by CJ Bishop
Nolan ducked his head and rubbed his eyes. “It’s a long and complicated story.”
“I’ve got time.”
Nolan sighed and stared at Samuel. He had the look of a beaten man. “You were right about…” he shook his head. “…a few things. Patrice is the woman I dated back in law school.”
When he paused, Samuel asked, “What else was I right about?”
Swallowing thickly, Nolan murmured, “I’m not happy. Not with her. But it’s a package deal.” His lips pressed tight as a deep ache filled his eyes. “If I want to be in my son’s life…I have to marry her. If I refuse, she’ll take him away and I’ll never see him again.” He looked down, his eyes damp. “And that isn’t an option for me.” His throat worked as he raised tear-filled eyes to Samuel’s face. “I’ve already missed out on almost four years of Reuben’s life. I can’t miss anymore.”
Samuel walked over and, startling Nolan, wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tight. When he drew back, he gripped his shoulder with affection. “Tell me everything.”
♦
You’re my hero, Max thought as Horatio sat at Abel and Devlin’s kitchen table and explained how he had immediately put Jenson Taylor on Noah’s case the instant they had brought him to New York. Max sat next to his fiancé and listened to him lay out the steps they would have to take to become the boys’ legal guardians and trustee of their money.
“Jenson says that with the boys’ statements of abuse against Jim Evers, and Jenson representing them, the state will be forced to investigate the situation. He doesn’t foresee any problem proving the truth of their accusations, especially if a physical exam provides evidence that Noel was sexually abused.”
Abel twisted his coffee cup on the table. “How much easier would it be if…” he pursed his lips and tentatively looked at Max and Horatio. “…Jim was…deceased?”
None of them had voiced the obvious. They all knew why Clint and Cochise had gone along on the trip to Chicago.
“I imagine it would remove some of the red tape,” Horatio said. “The boys would become wards of the state, and adoption procedures could begin immediately.”
Abel appeared anxious. “They wouldn’t have to be taken out of our home at all, would they? They need to stay here. They’re already traumatized and frightened. If the state takes them and puts them into an orphanage…” Abel’s gaze darkened with a deeper rooted fear. “That can’t happen.” Sitting beside Abel, Devlin squeezed his hand, offering comfort.
“Don’t worry,” Horatio said gently. “Jenson will make sure the boys stay right here with you.”
Max gazed at Abel with pride and admiration. The boy would do anything to prevent Noah and Noel from being placed in another potentially dangerous situation. And for Abel—an orphanage equated just that. His own experience with Craig Grant had cast a shadow over his soul that Max suspected would never fully recede.
“Okay,” Abel murmured, relieved. “Good.” He stood up. “I’ll go see if they’re awake. They crashed out early last night and have been sleeping ever since.”
“That happens,” Devlin said. “After being under excessive stress for a prolonged amount of time…once it’s taken away, the body and mind is left in total exhaustion.”
“Poor kids,” Max shook his head. “I’ll never understand the fucked up people of this world.”
Devlin lowered his eyes. “Me, neither.” He looked at Max. “It’s even more disturbing when you share blood with one of them.”
“You’re nothing like him,” Abel whispered and leaned down, kissing Devlin softly on the lips. “Nothing.” He kissed him again and left the kitchen.
“You’re a good man through and through, Doc.” Max squeezed his wrist gently. “We don’t get to choose our relatives, but we do get to choose different paths than they did.” He smiled softly. “Your love healed Abel. He would be lost without you.”
A few minutes later, Abel returned. “They’re awake. They’ll be out in a minute.”
“How is Noel doing?” Devlin asked.
“About the same as last night when he went to bed. Not really saying much and clinging to Noah.”
Devlin nodded. “That’s understandable. He’s been through a hell of an ordeal. It’ll take a little while to sink in that they’re truly safe and loved.”
Of those present, Max was the only one who had yet to meet Noel. When the two boys entered the kitchen, Noel partially hid behind his brother, hugging his arm. It was hard to imagine that they were barely a year younger than Maddy and Savannah, they seemed so much more youthful and vulnerable. If he hadn’t known their ages, Max would have taken them to be no more than thirteen. And Noel possibly a fraction younger than that. He was slightly smaller than Noah. And appeared even more so by his thin body.
