Take What You Want (71 page)

“
I
should have sent the text to Alex sooner,” Chase said.

Danni didn't speak. Instead
she squeezed his hand in her lap.

“
If
he doesn't make it … that means our last conversation was an
argument,” Chase said.

“
You
can't think like that,” Danni said. “The fact Alex was
asking for us in the E.R. says something. It means he still cares.”

Chase dropped his head back
against the leather seat. His brain hurt with endless scenarios. He
was desperate so see Alex with his own eyes to know if he was going
to be okay. Simply hearing the sound of his breathing would be a
relief right now.

“
I
always hoped we'd see him again, but not like this,” Chase
said.

“
It's
not ideal, Chase, but it's all we have,” Danni said. “We'll
make it work and we'll do our best to make things right.”

Chase looked at her, emotion
shimmering in her beautiful dark eyes, and knew she meant what she'd
said with every fiber of her being. They were both in love with the
same amazing man. Who would have thought that was possible? But,
now that man was fighting for his life and not knowing the exact
extent of his injuries was too much to bear.

Chase closed his eyes and
squeezed out two tears. Danni was there to wipe them from his
cheeks. “Alex will survive this,” she whispered. “He
has to, because we have unfinished business together.”

Her comment was meant to
ease the tension, but it only caused Chase to swallow back a bigger
sob. He'd never felt so weak and vulnerable. He was always the one
asked to fix things, the go-to guy when things got out of hand, but
what if he couldn't fix this with Alex. What if Alex was broken
beyond repair? What if Alex died before they got to the hospital and
he was never able to see his smile, hear his laugh, or share a kiss
with him again?

“
This
sucks,” Chase said softly.

“
I
know,” Danni said. “I know.”

It felt like a hundred hours
had passed by the time the driver dropped Danni and Chase off at
emergency entrance to Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Chase was nearly
jogging by the time he finally hit the hallway heading toward Alex's
private room. He stopped short when he opened the door. The sudden
halt to Chase's forward motion cased Danni to bump into Chase's
backside. They both stood in the doorway staring at a man sitting
beside Alex's bed leaning in close. The man held Alex's hand pressed
to his lips. The scene so intimate, Chase spun around and collapsed
against the hallway wall.

“
Oh,
my God, Danni, this was a mistake,” Chase said on a sigh. “I
was right. He's moved on.”

“
No,
he hasn't,” Wheland's voice came at him.

Chase kept his gaze pointed
at the floor, rubbing his palms on his thighs. “There's a guy
in there holding his hand,” Chase said. A muscle in his jaw
flexing in irritation. “Why would you have us fly two thousand
miles to see that?”

Wheland
squeezed Chase's shoulder, then pulled him into a hug. “He's
an old friend of Alex. Nothing more,” Wheland said beside
Chase's ear. He pulled back from the embrace and tugged Danni
against him; kissing her cheek. “It's really good to see you
two back together.”

“
It
took time – and a lot of talking,” Danni said, giving
Wheland a weak smile.

Wheland
nodded at her, then reached to grip Chase's shoulder. “Come
on. Let's go inside and see our guy.”

Wheland
pushed open the door and approached Alex's bed. “Any change?”
Wheland asked the man holding vigil.

The man looked up at them,
red-rimmed sapphire-colored eyes expressed emotional distress and
also most likely a lack of sleep. Dark wavy hair covered his head
and several days worth of whisker stubble grew on the lower half of
his face. He looked rough and unkempt, even still, the man was
hauntingly handsome. The man carefully set Alex's hand down on the
bed and stood up; his tall lean frame wobbled slightly before
steadying. His gaze focused on Wheland as he moved around the bed,
then he looked at Chase. “No change,” the man finally
said.

“
Chase,
Danni, this is Adam,” Wheland said.

Chase
felt his chest tighten. This was
the
Adam; the man behind the apple tattoo on Alex's inner thigh?

Fucking.
Christ. What next?

“
You
must be the Chase he was mumbling about earlier,” Adam said,
making no effort to extend his hand to shake.

Chase swallowed hard and
nodded. “And, you're the Adam from his past,” Chase
said. “Not the way I imagined meeting you.”

“
Would
there ever have been a reason for us to meet?” Adam asked,
lifting one eyebrow.

Wheland
grabbed Adam by the arm. “Go outside for a bit,” he said
through clenched teeth.

Adam yanked his arm from
Wheland's grip and proceeded to the door.

“
What
the fuck is going on, Wheland?” Chase asked.

“
Do
you know about Adam?” Wheland asked.

“
Of
course I know about him!” Chase said. “But, if they
aren't back together, then what the fuck is he doing here?”

“
Adam
has been sniffing around Alex ever since Alex returned to L.A., but
Alex wanted no part of him on that level. They've talked a few times
– as friends, and that's been the extent of their contact.”

Chase rubbed at his face.
His eyes darted over to Alex's bruised and lifeless form laying in
the bed covered by a thin white sheet. Beside him Danni twined her
fingers with his. He moved toward the bed and tugged Danni along
with him. With his free hand, Chase reached down and ran his fingers
over the back of Alex's hand and up the length of his forearm.
Behind Alex's head, several different machines beeped and buzzed.

