A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House Book 4) (18 page)

The building manager nodded and withdrew his phone from his suit pocket to make a call. Mr. Gonzalez jerked forward, his hands shaking as he unlocked the door.

Jessie loved this side of Aidan, the protective, caring one, the layer that peeked through when he wasn't so preoccupied with maintaining his hard-shelled facade.

Aidan entered the apartment and returned a few moments later with a duffle in hand and a stack of suits folded over his arm. "I found the duffle in your closet. What about any client stuff in your office?"

Jessie shook his head and hooked his thumb in his backpack's shoulder strap. "It's all digital. I've got it with my drive and laptop."

"Are we done here?" Aidan asked, staring down the man in the suit.

"Yes. I'm having the letter prepared and can have a cashier's check issued."

"Have them sent to the precinct to my attention." Aidan withdrew a card from his jacket and handed it over to the man. "I expect to have them by the end of day. And add on to the cashier's check the cost of a new picture frame to replace the one you broke when you carelessly tossed his items in the box."

The man nodded and Mr. Gonzalez locked the apartment again, both competing to see who could escape the fastest.

Aidan turned to Jessie and sighed. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I'm…used to it."

"That stops today."

Jessie's pulse sped at the intensity staring back at him. Another drop into his love bucket for Aidan.

"My truck's parked out front. I need a minute to put these things away then I'll come back to help you down the stairs." Aidan picked up the box from the floor and balanced all the items in his arms, sprinting down the stairs. He returned a few moments later and stood by Jessie with a mix of emotions in his expression. "How bad does the leg and arm hurt after dealing with the stairs?"

He could lie to Aidan and say it was fine, but going down the same two flights of stairs and risking tumbling definitely wasn't on his bucket list. "Kinda bad," he whispered. "I can walk, but the crutch hurts."

Aidan gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement and eased the backpack off his shoulders. "Lean on me as we step down. Forget the crutch. It's probably bruised your arm already after coming up."

Aidan fished his hand through the prescription bag handle and grabbed the crutch, wrapping his other arm around Jessie's waist. "C'mon. I'm taking you home."

His lips parted on a breath when their eyes met. There, clear as day, a crack in Aidan's iron wall made an appearance. He reached up and wrapped his arm around Aidan's neck for balance, closing his eyes for a moment and reveling in the welcoming warmth and comfort that supported him.

This was right. This was the way a home
should
feel. He let Aidan lead him slowly down the stairs and didn't bother looking back again.

Aidan turned into his driveway and parked his SUV before switching off the engine. Bull pulled up behind them just as Aidan stole a glance out the corner of his eye at Jessie unlocking the passenger side door and exiting the truck. They'd driven for thirty minutes in traffic and hadn't spoken a word. Jessie was familiar with Aidan's home after working together there so many weekends. He hoped the familiarity might make Jessie feel welcomed and at home. But he wasn't kidding himself. He was to blame for the silence. He'd put enough distance between them these last two weeks, so he had to be the one to take the initiative and break the tension.

He exited his truck and unlocked his home. "Here we are," Aidan said, opening the door and switching off the alarm. "You know where the second bedroom is."

Jessie carefully took each step into the living room. He nodded then hobbled his way down the hallway without a word.

Aidan fought every urge in his body to stalk up to Jessie and carry him into the bedroom. The crutch must have bruised Jessie's arm by now, but he was too damn stubborn to mutter a complaint.

He jogged back to Bull's truck. "Can you stay?" he asked his friend as soon as he lowered the driver's side window.

"Yeah. You want me out here or in there?"

Aidan sighed, struggling between making sure Jessie was safe while also granting him some form of privacy. He tapped his thumb on the driver's side door as he raced through a few variables. "Inside until I get back, but give him his space."

His friend switched off the engine and exited the truck. "He won't even know I'm there."

Aidan huffed out a laugh. Bull couldn't hide if he tried. "We'll figure out what he's most comfortable with. Then we'll go from there."

"I'm going to sweep the perimeter, then I'll head inside before you leave."

Aidan nodded then returned to his SUV. He grabbed the stack of suits and flung them over his arm, finally reaching for the box of belongings. He scowled and made a mental note to buy a replacement frame for the broken glass sometime today. The one personal item from Jessie's apartment and it had gotten damaged by those careless, heartless bastards. He might suck at decoding all of Jessie's moods, but it was clear how upset Jessie was when he'd seen the discarded photo. He made his way back into the house and headed toward Jessie's new room. 

"I'm coming in," he announced through the slightly ajar door before pushing it open with his foot. He entered and found Jessie sitting on the bed with his head down, taking a few deep breaths, wiping his brow of the beads of sweat that shimmered in the light. He looked flustered and downright exhausted.

Aidan set the box on the dresser and walked over to the closet to hang the armful of suits. He turned and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Are you hungry?"

Jessie shook his head.

Fuck, he hated this. "Talk to me. I'm not a mind reader."

Jessie shifted his leg and winced. 

"When was the last time you took your pain meds?"

"Yesterday. The hospital pharmacy filled the prescription for me. That's the small bag you had with the crutch."

"Okay. Stay here," he said, making his way toward the kitchen. He grabbed the bag of bread and sniffed the contents to make sure it was still good. He didn't know how to cook much, but he could toast bread and butter it to make sure Jessie had something in his stomach with the strong meds.

He returned to the room a few minutes later with semi-decent buttered toast and a glass of water instead of the long-expired juice that had somehow taken residence at the back corner of his fridge.

Jessie reached into the prescription bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. He held the bottle in one hand but couldn't undo the top.

