A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House Book 4) (60 page)

Beep. Beep.

He hated that fucking sound. It always seemed to surround him when shit hit the fan. Through the rhythmic high-pitched beeping that pierced his brain, he heard another sound—the peaceful melody of a piano sonata echoing in the background. A soothing rise and fall of music, offering a subtle, steady, comforting reminder he was still in the realm of the living.

Aidan opened his eyes, and a blurred scene of white filled his vision. He blinked a few times until the scene stopped warping in and out and finally sharpened. He slowly turned his head to the right, blowing out a relieved breath, never happier to see those crystal blue eyes staring back at him. "You're okay?"

Jessie nodded quickly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot, stabbed, and my ass kicked."

"Smartass," Jessie said, his hitching breath betraying his facade of casualness. "Doctor said you were lucky the bullet went clean through and didn't nick anything."

Lucky
? Maybe Lady Luck wasn't pissed at him after all. "Did they take long to find us?"

Jessie shook his head and swallowed heavily. "The team tracked your phone and found the dart. It was some rare, animal-grade controlled drug that required a registration with each purchase." He looked down and rubbed his fingers together, busying his hands. "That's how they found us. The farm was in that man's name. The team thinks that's how Michael would avoid leaving a footprint." Jessie quieted, an odd distant look filling his gaze. "Michael picked him up when he was a kid more than ten years ago. The man had a really warped view of things…that happened to him." He looked up at Aidan, an odd mix of fear and worry lingered in his eyes. "He fell in love with Michael. How could he love that monster?"

The emotion in Jessie's eyes tore at Aidan's heart. The monster had taken another person a few years after Jessie's escape, someone who shared entirely too many physical qualities for it to be a coincidence. He didn't even want to think of all the internal arguments and what-ifs racing through Jessie's mind at that moment. He reached out and threaded his fingers with Jessie's to still his hands, relieved when Jessie sighed at the contact. "Whatever you're thinking, stop. This is not your fault."

"Who's the mind reader now?"

"Hunter once told me, bad things happen sometimes for no reason and trying to make sense of it would drive someone nuts." He squeezed Jessie's hand. "It's over. Focus on that part."

Jessie pulled up their clasped hands, kissing Aidan's bandaged knuckles. "You said nuts."

Aidan gave him a lopsided grin, knowing Jessie was trying to force his mind to steer toward the positive. He scanned every inch of Jessie's features. His chest tightened at the cut on Jessie's lip and the darkened bruise on the side of his face. "Aside from the cut lip and the bruise, did they…hurt you in any other way?"

Jessie shook his head. He rested his cheek against Aidan's hand and ran his fingers along the bandage around Aidan's wrist. "Everyone's waiting for you to wake up."

"Who's
everyone
?"

"Ty, our friends, the team. Cole bought you a cape. He says you're his new superhero. Your captain's here too and several other guys from the precinct have been in and out of here for the last two days to see how you're doing." He placed a few kisses on Aidan's bandaged knuckles.

"Wait. What? Two days?"

Jessie nodded. "Your team's been here the whole time. Even Manny flew back early from their honeymoon when he heard what happened. They all took a break to grab something from the cafeteria, but they should be back any minute," Jessie said, reluctantly releasing Aidan's hand.

"Two fucking days," he mumbled to himself. Aidan scowled and grabbed Jessie's hand again, firmly threading their fingers.

Jessie rubbed his thumb along Aidan's skin. "They'll see."

"I don't care. I came too close to losing you, and I'm not wasting another second. Besides, they've already been gossiping about us for months. Might as well give them a visual to go with all the stories."

"Is that
you
talking or the meds? They won't be able to
unsee
things if they walk in."

Aidan focused his gaze on the man who punctuated each beginning and end of his
happily ever after
dreams. "This is me talking. And I'm clearer than I've been in a long time. Whoever doesn't like it can go fuck themselves."

"That's so romantic."

