Page 40 of Overstaying His Welcome

I didn't even know what actually happened. How could I tell the truth about it?

Oddly enough, I wasn't nervous either. It was like my subconscious knew that I was safe and protected.

A few minutes after the doctor left me to rest, a knock came at the open doorway and two uniformed officers came inside. One of them closed the door behind him and then they were both standing at the end of my bed. Their faces were pale, as if they were nervous for some reason.

"You're both acting strange," I said, lending some false bravado to my tone.

It felt like these two men knew who I was, or they were intimidated by me at least. Maybe it was because of my size. Could it be that I was some type of thug, and I paid them off in the past?

I nearly laughed at the notion because it was so convoluted.

"No, sir. We were worried you wouldn't remember us. We spoke with you one time before on a case. You weren't too happy with us." This came from the one with Patterson on his uniform.

I frowned. "What did you do?"

The partner, Jenks, who had shut the door, spoke up. "Well, we were kind of fucking things up on the site. Your client was in danger and the department doesn't have the best track record of taking care of people until it's too late. Things are better now, but it took a lot of yelling from you for us to see the error of our ways, sir."

They did know who I was, but they hadn't told the doctor. It was confusing for sure.

“Do you two know what happened to put me in here?” I said, instead of asking the question I wanted to ask most — "Who am I?”

I could tell that I had some type of clout based on how they treated me. There was a reputation here I needed to understand the dynamics of.

"Sir, Mr. Tank, sir, if I may… you were attacked and taken. We’ve contacted your guys to come get you. They should be here any minute."

A commotion in the hall stopped his words. They both drew their guns as if preparing to get into a fight.

The movement was familiar. My hand itched to do the same thing, though I had no holster or weapon on me.

The door to my room opened, and a sea of bodies flooded inside. All of them were disheveled in some way, their clothes all lopsided and hair out of place. It matched the wide eyes and furious gazes that met mine.

The cops holstered their weapons and chuckled, "You guys got here fast," Patterson said, but I couldn't pay him any mind anymore because the last man who entered the room stole my breath away.

He was unkempt like the others were, but there was an air about him that spoke to me more. I was instantly attracted to him.

I wanted to hold him close and bury my face in his neck.

I wanted to breathe in his scent and hold him until we both fell asleep.

He stepped forward slowly, moving as if he was afraid to spook me. His hand reached for mine, and I let him take it. I wasn't afraid. Nothing he could do would bother me.

I was certain of it.

"Tank," he said as he dropped down to kneel on the side of the bed. His forehead went to my knuckles, and he collapsed into a sea of despair. His shoulders shook with the force of his tears and all I wanted to do was fix it for him.

I didn't know why.

Clearly he knew me.

He had to, to have that type of reaction.

The other men in the room were talking softly to one another, and then the cops were gone, and the door was shut again. When it was just us, the man kneeling beside me calmed rather quickly before he raised his eyes to meet mine.

"I'm so glad you're okay, baby," he said softly.

Something about the way he said that triggered the synapses in my brain. It was like flipping a switch.

I went from empty to full in an instant. Gasping, I gripped his hand.

---