Devlin left the table and walked over to the boys. “Noel, I’d like you to meet Max.”
Rising from his chair, Max moved around the table and approached them slowly. “It’s really good to meet you, Noel,” he said softly. “I’m so glad to have you here with us. Safe.” He touched Noah’s shoulder and squeezed affectionately, his eyes on Noel. “Your brother was very worried about you. We all were.” Max looked at Noah. “How are you doing, son?”
“Okay,” Noah said quietly.
“Do you like it here?”
Noah nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’m glad.” Max smiled. “We like having you and Noel here.”
The boy gazed at Max anxiously and drew Noel tighter against him. “Will…will Jim try to take us back?” A visible tremor ran through Noel and he buried his face in Noah’s shoulder. “Will he come after us?”
Max started to speak.
“No.” The deep, low southern drawl pulled everyone’s attention to the doorway where Clint stood looking at the two boys. No one had heard him come in. He walked past the other men and approached the kids. “You will never see him again.” Noah gazed up at him. Clint hesitated, then ran his hand over the boy’s hair. “I promise.” He reached out and, with two fingertips, lifted Noel’s face from his brother’s shoulder. “You’re safe now.”
Noel’s eyes glazed with tears and he didn’t recoil from the cowboy’s touch. That’s a good sign, Max thought.
His eyes shifting from the boys, Clint met Abel’s stare. Something passed between them and Max suspected that Clint had consulted Abel on the matter of his father before action was taken against the man. “We okay?” Clint asked Abel, his voice low.
Abel nodded. “I told you,” he said quietly. “Max is my dad…not that piece of shit.”
Max’s heart swelled with love for the young man as Abel glanced his way. Max is my dad. He was a man greatly blessed by God.
♦
Though he had only been gone overnight, Cochise received a warm welcome from his family when he arrived home. Kane, Donald, and perhaps Zoe, were aware of the type of “jobs” that took him away from time to time. John wasn’t. And he didn’t want the boy to know.
When John’s memory came back, Cochise would lose him.
Maybe lose them all.
It was difficult to think of this place as home, these people as family, when it all felt temporary. Getting attached hadn’t been his intention. Kane was never meant to be more than a one-time fuck. But one turned into two…and too quickly he found himself in the man’s bed at every opportunity. Kane had chiseled through his armor and burrowed into his heart, leaving the way open for Zoe, Donald…and John…to follow.
When they left him…the devastation would be great.
The dangers of his world couldn’t take him down.
In the end, would he be brought to ruin…by love?
Chapter 14
At the mention of a checkup, Noel nearly went into a panic. Sitting on their bed while Devlin talked to them, Noel recoiled, clinging to Noah, as if Devlin might forcibly strip him down and examine him right then and there.
“Easy, son,” Devlin spoke soft and calm. “You don’t have be afraid. It’s
a simple exam, at the hospital. Noah can go with you.”
“No…” Noel whimpered and turned his face away, practically crawling behind Noah.
Noah looked at Devlin worriedly. “Does he have to?” he trembled. “He’s scared of being touched.”
“I understand that,” Delvin said. “But as thin as he is, and with his appetite being so weak, I think it’s very important that he get checked out. I’m just concerned about him.”
“I know,” Noah whispered. “But…can it wait a couple days? Maybe he won’t be so scared then.”
Devlin didn’t want to wait. Though the boy didn’t say so, he didn’t appear to feel very well. Thoughts of Savannah came to mind, and how she had contracted the HIV virus. Having to dig through garbage for food. No doubt, Noel had had to do the same. Dirty needles were discarded haphazardly on the streets. Devlin prayed with all his heart that Noel’s condition was simply a mild case of malnutrition and lingering effects of stress. Had he even been on the streets long enough for an HIV infection to start affecting him? Not likely. It was his impression that Noel had only been out there for one to two weeks. The odds of his poor health being linked to HIV was very slim, and Devlin took comfort in that.
