Give and Take (Ties That Bind Book 1)

by Claire Cullen

  “We get you cleaned up a bit, go to the hospital and have you checked over, then I take you down to the local precinct and fast track you through giving a statement. How’s that sound?”

  It sounded like the worst possible plan. A hospital would need money and he had no insurance, not enough cash, and no credit to cover the inevitable bill. A statement meant records, meant his name in the system, meant an ID check. Systems like that were searchable, breachable, even if you hadn’t done anything wrong.

  When Drew hesitated, Sam added, “Unless there’s something you want to tell me?”

  Taking a deep breath, cut short by a stab of pain in his side, he spoke quietly. “You were right the first time. It was a poker game, I lost more than I had. They were understandably pissed.”

  A finger hooked under his chin, tugging his head up to meet Sam’s eyes.

  “Your brother said you were trouble. Fine, if you don’t want to report it, then we’ll chalk it up to a hard learned lesson. Not one anyone should have to learn so brutally. But with these injuries, you do need a hospital.”

  He was shaking his head before Sam finished. “No, I don’t have insurance or the kind of money a visit to the emergency department would cost.” All he’d been able to take when he ran was the maximum on his ATM card withdrawal limit. At eight hundred dollars a day, it wasn’t much. Wasn’t enough.

  “We’ll work something out.”

  He was already indebted to Sam for giving him a place to stay. He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, extort more from him.

  “No. It’s not that bad. I’ve had worse.”

  He cursed inwardly as soon as the words had left his mouth. There was no good way for Sam to have taken that statement. Any minute now and he’d be out on his ear.

  Sam was still holding his chin up, forcing Drew to meet his gaze.

  “Alright, I won’t drag you there against your will. I have another idea. Here, keep this pressed against your side while I make a phone call.” He let go of Drew’s chin as Drew put his hand over the towel, holding it tightly in place.

  Sam left the room, leaving Drew to wonder and worry about who he was calling. He hoped to God it wasn’t Logan, because when his brother heard all this, he was going to be pissed.

  Chapter Four

  Sam pulled out his phone as he stepped out into the living room. He was glad of the breathing room after the closeness of the bathroom. Drew was all over the place; his words, his reactions, and a story he could not keep straight. That was any kind of addict though, lying became second nature.

  Matt answered on the second ring, to his eternal relief, though he sounded like he’d been sleeping, his voice slow and heavy.

  “Sam?”

  “Matt, I need your healing hands.”

  That had his friend more alert. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, it’s not for me. Logan’s brother, Drew, got himself into some trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “The kind delivered by three guys’ fists and boots.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah. He won’t go to the hospital, doesn’t have insurance or money. I told him not to worry about it but he refused point blank and I’m not keen on trying to force him.”

  “I’ll come straight over. Is he walking, talking, and not bleeding out?”

  “There’s a nasty gash on his side, we’re keeping pressure on it, but he’s conscious, lucid, on his feet and moving.”

  “Good, so no immediate risk. I’ll be there in thirty. You know what to do if he goes south.”

  Matt hung up and Sam turned to find Drew in the doorway of the bathroom, propping himself up with one hand.

  “Who were you talking to?” There was that wariness again.

  “Matt, he’s a friend of mine. Logan knows him, too.”

  Drew’s suspicion gave way to recognition. “He’s the doctor, right? Logan mentioned him in an email once.”

  Sam thought that was kind of sad. His brother knew about all his army friends, had heard all the stories, those fit for civilian ears, and had met many of those he was close to. To think Drew and Logan conversed only with impersonal messages, like two strangers instead of brothers.

  “That’s him. He’s at a loose end right now so he’ll come over and check on you. But if he says hospital, we’re going, end of discussion.”

  Drew sagged against the wall and Sam jogged over, wrapping a hand around his arm. “Let’s get you sitting down. Keep pressure on that wound.”

  As he tried to lead Drew to the couch, the other man resisted. “I’ll get blood on the cushions.” Which explained why he had been stemming the bleeding with his shirt, and not Sam’s towels when he pushed into the bathroom.

