Ex's and O'S (7 page)

“I can try, but if there’s any need for x-rays or…other tests, I can’t really do anything about the cost of those. All I can do is look at him.”

Les thought about his retirement account and mentally kissed it goodbye. “Do what you have to and send me the bill,” he said, cheeks burning with more than fever as Josh arched a brow at him. “What? I just think it’s bullshit that the guy helped put a rapist away and he gets beaten to hell and ran out of town for it, okay?” Adam was a hero, really, wasn’t he? Not that anyone else seemed to care about what he’d done. It would have been different if the rapist’s victims were women. Les knew if that had been the case, Adam’s picture would have been on every news channel as he was hailed a hero. It was a sickening truth, one that made him doubt his own career choice. Sometimes there wasn’t any justice in the world and it made Les want to scream and punch something.

“You’re right,” Josh murmured, his defensive stance shifting into that of a chastised child’s. “You’re right, I’m a dick. Let’s bring him back here.”

They stepped back through the doors, Josh in front of Les, striding straight towards Adam. Les was quite a bit taller than his friend so he had no problem seeing Adam’s stunned expression when he spotted Josh. Les took in everything about the blond, the tensing of his EX’S AND O’S

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shoulders, the wince that turned to a pained gasp, the way Adam’s fingers tightened on the arms of the chair.

Les stopped far enough behind Josh not to be hovering, but close enough to grab the man if he lost his head and did something stupid. After all, Les really didn’t know Josh that well, only from work, and people could act so very different…

Josh tipped his head down and when he spoke, his voice was soft and tinged with

compassion. “Hello Adam, I’m Josh—” was all he managed to get out before Charlene squealed and lunged at Josh, knocking them both back into Les.

“You’re Josh! Thank you thank you thank you,” Charlene emphasised every other

word with a smacking kiss to Josh’s cheek. “I didn’t know how we were going to get out of Billings or where we could go and they beat my baby! Look at him!” She unglued herself from Josh and grabbed his hand, jerking him forward. Les glanced at Adam and almost laughed at the man’s mortified expression. At least his humiliation had brought colour to his pale cheeks…and every other part of his face.

“Who—” Josh stopped and shook his head, obviously rethinking the need to question Adam, at least in the ER. “Come on, you look like shit.” He held out his hand and though Les was proud of Josh for getting past his jealousy, he also wanted to rip Josh’s arm off when Adam tentatively reached out to place his hand in Josh’s.

“It’s the prednisone,” Les muttered, stiffening his arms to keep from snatching Adam away from Josh.

Charlene snorted beside him. “Oh no it isn’t. I know that look you’re giving my baby, and it has nothing to do with steroids.”

Les gaped at the woman as he felt the other two men staring at him. The silence in the ER was like a quiet confirmation of Charlene’s unspoken accusation.

Josh’s giggle slipped into the air, his words falling with the impact of an anvil dropping on an egg. “Oh man, this night just got a hell of a lot more interesting.”

Splat! Les’ composure shattered as he stumbled back towards the entrance doors. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turned to flee and slammed into someone.

Gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of him, he glared at the cursing man in front of him and realised he was totally screwed.

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Nick’s glower hitched into a grin as he peered over Les’ shoulder. “Well now, Officer Stanton, what’s got your knickers in a knot? Or do I even have to ask?”

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Jesus. If he had any luck at all, he’d drop dead immediately from internal bleeding or something. Adam hunched over in his seat, one arm wrapped around his middle.

Unfortunately, he was pretty sure the pain searing his insides was from the punches he’d taken to his kidneys. Fiery tendrils spread from his lower back around to his stomach. Now that his mom’s Vicodin were wearing off, he was in agony—and yet, that wasn’t nearly as bad as his mother calling Officer Stanton out on his lascivious looks. Adam hadn’t been sure he’d been reading the man’s expression right; he’d thought Stanton was glowering and kind of scary for it—until Adam had sat in the crappy chair. That’d put him on eye level with proof of Stanton’s desire.

