Page 27 of Consequences
Iglare at the bland walls of the previously unused room in Doc’s wing of the house. It's boring and uninspired; how do they expect anyone to recover in here? It's more likely to drive someone insane.
“This is stupid.”
“I could have left you in the office with Emilio and Il Padrone,” Doc replies. “You're still healing, and I want to keep a close eye on you. The only reason I'm moving you is because I'm pretty sure Il Padrone will try to kill me and”—the bastard smiles wickedly—“I’d hate to have to hand a mafia Boss his ass.”
I laugh and then wince at the pain of the action. Doc frowns at me, but thankfully, doesn't lecture me. He probably figures the deep ache from my wound is reprimand enough.
“This keeps you close to someone who can help, since we're still doing rotating shifts on Emilio—so don't think you can get away with anything.”
I scowl. “I could just take myself upstairs once you're gone. Might take me a while, but I can do it.”
"If you do that, I will shoot you in the leg and let you recover without pain meds. Try me,” Jayden says as he walks into the room.
I glare at the redheaded man as he walks over to stand at the end of the bed. Aside from his hair being several shades lighter, and his freckles and big brown eyes giving him an…innocent and approachable look, he heavily resembles his oldest brother, Joel.
Though, unlike my pain in the ass bodyguard, Jayden doesn't put up with anyone's shit. It's what makes him a good physical therapist. That and the fact the man is a sadist who gets off on making people cry.
“Oh joy, you're here.”
He slides his hands into his pockets and stares at me, humming softly to himself before saying, “I am, because you decided to get yourself shot. As if I don’t have a long patient list already, but sure, I can drop everything and help get you back on your feet.”
“If you’re going to be an asshole, you can leave.”
Jayden laughs. “You wish it were that easy.” He turns to Doc. “Has he been getting up?”
“Rose escorted him to the restroom a few times today. Yesterday, I had him on bedrest because it was the first time he was fully coherent.”
Jayden nods and looks back at me. “No unsupervised walking around. I’ll do a full evaluation of you tomorrow; I’m already working on your PT regiment. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Tennant. Your choice. I know which onewill make me happy.” With that, the asshole turns on his heel and leaves.
“Sometimes,” I tell Doc, “I don’t know who I want to kill more, you or him.”
Doc laughs. “You’ll be fine.” He sobers quickly. “Seriously, Ten, you scared the shit out of everyone. You can’t keep doing this.”
“It’s my job, Doc.”
He sighs, but thankfully, doesn’t give me anymore grief. “Your lovers are waiting for you. I’ll let them know they can come in. Remember, you just had major surgery, so no stupid shit. You’re more vulnerable to illnesses now, so be careful—I’ve already told them they have to wash their hands, and make sure whatever they bring in here is properly sanitized. I’m not taking any chances while you’re still in my care.”
“And Cris?”
Doc rolls his eyes. “Will probably visit you later. He knows what it means to have your lovers in here while you’re fully coherent, and away from the tension in the other room.”
“Yes, yesterday was hard enough, with not being able to get out of bed, let alone having to deal with Il Padrone fawning over Emilio while trying his best to simultaneously ignore us and kill us with his eyes. I’m almost afraid to ask what happened when you kept me under.”
“I’ll give that job to Hollis. For now, I’ll leave you, but remember, there are cameras with audio in this room, and the monitors are connected to my phone. So try not to stress out, and I’ll tell your merry band of lovers the same thing.”
“Since when do we have that type of technology that you can creepily monitor my vitals remotely?”
He laughs, long and loud. “Since Donovan can’t wear his implants when he’s asleep—they sync with his smartwatch when he’s on overnights. Anyway, I’m just warning you, I’m likefucking Santa; I see you when you’re sleeping and know when you’re awake and all that, so behave.”
“Isn’t that your Daddy’s line?”
Doc rolls his eyes, but turns for the door. He steps into the doorway and says something too low for me to hear, but it must be permission because soon enough he’s gone and Hollis is the first one striding through the door.
My Tesoro looks like shit, there's no two other ways to say it. His dark hair isn’t the “I forgot to brush my hair today” one he usually sports, but more “Don’t ask me when I last washed it”. There are dark circles under his eyes that not even the frames of his glasses can hide, and his skin is paler than it should be.
I flick my gaze to Jude and Roman, who are close on his heels. Neither of them look like they’ve been sleeping well, but they don’t look half as rough as Hollis does. I am surprised to see Benjamin trailing in behind Roman and Jude. I am pleased to see him, but I figured he’d be with Emilio. I know how important the boy is to my Baby Mouse.
Before I can say two words to any of them, Hollis marches to my bedside and slaps the shit out of me. Thecrackof his hand against my skin echoes in the bare-walled room. As does Benjamin’s shout of protest.
