Miles high, p.21
Miles High, page 21
part #4 of Grimm Tales of Smoky Vale Series
“I got it, baby.”
I’d only seen him have an episode once before, and it hadn’t seemed this severe. I sat him up with his chest leaning against me and tried to remember the steps I’d seen him use that time. I shook the little container, then spritzed it in the air and brought the mouthpiece to his lips.
His trembling hands came over mine, and he pressed, inhaling deeply through his mouth. I removed the inhaler, and he closed his eyes. When it was time, I gave him another puff from the inhaler.
“How are you feeling?” I brushed his hair from his forehead. “Are you feeling any better?”
He shook his head. “Chest hurts so bad. It’s hard to breathe.”
“I know, baby. I know.” I raised the inhaler to his lips again. The symptoms didn’t seem to be getting any better.
“I need to get to the hospital.”
“Come on, I’ve got you.”
I lifted him in my arms and turned to Fable and Cass. “Let’s go. Fable, will you let your Daddies know what happened? They’ll spread the word to Grimm.”
“I already told them, and they’ll meet me here. You all go ahead without me.”
“No, I’m not leaving any of you out of my sight. Text Booker and let him know to meet us at the hospital.”
Chapter 23
Miles
“Mr. Cavanagh, how are you doing? Feeling much better?”
I stared at the doctor and couldn’t even manage the physical manifestation of the weak smile I wanted to direct at him. What did he want me to say? That I was numb on the inside? That my worst fears had come true, and I’d hurt one of the bikers I genuinely cared for?
Oh, Mort, please don’t die.
Mort had been that big brother I’d never had. He’d been grumpy, and he showed up at work late almost every day, then left me alone to run the place while he went on one of his “secondary jobs,” but I would give anything to be around all that again.
“Miles?” Dr. Collier said, pressing his stethoscope to my chest. “Take a deep breath in.”
We’d been at the hospital now for nearly three hours, and although they’d controlled my asthma attack promptly once we got here, they had me in a room for observation.
“I-I don’t know.” I breathed in deeply. I had a friend fighting for his life and others who I’d come to care about who must hate me. I couldn’t begin to imagine what poor Cass was going through.
My worst fears had come true.
Not quite.
The worst would have been if Rubble was the one fighting for his life.
“You’re going to have to take it easy for the next twenty-four hours,” Dr. Collier said. “And if you have another attack, don’t hesitate. You come right back to the hospital.”
“Thank you. Does that mean I’m free to go?”
“Yes. You are.”
The door to the hospital room opened, and Rubble appeared. He’d stepped out to check what the latest report was on Mort. His expression didn’t look hopeful.
“Doc, is he okay?” he asked, coming over to the bed where I sat.
“He’s fine. Just keep him away from the excitement for a while and make sure he gets enough rest.” Dr. Collier nodded at Rubble, then exited the room.
Rubble reached for my hand and tugged. “You need a hug?”
Even though he asked and I did need one, I suspected this was more for him than for me. I slid off the bed and walked into his arms. He held me to him, my head tucked against his chest. I clamped my eyes closed as my chest tightened but this time from the tears that threatened to overwhelm me. I sniffed and let them run freely, pouring my fears out in the open.
“This has been one fucked-up day,” he groaned. “But I’m glad I get to hold you like this, Miles. Life wouldn’t make sense if I couldn’t.”
I tightened my arms around him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“Of course, you didn’t, baby. We all know that.”
“But Cass—he must hate me.”
“Nobody hates you.”
That was impossible. He hadn’t been married for a month yet, and his husband was in the hospital because of me.
“How is he?”
He tilted my head back and kissed my forehead. “He’s fighting for his life,” he said softly.
“Will he make it?”
“Baby, I don’t know. The doctors—they’re working on him. Jamie’s there every step of the way, keeping us informed and making sure he gets the best care possible.”
“Do you know the extent of his injuries?”
“Miles, I don’t think you need to know all this.”
I stepped back from him to see his face. “I need to know, Rubble.”
He sighed. “He’s in a coma. There’s some kidney and spleen damage. One of his lungs collapsed. If-if he survives this, he’s gonna have a hell of a story to tell.”
My knees buckled, and Rubble caught me. “Tempus Black.”
“Do I need to call the doctor?” He placed me to sit back on the bed. “Miles, are you going to be fine?”
I pushed away his hand, which was roaming over my face. “His name is Tempus Black. The man who’s responsible for all this.”
“Tempus Black, the ex-fighter who moved to town years ago?”
I nodded, dropping my gaze. “Yes.”
“This is crazy,” Rubble said. “Why the hell would he be involved in loan sharking? He doesn’t need the money. The fucker owns half of this town.”
“It’s all one big sick game to him. How do you think he owns so much real estate in town? He snapped up failing businesses, offered them desperate loans at ridiculous interests they couldn’t pay back, and then swooped in and captured these businesses. Then there’s us, the little men he uses for his amusement.”
“And you’re sure it’s Tempus Black? That no one is trying to frame him or something?”
