A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House Book 4) (5 page)

After a few seconds, they finally separated from the embrace, clearing their throats.

"Did Cole call you?" Aidan asked.

Julian nodded. "He told me to get my ass over here right now because you needed me to sit with you and be quiet until you told me to leave."

"Where's Matt?"

Julian sat in one of the waiting room chairs. "He's at home. I figured you didn't want a crowd. I'll text him updates."

"Thanks," Aidan muttered, sitting next to Julian, grateful he hadn't asked for details. Aidan wasn't sure he could handle retelling what he'd seen with the storm of emotions twisting his gut. And somehow, the quiet presence of Julian at his side did ease his mind.

During the last year, he had managed to build a slow friendship with Julian and his partner, Matthew Doner. They both owned and ran a halfway house, aptly named Halfway House, in the business district. He had first met the couple when his brother-in-arms and best friend, Hunter Donovan, had needed help with his new partner and then resident of HH, Cameron Pierce. That first encounter started a domino effect in Aidan's life. He'd finally been able to do something to repay Hunter for a debt he could never really settle, and through the course of working the case, he had met Jessie, Hunter's assistant at the state attorney's office at the time.

Seemed Julian and Matt had also played a role in returning some balance to Aidan's personal life with another one of their residents, Ty's current partner, Cole—his self-proclaimed future brother-in-law. How Cole had managed to pull Ty from his shell was still a mystery. But Cole had single-handedly restored Aidan's brother's inner strength and the laughter Aidan had missed after the accident that stole their parents from them and nearly claimed his brother's life. That house and these men had all played a role in guiding Aidan's life to the point where he was at that very moment. If it weren't for these men and that house, he never would have reconnected with his brother, helped his friend who was more of a brother to him, and he wouldn't have met Jessie.

Jessie. The one man who seemed to calm his inner storm.

Sometime later, Julian stood and looked toward the hallway. Aidan followed Julian's line of sight, spotting Cole's older sister wearing hospital scrubs walking toward them alongside another woman with rich brown skin, high cheek bones and closely-cropped, curly hair.

"Hi, J," Carmen said to Julian with a hint of mischief that immediately faded once she shifted her green-eyed gaze to Aidan. "Cole called me and said you were here with Jessie. This is one of my affiliated hospitals so I came right over to find out what was going on."

Aidan nodded, for once, happy to see a bossy Renzo steamroll their way into a situation. "Thanks."

"He's in surgery. Ryan Green's an excellent surgeon so he's in good hands." She placed her hand behind the other woman's back. "Emma will provide you with periodic updates. I'm heading back in there just in case Ryan needs a secondary, but trust me when I say he won't need me."

Aidan nodded. "Thanks."

"Emma will give you the details and an update," Carmen said, squeezing Aidan's shoulder and giving Julian a quick peck on the cheek before racing back down the hallway.

"I'm Emma Sinclair," the nurse said, extending her hand. "The trauma to Mr. Vega's spleen was so severe surgery was the only option. It's taking a little longer because we had to remove the organ."

Aidan inhaled sharply and swayed, suddenly unsteady on his feet. Julian immediately took a step closer to his side, silently offering support.

"He has several bone fractures. His two fractured ribs will have to heal naturally, but other than that, we'll be able to set most of the bones with casts in a few days after we've confirmed any necessary surgical sites and incisions are healing properly. His wrist and leg require the most attention. He'll need the aid of screws and plates to set the bones, but it'll heal faster. Right now, we're most concerned with the injury he sustained to the head."

Aidan tried to focus on the words and not jump ahead and speculate, hoping to keep himself centered and steady, but he couldn't stop the room from warping in and out of his vision.

"Aidan, ask what you need to know while she's here," Julian said.

He mentally ran through the list of injuries again, matching each with what he remembered from the scene, trying to determine if anything hadn't been mentioned. He ran his hand through his hair, forcing his mind to focus on the list and not the visual of an injured Jessie.
Shit
. What had the nurse said?
Injury to his head
. "Is that why he had trouble seeing?"