"Don't give me a hard time. I'm opening up here." Aidan pulled their clasped hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to Jessie's skin. "C'mere."

Jessie pulled the chair closer to Aidan's bed.

"Closer."

Jessie leaned forward, resting his elbows on the mattress.

"Closer."

"If I get any closer, I'm going to be in the bed."

"That's the point. Please."

The corner of Jessie's mouth curled up into a weak smile. "You know I can't resist when you say that."

"Please, please, please."

Jessie slowly climbed into the hospital bed, careful of the bandages around Aidan's torso and across his chest. They lay quietly on the bed, holding each other and stroking each other's skin in random patterns.

"I thought I lost you," Jessie whispered. "When I saw you on the ground by the truck…and…when he shot you…all the blood…" He stopped when his breath hitched. He clutched the front of the hospital gown and gently rested his head against Aidan's chest.

Aidan stroked Jessie's back and placed a few tender kisses in Jessie's hair and forehead, reveling in the peace that slowly enveloped them. "I'm okay," he whispered. He'd been stabbed and shot before. Those wounds would heal. But the potential hole in his heart from losing Jessie…that would have been unrecoverable. He rested his chin at the top of Jessie's head and closed his eyes. "I'd do anything for you, Jess."

"I know. But I'd really appreciate it if you didn't get shot to prove that." Jessie buried his face snugly at the base of Aidan's neck, nestling into the spot he had claimed long ago as his own.

"We need to work on your sense of humor."

Jessie softly laughed.

Aidan closed his eyes, enjoying the joy of that quiet, subtle sound vibrating through his body, filling his spirit with a sense of peace, mending his soul stronger than any medicine ever could. "I love you, Jess. More than I ever thought was possible." He sighed at how easily the words flowed from his lips. He ghosted his fingers up Jessie's back and into his hair, pulling him closer and brushing his lips against the silky dark strands at the top of Jessie's head. "I know I don't say it, but I need you to know that you're not just important to me but essential. I don't walk around telling the air I appreciate it and need it to breathe. I just do."

Jessie inched back and looked up at Aidan, unable to hide the emotion shining in his eyes. "I was expecting an Aidanism, but I'll take that any day." He reached up and brushed his lips against Aidan's. "So many mega bonus points for Team Calloway." He absently stroked Aidan's stubble, quieting for a few moments before he spoke. "That's the second time you've told me you love me."

Aidan's brows knit together. "Second time?"

Jessie nodded and swallowed heavily, withdrawing his hand and tucking it back in between them, huddling closer. "When you fell to the ground, by the truck. You told me you loved me. I wanted to kick you in the balls so badly for waiting until that very moment to say it."

"You have a serious obsession with my balls." He remembered mumbling something before he passed out, but he hadn't realized how easily the words had spilled. Effortless, just like his love for the man in his arms. "
Regardless of all my shit, I will always love you, even when you get tired of loving me back."

"I'll never get tired of loving you. Because you're essential to me too," Jessie said with a smile in his voice.
"Besides, isn't there some unwritten rule…when you save someone's life, they belong to you? So I guess you're stuck with me."

Aidan kissed Jessie's forehead, thankful to have him safe in his arms. "You saved me a long time ago, Jess. I've been yours for a while."

"I like that."

"Good." Aidan closed his eyes and ghosted his fingers over Jessie's pale skin, reveling in the blanket of serenity and peace that surrounded them. "Because I'm told I have a hard time letting things go."

"I'm counting on it…every second of every day."

Four months later

Jessie sat under the tree in the backyard of Halfway House, enjoying the football game. Not really following who led or whichever team scored a touchdown, but the game obviously memorable regardless of who scored the winning play.

Aidan's birthday wish. A simple backyard barbecue with those he considered closest friends and family—minus Bull, who was at an undisclosed location on assignment.

