Page 95 of Last Chance Love

“Thank you.”

“You already said that.”

I laughed softly, touching my forehead to his and holding him there. “I meant for being you, not necessarily for anything else.”

“Well, aren’t we feeling sweet?”

“Don’t expect it to last. I’m just relieved they’re okay. And I’m using you to calm down so I don’t get them riled up when I go in there.”

“You can use me anytime.”

“Pervert,” I said, knowing he was trying to make me laugh again and succeeding. “I can’t trust you to behave.”

“You know me,” he said, kissing me quickly. “They’re in room six. Normally, I’d have to tell Elliot to be calm and let Reno rest, but he just walked in there, sat on the edge of Reno’s bed, and didn’t say much.”

“Christ, what happened out there?”

“I…it’s better if you just go talk to them.”

“Sure,” I said, bracing myself before letting go of him and stepping into the hallway. It was quiet compared to the sea of murmuring I had walked into earlier. I walked down to the last door on the left and let myself in after a soft knock. Elliot was still sitting on the side of Reno’s bed, their hands darting away from each other.

“Don’t worry,” I told them softly, closing the door. “I’ve known about the two of you for a while. Hold hands if you want.”

To my surprise, Reno didn’t hesitate to reach out and take hold of Elliot’s hand. I wasn’t the only one, it seemed, as surprise flickered briefly over Elliot’s face, but that didn’t stop him from squeezing Reno’s hand in return with a soft smile.

“I know it’s a stupid question, but how are you guys feeling?” I asked, leaning against one of the nearby counters and watching them carefully.

“Like shit,” Elliot muttered, looking up at me. “We had a long night.”

“I suspect you’re putting it mildly,” I said, arching a brow and watching their reactions. Reed had been right. There was a barrier between Elliot and the rest of the world. So far, the only person who seemed to be included was Reno, which made sense. They obviously cared greatly for one another and had gone through the same nightmare.

“The guy we brought back with us,” Reno began slowly, pulling his eyes reluctantly from Elliot. “What happened to him?”

“Uh, truth be told, I’m not sure. But there were police at the ranch when I heard what happened,” I admitted. “Undoubtedly, they’re going to roll him out of here. Though from what I overheard as I passed, they’ll need to take a pit stop by the hospital first.”

Reno snorted. “Good. Hopefully, I knocked something into place for him, prick.”

“Look,” I said, looking down at my feet. “Before I ask you what happened, I need to say I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Reno asked, sounding confused.

“I was the one who offered up you guys to go out there, just the two of you. If I waited or double-checked to make sure things were completely safe, or hell, had other guys go out with you, it might not have gone?—”

“Oh, fuck me,” Reno groaned. “Stop. All you’ve done is try to give us both a chance to do something with ourselves other than fuck up. And we both know sending us out there,especiallyjust the two of us, happened because of you. Because you trusted us. Shit happens, and then we deal with the fucked-up shit afterward.”

Elliot finally smiled. “Isn’t he great at delivering heartfelt, uplifting speeches?”

I glanced between them and snorted. “He’s got a gift.”

“And he’s not wrong. We’re here in all the right ways because of you, Leon. So just ask us questions,” Elliot said, looking down at the floor. “I’d like to get this done so I can forget about it as soon as possible.”

“Alright, I’ll try to make this as painless as possible,” I said, opening one of the drawers and pulling out a pad of paper and a pen. Even if I did have a damn good memory, I didn’t want to risk missing anything, just in case. “Take it from the beginning. I'm listening.”

* * *

“Quit,”I muttered to him, knowing even if he heard me over the din of the dinner crowd, he wouldn’t listen.

“What’s up?” he asked louder than I did, giving an excellent facsimile of innocence as he popped a french fry into his mouth. “Oh, sorry about your foot. Didn’t realize you’d spread out like that.”

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