Emma nodded then reached out and placed her hand on Aidan's arm. "He woke before we administered the anesthesia. First word out of his mouth was your name. He said we were to treat you as his next of kin."

"Emma, you're killing him," Julian said.

Aidan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying with every ounce of strength he had to remain standing. He reached up and rubbed the hollow ache that tightened his chest.

"He wanted to make sure we kept you updated. He was
…
insistent. He said you would storm in there waving a gun at us if we didn't," she said, slowly raising a thinly tweezed, judgmental eyebrow. "He'll need some support to get through this and the recovery. I'll make sure to keep you updated once he's out of surgery." She squeezed Aidan's arm in a comforting gesture then smiled before finally walking away.

Aidan blew out a deep breath and plopped himself on one of the stiff plastic chairs, resting his head back against the wall and stretching out his legs.

He closed his eyes and sat there as the time passed, hyper-aware of each voice and step in the room, hoping the pain in his chest would lessen.

Aidan sat in the hard plastic chair with his arms crossed, staring at the closed doors, waiting for Emma to return with an update. Over three hours and he hadn't heard a peep from the staff.

"You can go." At the brink of losing his shit, he didn't need an audience to witness his inevitable shutdown.

He sensed it—the helplessness creeping through and weakening his protective shell.

Julian rubbed his shaved head. "Not if you need me to stay."

"Really, please go."

Julian watched him closely then nodded. "Keep me updated. If you need me back here, just text me. Okay?"

"Thanks. And please thank Matt for letting me steal you in the middle of the night."

Julian half smiled and stood. He touched the tip of his fingers to his temple and gave a two-fingered salute before he turned and exited the hospital through the sliding glass doors.

Aidan leaned his head back against the wall and stretched out in the hard chair, anxiously awaiting the next update. He closed his eyes, the exhaustion and stress starting to wear him down. He needed to
see
for himself that Jessie was fine. What the hell was taking so long?

"I received a call about a patient who came in via emergency," a man's voice echoed to his left.

Aidan opened his eyes, casually observing the older man with the dark hair graying at the temples, fidgeting with a pen at the nurse's counter. There was something about him, something familiar yet different. He stood tall, Aidan guessed at just under six feet in height with broad shoulders.

"The patient's name is Jessiah Vega," the man said.

"And you are?" the nurse asked.

The man cleared his throat. "I'm his
…
father." He withdrew his wallet from his back pocket and presented his identification. "Why was I instructed to come here?"

The nurse tore her focus from the computer monitor. "All our satellite hospitals share the same database and are networked and updated real-time throughout the state. We have you on file as a parent. He's in surgery and we may require a decision to be made if he's unable."

"I would appreciate it if the records were updated, unlinked, or whatever you need to do. I refuse to have a say-so in a decision affecting him."

"Yes, sir," the nurse quietly commented. "We'll need you to fill out this form." She handed him a clipboard then resumed tapping away at her computer.

Aidan bit back the surge of anger boiling his blood. He didn't need to hear anything more to know this was the reason Jessie never spoke of his father. He once mentioned his mother and that she had passed away when he was barely a teen but never his father other than a passing comment of "we don't stay in touch."

He stood and paced the room, needing to let off some of the simmering rage rising inside him.
Son of a bitch
.

The older man handed over the clipboard. "Can I go now?"

"Yes, sir," the nurse said, in a tone much more polite than the bastard merited.

The man turned to walk out the door but hesitated, instead making his way to the restroom.

Aidan shoved his hands into his pockets, fighting the urge to race into the bathroom and beat the shit out of that son of a bitch.

The man exited the restroom a few moments later, and Aidan stood in his path, blocking his exit. The man startled and inched his gaze up at Aidan. "Can I help you?"

Aidan took a deep breath and focused on leveling his tone. "You're Jessie's father?" There was an unquestionable similarity in his eyes. The shade of crystal blue, bright and unmistakably familiar but everything else was off. Jessie's nose was thin and smooth while this man's was wider and slightly askew from an obvious break. Jessie's eyes were bright with life and mirth while this man's held a darker undercurrent. Even the shapes of their faces were different.