“
How's
he doing?” Chase asked, his eyes falling on Alex's bloodied and
bruised face. A large gauze bandage covered the right side of his
forehead and various other cuts were being kept closed by medical
tape. The remaining visible skin on his face was mostly turning into
shades of purple, and reddish-blue. A large split in Alex's bottom
lip was beginning to scab. Seeing Alex like this was almost more
than Chase could take. He heard Danni gasp and her silent sobs. He
tightened his grip on her hand but couldn't pull his eyes away from
Alex.

Wheland came up beside Chase
to stand. “They set his leg in surgery, adding all kinds of
metal to keep it together, and they're monitoring the head injury.”

“
I
don't understand,” Chase said.

“
His
leg was shattered, Chase,” Wheland said. “There was some
talk early on about amputation, but it wasn't needed. There's enough
steel in him now to give him 'bionic man' status; which knowing his
ego should make him happy. The break in his arm was clean and they
were able to set it in a cast. He's also got a couple of bruised
ribs and ten stitches in his forehead under the gauze. Beyond a
fracture in his skull, they still don't know how bad his head is yet.
That's the worst of his injuries.”

“
Is
there a chance he might not …”

“
Yes,”
Wheland said, knowing what Chase was asking without saying the words.
“The next forty-eight hours are critical.”

“
What
the hell happened?” Chase asked. His fingers gently curled
around Alex's wrist.

“
Drunk
driver hit him; said the sun was in his eyes,” Wheland
answered. “He left the scene thinking he'd hit a dog. Police
caught him a short time later from witness descriptions of the
truck.”

“
A
dog?” Chase asked. “Jesus.”

A
commotion out in the hall distracted Wheland. He turned around to
see what the noise was all about. “Looks like our manager is
here,” Wheland said. “I'll leave so you can visit with
Alex alone. Take your time.”

Chase watched Wheland cross
the room and a moment later, the door to Alex's room closed, bathing
them in near silence. The only sound now coming from the machines
monitoring Alex's vital signs. Chase glanced at Danni. “Are
you okay, babe?”

“
This
is a lot worse than I thought,” Danni said.

“
He's
strong,” Chase said. “He'll bounce back. He has to.”
Chase pulled her against his chest and embraced her tightly.

“
I'm
scared,” Danni said into Chase's chest.

“
Me,
too.”

Behind them, Alex groaned
from the bed. Chase snapped around to look at him, then moved to the
bed; pulling a chair closer to sit down. He took Alex's hand;
rubbing his thumb over the back of it and searched his face for any
sign of discomfort. Chase watched the steady rise and fall of Alex's
chest and set his other hand over Alex's heart. He could feel the
hard thump of it beneath his palm.

“
I'm
gonna go find a bathroom,” Danni said.

Chase nodded; his gaze never
leaving Alex's battered face. He waited until the door shut behind
Danni, then he leaned in nuzzling his nose to Alex's temple. He drew
in a long breath, searching for any trace of Alex's scent – a
scent he'd come to know so intimately. It still lingered on the soft
strands of his hair and on the warm flesh of his neck. Memories of
them together rushed back to him and he wobbled on his feet. His
cheek lightly brushed against Alex's cheek; his lips feathered over
the shell of Alex's ear.

“
I'm
here for you, Alex,” Chase whispered. “And, I'm not
leaving.” He pulled back and carefully pressed his lips to
Alex's. “I love you – always.”

Chase
heard the whooshing sound as the door opened again. He figured it
was Danni returning and didn't bother pulling back from Alex's lips.
He hovered there, rubbing his nose to Alex's and allowed himself that
one simple moment to love the man; openly and honestly, as he knew
Alex would want him to do.

“
Let
him rest,” Adam said.

Chase
stood up quickly and faced the man that had once shared Alex's life
and his heart.

“
Why
are you here?” Chase asked.

Adam pressed two fingers to
his lips and stifled a chuckle. “Alex and I are getting back
together. I belong here – at his side.”

“
That's
not what I heard from Wheland,” Chase said.

“
Wheland
wasn't privy to our
private
conversations,” Adam said.

Chase studied the other man,
sizing him up. It wasn't a stretch to see why Alex was attracted to
Adam. His physical beauty was obvious, but the superficial arrogance
oozing from Adam's near perfect pores wasn't something he saw Alex
falling for at all – never mind revisiting it several years
later. But, maybe things had changed between Alex and Adam. Maybe
they'd figured out a way to make it work again. Chase couldn't be
sure and it didn't really matter. He wasn't leaving Alex's side –
not yet, not until he'd had a chance to tell Alex everything in his
heart.

Chase forced his gaze away
from Adam and looked back at Alex. “I'm not going anywhere,”
he said in a firm voice. He sat down in the chair again and took
Alex's hand.

Adam stood at the end of
Alex's bed; his hands pushed into the back pockets of his designer
jeans. The pose pulled his his polo shirt taut against his broad
chest.

“
You
broke his heart,” Adam said.

“
That's
what Alex said about you,” Chase said.