Mixed emotions had me sucking in a deep breath. I stared into his eyes. “The man makes me crawl around his house naked with a collar around my neck like his dog. And he’s not even like an owner who takes care of his pet.” I rubbed a hand over my neck, remembering the tightening of the collar when he pulled. “He makes me act like a table for him to rest his feet or his drink. And when one of his men forced me to suck him off, he had me watch that man cut one of his own balls off. Tempus Black is a monster.”
Rubble cupped my face and tilted my head back. “He did all that to you? I’m going to kill the bastard.”
I held on to his wrists. “I’m afraid he’ll hurt you. Like he’s hurt Mort. It’s not easy getting to him.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll find him, and if I can’t, I’ll give him a reason to find me.”
He pressed his lips hard against mine, then helped me down from the bed. He took my hand in his, lacing our fingers together as we left the room. My heart beat hard in my chest as we took the elevator to the next floor where Mort was. The minute we stepped out and I saw the small hospital waiting area crammed with bikers, I hung back.
They must hate me. Everyone hates me.
“Rubble,” I murmured. “Maybe we should go.”
“In a minute, but they’ve been worried about you too.”
“Worried about me?”
His answer was a smile and to not take no for an answer. He pulled me along with him to the group. I was practically shaking.
“Hey, anything new?” Rubble asked.
“No, not yet, but Jamie should be back soon to fill us in,” Grimm said, then turned his attention to me. “How are you holding up, Miles?”
I swallowed hard, tears rushing into my eyes. “I-I’m not the one lying in a coma.”
“When Rubble got you here, you were blue. You couldn’t breathe. We have enough concern to go around.”
I dropped my eyes to the floor and inhaled deeply. “I’m fine.”
“I don’t believe that,” Grimm said. “But at least you look better.”
Footsteps thudded. Jamie and Cass were hurrying toward us. I stiffened, then tried to tug my hand out of Rubble’s so I could run away. I couldn’t bear to see the heartbreak on Cass’s face. He was always so full of life, but now his face was pale, his freckles standing out, and his eyes had lost their shine.
It’s all your fault.
“I’m so sorry,” I burst out, releasing Rubble’s hand. “Please don’t hate me. I swear I didn’t want any of this to happen. I tried not to get anyone involved.”
“I don’t hate you.” Cass pulled me into a tight hug while I sobbed against him. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Miles.”
“I should never have come into your lives.”
“Are you kidding me? We love having you in our group.”
“You’re too kind.”
Jamie placed an arm around me. “He’s in critical but stable condition. All we can do is wait, and…maybe call Reverend Homer.” He addressed the latter to Grimm. “I’m going to take the boys to the cafeteria.”
“I’ll go with them.” Zak and Fable got up. Fable hugged me briefly, but I stalled, not sure if I should go.
Rubble nodded at me. “Go. I’ll be here with the others.”
And I knew he would tell them everything I’d shared with him. In silence, I walked with Jamie and the other boys, with Zak trailing us. The cafeteria was on the first floor, and Jamie got us bottles of water from the vending machine. Then we took a seat in the far corner. Only two other people were in the space, so we practically had the place to ourselves.
Cass and I sat together in the middle with Fable to my right and Jamie to Cass’s left. Zak straddled a chair at the table next to us.
“I never meant for this to happen,” I said again, wincing because at this stage, they must be tired of me saying that.
“We all know that, Miles,” Jamie said. “Except for maybe you. Of course, you wouldn’t hurt Mort. We all love him.” He poked Cass in the side. “And you better not tell him I said that when he wakes up.”
Cass smiled. “You’re going to tell him yourself.”
“He’s been like a brother to me,” I sniffed. “He always looked out for me, you know, even beneath all that bark.”
“That’s my husband.” Cass sighed. “A big gruff bear with the kindest heart. I know he hated that you took the blame for what happened to Angel, and he would hate for you to blame yourself, Miles, so please promise me you won’t.”
“I-I’ll try, but it’s hard. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping everyone away from me, and now this—I didn’t see this coming. I told myself that Booker being shot had to do with the club and not my situation, but I was fooling myself, wasn’t I?”
“Who wants you dead, Miles?” Fable asked.
I wrapped my hand around the water bottle, the cold seeping into my skin. “Nobody wants me dead. They want the bikers out of the way because they—my relationship with Rubble is interfering with my training.”
“Training?” Cass echoed.
I licked my dry lips and started. “There’s this man, Tempus Black, who’s been force-training me in service kink since I was fifteen.” I filled them in on all the details of Tempus’s exploitation, leaving nothing out. Thinking of how they’d opened up their circle to me, and it was my turn to give back.
“That’s horrible,” Cass murmured. “My stepdad had me under his thumb for such a long time, so I know how it feels to not be in control of your life. I’m sorry you’ve been going through this for so long, but you’ve got us now. We’re family, and we take care of each other.”
I shook my head at him in wonder. He was far stronger than I’d given him credit for. Strong enough to be the one comforting me when his husband was fighting for his life.
“I know Tempus Black,” Fable said.
“You do?”
“Yeah, he used to be present at my stepfather’s parties when he was still mayor. I think he’s going to run in the next election.”
