Page 34 of Breathe
Those watching the pair smiled with indulgence at how tenderly the bigger man held onto the slighter young man.
The world had stopped when he got the phone call from Real.
And it only started up again when Real’s arms closed around him. His imagination was working overtime because he could have sworn that Real had kissed his hair.
“I got us rooms at the Hyatt House nearby,” Dave told Stone.
Azrael gathered his composure and pulled back from Real to gaze up into the man’s face.
Real’s eyes were smoky gray in this light with blue rings around the edges. Worry had lines etched into the man’s rugged face.
“How is he?” Fear made his voice come out weak and shaky.
“We don’t know yet. The doctor tried to find out, but couldn’t get much other than the bullet fragged when it entered his abdomen,” Real said, drawing him to a hard plastic chair.
Azrael sank down, and Real settled in at his side. Boston sat on his other side with Beck and Rebel after that. The rest of the men sat on the other side of the hallway, across from them.
“Can I see Cash?” Azrael asked and Real drew him up and out of his seat.
The room was cool and quiet when he entered with Real. Cash was lying beneath a white hospital blanket and sheet. A rolling tray with water and ice chips sat next to the bed.
Azrael went to the opposite side and took Cash’s hand in his. Cash’s other hand had an IV and there was a white gauze bandage taped to the right side of Cash’s forehead.
“He has a significant concussion and scrapes and bruises.” Real spoke softly at his side.
“Who did this?” Azrael asked, he didn’t even recognize his own gravelly whisper.
All he knew at this very moment was that the person who had done this to Cash and his brother was going to die a very slow and painful death.
“We don’t know yet…” Real paused, and his face changed, became like granite. That telling tick was going off in his jaw.
“What are you not telling me?” Azrael glared.
“They were looking for me,” Real said.
“Why you? There’s no connection between you and them. Unless they saw you at Dave’s place…or the dorms?” Azrael said, trying to work out every possibility in his head. He was drawing a blank.
“I have given them a ride back to the dorms several times,” Real said, nodding his head.
“And you might have had an enemy who followed you,” Azrael mused. “Why not just shoot you when you dropped them off?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because Stone was with me? What we suspect is that the guy was going to have them call me and use them for bait to get me there or somewhere.” Real ran a hand over the back of his own neck.
Azrael suspected that was what it was because there was no way Real would have stayed away. The warrior would have gone to save Apollo and Cash no matter if it cost him his life.
“Cash didn’t call me.”
“What do you mean?” Azrael frowned, rubbing the top of Cash’s hand lightly.
“He dialed a wrong number on purpose.”
“He’s smart like that.”
“Very.”
“Not so smart. The guy got the drop on me,” Cash said softly.
The man’s eyes were open and focused on them, and Azrael gently squeezed Cash’s hand.