Adam couldn’t miss the thick erection Stanton was sporting then, and neither had his mother, who’d pointed it out with a glance and a chuckle. At least she hadn’t said anything to Stanton. If he’d put that jacket on with the hopes of hiding his hard on, it’d been a total fail, especially since Stanton hadn’t zipped it up. If anything, the way the dark blue material ended a few inches past his hips, the jacket only served to frame the length of the fat cock pressed between the khaki coloured pants and his thigh.

Very impressive
, Adam thought as Stanton fled,
and obviously a closeted case
—definitely not Adam’s kind of man even if everything else about the big bruiser did flip switches Adam hadn’t realised he had.

Adam shifted in his seat, an unreasonable impulse to go after Stanton flitting through him and pissing him off. He had no interest in being someone’s hidden secret or the punching bag for a man who couldn’t deal with his sexuality. Adam had been both before and would never put himself in such a situation again. And with the way Stanton was bolting, he wouldn’t have to.

Except the cop didn’t get out the door, spinning and colliding with another man so hard Adam heard both of their breaths whoosh out. Adam blinked, his vision a little fuzzy with a wave of pain, then grinned as he caught Nick’s eye for a second. He had a feeling Nick EX’S AND O’S

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wasn’t particularly fond of Stanton and Adam wondered if he were the same cop who’d tossed Nick in jail. Probably, he decided as Nick’s expression morphed into something akin to sadistic delight.

Josh squeezed his hand and Adam tore his gaze away from the two men at the

doorway. Josh’s green eyes were lit with an amusement that tinged the man’s voice when he spoke. “Come on, you need to be examined. Hopefully those two chest thumpers won’t do anything stupid.” Josh darted a glance over his shoulder before turning back to Adam and frowning. “Uh. Or maybe we should wait a few minutes…”

Adam’s mom patted Josh’s shoulder. “They’ll be okay, honey. You take care of my

baby and I’ll make sure these two don’t beat each other to death.” She grinned and bent over, giving Adam a kiss before straightening up and pecking Josh on the cheek. “Go on, shoo!”

“Yes ma’am,” Josh muttered but he smiled as he helped Adam up. After Adam

stumbled, Josh placed a hand on Adam’s chest and frowned. “Maybe I should get a

wheelchair.”

“I don’t—” Adam swayed, his vision turning blurred. “I think—” he slurred, then the blackness swept in and carried him away from the pain bubbling over in his body.

He woke to the sound of two men arguing, one with a soft tenor and the other with a low snarling voice that sent all kinds of warm fuzzy feelings through Adam. Prying an eye open, he groaned and immediately shut it again against the bright light in the room.
Hospital.

That’s right…

The arguing stopped as footsteps shuffled towards him. Adam felt a warm hand press to his forearm then the waft of mint tinged breath over his face. “Hey, can you do that again, except open both your eyes this time?”

Why would he want to do that? The light had been like bright shards of glass spearing his eye. Why would he want to hurt more—Adam did a quick inventory of his body.

Considering the agony he’d been in while driving and in the waiting room at the ER, he wasn’t hurting much at all now. There were still small twinges at his back and something jabbing his arm, but all in all, he felt warm and light, as if he had helium mixed into his EX’S AND O’S

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bloodstream. That realisation had Adam’s eyes popping open. He grunted in surprise because Josh was right in his face, peering intently into Adam’s eyes. At least his dark head was blocking the light.

“You’re a lucky man,” Josh said, one side of his mouth tipping up in a grin. “Battered and bruised, a few gashes, and dehydrated—next time you borrow your mom’s drugs you might want to increase your water intake.”

Even in his drugged—legally, this time—state, Adam caught the condescension in

Josh’s voice. Adam narrowed his eyes at the man. “What was I supposed to do? Go to a hospital in Billings, maybe the same one where Chase is—” Adam stopped, his chest tight.

For all he knew, Chase was dead. James had said the PI had been brutalised, stabbed and—

Josh’s cheeks went pink as he moved back. “You’re right, I’m being a jerk. Nick told me what happened to your friend, Chase, and I…” Josh looked down as he swallowed

noisily. “I think taking whatever you could to make it possible for you and Charlene to leave was your best option.”

