest of the drive to my apartment building, they filled me in on what I’d missed since my near--death experience.
The highlight was Minho informing me that Naked Monkey had paid Tor and Skye a huge bonus, thanks to the viral footage of them sprinting into frame during the attack, wearing nothing but their sponsored underwear and flapping robes.
Neither one of them had told me about that when they’d caught me up on the aftermath.
“I didn’t want you thinking we’d profited from your pain,” Skye muttered, his cheeks pink as I turned in my seat to ask why. “It feels slimy, but Leight…” He trailed off with a grimace, and I nodded my understanding.
“I get it. He wouldn’t have given you any option to refuse, but I’d have been mad as hell if you did.” I pursed my lips, squinting at him. “But you’re buying our bubble tea for the next month, moneybags.”
Skye’s expression instantly brightened with a grin. “Deal. I noticed there was a Boba--Kitty down the street from your place, too. I’ll grab you one before Minnie and I head home.”
Minho’s fingers flexed on my knee, his lips pursed as he drove. “Should we be leaving you alone? It doesn’t feel safe. Maybe we should stay for a while…”
It was such a tempting offer on several fronts, but choosing to go to my own apartment was about more than just not wearing my binder.
“Maybe a little while,” I conceded, “but I’m kind of looking forward to a little bit of alone time.
I’m not used to being around people twenty-four seven, and the last two months have been a lot. ”
“His building security is good,” Skye added. “I checked the other day.”
Minho didn’t seem convinced, but he kept quiet as he followed the GPS directions and then pulled into the underground parking driveway.
I needed to lean over him to scan my fingerprint for access without my remote, and nearly lost my whole train of thought when he gently stroked my waist where my hoodie had ridden up.
His nearness was making me all flustered, and I needed to pinch myself as I sat back in my seat to let him drive once more.
Maybe having Minho in my apartment was a bad idea after all. Good thing Skye was with us to act as the ultimate cock--blocker.