  “It’ll wash out.”

  “It’s worse than red wine. I can just—”

  “What, stand until Matt gets here? Fine, I’ll put down a towel.”

  He propped Drew against the wall, pulling out a clean towel and covering one seat of the couch with it before helping Drew sit down. The other man grimaced as he sat, his free hand going to his back, where Sam could see bruises blooming across the skin.

  “This is gonna hurt tomorrow,” Drew muttered.

  “It’s hurting you right now,” Sam replied, his mind turning to internal injuries, internal bleeding. “I’ll get some ice.”

  “I think an ice bath might be in order,” Drew joked, and some of Sam’s fear eased. In his experience, people with life-threatening injuries tended to lose their sense of humor.

  When he returned with the ice pack, he eyed Drew with a calculating gaze. “You’re trying to keep pressure off the lower right side of your back. Might be best used there.”

  Drew nodded, holding out a hand for it. Sam ignored his outstretched hand, taking the seat beside him instead and pressing the pack gently against the bruised skin.

  Drew gulped a breath, blowing it out slowly.

  “Try to relax,” Sam urged. “Keep taking slow breaths, the discomfort will ease once the ice starts doing its job and numbing the area.”

  “Right. Are you sure you’re not a doctor, too?”

  “Nah, just have a bit of field training. Comes with the territory.”

  “And yet you left that life behind for the lure of urban policing.”

  Drew was seeking distraction and Sam was happy to provide it.

  “Two tours was enough for me. I wanted some stability. And I work with the Emergency Task Force. More action, fewer traffic stops, and less paperwork.”

  “Sounds challenging.”

  “It is. But I work with a good team.”

  “You work a lot of hours.”

  “It’s not usually so bad as this past week. Two members of another team were injured so we’ve been picking up extra shifts to cover them.”

  They made small talk until Matt arrived. Sam buzzed him up, stepping out into the hall to speak to him for a moment. Matt didn’t look as bad as the last day but there were dark shadows under his eyes and he was unshaven.

  “Are you up to doing this? I don’t want to put you under pressure.” And he certainly didn’t want Matt checking Drew over if he’d been drinking.

  “I’m okay, Sam. And I haven’t been at the alcohol if that’s what you’re worried about. Just not sleeping so good right now.”

  Sam watched him carefully, deciding he meant what he said.

  “He’s inside, on the couch.”

  Matt walked past him and Sam followed more slowly, wondering how and why things around him kept spiraling out of his control.

  He hung back as Matt moved to Drew’s side.

  “Hi, Drew, I’m Matt. Sam told you I was coming?”

  “Yeah. You’re a doctor?”

  “Right. But I’m not a miracle worker. The only promise I’ll make is that I’ll check you over. If I decide you need a hospital, you need a hospital, and Sam and I will make that happen. Understood?”

  “Yeah. Sam said the same.”

  “
Great minds,” Matt said gently. “Can you pull that towel away and let me take a look?”

  Sam leaned against the wall beside the bathroom door and watched as Matt checked Drew over. He was careful but thorough, starting with the gash on his side, then checking his abdomen and face.

  Sam could see Matt wasn’t happy with what he found, asking Drew some quiet questions.

  “Sam, do you mind giving us a few minutes?” Matt asked suddenly, shaking Sam from his reverie.

  “Sure,” he said. “Do you need anything from the drugstore?”

  Matt gave him a short list, given Sam’s first aid kit was already well-stocked. He grabbed his phone and wallet, and left them to it.

  This time, when he arrived back, it was Matt who cornered him outside.

  “He’ll get away without a hospital. That cut’s pretty shallow except at one end. I put a few butterfly stitches on to hold it closed. His head is fine, his face is bruised as heck but nothing to suggest broken bones. He’s taken a kick to the kidneys and we’ll want to keep an eye on that for a day or two.”

  “Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

  “It’s not. But there’s something else.”

  “What?” A host of possibilities floated to the forefront of his mind, none of them good, and some of them going a long way to explain Drew’s skittishness about reporting.

