Heart Beats

by Davidson King

  “When did you want to go to the hospital?” I asked Ledger.

  “I have to talk to those detectives, right?” I nodded because he did have to call. Ciro had given me the card to make arrangements and said to tell him what we decided, and he’d be sure to be there.

  “I was thinking,” I started to speak, but Ledger laughed. “Hey, don’t be mean. As I was saying. What if we call the detectives, tell them you’re going to the hospital to see your friend, and you’ll talk to them there. That way there’s no extra legwork?”

  “Not a bad idea.” Ledger was smiling at Lion, who was now rubbing his head into Ledger’s palm.

  “Great. So, I’ll get dressed. Toby dropped me off some clothes from my place, I hope that’s okay?”

  Ledger looked up, his eyes shining with emotion. “Shane, of course it’s fine. I like that you’re here. I never really leaned on many people in my life, not even my grandparents. Atlas and Ziggy have been there, and maybe Ziggy saw a lot of my emotions. I don’t know what it is about you but when I’m with you, I feel so—”

  “Incredible?” I tried for levity.

  “Raw.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “And is that something you like?”

  “It’s something that makes me feel out of control. But not in a blind way. Like I see it all and I’m falling, and I have no way of knowing what I’ll land on or where, but you’ll be there and that calms the chaos. It makes the rawness something not to fear.”

  That was possibly the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me. “Wow,” I responded, which was not even a little bit smooth.

  “Thank you for last night and for now and definitely for later. For whatever comes at us, I’m glad it’s you next to me.”

  Shit, when did Ledger become so wordy and suave? “I want to say something equally as amazing as you’re saying to me, but all I have going through my head right now are ‘wow’ and ‘whoa.’ ”

  It was good to see a genuine smile adorn his face, and when he leaned into me and pressed a kiss to my lips, it lit me up inside.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” he said and kissed me again.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Ledger

  The accident occurred an hour from Haven Hart, so Ziggy was in the hospital in some town called Crestfox. The detective we spoke to said he’d meet us there, and I was glad I wouldn’t have to make this trip again. We parked in the garage and made our way into Crestfox Medical. It wasn’t any different from any other hospital except that it was foreign, and I didn’t know where anything was. Shane took over and spoke with the lady at the information booth, and soon enough we were making our way up to the tenth floor.

  “He’s in the ICU,” Shane said. “Only you’ll be able to go in, which is fine. I’ll stay in the waiting room, so when the detective comes, I can talk with him first.” He huffed. “If he’ll talk to me.”

  “I’ll have my phone on vibrate. Text me when he arrives, and I’ll come out, okay?”

  He nodded and when the doors opened, a big sign that read ICU was painted on the wall along with an arrow. The nurse smiled as we approached and asked who we were here to see.

  “My name is Ledger Campos, I’m here to see Jason Zabel.”

  “Are you family?” she asked as she typed on the computer.

  “I was called as his next of kin; he’s my best friend. He has no family.” She nodded and continued to type.

  “Okay, only one can go back at a time.” She looked at Shane. “There’s a waiting room right over there.” She pointed to a light-blue door that was slightly ajar.

  “Thanks.” Shane squeezed my hand and went to the waiting room while I followed the nurse to Ziggy.

  “He has some images and tests in an hour, so you’ll have to go to the waiting room then.” I nodded when she looked at me. My hands shook, and the closer we got, the louder my pulse beat in my ear.

  She slid a clear door open and waved me in with a smile. “He can hear you, you know? Maybe your voice will wake him up.” As she passed me to leave, she patted my shoulder.

  There was a curtain around him and when I pushed it aside, all I could see was him. But he wasn’t alone; another nurse was there.

  “Oh, a visitor!” She was boisterous. “I knew you had friends.” She was speaking to Ziggy as if he could hear her. “I’m Roma, his daytime nurse. And who are you?” Her smile was sheer happiness. Like she wasn’t working in a hospital but maybe some fun amusement park.

  “My name is Ledger.” I made to shake her hand, but she pulled me into a hug.

