Desires' Guardian (26 page)

“Don’t worry, he’s here. He’s with Dal in the other room.”

It didn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t he be here with him instead of Mark and Grayson? “Is he hurt?” he gasped out, shaking hard again.
No, please no! Rhys has to be okay! I didn’t get to tell him I love him yet. He can’t be hurt!

“Breathe, Chase. Rhys is fine. He’s fine. Not a mark on him, I swear,” Mark said, strained and rushed.

Chase tried to focus, but breathing hurt, and being moved only made it worse. “Please. I need. See. Rhys,” he panted, struggling to stay awake and focused.

“I’ll try to get him,” Grayson said before disappearing from Chase’s narrow view. Mark stayed next to him even as the paramedics rolled him out into the night air and to the waiting ambulance.

He was confused when Mark disappeared but then elated when Rhys appeared beside him, until he noticed the red stuff all over Rhys’s hands. “You’re hurt!”

“Chase, sweetheart. Don’t try to talk. Just rest now.” Rhys’s face was tearstained as he stared down at Chase.

“Blood,” Chase managed to force out.

“I’m fine. It’s not mine. Now rest, please.” Rhys brushed his cheek, but with such a featherlight touch, Chase could barely feel it. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, certain Rhys would protect him.

He felt the banging when they closed the doors and the vehicle started to move, but he lost his tentative hold on the waking world. His last thought was that Rhys’s touch was the best thing he’d ever felt, and he would do anything to keep him.

“H
OW
COULD
you not tell me what was going on until afterward?” James yelled, his voice high and angry in a way Chase had never heard before.

“I didn’t want you to worry,” Rhys rumbled. “Seriously, you just got married and all. He wouldn’t want to take away from your happy.”

“Great, so my best friend ends up kidnapped and hurt, but what everyone’s worried about is me? Am I the only one who thinks that’s nuts?”

Chase listened to the two most important men in his life argue, unable to get his mouth to work.

“It’s not like I knew this would happen. I wouldn’t have let him out of my sight otherwise! I have never been so afraid.”

“I know, Rhys.” James’s voice dropped to the soothing, “it will all be okay” tone Chase knew well. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. This isn’t your fault, it’s his crazy ex’s.”

Chase was finally able to make his mouth work, though it felt like the Sahara had moved in while he was out. “Rhys? James?” God! Could he sound any worse?

Twin gasps from across the room sounded before both men were at his side. When he forced his eyes to focus, he took in James’s pained face and Rhys’s ashen one. Both looked like nervous wrecks.

“Water?”

“Right here,” Rhys said, holding a straw to his lips. When his throat felt a little more usable, he murmured, “I’m sorry.”

Rhys took his free hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. “Cariadon?”

He smiled at Rhys, loving that he was precious enough to Rhys for such a special pet name. “Don’t fight.” He shifted his head enough to meet James’s eyes and added, “Please.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Rhys said at the same time James said, “Sorry, Chase.”

“What happened?” The two men shared a look that screamed worry as far as Chase could tell. “Tell me.”

“What do you remember?” Rhys asked as James moved around him to sit in the chair pulled close to the bed.

Chase searched his memories, fuzzy things that they were. “I hung out with Si, then left to go to your place. I had something to talk to you about.” He paused, hoping his head would stop hurting so much. “But, uh, I stopped to eat and ran into Jonathan. Uh….” He couldn’t come up with how he’d ended up in that horrible place or who would want to hurt him like that. “Then being somewhere dark and someone kicking me. Then nothing until you all showed up to get me.” A flash of Rhys in the ambulance made him flinch. “Wait, you had blood on you. Who’s blood, Rhys?”

“Jonathan took you to a warehouse he owns and had you bound in one of the back rooms.”

“He’s the one who….”
Why would he do that?
“He wanted to protect his secrets so badly, why risk something so insane?”

“He’s on a different floor from you. I’ve not been allowed near him again to find out the why of it,” Rhys growled. “I failed to protect you,” he added, looking down and away from Chase.

