Page 42 of Evergreen Desires
Will was silent for a moment. “I am not entirely sure, but I need to make a phone call. Mat said he needed to talk with you.”
Before I could stop him to ask more questions, he had already dug his phone out of his pocket and was already heading down the hallway.
“Jake, I need to put on my police hat for a moment.” Mateo paused to make sure I was truly okay and ready. “Can you tell me what happened?”
I relayed the events to him as he took notes on a pad he’d pulled from his pocket. There was a part that I had no memory of, between the punch knock-out and me hitting the ground from where Beau had apparently thrown me. I did explain how Will had used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames around Beau then how he and I pulled him from the debris and got him out of the greenhouse.
“Did you recognize any of them? Voices, mannerisms, scars, tattoos…”
“Yes.” That clearly caught Mat’s attention. “It was Rich. He was the one giving orders.”
“Are you sure?”
“100%, no doubt. He was surprised I was there in the greenhouse. He was the one who yelled to grab me.”
Mat was contemplating facts beaded on his furrowed brow and narrowed eyes staring at his pad. “I am taking off my police badge for a moment.” He looked up at me. “I think we should keep that between us for the moment.”
“But you can go arrest him now…?”
Mat held up his hand, telling me to stop. “Jake, I believe you. Completely. But it will be hard to prove without more evidence. I’ll keep digging. I don’t want to chance putting his name in a report and put you two in more harm’s way. Corrupt politicians are difficult to take down and even harder to prosecute. It may be best to let him think he got away with it at first. For now, you take care of Beau.”
I was stewing over that response, but I knew he was right. I turned my attention back to Beau, and we sat there together in silence; even the hospital monitors faded off into the background.
Will hurried into the room, startling both Mateo and me. “Okay, Dad said don’t worry.”.
“Your dad?” My confusion was clearly not allowing my brain to connect what he was saying.
“Um, no… sorry. Beau’s father. I have called him Dad since high school.”
Mateo must not have heard the story yet, as he pulled his eyebrows together, trying to piece this information together. He was a police officer; he always seemed to be piecing together clues.
“I told him what happened. He said not to worry, he was going to make a call.”
“A call for what?” I asked.
“Well, he was not big on details. He just said not to worry, everything will be fine. The only thing he said was just go with whatever happens.”
“Um, that sounds ominous.”
“No, if you knew Dad, you would get it. He basically was just saying, play along with whatever happens. After all, he’s calling in help from the opposite side of the country. Trust me, he’s not going to let anything happen to his boys. Or you, now that I’ve told him about you.”
I was surprisingly touched. “You told him about me?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I? You and Beau are boyfriends. And really, you’re more than that, I can see it.”
“So can I,” Mateo added, causing me to almost jump. He had been so quiet during the exchange.
“Well, Beau technically broke up with me last night,” I admitted, my voice catching as I got it out.
“Bullshit!” Will walked over and bent down next to Beau's ear. “Get your head out of your ass and fix things with Jake.”
A knock from the doorway startled us all even further. A young nurse stood in the doorway, and I motioned for her to come in. “Hi, I am Tala,” she announced as she entered. “I was told of some of Beau’s… peculiarities as a patient. I’m here to help.”
“Wolf Blossom, right? That is a beautiful name,” Mateo said, getting to his feet.
“Thank you. Yes, my name does mean wolf blossom in our native language. I am part of the local native community. But more importantly now, I am the charge nurse on the intensive care floor. However, I believe that Mr. Boon here needs to be seen in the physical therapy room first.”
“Physical therapy! Ma’am, no disrespect but…” My hands were shaking, and heat was building in my face. “He’s currently unconscious and has burns all over his back. You think he needs to work on what exactly, building up muscles and stretching? Where is the doctor? There’s some mistake!”
