Indebted (16 page)

“Okay.” I have no idea what he’s going to say, but getting a few minutes to hear him again is more than enough reason to let him talk.

“Aaron, I can’t do this. I want you—no, need you in my life. You’re everything that is right for me so I can’t walk away from whatever this is. My feelings have gone beyond a simple fling.” The sincerity of his words is evident as emotion shines in his eyes while he looks at me. “Please reconsider seeing me. I can’t stand the thought of you with anyone else. I know my work is dangerous, but I’ll keep you safe, I promise, just give us a chance.”

My heart is beating a mile a minute. I’m overjoyed at his words.
He feels something for me. He wants to be with me.
Leaning my head against the door, I sigh. Still gripping the edge, my knuckles are now turning white from the effort to not touch him.

I don’t say anything and he reaches his hand out to lightly brush his fingers on mine. “Please, baby, give us a chance.”

The tears slowly trickle down my cheeks. I want to, so badly, but I can’t let him see me like this. With my voice shaking, I answer, “Liam, I do want to see more of you. I can’t, um, talk right now. Can you come back next week?”

“I don’t understand.” The hurt is clear in his eyes, making the guilt rise in me. It must show on my face, because he jumps to the wrong conclusion. “Why won’t you open the door? Is Kyle in there? I’m not going to let him take you from me.”

“No, no! Kyle’s not here, I can’t talk right now.” I work to keep him calm. The anger and worry are rising in him though, and it’s like trying to stop a tidal wave.

“You’re hiding something and you’re scaring me. Let me in, Aaron, I need to see you.” Before I can stop him, he pushes his way in.

He pauses dead in his tracks, his eyes roaming over my injuries. His expression turns into pure rage, yet he reaches up a gentle, shaking hand to trace my bruises and wipe my tears.

His voice quivers as he asks, “Who the fuck did this to you?”

S
OMETHING
IS
wrong.

Aaron isn’t acting right. He’s hiding something, but I’m not sure what. He says he wants to see me again, which should make me happy, but it’s overshadowed with worry. I have to be with him, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.

I push my way in, and I’m stunned by what I see. Aaron has been severely beaten. His perfect face is black and blue, and one of his beautiful green eyes is swollen shut. Rage floods me like never before. Some asshole has hurt this innocent man, has pounded on my Aaron.

My mind is reeling. I need to know if he is okay and who’s done this to him. Whoever it is is on borrowed time; that’s for sure. I’ll kill this person who dared to lay a hand on him. It isn’t going to be quick either. They are going to suffer and pay for each day it will take Aaron to heal.

I reach up to trace the injuries on his face. My hand is shaking with the amount of anger and guilt running through me. I didn’t protect him—the most important thing in my world, and I didn’t even think to protect him.

Finally, I ask what’s plaguing me, my voice quivering with the pain at seeing him this way. “Who the fuck did this to you?”

Aaron’s good eye goes wide as the pad of my thumb brushes over his busted lip. He hisses and jerks his face away from my hand. The swift motion makes him wince and grab his side. His movement catches my attention, so I reach down and pull his shirt up. His stomach and ribs are spattered with bruises and knuckle marks.

I growl out, “Motherfucker is goin’ to pay! Aaron, tell me who did this to you… please.”

He quickly starts speaking. “No, Liam, I’m fine. Some guys picked up on my being gay and wanted to make an example out of me. I didn’t get a good look at them, so there’s really nothing that can be done. These assholes will have to get away with it.”

I watch him as he tells me this story, and I know he’s lying. Deciding to call him out on it, I say, “Aaron, why are you lying to me? You know I can tell when someone isn’t telling the truth. I’ve been in this business too long not to.”

He glances down and wrings his hands. Peering back up at me, he informs me firmly, “I’m not telling you. I don’t want you to get into trouble or hurt, and I won’t be able to handle it if you kill someone over me.”

