Page 19 of Exposed
With a nod, Ajax left them alone.
Jamison stood. “Tell me what you need me to do. I’ll help.”
Kace grabbed the first clothes he found. “I guess just be on standby. Honestly, I don’t know what’ll happen from here.” Once he was dressed, they headed for the guest bedroom. Lucas was still out. They had somehow found an IV pole to go along with the blood. Kace quickly worked to ready the bag while Ajax hovered.
The moment Kace stuck Lucas, his eyes opened. He blinked. “Where am I?” His voice was a raspy whisper.
Ajax chuckled. “You’re at a reunion of your fuck buddies.”
Lucas chuckled. It sounded like it hurt. “Jealous?”
Ajax smiled like the pair were truly friends. “Nah. All I have to do is walk into any room and ask how it is and someone could tell me. I don’t need to experience the ride.”
“Bastard.” He blinked some more, as if he couldn’t see very well. “Why do I feel so weird?”
“We drugged you. It’s not like the good doctor has a hospital pharmacy in his house. We had to work with the hard drugs we have.”
“You know I don’t do that shit.”
Ajax looked unbothered. “You are tonight. The shock has worn off. Without something, the pain would likely kill you.”
Lucas licked his lips. “I’m already dead. That bastard is really going to let me die. After everything, he’s fucked me.”
Kace and Jamison exchanged a glance. He really sounded bad. The fear was setting in. He knew he was dead.
“Mom and I were supposed to celebrate Christmas tonight. She’s probably scared out of her mind, wondering why I didn’t come home.”
Jamison looked furious. “Don’t worry, I’ll call her.”
“Thanks. Don’t tell her I’m dead yet. You know her heart is bad.”
Jamison visibly swallowed and walked away like he couldn’t do this for another second.
Kace started the line and watched the blood flow for a second. “Give that a minute and I’ll be back.” He quickly followed on Jamison’s heels. Kace found him halfway down the hall with his phone to his ear.
“You listen to me. I don’t appreciate having a half dead kid dumped on my living room floor, putting Kace’s medical license at risk.” It was obvious he had missed the first part of the conversation. He had no clue who was on the phone. “Don’t interrupt me. I don’t give a fuck what your boss has to do, but right now, he’s letting this kid die. If he doesn’t do something, he will fucking die. I don’t care what it takes, but this isn’t happening while I watch. If I call his mom and pretend like he’s missing Christmas because he’s tied up in a meeting or someother bullshit, and then these fuckers dump his dead body in a ditch, they will wish they never met me. I promise they’ll never see me coming. You know I have the training to back up my threat. Fuck my mental health. I’ll see all these fuckers dead.”
Kace had never been prouder of anyone. No matter their history, at the end of the day, Lucas was twenty-eight. He was a real person, just as caught in the web of a powerful man as the rest of them were. Kace genuinely liked Lucas. He couldn’t watch this happen, but he also couldn’t stop it. His throat swelled as he listened to Jamison hang up one call and immediately make another to Lucas’ mom. He sounded so kind and calm. It was obvious he had been more entrenched in Lucas’ life than he let on. Kace had never felt more useless, and he had definitely lost patients before. This was different. Lucas stood a chance in a real medical facility. This was home-ec sewing class. This was just a slow death. He had internal injuries Kace couldn’t fix like this.
The second Jamison disconnected his call, his phone rang again. He quickly answered. “Hello?” His gaze shot to Kace’s. He nodded as if whoever was on the other line could see him. “Understood. We’ll be ready.”
Jamison stuffed his phone in his back pocket. “Come on.” He steered Kace back into the bedroom like a man on a mission. He started barking orders as soon as he cleared the doorway. “Get ready. There’s a helicopter on the way to transport Lucas to a private facility. We need to have him prepared to go straight out the door. Shaw is joining you to make sure no questions are asked.”
Hektor jumped to his feet. “I’ll wait outside and lead the way.”
Kace nearly cried at the reprieve.
Ajax looked relieved as hell. He held Lucas’ hand in a tight grip, as if lending him strength. “You hang in there, mate. Just a little longer and this’ll be a bad dream.”
“It’s been a nightmare for a long time.”
Kace looked away. He hoped he woke up soon and this night never existed. Help couldn’t arrive soon enough. He had never felt so close to breaking down. Kace needed Jamison to hold him.
Lucas had never liked feeling out of control. He didn’t understand how anyone stood getting high. He was out of his head and he hated it. Nothing would come into focus beyond Ajax’s face. He felt the rattle in his chest. Death was so close, he could feel the icy grip. He supposed, as far as final sights went, Ajax wasn’t a bad choice. The guy was one hot daddy. He had to focus on any wild thoughts he could. The movement of being transferred to a gurney and rushed down the stairs was absolute hell. He would cry, but fuck that noise. Lucas wasn’t weak. He wouldn’t be weak.
Everything went by in a blur until Ajax’s face hovered over him again. Lucas tried to chuckle. He needed to be the unserious one all the way to the end.
“I’ve always thought you have great hair. Like a lion’s mane.”
