Page 75 of Mann Hunt
“So you what—ran away from home?”
“They told me that I had to quit.”
Declan paused, then said, “They were worried about you. I’ve seen some of those bruises. They worried me,too. If Mickey hadn’t told me you’d be okay, I would have taken you right to the hospital, which I still might do. You need to take it easy for a few days at least.”
Declan moved over and sat beside Charlie. “You scared the shit out of me today, Charlie, and I don’t scare easily. I don’t want that to ever happen to you again.”
“Okay,” Charlie said sheepishly.
“Do you need a place to crash?”
“I tried to reach my friend Carrie, but she wasn’t answering.”
“You can stay here then.”
Charlie nodded. “If I could maybe get a blanket and a pillow, I’ll just sleep here on the couch.”
“No, you’re hurt. Come with me. I’m not having you curled up on that thing.”
Declan helped him upstairs to his apartment. Charlie stood there, obviously unsure what to do. Declan opened a drawer then took out a clean T-shirt and workout shorts and handed them to him.
“You might be more comfortable in these.”
Charlie awkwardly tried to take his shirt off, but he was hampered by his injuries.
“Here. Let me help.”
Declan unbuttoned Charlie’s shirt and slid it over his slender shoulders. Charlie had a nice build. Not a hair on his chest, and only a slight trail leading from his navel down to the top of his pants. Declan ran the back of his index finger over the worst of the bruises. Charlie inhaled. At first Declan thought it was from pain until he saw the goose flesh rise up on Charlie’s arms.
“I’m sorry, but there’s not much more I can do for these other than icing. I’ll check them in the morning tosee if there’s any swelling. I can bandage you up if you need it.”
He moved to undo Charlie’s pants but Charlie stopped him.
“That’s okay. I can get those.”
Declan suspected that the sizeable swelling under Charlie’s pants was not a result of bruising. “Can I at least get your shoes? They can be a little more difficult if you can’t bend over.”
“Okay.”
After taking off Charlie’s shoes and socks, he left Charlie on his own and went to brush his teeth. From the bathroom, he called out, “I have a brand-new toothbrush you can have, if you want it.”
“Sure,” Charlie answered, poking his head into the bathroom.
Declan put some toothpaste on the brush and handed it to him.
“Thanks,” he said.
“They look good on you,” Declan said, pointing to the gym wear that Charlie now swam in.
Charlie smiled, toothpaste running out of his mouth, which he caught just before it spilled onto his borrowed clothes.
After they finished in the bathroom, Declan helped Charlie into bed. He bent forward and kissed him on the forehead. “Get a good night’s sleep, Charlie Watts.”
Declan grabbed a blanket and pillow and headed down to the office couch.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Declan woke at seven. He sat up, massaged out the kinks in his neck, then went upstairs to check on Charlie. As he approached, Charlie woke and attempted to get out of bed.
