Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Alejandro
Holding Elaina on my lap was right, just as I knew it would be.
And having Joey leaning over us as he worked to dig the bullet out of my arm and stitch me up was perfect.
Our woman fit between us so well, and I couldn’t get enough of how much she doted on me, her brows creased with worry, and the way she sought out Joey’s approval as she helped keep my wound clean of blood so his view of the wound wasn’t stained red.
“You’re doing good, sweet girl,” Joey told her in a soft voice as she squeezed water over my wound to make the blood wash away. “I’ve almost got the bullet out.” He glanced at me. “How are you feeling?”
I held the liquor bottle up, which was just about gone.
I was well past drunk, and if he didn’t hurry up, I was going to pass the fuck out right in that hard, wooden chair.
I didn’t drink much, but when I did indulge, I usually only had a glass or two—not the whole fucking bottle like I had now.
But I had to do something to dull the pain of him digging around in my wound.
“Drunk,” I muttered, my words slurred.
He snorted a laugh, then finally pulled the last bullet fragment free.
Elaina made quick work of removing the blood, then she used the towel Ink had draped over her shoulder earlier to apply pressure to my wound while Joey prepared to stitch me up.
My head rolled forward, and my eyes drooped closed.
I didn’t think I’d ever been this damn drunk.
I could never allow myself to get this inebriated. I was a leader and a wanted man by many. I always had to be alert and ready to act. Now, I had to trust Joey and Miguel to protect me because I could barely hold my head up any longer.
“Stay awake,” Elaina urged, gently pushing on my good shoulder. I slowly lifted my head, staring at her through bleary eyes. Her lips twitched with amusement. “Joey’s almost done, then we can put you to bed,” she assured me.
“Literally just need to stitch you. That’s it,” Joey said, confirming what she said. He grinned as he looked at me. “You’re so fucking wasted, man.”
I snorted a laugh. “Mhm.” I looked at Elaina. “Will you lay with me when I go to bed, pequena luchadora?”
Her cheeks flamed red, and her pretty eyes widened.
Those pearly white teeth sank into her bottom lip, and her gaze flickered to Joey’s before quickly looking away again.
Like she wasn’t sure if she should take me up on my request, even if she really wanted to.
Like maybe she was afraid of ruining whatever they were building between them if she told me yes.
I slid my hand up her back, beneath her shirt.
Raised scars could be felt beneath my fingertips, and for a moment, anger burned through me.
I wanted to slaughter the mother fuckers who put these marks on her pretty body.
But I wasn’t so drunk that I didn’t know to rein in my temper.
Elaina might put up a strong front, but she was still spooked when men grew angry around her.
“You want him to join us?” I asked, a smirk curving my lips.
Joey shot me a dark look that I ignored.
“Just ask him, pequena luchadora. Let’s see if he can deny you.
” I knew he wouldn’t be able to. Every time he looked at her, I could see he wanted to give her the fucking world.
Anything she asked for, he would make it happen.
Elaina only looked away from me, focusing back on the task at hand as Joey began to stitch me up.
The needle stung going into my flesh, but I was drunk enough to not really pay it any mind.
My gaze remained locked on Elaina’s beautiful face as she focused intently on what Joey was doing.
When he was finally done, Ink silently took away the tray of supplies Joey had used, more than likely to clean and sterilize them.
“Let’s get his drunk ass to bed,” Joey told Elaina, helping her up from my lap, much to my displeasure.
But a bed sounded damn good. I’d lost quite a bit of blood, and I was drunk.
I needed some sleep. Preferably with Elaina curled up beside me.
And if I got my way, Joey would be on the other side of her.
I didn’t do things slowly. When I wanted something, I just took it. And I planned to have Elaina and Joey. I wanted them to be mine, and in turn, I’d be theirs. For me, it was that simple, even if it didn’t seem to be that simple for them.
The walk to my room was slow with me swaying so heavily on my feet, I kept pushing Joey and Elaina side to side. At one point, I stumbled too far to Elaina’s side, and we hit the wall. She grunted in pain, and Joey looked like he wanted to knock my teeth down my throat for injuring her.
“I’m sorry, pequena luchadora,” I rasped, my words slurring. “You okay? Let me see.” I tried pulling away from Joey, and on any other day, I could have, but I was so drunk, I wasn’t even sure if I actually moved my arm.
She shook her head. “I’m fine,” she assured me. “You need to go to sleep, Alejandro.”
Dios, I loved the way my name sounded coming from her sweet mouth. Joey was right. She was a sweet girl. His sweet girl and my little fighter. Fuck.
Joey eased me onto the bed, and I gripped his cut before he could back up, tugging him closer. “Give her what she wants,” I growled.
He narrowed his eyes at me, one hand planted on the mattress, the other against my shoulder like he wanted to shove me away.
“What she wants or what you want?” he asked, his voice low and threatening.
And damn, it didn’t warn me away like I wanted.
It did the exact opposite. It turned me on so much, my dick tried to rally, only I was too drunk to actually get hard.
I smirked. “Both?” I wasn’t even ashamed. I didn’t like lying. Wasn’t a fan of it. I intended to make sure Joey always knew what I wanted from him until I wore him down.
“Fuck you, Garcia,” he growled, smacking my hand away and standing up.
But then he turned, coming to face Elaina.
She was standing just to the side of us, one of my shirts clutched in her hands, along with a pair of my boxers.
Her cheeks were on fire, and fuck, she looked so damn beautiful, I wanted to kiss her until she couldn’t breathe without feeling me in her lungs.
“He’s too drunk to change himself,” she said quietly, shifting nervously on her feet. “And I don’t think I have the strength to help him myself. He’s too heavy.”