Sighing, and trying to reason with him, I say, “I can’t let them get away with this. They hurt someone extremely important to me. Do you have any idea what this is doing to me to see you like this? They have to answer for what they’ve done. I’m not letting this go, and I can’t promise I won’t kill whoever did this. I will try to leave them breathing, but only for you.”

He mulls over what I’ve said, and finally answers me, whispering, “Adam.”

I knew it! Son of a bitch! I should have known he would go after Aaron. It’s the kind of chicken-shit move he would make. Aaron pulls away from me and starts pacing. He seems really upset about telling me.

The urge to calm him is strong. I step closer to him and stop him midstep. “I want you to listen to me. I’ll be careful. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to take care of business. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

He looks at me with so much hope and asks, “Are you sure? I don’t want you to get hurt or in trouble. I’m not that bad. It looks worse than it really is.”

“Will you stop lying?” I say, exasperated. “I can tell you’re in a lot of pain—you’re not even standing straight. Have you been looked at by a doctor?”

“Um, no, I haven’t,” Aaron replies sheepishly.

I can’t believe this. He hasn’t even seen a doctor yet.

“Aaron, I’m going to make a couple of calls.” I lean down and kiss the good side of his mouth. “I missed you.”

He gently closes his eyes as if savoring it. “Mmmm, I missed you too.”

I gently embrace him and pull out my work phone.
Thank fuck you didn’t bust this one too.
I swiftly dial Tristan as I hold Aaron close.

Tristan picks up almost immediately. “Hey, man, I thought you were going to visit Aaron. What are you doing calling me?”

As usual, talking to Tristan soothes some of my turbulent emotions and I chuckle as I reply. “Dude, I wish I was lucky enough to be having a bout of hot monkey sex right now. You would be the last on my list of people to talk to.”

Aaron groans in embarrassment into my chest and I snicker under my breath.

“Thank you for that,” Tristan snorts. “Last thing I want in my head is a picture of you banging anything. So anyway, what’s up?”

As if he flipped a switch, anger floods me again. “Adam got ahold of Aaron. He’s been beaten, man. I’m so fuckin’ pissed right now! It didn’t even occur to me that Aaron would be in danger. I really need you and Luke to come to his place with the doc.”

“Fuckin’ asshole. I knew we should’ve taken care of him that day at Sam’s.” His voice is tight. “Hold on and we’ll be there shortly.”

I rattle off the address, say my good-byes, and hang up. Sighing, I nuzzle my face in Aaron’s hair, and I have to ask, “So, you really want to make a go of things?”

He peers up at me as he replies, “Of course I do. I couldn’t stand not being with you. It’s strange, in such a short time, you’ve become so important to me.”

Running my hands down his back, I cup his bottom and groan. “I wish we could make a go of it right now.”

He chuckles and steps out of my arms. “You’re bad, tempting me when I look and feel like this. Especially when I can’t do anything about it.”

With a big grin on my face, I wink at him and tease, “There are many ways to do something about it. Did you already forget how to please me? We’ll have to work on that when you’re feeling better.”

He gives a lopsided smile, which appears to be more painful than fun, but continues our banter. “Yeah, right. I could never forget how to please you.”

He then walks up to me and drags two fingers up my length. My cock takes immediate interest. Reining myself in, I give myself a mental slap.

“Aaron, even though I would love to have you prove how good your memory is, we can’t do anything. It’s you who needs to be taken care of right now.” My voice shows the worry I have for him.

“I know I look bad, but I’m alright. Although, I don’t think I will be up for any ‘hot monkey sex.’ We can still play later, though.”

Groaning, I warn him, “You’re killing me.”

Aaron laughs and moves to sit on the couch, each step appearing to be stiff and painful. My anger rears up again, but I need to make sure he’s comfortable and cared for. Hustling over to the sofa, I grab some throw pillows and move them into hopefully a comfortable position. He gives me a smile and relaxes on the cushions.

“Have you taken anything for the pain? No, don’t. We need to wait for the doc. He’ll know what you need. You haven’t taken anything, have you? You should list anything you have.”