“This isn’t your fault, Rhys,” James said softly. “Until we know why he did this, we have no way to know what triggered this attack.”

“When he broke Chase’s wrist, I should have known the man wouldn’t quit so easily.”

“Hindsight is always twenty-twenty,” James countered. “You can’t play these what-if and shoulda-woulda-coulda games.”

“Listen to James, please. This isn’t anyone’s fault but the person who did this.” Chase thought through what they’d said so far and realized neither man had explained the blood yet. He clutched Rhys’s hand tighter. “And the blood?”

“That ass opened fire on Dal and hit his shoulder. We’re waiting to hear how bad the damage is, but he’ll be fine,” Rhys said, still not meeting his eyes.

“Oh God! Dal?”

“Hey, hey, Chase,” James said, shaking him gently. “Calm down. He’s out of surgery, and the doctor is in with Rhys and Dal’s parents. We are waiting to hear more.”

“You’re sure?”

“He is,” said a new voice from the doorway. There was a stocky, older black man standing there. Chase recognized him right away as Dal’s boss. “Hello, son,” he said, nodding to Rhys.

“Sir? Do you know any more?” Rhys asked.

“Yes and no. I don’t know what the doctors say about Dal’s shoulder yet, but I’m rather impressed with his aim if he really did shoot that ass upstairs after he was shot,” the captain said, heavy brows raised in question.

“Ballistics will verify whose gun did what, so there’s no reason for the questions.”

“True, but I’m still surprised he went along with your little rescue plan instead of calling it in. Once you had the tape, it was no longer a question of willful disappearance.”

“Couldn’t afford to take the time, sir. Is he in trouble?”

Chase watched and listened, but the idea Dal would be punished for helping rescue him was beyond his ability to keep quiet. “You can’t go after Dal for doing what’s right!”

The captain looked from Rhys to Chase, a small sad smile on his face. “Son, it’s not up to me what does or doesn’t happen. It’s a matter for IA and the lawyers to work out. He was off duty and chose his path on this one. He knew what he risked by doing things Rhys’s way instead of by the book. But,” he said, holding his hand up to hush Chase’s protests. “I will fight tooth and nail to protect him.”

There was a long pause as everyone digested the facts presented. Finally, Chase looked up and asked the question he most wanted to know since he’d woken up in the dark. “Why’d he do that to me?”

“It wasn’t just you he hurt,” the older man explained. “We found evidence that ties him to all but one of the killings your partner’s been investigating.”

“But why?”

“Something about purging the past so he can be clean. It’s all he’s said so far. We don’t know anything else yet. I’m sorry. The only other thing I can tell you is you’re safe now. There were no signs he was working with anyone, so you have no need to fear him any longer.”

Chase didn’t understand what that meant any more than the screaming before had made any sense to him. What he did know was he would be eternally thankful to Rhys and Dal for getting him out of that horrible place.

After that, things were hectic for a while as nurses and doctors came in and poked, prodded, and fussed both at and over him. He dozed off and on as well. The next time he came fully awake, instead of James in the chair, his mom was there. While happy to see her, he was a bit confused and hurt that Rhys and James weren’t still with him.

“Morning, sweetie,” his mom said, her smoky voice strained as if she’d been crying.

“Mom?”

“That nice young man of yours is just outside, arguing with his folks about not leaving you, and James is in with Dal right now. No one will let either of you be alone,” she added, her lips curving in a slight smile.

“You met Rhys?”

“Yes, and he’s simply lovely. Or, I guess handsome would be better, considering how rugged he seems.”

He sighed, thankful she liked Rhys, especially given the circumstances. “I’m glad. This wasn’t how I wanted you two to meet.”

“Didn’t think it was. Now, I wanted to let you know why your dad isn’t here. He is trying to get back, but planes being what they are, he has been delayed a little. He will be here as soon as he can, though, so don’t think ill of him.”