My smirk widened as I looked up at Joey, waiting to see if he would abandon her to do this herself, or if he’d help her.
He was getting backed into a corner, though I knew it wasn’t intentional on Elaina’s part.
She really couldn’t help me. I wouldn’t be able to stand on my own, much less strip out of my clothes and put on clean ones.
“Fuck,” Joey whispered, the word barely audible. He shot me a dark look. “No fucking funny business, Alejandro.”
I shrugged my good shoulder. “No promises, presidente.” And Dios, the way he shivered at the sound of his title rolling off my tongue in Spanish…
“I’ll help hold him up. You’ll have to get him out of his clothes and put the clean ones on him,” Joey told her. He looked at me. “Keep your fucking dick under control, Garcia.”
I barked out a laugh. He rolled his eyes and helped me up from the bed.
I swayed for a moment before Joey wrapped his arm around me, holding me against him.
Elaina dropped to her knees in front of me, and yeah…
keeping my dick under control when she was beneath us like this?
Didn’t matter she was just trying to help me or that I’d thought I was too drunk to get hard.
She looked right kneeling before us. Just fucking perfect.
Joey made a small noise in the back of his throat, obviously feeling the same way. When I glanced at him, he met my gaze, then clenched his jaw and looked away. But not before I saw the desire for Elaina burning in his dark eyes.
Elaina made quick work of my belt, then tugged my slacks and boxers down without a hint of anything she was feeling showing on her face.
When she glanced up for a split second, her eyes were empty.
Soulless. And I clenched my jaw, my good hand fisting at my side.
Every bit of lust I’d been feeling drained from me.
Fuck those assholes for doing this to her. For making it nearly impossible for her to even undress a man for medical reasons without having to dissociate.
“Help me get out of my shoes and these pants,” I told Joey. “Pequena luchadora, get up. Off the floor.”
She slowly rose to her feet, and surprising the fuck out of both of us, Joey reached out and cupped the side of her neck, his thumb pressing beneath her chin to tilt her head back so she was looking at him.
“You’re safe, sweet girl. Come back to us.
” He stroked his thumb along her skin. “Come on. It’s okay.
No one will touch you without your permission, you hear me? ”
She blinked slowly, the life slowly returning to her eyes. A shuddering breath left her lungs, and then, her shoulders drooped, almost in defeat. Tears swam in those pretty blue eyes, ripping my soul apart.
“Sit me down,” I snapped at Joey. The sight of her tears made me feel untethered. He looked at me, not moving. “Now, Joey.”
He quickly set me on the bed. I struggled out of my shoes and slacks, my head spinning from the movements.
But while I tried to get myself together, Joey tugged Elaina in his arms and hugged her, gently rocking her side to side as she softly cried.
He didn’t say a word—just held her. And his gaze locked with mine over her head, steely determination burning in their depths.
He wanted the blood of every mother fucker who’d hurt her as badly as I did.
I had my boxers halfway up my legs when my head swam so much, I had to stop and just breathe, waiting for it to pass. I didn’t know when Joey released Elaina, but suddenly, he was in front of me, tugging the boxers up my thighs until they covered me.
“Don’t worry about the shirt,” he quietly told me. “Let me help you onto the bed properly. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“Elaina—” I started, trying to see around him so I could check on her.
“Is fine and changing into something more comfortable to sleep in,” he assured me, his tone soft—surprisingly. “And you’re getting your wish. I’m staying. She…” He blew out a harsh breath. “She needs us.”
Something in my chest loosened. He wasn’t abandoning her when she needed us. He might not be here for me, and while that sucked, I needed him to be there for Elaina.
Once I was on the bed properly, the blankets pulled over me, Elaina emerged from the bathroom in a pair of sleep pants and a baggy t-shirt with the club emblem on it. Something in Joey’s eyes flashed at the sight of her wearing the club logo, but he tamped it down before she could notice it.
“Come on, sweet girl. Middle of the bed.”
Her cheeks stained red, but without a word, she crawled onto the bed. I opened my good arm to her, and after a moment of hesitation, she snuggled against my side, tucking her face against my chest. She fit perfectly, like she was always meant to be in my arms. Dios.
Joey tugged off his boots and shrugged off his cut, then slid into bed behind Elaina, remaining fully clothed. When he wrapped his arm around her waist, he quietly asked, “Is this okay?”
“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “I… I like it.”
He hummed and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I’m glad, sweet girl. I like holding you, too. Get some rest.”
The room was silent for a while, and it didn’t take Elaina long to pass out, her breaths softly fanning across my chest. I couldn’t sleep yet, even if I was tired as fuck. But Joey must have thought I was asleep too because he muttered, “Guess I’m coming second-best for you, too, sweet girl.”
“You’re not,” I gruffly responded, slowly opening my eyes. He was already staring back at me, his brows furrowed. “You’re not coming second-best for her, Joey. If you just let this happen, you’ll be a priority for both of us.”
He shook his head, but he didn’t seem angry at my constant push for him to give in. He just seemed… tired. And a little sad.
“I’m not gay, Alejandro.”
I sighed heavily. “Never said you had to be, Joey. Never said you had to be bi or pan or anything else. A label doesn’t even need to be fucking applied.
Just stop fighting this. I know you’ve been in love with Adelaide for years, but she’s happy and moved on.
Maybe it’s time for you to do the same.”
“What, with you and her?” he asked, trying to sound annoyed, but he was failing.
“Yeah,” I snapped, too tired to fight with him. “With us. We want you, Joey. Stop fighting us.”
He didn’t say anything else, and neither did I. Instead, I just closed my eyes and finally allowed myself to pass the fuck out.