Page 25 of Free Me

Instead, his brain was full of Miko. Miko’s bright, cheerful laughter; his sunshine smile and slightly crooked front tooth; the way their bodies fit together perfectly, as if made to complete each other.

How do I know that?

He had a concussion. Memory loss wasn’t unusual. Something had happened at the party. Why else would he and Miko have taken a taxi home? Had someone hurt Miko at the party? Forced him to do something and Linus took him home because he was upset?

Linus growled, and the noise got Papa and Layne’s attention. They stood on the same side of his bed, visible but still sort of fuzzy.

“It’ll be okay, baby boy,” Papa said. “Just rest.”

Nothing was okay, nothing was going to be okay until he saw Miko. Until they spoke and he told Linus about the party. But his damned numb lips and sausage tongue weren’t cooperating.

“Should we tell his nurse that he’s agitated again?” Layne asked.

No! No more drugs, I need to think.

Linus forced his racing thoughts to slow a little, so his family didn’t overreact and get him dosed again. He could calm down for Miko. Calm down for now, so he could be ragey later when he learned what was wrong. Focusing on this, on Miko, helped him not think about the horrible trick the doctor had played on him. They hadn’t cut off his leg. Nope.

But Dad...the way he’d broken down…nope.

Big double-nope!

Papa started talking again, in a rhythmic way that suggested he was reading out loud. At some point, Layne swapped out for Aven. And then Aven for Tarius. Papa left and Dad joined Tarius. It was like a weird game of musical relatives, and Linus was over it. His tongue felt less thick, his head less swimmy. Tarius gave him ice chips and that helped a lot. Someone said the words “dinner tray” and “clear liquids” but Linus didn’t care. He focused on moving his lips, remembering how to form words and make sounds.

The fog lifted and those old, sharp pains filled its void, but Linus could deal with the pain in his head and hips and legs for now, if it got him closer to answers. “M-m-me. Coe.”

“What was that, son?” Dad was directly in Linus’s line of sight, still pasty pale and sad-eyed. “What do you need?”

“Miko.”

“Miko’s fine, remember? We told you, just scrapes and bruises.”

“Need him. Please.”

Dad blinked hard twice. “You need to see Miko?”

“Yes. Please. Need to know.”

“To know what?”

“Probably to see for himself that Miko is okay,” Tarius said. “You can sneak him in again like you did yesterday.”

Miko had seen him yesterday? Linus smiled. “Yes, need to. See him. For myself. Talk to him.”

Dad hesitated, which was weird, but this entire situation was shitty and weird. “All right, I’ll go speak to your nurse. Hopefully, we’ll get you out of the ICU soon and into a regular room. I need all my boys together in one place again.” His voice cracked on the final few words, and then Dad was gone.

“I promise Miko is okay,” Tarius said. “He’s obviously shaken and upset about you being hurt so badly, but there’s no permanent harm done. You’ll be able to see for yourself soon.”

Yes, see and ask and know for himself why he and Miko left the party together. To discover if there was a guy out there Linus needed to hunt down and punish for hurting his mate.

Wait, my what?

No, not mate, his very best omega friend.

Right?

He tried to ignore the lump of his right leg, which he now realized was propped up, probably with a pillow. He couldn’t think about that, couldn’t think of the choice that had been made for him, to cut off his fucking leg. Not right now. That shit could wait until he spoke to Miko and found out more about the party. He couldn’t handle anything else, or he’d probably get sedated again.

Five minutes or fifty, Linus didn’t know or care how many passed before the sensation of being watched prickled across his skin, a kind of awareness he’d never experienced before. It drew his attention to the open room’s wide doorway and his heart skipped with joy. Miko stood just inside, hands clasped in front of him, head slightly bowed like a chastised student facing the principal. The timidity was new and it worried Linus. He also disliked the visible bruises on Miko’s face, and he truly hoped they were from the accident and not anything that happened before.

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