“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Jamie said. “You know our men aren’t going to let this go. Tempus won’t get out of this alive. Not after what he did to Mort. If he’s smart, he’ll leave town.”
Chapter 24
Rubble
When I woke up, the bed was cold beside me. Alarmed, I sat up and scanned the room for Miles. I’d expected him to still be sleeping, tucked up against me, given the day we’d all had. Not only had we sat in fear, waiting on word about Mort’s condition, but then we’d been interrogated by the police. Their frustration in dealing with us had been obvious, but by now, everyone knew the drill. We didn’t talk to cops. Problems of this magnitude, we handled ourselves.
Luckily, Dr. Collier had informed the police officers that Miles was too distraught to speak to them. They’d reluctantly left with a promise that they would drop in on us to ask more questions. They could ask all they wanted. They weren’t getting any answers.
It’d been late when we all finally left the hospital, and once we’d gotten back to my apartment, we’d barely eaten anything. I hadn’t needed to ask Miles if he wanted to go to his house. If he had hated going to the living room for so long because of the blood on the carpet, there was no way he would want to go back there after what had happened to Mort.
“Miles?”
If he’d gone out on his own again after knowing how dangerous Black was, I would lock him in a room with a guard until this was over. Unable to leave until I said so. He would be pissed at me, but at least I would know he was safe.
I flung the bed sheets off me and walked out of the bedroom. “Miles?”
“I’m in here.”
At the sound of his voice, the tension in my shoulders eased. I found him in the kitchen, sitting at the table with his legs up to his chest and a steaming cup before him. His glasses were on the table beside the cup, and as I walked over, he slipped them on.
“Is it your leg?” he asked and lowered his feet to the floor. “Do you want painkillers?”
“My leg’s fine.” Not really. I’d popped a couple of stitches that Jamie had to fix when we were at the hospital, but it was the least of my concerns. “What are you doing here all by yourself?”
He shrugged, causing the neckline of my shirt he was wearing to slip down one arm.
“I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t stop thinking about what happened.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I lifted him from the chair and sat with him on my lap.
“It’s been a hell of a day for you. You deserved to rest.”
“And you didn’t have the same hellish day?”
He leaned against my chest, his hand on my right arm, stroking the tattoos with his finger. “I was feeling guilty.”
“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, Miles, that what happened isn’t your fault.”
He shook his head. “It’s not about that.”
“Then what?”
“I’m a horrible person.”
I caressed down his back. “Are you fucking kidding me? Have you met me and any of the other Reapers?”
He scoffed. “You’re all good men.”
“We’re good to the ones we care about, but fucking monsters to the ones we hold a grudge against.”
He didn’t say anything, but I concentrated on his breathing, that it was even and nothing like I’d heard earlier today when he’d been struggling to drag air into his lungs. I’d never felt as helpless as I had when we rushed him to the hospital.
“When-when I saw you after.” A shudder ran through him. “A-and I realized what had happened. That it was Mort who was hurt and not you. I-I felt relieved, Rubble. Relieved. What kind of person does that make me?”
So that was what was eating him up inside? My sweet boy. I brushed Miles’s hair. “It makes you someone who doesn’t want to see me hurt or worse dead. There’s nothing wrong with that, Miles.”
“But I can’t help feeling bad about having that thought.”
“You had a perfectly normal reaction.” I tickled his side to lighten the mood. “Fuck, if you hadn’t thought that, I might have believed you don’t care about me.”
He raised his head and stared at me with eyes that were too serious.
“I care,” he whispered. “I care so very much about you, Daddy. I’ve never risked doing the things we did with anyone else in all this time, but I was willing to risk it for you.”
He scooted down my legs, grabbed the hem of his shirt, and pulled it over his head. He wore nothing beneath it. I stared at his beautiful, lithe body, almost afraid to touch him. Afraid I would soil him. But that was exactly what I wanted to do to him. To take this innocent and sweet boy and leave streaks of dirt all over him. Then I would wash him clean, only to mess him up all over again.
A man like me could never truly get someone like Miles permanently dirty. With his purity, he would remind me of what it’d been like to have my hands clean. Of what it meant to be human.
“I love the way you look at me.” He took one of my hands and placed it on his chest. “If I’d lost you today, Rubble, my greatest regret would’ve been not telling you that I love you. And not giving you this.”
“You love me?”
He nodded. “So much. And I’m not going to wait a minute more. I want everything tonight with you.”
“Goddammit, baby.” I leaned forward, and he met me halfway. I captured his lips with mine, driving my tongue into his mouth as I caught him by the waist. A deep moan came from his chest. I rose to my feet and marched out of the kitchen.
“Rubble, your leg,” he protested. “I can walk.”
“But you don’t have to.”
I took his lips again, not giving him the chance to voice another protest. In the bedroom, I laid him down in the center of the bed.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I murmured, unable to take my eyes off him as I tugged off my shirt. I pushed my shorts off my hips and took my semi in hand, stroking it.
“Let me.” He got up onto his knees and crawled over to the edge of the bed. Miles took my dick in his hand and squeezed it. “Tell me what to do.”
“You love being told what to do, yeah?”