  “Oh, thank goodness you’re here. I know he’ll open those gorgeous eyes when he hears your voice.”

  My gaze moved to Ziggy. His face was swollen, there was a wrap around his head, more tubes in him than I’d ever seen. He was unrecognizable.

  “Can I…am I able to be alone with him?”

  She nodded. “Of course! I will have to pull the curtain open, though. We need to keep a sharp eye on all our ICU patients.”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay.”

  She pulled the curtain and left the room. The door slid shut, and there was silence. When I was a kid I thought all hospitals had that incessant beeping noise of a heartbeat. I later found out that was all dramatization from Hollywood. I couldn’t hear much aside from a low hiss and outside mumblings.

  I grabbed what appeared to be a comfy chair and pulled it closer to the bed. I wanted to take his hand in mine and beg him to wake up. I wanted him to open his eyes and yell at me for involving him in this shit. I’d take his hate if it meant he’d be awake.

  “Jesus, Zig, I hate that you’re in here. I wish I knew what happened, where it went wrong. Why did she do this, who was chasing you?” I shook my head and so softly rested my hand atop his. “I need you to be okay. I can’t lose more people in my life.”

  I sat there for I don’t know how long, just talking and maybe begging a little that he’d open his eyes. When I couldn’t think of anything to say, I just watched his chest move…breathe. And while he wasn’t awake, I knew he’d live. He was too stubborn for death.

  “Excuse me,” Roma said as she approached. “We need to do some imaging and tests.”

  “Oh, yeah, the other nurse told me. I’ll go to the waiting room until you’re done.”

  She smiled at me. “Wonderful. There’s a phone in there. I’ll call when you can return.”

  Knowing my way back, I left the ICU and walked to the waiting room. Shane hadn’t texted me while I was in there, so I assumed the detective hadn’t arrived yet.

  Shane was sitting on one of the small couches, watching something on his phone. With his earbuds in, he didn’t hear me approach so when I sat beside him, he let out this adorable squeak.

  “Jesus, you scared me!” He put his phone next to him and smiled at me. “How is he?”

  “He looks like he went face first into a cheese grater that was going a hundred miles per hour.”

  Shane’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit.”

  “I’m hoping to talk to the doctor before we go. The nurse seemed nice, it may all be cosmetic, and when he does open his eyes, hopefully he can talk.”

  “That would certainly answer some questions I have,” a deep voice called from the door. A man in a navy-blue suit stood there. He was watching Shane and me, and when I narrowed my eyes at him, he chuckled. “Relax, I’m Detective Glass. I’m told by the nurse that you’re Ledger Campos?”

  “I am.” I stood, unsure if this detective was one of the good ones or one who was just looking to shut the case. In Haven Hart good cops were rare.

  “Then you’re who I’m here to speak with.” His gaze moved to Shane. “You must be Shane Reeves.”

  “Wow, you really are a detective,” Shane said sarcastically. Yeah, we weren’t fans of the cops.

  “Look, I don’t want this to be hostile. I’m trying to find answers for why one of your friends is in a bed in the ICU and another…isn’t, and I think you may know m
ore than you realize.”

  “You think I’m hiding something?”

  He shook his head and walked over to where we were. He sat on a chair by the window. “I don’t think you wanted your friend in the hospital, Mr. Campos, but while you’ve been busy mixing your music and visiting with him, I’ve been investigating. And something about all this doesn’t make sense.”

  “What exactly doesn’t make sense? Because for me, it’s all of it.” I sat back down next to Shane, who immediately took my hand in his. The movement didn’t escape the detective.

  “For one, that.” He gestured to our hands. “Not long after Trinity Mason was on Hollywood Entertainment, she was in a car accident that killed her and seriously harmed your friend. She stated your relationship with her was over. But here I see the two of you. So tell me, did you break it off with her because of this new thing or—”

  “I’m going to stop you right there, Detective,” I said. “I see that it’s you who is missing quite a lot.”