  “He has some other bruising.”

  “Yeah, I saw, his back and stomach look pretty bad.”

  “No, not from the assault. Not from today’s assault, at least. Old bruising, a week maybe.”

  Sam hadn’t noticed that, but then he’d been busy trying to control the bleeding and convince Drew to get help.

  “What did he say when you asked him?”

  “He didn’t, clammed right up, pale as a ghost.”

  Sam considered the new information.

  “He did take off because of gambling debts. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that he had a debt collector putting some pressure on him.”

  “Yeah, but I told him I knew about the gambling and he still wasn’t talking.”

  Drew was aware that Sam knew about it too, yet he still hid it until Sam pushed. And there had been something about that admission, it had sounded forced.

  “He was the same when I asked him about what happened tonight. Insisted at first it was a random mugging, but when I pushed about reporting, changed his story and told me he’d been gambling and got in over his head.”

  “You believe him?”

  “He’s hiding something, hard to know what though. Might just be that he’s in deeper than he’s let anyone know, even Logan.”

  Matt nodded slowly. “How is it you always manage to surround yourself with people who need to be taken care of?”

  Sam grinned back at him. “Just lucky, I guess.”

  “Well, alright. I’m going to take off. Call me anytime if you’re worried. Otherwise, just let him sleep off the worst of it.”

  Drew was still on the couch when Sam came back inside, but he was lying lengthways on it, covered with a blanket, his head pillowed against the armrest and his eyes closed.

  He blinked them open as Sam crouched beside the couch.

  “Is Matt gone?”

  “Yeah, he’ll come back and check on you tomorrow.”

  Drew twisted the edge of the blanket around his fingers. “Thanks for calling him, you didn’t have to do that.”

  “You needed to be looked over and it was good for him to get out of his apartment. Do you want something for the pain?”

  Matt had said he’d offered, but Drew had refused.

  “No, it’s not so bad.”

  “You’ll change your mind tomorrow once your muscles have had a chance to take stock.”

  “Ouch,” Drew said. “Makes me sore just thinking about it.”

  “No,” Sam replied with a smile. “I think that’s the actual beating that hurts.”

  “Oh, right. I’d forgotten.” Drew’s eyes slipped closed.

  Sam let out a soft sigh. “I hate to say it, but you’ll be miles more comfortable in your own bed right now than out here on the couch.”

  Drew made a face, opening his eyes, and giving him a look that reminded Sam of a sad puppy. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  “Sooner you move, the sooner it’ll all be over.”

  “I wish it was over now.”

  “I know. So, here’s how we’re going to do this. You’ll sit up and swing your legs over to the floor. I’ll sit down beside you, you put your arm around my shoulders, I’ll put mine around your waist, we’ll stand up together and I’ll help you across to your bedroom.”

  Drew just blinked at him.

  “I walked here from the bathroom. I can walk back to my bedroom. We don’t need a strategy for that.”

  Sam stood, folding his arms. “Alright. Well, sit up and swing your legs around then we’ll talk.”

  Drew gave him a bemused look as he pushed upright. The look disappeared from his face the moment his arms were taking his weight. He persevered, pushing upright before bringing his legs around and down to the floor. The action left his gasping, hunched over with a hand pressed to his side.

  Sam crouched again, resting a hand on Drew’s knee. “Nice, slow breaths, just like before. Your body has just stiffened up some, that’s all. It’ll be hell walking to the bedroom. It’ll be worse the next time you get up to use the bathroom. But, by this time the day after tomorrow, you’ll be feeling better, trust me on that.”

  Drew grimaced, slowly sitting up straighter. “You do seem to know what you’re talking about. Do you ever get tired of being right?”

  “In this case, it's a matter of experience being a pretty good teacher.”

  “You’ve had the crap beaten out of you, too?” Drew asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Once or twice. And I’ve been injured in the field a few times. I know how the body reacts to that kind of punishment.” He lifted his hand from Drew’s knee. “Doesn’t make me an expert though, that’s why I brought Matt over.”