Sunny, soon to be godmother to the new Reyes addition, had escaped with Manny's wife to the maternity store since Marcela's baby bump was starting to show. Sunny took her future godmother duties as seriously as she did everything else. But she confessed willingness to do just about anything to escape the testosterone overdose she knew would happen on the football field.

Hunter, Cameron, and Hunter's father, Thomas, had returned weeks ago and quickly settled into their old lives but new all the same. Thomas was immediately up to his old tricks and flirting with ladies at the nearby community center. Hunter now taught at the university and selectively consulted on cases with Jessie on legal strategies. And Cameron had a permanent grin etched on his face while working at the diner during the week and handling the occasional landscaping job in the evening and on weekends.

But none of that compared to Aidan's transformation. He had become Home-Video Aidan—vibrant and in full-color.

He talked more.

He smiled bigger.

He laughed louder.

And his love was boundless.

Jessie would willingly share
his
Aidan with the world—but only enough so they'd witness how amazing he truly was. He still saw the bristly personality at work on those occasions when they brought Jessie in to consult on another task force case. But behind every snarky comment or sharp jab at a fellow team member, hid a playful spark in his eyes hoping for banter.

Aidan had managed to find his version of inner-peace with the heartbreaking milestones in his life. He still had his moments with painful reminders that stabbed his heart more than he dared to admit, but it was part of Aidan's nature…to care more than most. But he always found the time to talk through those moments, either while they snuggled in bed or during one of his follow-up sessions with Dr. Engel.

"Second down. You're going down, Boy Toy!" Aidan yelled through his hands, cupped in a megaphone fashion.

Cameron and Cole laughed in the field as Hunter scowled. They each positioned themselves, crouching close to the ground with their fingertips in the grass.

"You're going to pay for that," Hunter said with an intense look on his face that contradicted the half smile. His prowl look. The one that let everyone know he was ready to dive in for the kill. Jessie knew that expression well after having worked alongside him for years in the state attorney's office. And Aidan knew his friend well enough to suspect the jab would hit its mark.

Matt blew the whistle and both teams lunged forward—flag football be damned. There would be bruises and cuts and spatters of blood, and tons of smiles all around. Hunter immediately headed toward Aidan who faked a step to the side to get to Cole, carrying the football.

"Hunter's going to nail Aidan," Ty said, slightly cringing in the chair beside him.

"No, he won't. Aidan's covered," Jessie said. "I'm more worried about Cole right now."

Ty straightened in his seat to get a better view. Wall circled and blocked Hunter, knocking him flat on his ass at the same moment Aidan rammed into Cole and dropped him to the ground.

Cole rose from the grass, brushing off the dirt from his shorts and straightening the tight-fitting skull cap on his head. "Fuck, man! Whatever happened to the flag?"

Aidan snatched the flag from Cole's pocket and waved it in the air, laughing so hard it became contagious, rippling laughter to his other teammates—Travis and Manny. Cole shoved Aidan playfully as Wall extended a hand to Hunter, helping him off the ground. Cole shoved Aidan again, baiting him. Julian and Wall immediately stood between them to break it up, Julian slapping the back of Cole's head while Wall stood guard at Aidan's side.

Jessie sighed, thankful his hard-headed Aidan was protected on the field—flag football and at work. Risks and worry were a package deal, but he was at peace knowing Aidan was part of a rock-solid team where each member had declined several offers for transfers and promotions simply to stay as a unit. Aidan had recovered quickly from his injuries, left with a gunshot scar hidden by the edge of his inked scroll, a permanent mark on his lower torso, and a slash across his pec from the knife.

A deep groove that served as a constant reminder—a mark Jessie's monster had etched into Aidan's body. A scar, Aidan countered, that proved how much he loved Jessie and how far he'd go to always love and protect him—one he'd proudly wear like a badge of honor. Jessie wouldn't deny he preferred that version better. Seemed after all this time, some of his positivity rubbed off on his prickly, always sexy detective.