Red Hot(Sex & Mayhem #5)(120)

“Yeah, but it could’ve hit your lungs, or heart. This is just a hand. It’s fine,” Loki uttered, even though he felt anything but fine. Each single move of Jack’s on the way to the car was torture as the burning sensation spread farther over his chest. Anything was better than Jack dying, bleeding out all over the floor of that damn policewoman’s house.

Jack grunted as he started the car with a squeak of tires. “Fucking hero. You ever try to do that again, I will drown you.” He went silent for a moment and rubbed his eyes with his arm. “Don’t die.”

Loki wanted to tell Jack how little sense he was making, because Loki would die if Jack drowned him, but the first bump on the road rendered him completely speechless from the pain. His vision was getting cloudy, so he closed his eyes and sat on his side so that his injured arm didn’t touch anything. Whatever Jack would say to that, Loki liked being the hero. He’d been useful in the end. Trying to remember the taste of Jack’s lips on his own, he pulled the wonderfully smelling T-shirt closer around himself with his good hand and focused on not crying out every time the car shook on the uneven road.

Whatever happened, at least he knew that Jack would be all right, and that he would never forget the time Loki was ready to die for him.





Epilogue



“I’m really happy to be going home,” said Loki, walking down the hospital corridor alongside Jack, who was carrying the small bag of items Loki kept with him in the hospital. It felt so natural that he had to stop himself from holding on to Jack’s arm for support, but he didn’t want to stir any unnecessary attention. He still felt off balance, and he still experienced headaches, but the doctors assured him they would eventually pass. Loki was making a good recovery, even though he did babble and do some strange things after waking up. Apparently, that was normal after someone dug into your brain.

All would go back to normal. Well, all but the hand. Loki had lost his thumb, and by the time they got to the hospital, Monster and Sam had already disposed of the digit, so there had been no chance of sewing it back on. Loki would have to relearn writing, as it was his dominant hand, but whenever he got too caught up in his own misery, he thought of the man whose life he’d saved. That was enough to make it all seem worthwhile.

“Sorry it’s not much of a home right now,” Jack said, walking with such confidence, even a doctor stepped out of his way.

Since Loki had no insurance, the bills from hospital were like locust that ate into all of Jack’s possessions. At first it was any cash Jack had, then appliances and furniture. He’d sold his car, the bike with golden wheel rims, and in the end, the beach house had to go as well. At least Monster bought it off him, so Jack had told Loki that he felt like it stayed in the family somehow. He even laughed that Monster would build a sex dungeon in the cellar, but Loki could still see Jack was upset about having to let go of his party house. And yet, he never once hesitated or blamed Loki for losing the stuff he had been so fond of.

And as accepted and loved as that made him feel, Loki had trouble coming up with reasons why Jack wanted him so much when he hardly got anything in return. Loki was trouble, financial loss, someone who never had a real job and now struggled with writing his own name. He had no idea how he would ever repay Jack for all that he was getting from this relationship.

“I’m going back with you. That’s something,” said Loki, stepping into the elevator. There was a mirror on its wall, reminding Loki of the new S-shaped scar on the shaved side of his head, now covered with bandages that made him look like the victim of some terrible hate crime.

“We’re gonna have separate rooms at the clubhouse. I’ll work out something better in a few weeks. With the prices these hospitals charge, doctors are the true fucking outlaws.”

Loki gave Jack a swift hug, but the moment they touched, the elevator was already on the ground floor, and he had to pull away. “I get it.” He didn’t even try to ask Jack how he could repay him, because there was no way he’d ever earn enough money to do that, but the buzz of guilt never let him have his peace for long. He felt like such a useless human being sometimes. He couldn’t even cook so that Jack would have a nice meal after coming home. He’d learn if he didn’t contribute anything to their budget.

Jack took a deep, raspy breath and looked at Loki with such tenderness, it was hard to comprehend. “I’m so happy you’re alive.”

There it was, the validation Loki craved, right when he needed it. He swallowed hard, walking through the hospital lobby with his gaze glued to Jack’s face. From Jack of all people, a rough outlaw, he received the attention and kindness he always dreamt of, something even his own family never gave him. There were so many guys prettier than him, with less baggage, and Jack still wanted him. As guilty as Loki felt about the mayhem he’d unleashed on Jack’s life, he refused to let it spoil their life together. “I know. I’ll help with everything you need me to do. I’m gonna take care of you,” he said as they walked out into the bright sunlight.