  “I think I’m ready to stand now.”

  Sam sat down next to him, slipping his arm carefully around the other man while Drew did the same, gingerly settling his arm across Sam’s shoulders.

  “I don’t bite,” Sam joked. “And you need to hold on and let me take some of your weight. On three, okay? One, two, three—”

  They moved as one, Drew cursing loudly as they got him upright. Sam held him steady, giving him a minute for the worst of the pain to ease.

  “Okay, I’m good, I’m good,” Drew said, and Sam guided him across the room.

  “You need the bathroom?” he asked.

  “No,” Drew replied. “I just need to be horizontal.”

  “Almost there,” Sam said, urging them onward.

  Once they got inside Drew’s room, all he had to do was help lower the injured man onto the bed. Drew swung his own legs up and lay back, eyes closed, his breathing fast and shallow but slowing and deepening as the minutes passed.

  Finally, he opened his eyes. “Thanks. I don’t think I could have done that without your help.”

  “You’d probably have slept on the couch. At least this way, we’ve saved you a crick in your neck. Do you need anything else?”

  Drew shook his head. “I’m just going to try to sleep. Hopefully, things won’t look so bad in the morning.”

  “Are you working tomorrow?”

  “Not at the diner. But I’m supposed to be doing a few hours at the bar. I’ll call Alan in the morning, let him know I’ll be a no-show.” Drew’s fingers tugged the edge of the sheets, his eyes reflecting worry.

  “Hey, you’ll be back on your feet before you know it, okay?”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Goodnight, Sam. And thank you, for today.”

  “Goodnight, Drew. I’m just next door if you need anything.”

  Chapter Five

  It was a night of painful tossing and turning. Every time he moved, some
hurt exploded to life, pulling a groan or muffled curse. He hoped he wasn’t keeping Sam awake. If ever someone needed his sleep, it was a cop in an elite tactical unit.

  It was just after five am when he heard Sam moving around. A few minutes later there was a quiet knock on his door and Sam stuck his head in.

  “I thought you were up. Do you need anything?”

  Despite the early hour, Sam was wide-awake and distractingly handsome.

  Drew managed an incoherent mumble and Sam frowned, stepping inside.

  “Drew?”

  “I’m okay,” he said, pushing himself up with a groan, imagining how he must have looked to Sam.

  “Did you get any sleep?”

  He shrugged, regretting the movement a moment later. “Not much.”

  With Sam’s help, he got up and to the bathroom before settling on the couch while Sam moved around the kitchen.

  “How do you like your eggs?” Sam called over his shoulder and a little while later, he passed him a plate of scrambled egg and toast.

  Drew didn’t have much of an appetite at first but when Sam sat down opposite him, eating his own breakfast, it spurred him to try his. Once he started, he found he was hungry after all.

  “An appetite’s a good sign,” Sam commented. “I have to head to work. I’ll be back tonight. Matt will swing by around lunch time.”

  Sam cleared away their plates, returning with a glass of water and a box of pills.

  “They’re just Tylenol. Take two, they’ll make the day a little more bearable.”

  Sam’s tone brooked no refusal, so he swallowed two with a mouthful of water, letting Sam take the glass from him after.

  “Okay,” Sam said, as he shrugged on his jacket. “You have my number and Matt’s number. If you need something, call. I’ll call and check on you during the day.”

  “I will. Thanks, Sam.”

  The intensity with which Sam was watching him was a little uncomfortable, but it was nice to have someone care for him and not expect anything in return, anything obvious anyway.

  Sam departed, leaving him with little to ruminate on except his woeful circumstances. He turned his mind away from that, thinking about Sam instead. Leave it to Logan to have such attractive friends. Not just in how Sam and Matt looked, but how they held themselves, how they acted; with a confidence Drew didn’t think he’d ever possess. He knew confidence was an attractive quality, it was part of what had drawn him to Russell in the first place. Confidence, power, and charm. And before Drew had even realized it, he’d been in over his head. And now, irony of ironies, he was hiding in the home of a cop.