Swap Meet (11 page)

By the time they pulled up to the curb in the swarming parking lot of the

apartment, all hell had broken loose. The adjacent buildings were catching fire. People

were losing their minds and running around in circles. Police were trying to cordon off

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the scene and establish some kind of crowd control. Cars were blocking hydrant access.

Oh yeah, this was one grade-A clusterfuck.

The second his feet hit pavement, Chris jumped into action. He pulled on his

bunker jacket and face mask then slipped his SCBA over his shoulders and latched it

around his waist. He tugged on his gloves and slammed on his helmet. Those buildings

had to be cleared fast. God only knew how many people could potentially be trapped

inside the burning structures.

Chris’ feet didn’t hesitate as he rushed inside the flaming deathtrap behind his

brethren. From that moment forward, everything blurred. Adrenaline fueled his mind.

Instincts dictated his actions. Hand on the wall, he made his way farther into a smoke-

filled apartment. His free hand swept in search of the two people they thought might

still be inside the place. By the time he’d cleared the farthest rooms of the apartment

and was on his way back out, the flames from the adjoining unit had spread to this one.

The wall burned freely now. The cheap kitchen cabinets were readily available fuel.

It happened so quickly Chris couldn’t say for certain what, exactly, had gone

wrong. One second he was crouching low and moving forward at a steady pace. In the

next, the ceiling was caving in, raining down burning sheetrock and furniture from the

unit overhead. He saw two flailing legs clad in bunker gear a split second before the

weight of the ceiling shoved him to the ground.

Chris cried out in pain. Something had snapped in his shoulder and left arm. Skin-

blistering heat threatened to cook him alive. Something was wrong with his face mask.

His air flow was low. Panic set in as he tried to thrash against the tremendous weight of

debris threatening to suffocate him.

As he hovered on the edge of blacking out, Chris thought only of Max. He willed

what he was sure would be his last words to reach the only man he’d ever loved. “I’m

sorry.”

* * * * *

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Max skimmed the financial-news reports on his laptop screen and sipped his

morning cup of coffee. There wasn’t much of any interest in the weekend reports but he

checked them anyway. Every so often there was a hint of trouble at this company or

that. What went unnoticed by most stood out plainly to Max. He’d made some of his

most profitable deals based on hunches from otherwise innocuous articles. He was like

a shark. The barest tinge of blood in the water and he was circling for the kill.

Business had been good lately; thriving, actually. Without Chris to occupy him with

lustful thoughts, Max had plenty of brainpower to devote to work. Staying busy

lessened his depression somewhat. He still ached for Chris but it had become a bearable

pain. As much as it confused and annoyed him, Max still craved the man. Chris had

stomped on his heart but Max would have taken him back in a heartbeat. He wondered

what that said about him. How pathetic was he to want the man who had hurt him so

terribly?

But it wasn’t that simple. There were so many shades of gray to be considered. Max

understood on some level why Chris had bailed. Things weren’t as black and white as

Max liked to believe. Love clearly wasn’t enough. The consequences for Chris coming

out were much more serious than they were for Max. He could afford to not do

business with people who didn’t quite approve of his choice of partner. Chris depended

on his fellow firefighters to have his back at the worst of times. A moment’s hesitation

could be fatal.

Reflecting on it now, Max knew it was unfair of him to have expected anything

more from Chris. Or, at least, to have expected him to change so quickly. Chris had

taken a huge leap outside his comfort zone in agreeing to come to France for that

wonderful week they’d spent together. Max shouldn’t have pushed so hard. He saw

that now.

In a way, Max was thankful Chris had ended it when he did. It was a small mercy.

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His cell phone chirped. Max set aside his cup of coffee and reached for the phone.

His heart stuttered at the sight of Chris’ number flashing on the screen. Max’s mouth

went dry. His stomach dropped. With trembling fingers, he answered the call. “Hello?”

“Max Dantes?”

He frowned at the unexpected sound of a woman’s voice. “Yes. With whom am I

speaking?”

“Max, this is McKenzie Collins, Chris’ sister. You don’t know me, but please don’t

hang up.”

The pleading tone of her voice worried him. “I won’t.”

“Max, I know things didn’t end well between the two of you but I thought you

should know about Chris’ accident.”

Max stiffened. A ripple of panic stabbed his belly. “Accident? What kind of

accident?”

“Chris was hurt pretty badly in a fire last night. He’s in the ICU at the moment. In a

coma,” she added softly. “He suffered some burns on his legs and broke some bones.

He was without oxygen for a while.”

The sound of her tears tore at him. His throat knotted up as he stood quickly, nearly

knocking over his chair. “I’m coming. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Relief filled her voice. “Thank you, Max. Call me as soon as you land. I’ll have his

phone on me.”

“I will.”

Max rushed to pack a bag and get a jet fueled. On route to the airport, he made a

series of calls to delegate company responsibilities. He didn’t want to be bothered. His

sole focus was getting to Chris as quickly as possible. The idea of suffering through

hours upon hours with nothing to do but imagining the worst was daunting.

As the plane gained altitude, Max leaned back against the headrest and closed his

eyes. The image of Chris’ boyish grin flashed through his mind. The phantom sensation

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of Chris’ warm lips against his neck filled him with a sense of longing. His mind

conjured up gruesome images that caused his stomach to contract with fear.

Suddenly all the ugliness that had passed between them didn’t matter. Max

understood clearly what he wanted. If Chris survived this—and he would, because Max

had to believe that—then Max was determined to fight like hell to convince him to try

again. They belonged together. There was no disputing that now.