Aidan set the plate aside and reached for the bottle to open it. "One or two?"

"Two," Jessie quietly responded. He took the pills from Aidan's hand and accepted the glass of water.

Jessie looked up and those clear blue eyes stared back at him as if reading every private entry he'd ever thought of in his twisted, fucked-up mental journal.
Shit
. He picked up the plate and placed it on Jessie's lap. "Eat. I slaved over lunch, so you need to eat."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Jessie's lips. "Thank you." He took a bite of the toast. 

"I need to go back to the precinct for a while. Bull will be here until I get back. Then we'll all talk about what works best and what you're comfortable with. I don't want him suffocating you, but I want to make sure you're safe. I'll pick up some Chinese food on the way back. I'll get you a chicken lo mein, unless you want to change it up."

Jessie looked up at him. "You remember what I like?" Jessie stared, blinking.

He shrugged. "You like chicken lo mein, anything Italian, you don't like pickles, you hate zucchini or peppers in your salads." Aidan could easily rattle off a list of preferences, quirks, and habits. He finally sat next to him, carefully trying not to move the bed. "A few conditions."

"Conditions?" Jessie asked, still looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Of living together."

"Okay," Jessie said, absently nodding and taking another bite of the toast.

"First. Don't push yourself too much and don't be shy if you need some help with anything. As far as you staying here…" He paused, unsure of how exactly to finish his thought. He rubbed his palms against his thighs, trying to think of the best way to get the words just right. "You're here because I asked you to be here and I
want
you to be here. I'm not going to apologize for that. Understand?"

Jessie nodded and took another bite of the toast.

He turned to face Jessie. "Second. While you're here, this is your home. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want. Understand?"

Jessie nodded again and took the last bite of the toast. He pressed his lips tightly together as if trying to hide the smile that clearly played across his face as he watched Aidan in that
I-know-what-you're-doing
sorta way.

He was so fucked.

"Good. Any questions? I think you know where everything is. I didn't really move anything from when you were here the last time."

"Last time? You haven't changed anything at all since you moved in," Jessie said, taking a sip of water.

"Yeah. Decorating's not my forte. I figured I'd leave it alone rather than fuck it up. You can change anything if you'd like."

Jessie nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Jessie turned slightly to face Aidan. "I have conditions, too."

"Shoot."

"I'm helping. I know I can't do much right now, but we'll have to figure something out. I can do the cooking."

"I won't fight you there. I'm surprised I was able to handle the toast without burning the house down."

Jessie smiled again.

That smile.
Fuck
. He'd do anything to just have Jessie smiling all the time again.

"And when I start taking clients again, I'll cover half the expenses—"

"It's not a problem—"

"You have your conditions, Aidan. I have mine. It seems silly, but it's important to me."

Aidan clasped his hands in his lap. "It's not silly. You need to be independent. I get it. I know what that means to you."

"You're taking that check you're getting today from those assholes and you're applying it to my half of things."

"It's too much. I already know what you paid in rent."

"Then apply it to the following months as well."

Aidan nodded. He'd learned to not stand in Jessie's way when he was this determined about something. "I'm here and will help you with anything. I need you to know that."

"I do know that." Jessie nodded and lowered his head again. "I will need something from you, after I'm healed up." He fidgeted with his sling, before continuing. "I want you to show me how to fight."

"There are some self-defense basics we can run through. But you need full medical clearance before we even think about that."

"And shoot a gun."

Aidan straightened.

"Don't flip out and go all mother hen on me. I just want to be able to defend myself. I don't plan on going out there and becoming a vigilante. I just…I don't want to be a victim."

"I'd say you did a damn good job at fighting him off."

Jessie smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm not a mother hen," Aidan said with a frown.

"You so are." Jessie looked up and smiled again. That smile was going to kill him. "One more thing."

"Anything," Aidan said.
And isn't that the truth
.

"Stop pushing me away. Just be honest with me. If I do or say something that makes you uncomfortable or sets off one of your internal red-alerts to erect another layer of that shell you've got, please, just…talk to me. The last two weeks were…tough," he finished quietly and lowered his head.

"I promise to try," he said solemnly.
Be honest, talk, don't shut him out
. He took a deep breath then another, hoping to steady himself before his next few words. "The last two weeks were tough for me too."

Jessie glanced up, hesitated, then reached over and gave Aidan a peck on the cheek.

Aidan stilled and swallowed heavily. All the
while-you-were-sleeping
kisses he'd placed on Jessie's forehead or cheek while he was in a coma had been stolen. This…this was real, although somewhat
sur
real at the moment. And Jessie-initiated. He was thankful as hell he was sitting down when it happened because he couldn't feel his legs at the moment. He stared at Jessie, not knowing what to say, but he hoped whatever had triggered that action would just rinse and repeat. Something kept fluttering inside his chest and stomach.

It was stupid. It was ridiculous how excited he was over such a tiny thing…and he didn't give a shit. His heartbeat raced. He was happy for the first time in a long damn time to have some form of personal contact. And the fact that it was Jessie?
Hell yeah
.

Jessie watched him carefully then tightened his lips as if holding back a smile as a flush of heat colored his cheeks.

"What was that for?" Aidan asked hoarsely.

"You said I could do whatever I wanted. Right now, I wanted to kiss you. Was that okay?"

Aidan nodded. "Um, you can"—he cleared his throat and rubbed his palms against his thighs again—"do that whenever you want," he mumbled, unable to think of anything else semi-coherent to say to fill the silence. And shit, had he just said that out loud?