  “Please enlighten me, Mr. Campos.”

  “Trinity and I were just friends. I still haven’t had time to watch her on the show, but I heard that she told everyone our relationship ended. That’s just false. We were never intimately involved.”

  He nodded. “Then why do you think she’d make a false statement?”

  “Look, Detective.” Shane spoke softly. “Trinity had a lot of issues. One of them being drama. Ledger was her way to show people a better side of herself. But he and I, well, we’re involved, and when she heard that, she was upset. Someone took those photos of her and Ledger saying good-bye and spun the story. She rode the wave of it and Ledger, well, he got sideswiped by it all.”

  “Would you say it made you upset?” the detective asked.

  “If you’re asking me did I have anything to do with—”

  “Listen,” Shane interrupted. “You said it was a car accident. I was told a witness saw a car chasing Trinity and Ziggy just before they crashed. You know Ledger filed a report with the Haven Hart Police Department because of some creepy gifts, so why don’t we just stop this stupid cops-and-robbers game and get to it? Because if you don’t finish your questions in ten minutes, Ledger and I will zip our lips, call our lawyers, and you’ll be stuck behind a desk waiting until someone throws you a bone.”

  If the detective wasn’t here, there was no question I’d jump Shane and fuck him into the cushion. He was on fire, and I wanted to burn.

  “Well, then, Mr. Reeves, let’s cut to the chase.” He looked at me. “I believe Trinity was chased off the road, and I suspect it may have something to do with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Shane

  “Maybe you should explain that part where you think it has something to do with Ledger.” Sitting back, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for the detective to speak.

  “I have two thoughts on this. Either Ledger hired the person to step in and stop Trinity from her false accusations, or it’s the same person who sent him the gifts.”

  “Those are polar opposite theories,” Ledger argued. “And what if it was Trinity who sent the gifts? Because I haven’t gotten any in a few days.”

  Detective Glass’s grin was damning. “Then it would solidify my theory that you hired someone in the hopes it would either scare Trinity into stopping, or outright kill her.”

  “I have another theory.” Leaning forward, I met the detective’s gaze. “Trinity had a lot of people she’d upset. When we were at the con, the moderator, Silvia Vera, had some beef with her. I heard she slept with Silvia’s husband. In your grand detective skills, did you bother to investigate that?”

  Glass narrowed his eyes and I had to admit, I liked the feeling that I was getting to him. “Leave the detective work to me. I never said I wasn’t speaking to others.”

  “Perhaps you need to do a better job, Detective,” Ledger said. “Next time you come at me, I’ll have a lawyer. I wasn’t happy with how Trinity was turning my life upside down, but I loved her as a friend. The fact that you’re entertaining the thought that I did this, and put harm to Ziggy, makes me sick.” Ledger stood and walked over to the coffee area in the waiting room. “Have a nice day, Detective.”

  I raised a brow when the detective looked at me. “You heard the man.”

  Detective Glass clearly wasn’t a complete idiot, because he took the obvious hint and left. His parting words let us know this was far from over. “It’s fine if you go back to Haven Hart, Mr. Campos, but it’s best you don’t leave the country.”

  Ledger visited with Ziggy for a few more hours, but there was no change. It was late, and we both cringed at the thought of the long drive home.

  “How about we get a hotel room nearby? I can call Atlas and explain, and I’m sure he can arrange something.” I sat in the passenger seat of Ledger’s car, looking at his exhausted face.

  “Yeah, okay. I really hoped he’d wake up, even just for a minute, you know?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Let me see what hotel is near and try and get us a room. Then I’ll call Atlas.”

  “I can call Atlas, Shane. You’re not my keeper.” He started the car, and I stopped him from reversing by placing my hand on his shoulder.

  “I’m not trying to take over, Ledger. But you’ve had a shit-ton of drama and stress in your life lately. I want to help.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I’m just—”

  “Exhausted. So let’s get a room.” I called a hotel and fortunately was able to get a reservation.

