Page 43 of Everlasting

I gave him a nod of my head, bit down on my lip to keep from interrupting him, and just listened.

“When I met Deck, he had just been rescued from Sasha. There is some weird power dynamic at play between the four siblings in that family, part of which is being done because the fourth sibling is a bastard child and not recognized. Normally, I wouldn’t think that important to tell you, but you’ll realize, there were two of the brothers who were working to get Deck back to you. The third, and youngest of the brothers, along with their sister, Sasha, was working to keep him away and use him to secure their power base. I worked for the older two in order to help Deck while I was there. Sasha’s youngest brother is the one who originally captured your husband, I believe he was reported to be dead in the raid that got your husband back.”

I didn’t say anything, just nodded. I already understood this dynamic as Ava had explained it all, thanks to the information Toby had provided her with.

“Well, when he was found in Sasha’s lair the time before, he was brought to a special, private hospital where they brought me in to handle his care and get him healthy again. I have to tell you how bad it was, so you understand just what I’m working with here and how long this process is going to take.” The man before me went on to quickly recount the condition Deck had been found in previously, what his prognosis was, and how long it took to get him back on his feet and off the shit Sasha had been chemically leashing him with. Then he told me about his condition compared now.

“Physically, he’s in much better shape. That will help tremendously in his recovery this time around.”

“But?” I asked because I could almost hear the word dripping from his thoughts. He eyed me and then seemed to decide something before speaking again.

“But, I have to prepare you. Kicking a habit once, it’s insanely difficult. Kicking it a second time, the chances of relapse go up drastically. Real numbers?” He asked me. I nodded. “If a person can stay sober for a year, their chances of relapse are about 50 percent. Only a third of people who get help make it that first year.”

“Only a third, and then 50 percent of that?” I asked in disbelief. Jesus. “He’s already relapsed though,” I pointed out.

“Yes and no.” He shook his head and then ran a hand over his shiny, bald head. “Deck never took the drugs willingly. I’m sure at some point, very soon after they were administered, he wanted them. Never doubt that. The craving becomes a thing whether you take them willingly or not. When he relapsed, again, it wasn’t willingly. He didn’t feel the itch and choose to take them. Someone forced them on him. I don’t know how that will affect his recovery, but I’m hopeful. Deck doesn’t seem to have an addictive personality naturally.

“No, he doesn’t. He rarely drinks, or at least he used to rarely drink,” I confirmed for him.

“Smoke?”

I shook my head. “I’ve never known Deck to smoke.”

“That’s good. I think his chances of relapse go down, knowing that, but if I’m being honest, there’s always a chance especially when he’s faced with stressors in life. Whether he wants to or not, his body will remember the easy ‘feel good’ fix and crave it to take him away from whatever is hurting him.”

“He has a mother undergoing treatment for breast cancer, a father who nearly died during his rescue, and a family deeply rooted in the MC life. I can’t shelter him from pain.”

“Not asking you to, darlin’. What you are going to have to do is be there as a support system. Usually, when people are getting clean, we tell them to stay out of relationships for at least a year because the relationship either becomes a crutch or a stressor. With married people who want to stay together, it’s going to be important that you’re going through this with him and not just watching from the sidelines.”

“I had no intentions of just sitting back and watching or being his crutch.”

“No one ever does.”

I sighed, because as frustrating as it was to hear, I knew the man was right. “Can I see him?”

“You can, if you’d like, but I gave him a sedative to calm him for now.”

“Is that smart, considering?”

“You know what?” He asked, but didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “I like you. Do you know how many family members wouldn’t even think to ask if that was okay? Too many,” he answered himself before I had a chance to. Far too many, and they’re usually my repeat customers.” He patted his hand on my shoulder. “The sedative is fine for now, it’ll help. I’m looking into the cocktail of drugs he was being given so I can see what I need to wean him off of and what he can go cold turkey on.”

“Cocktail?”

“After he wasted away the first go round, Sasha actually sought out a medical professional who was all too willing to build her a designer mix to suit her needs.”

I shivered. “What exactly was in them?”

“That’s what I’m waiting to see. I sent his blood work off to a lab to have it examined. I can already tell you that before she was using a combination platter of Viagra, MDMA, and I can’t be sure, but after hearing what Deck had to say about his experience, I would guess Rohypnol or something similar to it. He may have been given the same thing, in safer dosages this time, but I always felt like there was something else in his system too. I’m pretty sure she gave him coke to counter the issues Viagra will cause with a lower heart rate.”

“What does all this mean for his heart, his overall health? Is there permanent damage from what she did?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “There’s no way of knowing right now. I didn’t have anything to compare his health to prior to him being rescued from the bitch before. If you’ll allow it, I can get with his normal doctor to discuss his baseline from before and compare to what he has now, versus what he’ll have once he’s weaned off of everything again.”

“Whatever you need,” I told him. Then I addressed the elephant in the room. “If he had Viagra and Molly in his system, then she very well could have been raping him and that baby could be his?”

The grim line of his mouth told me everything I needed to know. “You can find out for sure now, if you’d like. There are risks to the bitch and her baby though.”

I shook my head. “No, I won’t risk the baby in case it’s his, but once she has it, we’ll run the DNA,” I confirmed my plan. “I have someone else I need to check in on,” I told Durbin as I looked down at the man I loved. While he was obviously sleeping, it didn’t appear to be a peaceful sleep. “Will I have time before he’s up?”

---