Promises: Part I (Bounty Hunters Book 1) (8 page)

“You know you didn’t do this. This isn’t your fault, Quick. Don’t do this to me, man,” Duke whispered through a clogged throat. His emotions were riding him harder than a cowboy on a rank bull. He was in immense pain. His head throbbed, so did his body. He’d lost track of how many bruises mapped his back and torso. Everything ached, but he’d rather feel the pain caused by the beating than the pain in his heart. He hadn’t pushed for his morphine drip in several hours, mostly because he didn’t want to be drowsy when Vaughan showed up.
He is going to show up, right?

“Duke, all hell broke loose in that fuckin’ house. I thought we could get that sonofabitch and be outta there. I went downstairs to check the perimeter. Next thing I know Dana and me are crouched behind the wall holding off shooters outside and every time I tried to get back upsta—” Quick’s voice hitched before he could continue. “I tried to get upstairs, Duke. I swear. Dana was yelling and cursing, then he was hit in the shoulder. We could hear them fighting you. Those goddamn bastards.” Quick pounded hard on the wall with the side of his fist. Cursing everyone in existence.

Moisture was building behind Duke’s closed eyelids and his heart was beating so hard he just knew that a nurse would come in any minute and call a cardiac arrest code. When Duke finally opened his eyes, Quick’s back was to him as he stood at the window, most likely looking at nothing.

“I’m gonna find that motherfucking bitch and I’m gonna kill her slowly. Aaron Williams better thank god his ass is already back in jail,” Quick ground out through clenched teeth.

Duke knew Quick was angry, he’d be too if the situation were reversed, but the emotion wasn’t helping anything. The woman that had apparently beat him along with his bounty was still on the run as far as they knew. Duke had killed her son. She held him in her arms as he bled out. She’d snapped and gone crazy on him. He didn’t want to think about any of that. He literally had weeks to live. “Quick, where’s Vaughan?” Duke finally said.

Quick’s eyes were red and moist when he turned around. He sat down gently in one of the two chairs in Duke’s room, clasping his hands in his lap. He didn’t look at him when he finally answered. “He’s gonna be up here real soon. I’m sure. He just asked for a little time. He’s um… he’s um….”

“Find him, please. Make sure he’s okay,” Duke pleaded, his voice emotion-filled. “It’s late, Quick. Get him to go home and rest, then he can come back tomorrow.”

Quick stood up, patted him gently on his thigh under the scratchy hospital blanket, and walked hesitantly to the door. “Duke. I know about Vaughan’s feelings for you. I have for a long time.” Quick’s head was down and his voice quivered but Duke understood every word, each one stabbing him in his chest. “I would’ve been damn proud to have you as a son-in-law, Duke. I uh… I just wanted you to know that.”

Duke turned his head as Quick walked out the door. He couldn’t respond. He could hardly breathe.
Son-in-law. Jesus
. Quick had known. His best friend would’ve been okay with him dating his son. Vaughan had obviously been very serious about his feelings for Duke if he told his father. So many would’ves and could’ves played in the back of his mind as he reflected on his life. Would they have been good together? Would he and Vaughan have gone the distance? Would Vaughan have loved him the way he’d always dreamed of being loved, cared for, and cherished? Duke reached for the button to push for his pain meds. He just wanted to sleep and not think. If this would’ve happened a couple months earlier, pre Vaughan, then he would’ve been okay with dying but now… now… he begged to live. Begged for a shot at love. 

********

“I’m fine to do more, let’s continue,” Vaughan urged eagerly. He’d been in the lab for the better part of four hours. Dr. Chancy had left to go cover his rounds a while ago and Vaughan hadn’t heard from him since. Vaughan hadn’t filled out so much damn paperwork since he’d applied for law school. They wanted to know everything about him from his blood type to his cock size. Okay, that was a stretch but they probed into every aspect of his life. Good thing was he felt like he was passing with flying colors, like every other test in his life.

The blood type compatibility, tissue typing, antibody screening, urinalysis, and much more had already been collected to test. Now he was hassling the technicians on getting someone to do his X-rays that night.

“Sir. I understand you’re anxious, but there’s no way to do
all
the testing tonight. It’s just not possible, not to mention it’s after one in the morning.” The overworked lab technician sighed as Vaughan refused to accept no for an answer. She’d been the one dealing with him the most, and when her two associates had left for the evening, then it was all down to her.

“Hospitals don’t close. What if someone came into the ER right now and needed an X-ray? Are you saying they couldn’t get it?”

The lady pushed her stray brown curls behind her ear; the rest of her bun looking like it’d been cuter when she left home twelve hours ago. Her eyes were a pretty gray color, almost bluish. Vaughan turned on his charming smile, hoping it wasn’t falling short since he wasn’t only physically exhausted but mentally as well. The ladies usually fell for his boyish charm.

“I believe the one tech that’s on duty tonight is pretty busy. Dr. Chauncey said we’d do the preliminaries this evening and you could make an appointment tomorrow to finish up. You’re pretty lucky. Most donors have to take at least two to three days out of their schedule just to complete all the testing.”

“No. No.” Vaughan shook his head. There’s no way he could go home without having an appointment for the surgery. He wouldn’t rest until he was one hundred percent sure that Duke was going to survive.

“Yes.”

Vaughan turned around to the definitive order in Dr. Chauncey’s voice. “That’s it for tonight, Mr. Webb. I emailed the doctor for the psych eval, but he probably won’t respond until tomorrow… or actually later today when he gets in.” Dr. Chauncey put his hand up to stop Vaughan’s ongoing protests, continuing what he was saying. “He knows this is a critical case and we can get you in real soon, but I don’t think it’ll be today.”