Max wiped a hand down his face. He sighed heavily and stared out the window,

willing the plane to fly a little faster. “Chris…”

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“Max?”

He turned toward the direction of the now-familiar voice of McKenzie Collins. All

around him medical professionals and patient visitors swarmed in the glass-paned

lobby of the downtown Houston hospital. Navigating the dense neighborhood where

the medical center was located had been a nightmare on his nerves. His driver had tried

to make small talk but Max had been less than interested. He was consumed by

thoughts of Chris.

“Yes.” He stepped forward and shook her hand. There was no mistaking the family

resemblance, with her similarly colored hair and eyes. “Nice to meet you, McKenzie. I

only wish the circumstances had been different.”

“As do I,” she said softly. Squeezing his hand, McKenzie moved a bit closer. “He’s

improved since you left Paris. They’re weaning him off the ventilator. They hope he’ll

wake up sometime today or tomorrow.”

Relief flooded his system. “And the burns and broken bones?”

“The burns to his ankles and calves are second degree and almost completely

superficial expect for a small spot.” She shook her head, seemingly in awe. “He’s

incredibly lucky they were able to pull him out so quickly. He snapped his collarbone

and broke his arm in two different places. It’s going to take him a while to recover, but

he will.”

Max swallowed hard, his eyes suddenly hot. He glanced away briefly, desperate to

compose himself. McKenzie’s soft hand touched his shoulder. She smiled warmly at

him. “He’s going to be so happy to see you.”

“I’m not so sure of that,” he said with an uneasy laugh. “He was quite adamant

about keeping his public and private lives separate and now here I am.”

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“He made a mistake, Max. He was planning to come see you, to apologize for being

such an asshole.” She gestured toward the elevator bank with her head. “Come on up

with me. I’ll sneak you in to see him.”

“Are you sure?” Uncertainty quivered through him. He shifted the heavy strap of

his hastily packed overnight bag. “I don’t want to cause any problems.”

“None of Max’s coworkers are here at the moment. Our parents just left for their

hotel room.” She seemed to have caught his questioning expression. “It’s okay, Max.

Our parents know about Chris. He came out to them years ago. It was a huge thing then

but they’ve come to terms with it.”

His mind at ease now, he nodded. “Let’s go.”

The ride up to ICU seemed to last forever. Just before they stepped off into the

waiting room, McKenzie stopped him. “Just so you know, Mom and Dad and I agreed

to pretend you’re my husband. HIPPA laws and all that,” she explained with a playful

wink.

Max smiled as he set his bag in a corner of the mostly deserted room. “Whatever

works.”

He’d expected some kind of rigid protocol once they reached the floor where Chris

lay in his drug-induced coma but there was surprisingly little resistance. McKenzie’s

little white lie granted him access to the room. Because of Chris’ burns, the nurse in

charge asked Max to wash his hands and slip into a gown before entering the room. He

was instructed not to touch the bandages covering Chris’ ankles or calves.

Max’s stomach pitched violently as he stepped into the antiseptic-scented room

behind McKenzie. Machines beeped loudly. A ventilator exhaled and hissed with every

breath it pumped into Chris’ lungs. He moved closer to the bed. His gaze moved over

Chris’ bandaged lower extremities and higher to his bare chest. A sheet shielded his

genitals from the view of anyone who walked by the glass-walled room. Clear tubes

snaked from catheters placed in his hands and ran up to various bags of fluids and

medications hanging on nearby metal stands.

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Tears spilled down Max’s cheeks at the sight of his big, strong man completely

immobile and looking so incredibly vulnerable in the hospital bed. Max could almost be

fooled into thinking Chris was simply asleep. He looked utterly serene. Only the slight

singe of hair on the left side of his head gave any other impression.

Without thinking, Max reached out and caressed Chris’ cheek. Stubble rasped his

fingertips. At the last second, Max stopped himself before bending down to press a kiss

to Chris’ mouth. Anyone could walk by at any moment and see the amorous exchange.

He slowly dragged his hand away and tried to remember to be more careful.

“You really do love him.”

He looked up to find McKenzie staring at him, her eyes suspiciously bright. “Yes.”

Max wiped his cheeks and turned his attention to Chris’ face. “He broke my heart when

he walked out on me. I thought I’d die.”

Max didn’t know why he was telling her all of this. He couldn’t stop the words

though. There was something about McKenzie Collins that coaxed the truth out of him.

“He was coming to see me?” Max still couldn’t believe it.

McKenzie nodded and placed her hands on the side rail of the hospital bed. “I

offered him my frequent-flier miles for the trip. He called me after he got back from

Paris. He knew he’d made the biggest mistake of his life…but you know Chris.” She

smiled and shook her head. “He’s so stubborn sometimes.”

Max’s lips curved. “Yes, very.”

A nurse popped her head in the door. She smiled apologetically. “Time’s up.”

Max lingered at Chris’ bedside. The thought of leaving tore him up but he knew

there was nothing he could do about it. Until Chris woke, the ICU enforced strict

visitation policies. He brushed his fingers over Chris’ lips, pressing all his love and

hope for a quick recovery into the brief touch. His silent goodbye made, Max left the

room and stripped out of the protective clothing.

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“Where are you staying?” McKenzie asked as they rode down in the elevator. “I can

give you a ride.”

“I have no idea,” Max admitted. “I didn’t think that far ahead.” He reached into the

front pocket of his jeans for his phone. Hopefully his usual hotel had a room.

McKenzie stopped him with a touch of his arm. “Don’t bother. I know of a place

you can stay.”

“No need to worry. I’ve never had a problem booking a room in this town.”

She fixed him with a determined look. “Why don’t you stay at Chris’ place? I saw