“Liam, will you calm down? I haven’t taken anything yet, just my coffee.” He stops as a confused look comes over his face. “What do you mean, ‘the doc’?”

“Didn’t you hear me on the phone? I’m havin’ Tristan bring our doc to examine you.”

He blushes and answers, “I was, um… a little distracted with you holding me. I don’t need a doctor. I’ve told you, I’m fine.”

Oh no, he isn’t getting out of this. He needs to be checked over. “I’m not going to argue with you on this. A doctor will examine you. He’s going to come here, so it will be in the privacy of your home. You won’t have to worry about completing police reports or anything.”

He peers at me obstinately. “I will argue with you if I want. Just because you are a hell of a lot bigger than me, doesn’t mean you get to order me around. I’m my own man. If we’re going to try things between us, I need for you to understand that before we go any further.”

“Look, Aaron, this is new to me. I’ve never tried to have a relationship so you’re going to have to allow for some fuck-ups. I didn’t mean for it to sound like an order, but I want you to be looked at by someone. You could have internal bleeding going on. If nothing else, do it for my peace of mind.”

He nods and says, “I understand fuck-ups, but I’m not a pushover. If you had asked, it would’ve been okay. I know you’re worried about me, I can tell that. I don’t mind seeing a doctor, as long as the police won’t be involved.”

There’s a knock at the door alerting us the guys have finally arrived. Going to answer it, I make sure to check the peephole before opening. Relieved it’s them, I allow Tristan, the doc, Luke, and Jeremy entrance. I’m pissed Jeremy is in Aaron’s home, and I give Tristan a questioning glare.

He shrugs and doesn’t answer. When we are alone, he’ll be answering for it. He knows I don’t like that asshole, and I definitely don’t want him around Aaron.

Instead, I leave it for the moment and greet him. “Hey man, thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“No problem. I was out on another boring recon anyway. I would have been pissed if you hadn’t called me. We’re going to need to handle Adam’s dumb ass,” he growls, his quiet tone belying his anger.

My own anger seeps through as I say, “Oh yes, he’ll be dealt with tonight. I can’t tell you how angry I am right now. I’ll be handling this personally. You’ll be in backup mode.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say. I would be the same way if something happened to Addison. By the way, you’re going to have to call her later. She was fit to be tied when she found out Aaron was attacked.” I chuckle a little at the thought of Tristan’s fiery woman.

“Yeah, I bet. I’ll make sure to call her when things settle down.” I glance over at the Doc, who is waiting patiently for us to stop talking. “Doc, this way, please. He was attacked last night.”

I lead him over to Aaron, who has been quietly watching everyone from the couch. As the doctor discreetly begins his examination, Aaron appears apprehensive when his eyes land on Jeremy. I decide to handle this right now. I don’t want Aaron to be any more uncomfortable than he already is.

Without even glancing Jeremy’s way, I ask, “Jeremy, did you drive yourself here?”

He, of course, is back to his wonderful self. “Nope, you’re stuck with me. Don’t pretend you’re not excited.”

He peers over at Aaron, and even though he has been beaten, Jeremy still peruses his body appreciatively.

I growl at him, “You fuckin’ wish, asshole, and keep your damn eyes off him. This time, I won’t hesitate to snap your goddamn neck.”

He holds his hands up in surrender “Hey, I’m enjoying the view. He may be fucked up right now, but he’s still hot.”

I sneer at him, “I will be calling someone to come pick you up, and that’ll take care of you. There’s no fuckin’ need for you to be here. I don’t want you anywhere near him, or me. You got that?”

“You do what you gotta do, Liam. It’s not how I would like you to take care of me, but whatever.” As he says the “take care of me” part, he grabs his junk.

He is pushing me at the wrong fuckin’ time. I am already beyond pissed at what happened to Aaron, and now Jeremy is hitting on me in front of him. I’m on him before he even knows it, shoving him up against the wall, and I punch him in the face with my full force. He screams as his nose splits and blood spurts everywhere.