But how diligent was Jim Evers when it came to his sexual activity with other people? It wasn’t unrealistic to consider that Noel could have contracted it from Jim before he ever took to the streets. Stop it. If it wasn’t for Savannah, this possibility wouldn’t even be entering your head at this point. Noel was raped—repeatedly. He had to survive on the streets with very little to eat. Not to mention the immense stress. All of that will take its toll on an adolescent’s body. Of course he’s feeling sick.
“Okay,” Devlin murmured, not comfortable with the decision but not wishing to cause Noel added trauma by forcing him to undergo something that he was deathly afraid of at the moment. “But only a day or so, all right? It’s very important that he have an examination, and soon.”
Noah nodded.
“Is he feeling sick?” Devlin asked bluntly. “Has he complained of any pain? Nausea, headaches, dizziness? You need to tell me if he has, okay?”
“A little bit,” Noah mumbled. “But not very much.”
“A little bit of what?” Devlin asked. “Nausea?”
“Some,” Noah said quietly. “Last night…his stomach hurt.”
“Hurt from nausea…or literal pain?”
Noah hesitated. “Pain.”
Devlin looked at the other boy. “Noel,” he said gently. “Does your stomach still hurt? Is that why you didn’t eat much breakfast?”
The boy didn’t answer but nodded against Noah’s shoulder.
Delvin’s concern heightened. “Would it be okay if I just checked your stomach? You can leave your clothes on. I need to make sure it’s not your appendix. If it is, it can be very dangerous to ignore it.” He looked at Noah. “This is very important, Noah. If it is his appendix and it bursts…he could die.”
Fear welled up in Noah’s eyes. “Let him check, Noel,” he trembled. The boy pulled further away from Devlin, shaking his head. “Noel, you have to,” Noah choked out. “It’ll be okay.” He leaned closer to the boy and whispered in his ear, too low for Devlin to hear. Noel slowly lifted his head, tears thick in his eyes.
He appeared compliant and Devlin stood up. “Just lay down on your back,” he said and walked around to the other side of the bed. “I just need to feel your stomach, and you tell me if it hurts, okay?”
Noel stared at him anxiously, then nodded as he scooted down on the bed.
Beginning on his right side, Devlin began to gently press his fingertips against his stomach. “Does it hurt?”
Noel shook his head.
He moved lower then across his abdomen just below his navel. The boy began to show signs of discomfort, his face pinching. “It hurts through here?”
Noel nodded and swallowed thickly.
“Just a little bit, or a lot?”
“A little,” Noel whispered unsteadily.
Devlin straightened up and slowly rubbed his mouth. He didn’t think it was the boy’s appendix. Being raped by a grown man could have caused internal complications, possibly literal damage. He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Noel,” he said softly. “I’m very concerned about this. I know I said you could wait a couple days for an examination, but if something’s wrong, then waiting might be dangerous. I don’t want to take that chance. I care about you too much.”
The boy drew his legs up and scooted back up next to Noah, hugging close to his brother, deep anxiety and real fear in his dark eyes.
“I understand your fears, Noel,” Devlin murmured. “But I would never hurt you.” Movement at the doorway drew Devlin’s attention. Abel stood watching them.
“I don’t think that’s what he’s afraid of,” Abel offered quietly and walked over to the bed. “After the things I went through, I couldn’t handle being touched. You remember. I only felt safe inside the club. It’s an internal thing. I knew I could trust you,” he told Devlin. “I never once thought that you would hurt me. But it went deeper than just conscious understanding of the situation. I would automatically go into a panic, like I started to do the first time we met and you examined my spine. I couldn’t control it.”
Devlin remembered. It had broken his heart to see the fear in those beautiful amber eyes, and feel Abel pull away when Devlin longed so much to be close to him. He nodded. “Yeah, baby,” he whispered. “I remember.”
Sitting on the opposite side of the bed, Abel looked at the boys. “I know how scary it is. I went through it myself.” He gazed at Noel. “But if something is wrong, we need to know. You’re my brother, Noel, and I just found you and Noah. I don’t want to take the chance of losing you. Noah can be there with you. I’ll be there, too, if you want. It’ll be okay, I promise.”