Adam was about to point out that Chase wasn’t his friend, but the pettiness of the denial stopped him, as did a snort from behind Josh. “See there, was that so hard, babe? I told you it wouldn’t kill you to be nice to Adam.”

Adam smiled at Nick as the man moved to Josh’s side, dropping a smacking kiss on

top of his head before coming to stand at the side of the hospital bed. Nick swept Adam with an intense gaze before pinning Adam with his dark eyes. “Only thing Josh didn’t do was a rape kit. Does he need to?”

“No,” Adam mumbled after a moment of silence. “They didn’t do anything other than beat the shit out of me.” Neither Nick nor Josh looked like they believed him, and Adam was plain out of patience. He wanted to be home, wherever that might be now, somewhere hopefully safe where he could curl up and sleep and try to put his life back in some semblance of order. Everything had been taken from him—his job, his home even, Adam acknowledged since he was lying in a hospital bed—his ability to take care of and defend himself. He felt pathetic and angry, and Nick and Josh were dangerously close to becoming recipients for those emotions.

Adam reined in his temper, barely restraining himself from asking if both men really wanted to see his ass so badly. He knew that wasn’t the case, that Nick was just worried, and EX’S AND O’S

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Josh was…well, whatever. Adam actually found Josh’s jealousy cute, but he wished the man would realise there was no need for it. Nick looked at Josh like he was his salvation.

“I wouldn’t lie about it,” Adam said tiredly, his anger draining as quickly as it’d spiked. “I wouldn’t fuck around with my health. You don’t believe me, ask my mom. They beat the shit out of me in the parking lot of her apartment. She came running down the stairs screeching like a banshee. She can tell you I wasn’t raped.”
Rescued by my mother, and thank
God for it.
Adam tried to look around the two men. “Where is my mom?” His stomach fluttered when Nick snickered.

“You didn’t hear the argument between Josh and Stanton a few minutes ago?”

Adam shook his head. “Not really, just…voices.”

Nick laughed and tipped his head at Josh. “He pretty much bullied Stanton into

taking Charlene over to the apartment where y’all will be staying. What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall…”

“God,” Adam groaned, closing his eyes and trying to sink into the bed. He didn’t even want to know what embarrassing things his mother would tell the big cop.

Les didn’t often have nightmares, but if he did, this would certainly be one of them, he thought as he shut the passenger door of his cruiser. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Charlene. The woman was entirely too perceptive, seeing things Les didn’t even want to acknowledge himself. Taking a deep breath, he debated flipping on the lights and sirens. He could haul ass to the apartment, let the racket drown out any conversation Charlene might attempt to start…

But that’d make his unease obvious, and he just knew the woman would smirk at him the entire drive. At least his erection had finally wilted. Seeing Adam pass out in the waiting room had jerked all the blood back from Les’ dick and sent his pulse pounding in a rampage of fear for the little blond.

And Les didn’t want to think about that reaction, either.

“No sirens,” he muttered as he opened his door. Les slid into his seat and fumbled the keys into the ignition. He could feel Charlene watching him, and damned if he didn’t have to EX’S AND O’S

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repress a shudder or two. Les started the Charger then put it in reverse, carefully keeping from looking at Charlene as he craned his neck around to back out. He knew better than to hope the woman would be quiet.

“So”—Charlene began, proving Les right immediately—“I take it you’re not out?”

Les scrunched his brow in confusion as he shifted into drive. “Out? Out where? Right now we’re—”

Charlene snorted and slapped his arm, startling Les with the force of the blow. “Quit being a smart ass! You know I meant out as in, people don’t know you’re gay!”

No, Les didn’t know that. As far as he knew, he wasn’t gay, he just…had a low sex drive when it came to women, and who could blame him? His mother was one fucked up woman, and Les had never been able to shake his residual fear of them. Freud would have had a field day with Les, that’s for sure, but the fact was, Les had learned how deadly women could be at an early age. Did wanting one man make him gay? And why the hell was he even wondering? Les glared at Charlene from the corner of his eye. “I’m not gay. I haven’t ever—” Les grunted as a wave of embarrassment flooded him. He’d damn near blurted out that he hadn’t ever had sex, period, much less been attracted to another man. That was information he definitely didn’t want Charlene to have.