“Mom! I have never thought badly of Dad. Well, no more than any normal kid does some days. He’s the best, just like you were the most wonderful mom ever.”

Her smile was real and full this time, tears leaking down her cheeks. “This is twice now I’ve thought we were going to lose you. You have to be more careful, sweetheart. My poor heart can’t take all this. Neither can your body,” she added pointedly.

Yeah, he was a mess, though luckily it was mostly just severe bruising, not all broken and punctured like he’d feared. Still, they’d told him he had a concussion, and he’d be sore for ages and look wonderful at the same time. “I know. But this wasn’t my fault.”

“I know it wasn’t. Your boyfriend said you had been helping with the investigation until recently.”

“He’s more than that to me, Mom.”

“In what way?”

“In the ‘I’m going to ask him to move in with me’ way, or if I can move in with him since he has a house, I guess.”

She gasped, but a much deeper one from across the room drowned out the sound. Rhys and his father were standing there. Rhys’s mouth hung open, but Bryn’s face was downright gleeful.

“H-hi, Rhys.”

“Really, cariadon?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, nervous but determined. “That’s what I’d wanted to talk to you about that night. Last night, I guess, or was it the one before.” He still didn’t know what day it was. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about making our living together a permanent thing.”

“I’d lo—like that. You’ll need the help for a bit anyway.”

Chase frowned, not liking the implication Rhys would have him stay out of duty or some such nonsense. “That’s not why, Rhys.”

Rhys moved over to his side and carefully wrapped him in his arms. “I didn’t mean it that way, sweetheart. I would love for you to live with me. I can get movers to get your things before I bring you home,” he continued. He looked over at Bryn and asked, “Dad? You have people you trust I could hire, right?”

“I’ll make some calls if that’s all right with your partner.”

Chase’s head spun at how fast things were suddenly moving. “We can worry about it once I’m out and better, hun.”

Rhys shook his head before Chase had finished speaking. “You’ll want your stuff and clothes and all. Besides, you really think I’m going to let you try to help? Not happening. I’ll ask James to supervise, okay? He’ll know what’s what in your old place, and then you can have the fun of helping me find places for your things once you’re home.”

He took in the naked hope in Rhys’s eyes and smiled. “Okay. But only if James agrees.”

“Thank you, Chase.” Rhys hugged him tighter but was still careful with him.

“Come on, Mama Manning,” Bryn murmured. “Let’s leave these two to their planning. They don’t need us for a few minutes.”

“That’s fine. I would like to check on that sweet boy of yours that got hurt saving my baby anyway. And it’s Desiree, not Mama,” she said, smiling. “I’ll be back in a little, dear,” she added, patting Chase carefully.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Once they were alone again, he clutched Rhys’s hand. “I had more I planned to say that night. And while this isn’t the best place for heart-to-heart talks, it’ll have to do.”

“What else did you want to discuss? You said you wanted to live with me—was there more?”

“I’d come to the conclusion while talking to Simon that no matter how rocky a start we had, I needed to tell you how I felt and what I wanted. That I needed to stop letting my fears mess with our future.”

“O… kay,” Rhys said with a small nod. “So what other fears are a problem? I thought things were good between us.”

“They are, Rhys. That’s not what I meant. Si asked if I thought you loved me and if I loved you, and it was then I realized I wasn’t falling for you, I was already in love with you.” As soon as the words were out, he started to panic again. What if Rhys didn’t feel the same? What if he wasn’t ready to hear what Chase felt? What if all this had changed how Rhys felt….

“Cariadon, calm down. Take a deep breath.” Chase focused on doing as ordered. Once his breathing was mostly normal, Rhys continued. “I love you too, ya twit. I only didn’t say it before because I was afraid you’d run again.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to Chase’s in the sweetest kiss Chase had ever known. It was soft, closed mouthed, but still brought a joy to his bruised heart he hadn’t known possible.

When they parted again, Rhys rested his forehead against Chase’s. “I will tend to everything and have you moved in as soon as possible. Thank you.”