The older man cocked his head and observed Aidan with the same scrutiny a biologist would inspect a specimen. "And you are?"

"I'm the detective who brought him in."

The man raised his chin. "Did he cry?"

"What did you say?" Aidan asked, planting his hands on his hips.

"I imagine someone hit him. Did he cry?"

Hit him? Hit. Him.
Aidan bit down so hard his molars began to hurt. "How about we play what-if?"

"Excuse me?"

Aidan took a deep breath and tried to keep his rage in check. "What if it was the middle of the night and you were awakened by someone who attacked you, breaking bones in your body and hitting you so fucking hard your vision blurred…" Aidan stopped and clenched his jaw, taking a step closer to the man who threatened his ability to stay in control. "What. Would. You. Do?"

The man looked at Aidan firmly. "I'd fight back like a man."

Aidan straightened to his full height, taking advantage of the few inches he had over the man. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Then I guess the two of you are more similar than you think."

The older man raised his head slightly as his lips twitched into a sneer. "He is nothing like me. The only reason I'm here is because the hospital was on my way home from work and I received the annoying call to come over. I have no interest in being here or what happens to him." He withdrew the keys from his pocket, turned, and walked away. "The world's probably a better place without him and his whining."

Aidan stood stock-still, observing the older man as he walked past the reception desk and exited the hospital through the sliding glass doors just as Cole ran inside. Cole stopped for a moment and turned to look at the man as he exited, then glanced back at Aidan, scowling as he walked over to him.

"Shit. Was that Jessie's dad? He looks like Jessie doped up on some serious steroid and fertilizer."

"No. Just some fucking asshole."

"Those were his same ice blue eyes, man," Cole said, but didn't push the point further. "You look like you need to get off your feet." He steered Aidan back to the plastic chairs in the waiting room. He pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and pressed a few keys. "Is that Jessie's blood on your shirt?"

Aidan nodded, not wanting to think about it or look down. "What are you doing here? I thought you guys had a show up in Orlando?" He absently looked at his watch. He was due a damn update already and how the hell… "How did you get here so damn fast?"

"Your badge earns me some respect," Cole said, waggling his eyebrows. "It's like a get out of jail free card. Totally awesome."

Aidan sighed and blew out a breath.

"I'm kidding. We were careful driving. Traffic was light and we drove straight here."

"Where's Ty?"

"He's parking the car. I texted him to bring you a shop shirt from the show swag we brought back. So give him a couple of minutes, he needs to sift through the trunk."

He stared at the emergency room's sliding glass doors, waiting for his brother to enter. "Thanks for calling your sister and Julian."

"Did anyone else call you?" Cole asked.

Aidan turned to face Cole slowly. "Who else did you call?"

"I didn't
call
anyone else," Cole said with a shrug. "How's Jessie doing?"

Aidan shook his head, too exhausted to deal with anything other than the stress of Jessie's current situation. "I'm waiting for an update."

Ty entered through the sliding glass doors, quickly walked over to them, and handed Aidan a black T-shirt before pulling him into an embrace. "We got here as quick as we could."

Aidan screwed his eyes shut and tightened his hold on his brother. "Thanks," he whispered. "Give me a sec." He escaped into the restroom and emerged seconds later with a fresh
Calloway's
T-shirt on, thankful to finally be able to take a semi-deep breath without getting a whiff of the metallic scent of Jessie's blood.

"Now how about you tell us what the hell happened?" Cole said.

He tugged on the new shirt and took a few more breaths, trying to assemble the right string of words to provide just enough information without causing another fissure in his already beaten state of mind. "He was…attacked. It's…bad…it's…"
Fuck
. He didn't know what else to say.

When Cole sprang forward, Aidan turned to see Carmen coming down the hallway toward them.

"He's out of surgery and in recovery," Carmen said, then paused with the collective sigh from her audience. "So far, we were able to do everything we could on the operating table. However, he sustained blunt trauma to the head and he has some cerebral contusions that seem to have caused cortical blindness. Right now, that's our greatest concern."