Page 45 of Under Your Care

“I know,fuck, I’m sorry. Why does it even matter? He’ll heal.” A short pause occurred before the man spoke again. “Fuck. You should’ve said somethingbefore! How the fuck was I supposed to know that? I need you to take him. He can still be used while he’s healing. Sure, he’s not the prettiest to look at now, but he has a perfectly fine mouth and ass! C’mon, man! We had a deal! Shit!”

I continued to listen as the man ranted. He began to sound increasingly frantic and enraged. I heard what sounded like rotted wood being hit over and over. I lifted my gun and spun into the barn. The man - maybe early thirties, stick thin, matted blonde hair, a crazed look in his eyes - turned towards me and froze as he clocked the weapon pointed at him.

“Who the fuck are you?” He spat.

“I’d like to ask you the same question,” I demanded, stepping furtherinto the rundown space. “Where is Lane?”

The man’s eyes went wide before his brows lowered and he sneered, “Who. The. Fuck. Are. You? Answer the damn question and I’ll answer yours.”

“I’m his husband.”Soon-to-be, at least.

He flinched back, obviously thrown off. “Lane doesn’t have a husband.”

I used my gun-free hand to gesture up and down my body. “Well, here I am. The husband.” I shook my head in annoyance. “Now, where the fuck is Lane? I know he’s here.”

The man cursed, “Did Williams send you? You guys can’t just take him for free! Fucking bullshit.”

I growled, “Where is he?” The man was fuming, glancing to the small bench behind me where his gun was laid.

“Ugh. Fine, man. He’s in the third stall - keys in my pocket. This was such a fucking waste of time,” he raged, face red.

Responding wasn’t necessary at this point. I lowered my gun slightly and fired a shot into his left calf. He fell to the ground, screaming and cursing. I walked over to where he was squirming in the dirt and kneeled, one knee on his throat. I quickly found the keys and stood, leaving him.

The stall door creaked as I pulled it open. What I saw when I took a step into the small enclosure made my heart stop. I rushed to the corner and fell to my knees, overlooking the battered and broken body of my baby boy. My hands shook as I tried to wake him, as I begged for him not to leave me. My lungs suddenly expanded as I felt a pulse. I tried to gather him in my arms as gently as possible, but tiny groans left his lips when I lifted him off the ground. I gaped down at his bruised and bloodied face; my veins froze over as I looked at streaks of dried semen on his chest and chin. I gripped his body tighter in anger, loosening my hold when his face scrunched in discomfort.

“What the fuck happened here?”

My head jumped up as I recognized Hayes’ voice. My brothers saunteredinto the barn, curious looks on their faces. As they came closer and saw Lane limp in my arms, small frowns appeared on their faces.

“Is he alive?” Hudson asked, head tilted. I nodded roughly, stepping around my brothers to leave the barn.

“I’m taking him to the hospital. The guy who did it is inside. Single gunshot wound to his left calf. Keep him alive and contained. I’ll deal with him later,” I snarled.

“Of course, brother. We’ll keep in contact,” Hudson confirmed as they walked further into the building, ready to get to work.

???

“He has a concussion, bruised ribs, a fracture to his left ankle, a fracture to the right orbital, and potential permanent damage to his right eye. We’ll need to do some further testing, but it’s possible he won’t regain sight in that eye. We did check for any signs of a sexual assault. I can confidently say that he was not anally penetrated, but we’re not able to determine if he was assaulted in other ways.”

“Okay. Will he… be okay? He’ll wake up?” I hesitantly questioned.

The ER doctor sighed but nodded. “He should wake up soon. I assure you that we’re doing everything we can for him. The orthopedic surgeon will be down within the hour to discuss treatment options for Mr. Bennett’s ankle.” After throwing a quick glance to Lane, the doctor added, “He’ll need to speak with the police once he wakes. Just warning you, but you’re not going to be allowed to sit with him while he’s interviewed. You seem… very involved in his care, so I just wanted to give you a heads up.”

“Thank you, doctor. It’s appreciated,” I gave him a tight smile. He nodded, then left us alone in the small room.

I fiddled with the thin hospital blankets covering Lane. The young nurses had giggled and looked at me with hearts in their eyes when I asked for several more blankets. I overheard them gossiping amongst each other about how I’m “such a perfect husband” and “if he were straight I would literally fight to the death to have him as my boyfriend.” I didn’t quite understand how requesting extra blankets and sitting at his bedside made me so attractive. I mean, sure, I may have boughta fewteddy bears at the hospital gift shop, but Lane deserved softness after what he went through.

Lane looked like a broken doll laying in the hospital bed. He looked so small, so helpless. His normally perfect porcelain skin was marred by black, blue, and yellow bruises. Selfishly, I was almost as mad that he had been so thoroughly marked by another man than at the fact that he was in pain. I would never cover his entire body in bruises like it was now, but I was addicted to seeing my marks on him. Now I had to wait until these bruises faded before having my beautiful blank canvas back.

While I looked over Lane’s battered body, I was hit by the urge to permanently mark his skin. I got lost in thought while contemplating different ways to achieve my goal that I missed the moment his eyelids fluttered open.

“Daddy?” He whispered, his voice strained. My head whipped over to look at him. His eyes seemed foggy, like he wasn’t all there yet. I supposed that was the concussion.

“Yeah, baby, I’m right here. You’re safe now,” I told him softly. I carefully placed his hand in mine, stroking soothing circles into his skin. I reached over to push the call button with my other hand. A nurse entered the room, smiling brightly as she saw that Lane was awake. She spoke encouraging words to him while taking his vitals. When he complained of pain, more medication was added to his IV bag.

Over the next two hours, Lane’s hospital room was a revolving door of nurses, police, and doctors. After giving his statement privately to officers,he called for me to come in.

“Hey, princess. How did it go?”

---