A look crept into Noel’s eyes as he gazed back at Abel that tore at Devlin’s heart. A different kind of fear. Tears filled the boy’s eyes and began to trickle free. He turned away and buried his face in Noah’s neck, sobbing quietly. Noah hugged him, his own eyes shimmering.
“Can we wait till tomorrow?” Noah whispered with a tremor. “Will it be okay? Just one more day?”
Devlin wasn’t sure he understood Noel’s reaction to Abel’s words, but again, feared traumatizing the boy by forcing too much on him too soon. He’s in pain. Something could be seriously wrong. Devlin struggled with his decision; if he waited and something happened to Noel, he’d never forgive himself. But the boy’s emotions and mental state of mind was exceedingly fragile just now. He said it only hurt a little. Maybe it would be okay to wait one more day…
It went against the “doctor” in Devlin, but he nodded. “Okay. On one condition. If the pain gets worse before tomorrow—even just a tiny bit worse—I will have to take Noel in. And I need you both to promise to be honest with me about it, all right?”
Both boys nodded.
“I’m not comfortable waiting,” Devlin admitted. “So any change at all, you need to tell me immediately.”
Noah whispered, “We will. We promise.”
After leaving the boy’s bedroom and returning to the kitchen, Devlin looked at the clock. “I have to start my shift in less than an hour,” he said. “I need you to keep a close eye on Noel. If he takes a turn for the worse, you call me first. I’ll get an ambulance here immediately.”
Worry strained Abel’s face. “Do you really think it’s that serious?”
“I don’t know,” Devlin sighed. “It could be something very minor. But I can’t take that chance.”
“You want to take him in now, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Devlin admitted. He shook his head, anxiety eating his gut. “I feel like I’m being irresponsible by not doing so. But he’s so damn scared.” He shoved his hand through his hair in frustration. “What the hell is the right thing to do?”
“Hey.” Abel slipped his arms around Devlin’s neck and kissed him. “Go to work. I’ll b
e here. If anything changes for the worse, even in the slightest, I’ll call you. He’ll be okay.”
Devlin hugged him and held him tight. “I love you, baby.” He drew back and kissed him deeply. “Thank you.”
“Don’t have to thank me,” Abel murmured with a smile. “You might be the doc, but they’re my responsibility, too. We’re in this together.” He kissed Devlin’s lips. “And I love you, too.” He unlocked his arms and rubbed his hands down Devlin’s chest. “Maybe I’ll see if Angel wants to come over and hang out with me. Two pairs of eyes on the boys is better than one, right? And he hasn’t had a chance to meet them yet.”
Nodding slowly, Devlin smiled. “Sounds good to me.”
♦
“Hey, sexy.” Cole and Gabe dropped onto the stools on either side of Dane. Cole draped his arm around Dane’s shoulders and kissed his face. “How you doing, gorgeous?”
Dane glanced at him warily. “Not even married yet and already you’re hitting on another guy?” He looked at Gabe and jabbed a thumb back at Cole. “Can you believe this chump? With you sitting right here and everything.”
Grinning, Gabe grabbed Dane’s face and kissed him on the mouth, then licked his lips. “Incorrigible, I know.” He shook his head. “Clearly, I’m going to have to put that leash to good use.”
“I think you both need a leash.” Dane picked up his drink. “So what’s all this affection about?”
Cole shrugged. “We need a reason to shower love and affection on our hot friend?”
Dane sighed and tipped up his glass, downing the rest of his beer. “You heard about my trip, didn’t you?” He chuffed. “It’s okay. I don’t need to be coddled. I got the reception I expected to get. I’m fine.”
“We weren’t trying to coddle you,” Gabe assured. “Cuddle you, maybe, but not coddle.”
“I get all the cuddling I need from Angel,” Dane chuckled.
Carl wandered over and brought Dane a fresh beer. “You going to turn down a group cuddle?” He grinned. “Are you ill?”