Vaughan dropped his head in his hands, fending off more tears. Crying wasn’t going to solve a goddamn thing. Everything was going to be all right, he was seeing to that, but he’d have to be patient. Why he’d thought donating a kidney would be easy and quick was obviously….

“I just checked on Mr. Morgan.”

Vaughan’s head shot up and next thing he knew he was up out of his seat, moving across the lab area to stand in front of the doctor. “How is he? Is he… is he…?”

“He’s fine. His other injuries are not going to be a factor in performing the surgery laparoscopically. He’s a relatively healthy man. No heart conditions, history of diabetes. I’ve submitted him to the donor board for review. I should have an answer for you in the next couple days. That’s really the best I can do, Mr. Webb. I’ll remind you that this isn’t Johns Hopkins. We can’t do everything in twenty-four hours. We’re just not staffed that way.”

Well get me the fucking Nightingale and transport our asses over there then.
Vaughan ground his teeth. That wasn’t necessarily bad news. He hated the sound of “a couple days,” but at least the doc was talking about Duke surviving the surgery, like he was sure it was going to happen. His tests must be looking good, then. He figured he’d cut them some slack. He needed to get his affairs in order anyway. As if the doctor sensed him calming down, he added, “Rushing can cause oversights, Mr. Webb.”

“Can you call me Vaughan, please?”

“Vaughan. We want Mr. Morgan to have a fighting chance and I’m glad you’re adamant about helping him, but I feel this decision was made hastily. So talking with Dr. Townsend, our psychiatrist, will really be the deciding factor. Our candidates need to be willing to donate, not feel obligated to donate.”

“I don’t feel obligated at all. It’s not like he asked me and now I feel like I can’t say no. Doing it anonymously should take that thought off the table. Right?”

Dr. Chauncey opened the door to the lab and motioned for Vaughan to walk through it. “Dr. Townsend will call you soon. In the meantime, read over those pamphlets and the material I gave you earlier. There’s some pre-donation recommendations you should know about and also what you’ll need in preparation for surgery.”

“Surgery!”

Oh no.
Vaughan recognized his father’s voice before he even turned around. How the hell did he find him down in the ER? Vaughan quickly shook Dr. Chauncey’s hand and thanked him for his help, trying to quickly usher him away before turning to face his father.

Quick had been texting him for hours. All he responses were that he was walking the grounds, so obviously his dad had been looking for him.

“Vaughan David Webb.” His growl still caused goosebumps on his arms, even as an adult. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Vaughan tucked some of the papers back inside the large folder where he had accumulated all the information about a living donor surgery, and began walking towards the front of the hospital to get to the main elevators, his father’s heavy boot steps fast on his heels. “I’m gonna save him, Dad, and there’s not a force on this earth that can stop me.”

Vaughan’s bicep was grabbed in an unforgivable grip as his father yanked him around to face him. “You sure about that?” Those magnetic green eyes were radiating authority. Quick was a hulking man, standing even taller than him, his face a contorted mask of hurt and ferocity. That look used to freeze Vaughan in his tracks, but now, it made him jut his chin out and puff up his chest. He’d meant it. Nothing would stop him from saving Duke, hell, from at least trying. Did his father really think he’d sit on his ass and wait for Duke’s funeral?

“You had to know I’d do this. I know you thought about it too.”

“My blood isn’t compatible or some shit like that.” His father shook his head.

“Why is it okay for you to consider donating but not me? I’m the one in love with him, have been for years. I’m doing it, that’s all there is to it, Dad.” Vaughan kept walking. It was late and there was no one in the quiet halls. Each door they passed was dark, all the departments closed.

“I won’t lose my best friend and risk losing my son.” The elder Mr. Webb continued to protest as Vaughan took long determined strides, his father having no problem keeping up.

“It’s a simple procedure. I’ve done some research and Dr. Chauncey went over it, too. It’s not as invasive as you think. A few punctures for the instruments, a small incision right above the pubic bone to remove the organ, there’s minimal pain and the hospital stay is a day or two at most. Then I’ll be back to work in two to four weeks. Simple”

“I don’t care about the procedures. No, Vaughan. You are not doing this! You are my son! Once I tell Duke, he will forbid you to do this. He’d never let you put yourself—”

Vaughan spun on his heel, his anger simmering hotly below the surface. He’d never disrespected his father a day in his life and didn’t want to start, but he had to let him know that it wasn’t debatable. He stood almost eye-to-eye with the only man he’d loved longer than Duke. If anyone walked by right then, they’d probably call security because it looked like two big ass motherfuckers were squaring off to do some damage to each other. Vaughan controlled his tone, but the rough timbre of his baritone sounded scary even to him. “You must be under the impression that I’m asking for permission.” Vaughan stepped even closer, his eyes boring into his father’s. “I’m doing this Dad, whether you like it or not. I don’t need your permission; I don’t even need your blessing. But Duke and I have a shot at something real, and I’m not ready to let it go. I can’t. Don’t you get that, or have you been alone that long?” Vaughan cringed at that last statement. He saw the pain in his father’s eyes and immediately wanted to take it back. Vaughan swallowed and kept going. “I know you’re scared. I know you don’t want to lose Duke.”

“I don’t want to lose either of you!” he yelled in response.

“And you won’t have to as long as you stand down. If you tell Duke, then you’re right. He’d refuse the surgery. Even if there’s only a zero point five percent mortality risk.” Vaughan cast his eyes down, his voice a mere whisper now. “I don’t even think he’d allow that small amount.”

“He has a right to know.”

“And I’ll tell him myself.”

“After.”

“Yes. After. When I feel it’s time.” Vaughan pointed at his chest. “That’s my decision, not yours.”