  We went through the drive-through of a local burger joint and ate as we drove to the hotel. It wasn’t some fancy place, but it was good for the night. With keys in hand, we made our way up to our room.

  “I’m gonna take a shower,” Ledger said as the elevator doors opened on our floor.

  “Okay, I’ll call Atlas.” He nodded, and when we slipped into the room and closed the door, the weight of everything came crashing down. When Ledger went into the bathroom, I collapsed onto the bed and tried to steady my heartbeat, took some deep breaths, and gathered my wits. If Atlas sensed anything that was off, we’d be waking up to visitors in the morning.

  I could hear the shower in the bathroom and sat up, phone in hand to call Atlas.

  “Hey, Shane, how’s it all going there?” he asked. I could hear the club sounds very quietly in the background, so he was either in his office or outside.

  “It’s going.” I explained how Ziggy was and about the detective. Atlas wasn’t happy with the accusations thrown around about Ledger and said so.

  “Listen, Shane. There are some concerns here that Trinity may not have had anything to do with the gifts to Ledger.”

  “Yeah, that was always a—”

  “No. Listen,” he interrupted. “Another gift arrived here this evening. It was at the gate entry of the parking lot. Riordan’s guys played the tapes, but all they saw was someone dressed head to toe in black place it there and leave. Because Ledger wasn’t here and the club wasn’t open, no one was there to chase him down.”

  “Him?”

  “Him, they, I don’t know.”

  I thought about it for a second. “Are we sure it’s not something Trinity arranged before the accident?”

  “No. We haven’t opened it. But Ciro and Riordan have eyes on you guys. You need to know there was no way they were letting you guys out of their sights.”

  I hadn’t even thought about protection since hearing about Trinity’s death. But I had to admit, it felt better this way. “Okay. I don’t know if I should tell Ledger about the gift. I don’t want to lie about it, but—”

  “Wait until tomorrow. If you tell him now, he’ll risk the drive back, and he needs to rest.”

  “You’re right. Hopefully he can sleep, and I’ll tell him in the morning.” The sound of the shower shutting off alerted me that Ledger would be able to hear me. “Okay, well, I’ll call you tomorrow with an update.”

  “Stay safe, Shane.” Atlas disconnected the call.
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  The bathroom door opened, steam poured out, and with it a damp Ledger, a towel wrapped around his waist. I knew there was likely no way he was in the mood, but the sight of him made my mouth water.

  “You’re looking at me like I’m dessert,” he said as he came closer to me. The scent wasn’t his own but that of the hotel’s sundries.

  “Oh, you’re a four-course meal, Ledger.”

  Ledger’s chuckle was full of promise. Maybe he was in the mood after all. I spread my legs and he stepped closer, my face mere inches from his waist.

  “I’d hate for you to starve.” His words came out breathy, and I could see his cock begin to rise under the towel.

  I wasn’t ruining the moment by asking if he was sure. I pushed away the I’d be taking advantage of him thoughts because maybe he needed this more than anything. I know I’d want to forget it all if I could…if for just a moment.

  When I slid my hand over his bare stomach and his skin rippled with pleasure, it spurred me on. I gripped the towel with my teeth and pulled until it gave way and pooled on the floor.

  His cock was gorgeous, hard, and all mine. I could hear him breathing, and from the way he clenched his fists, I knew he wanted me to suck him just as much as I wanted to do this for him.

  “Yum,” I said, and licked the tip, savoring the tangy salty bead of precome that peeked through.

  “Shit, Shane!”

  I pressed my mouth against his skin, kissing and licking all around his dick. His moans and hums were an aphrodisiac and when he begged, I happily swallowed him to the root.

  “Fuck,” he shouted, and one hand fell on my shoulder and the other on my head.

  I loved feeling him come apart. The slow movement as he fucked my throat, the way his fingers threaded through my hair and his nails bit into my scalp made me rock hard.

  I unzipped my pants and freed my own cock, jerking myself off with one hand and squeezing his ass with the other.

  “Shit, I’m gonna come.”