Chapter 4

“He won’t, sir.” Quint waited for Seth’s nod, simply because he needed to know his Dom understood his place in everything. Either way, he didn’t pause for more than a few seconds before he joined Rhodey in the hall. “We had to move him sooner than is advisable. I know his medical history, he doesn’t like taking a lot of medications, but I don’t care how tough he is. He needs them.”

“Curtis is here, so he’ll have a harder time talking his way around them.” Rhodey lowered his voice as they approached the room. “But if he does manage it, do what you’ve got to do. Call me in if you need reinforcement.”

Going in ahead of Rhodey, understanding that the Dom didn’t plan to press the matter yet, Quint moved around Reed’s bed with his most pleasant smile on his lips. “How are we feeling? I hope you like the room?”

“It’s fine.” Reed pressed his hand to his side, dampness glistening around his eyes as he visibly struggled to hide his pain. “No one needs to make a big deal about this. I’m okay. Tell Curtis he has a job to do and he should go.”

Quint picked up Reed’s chart, reading over all the details he’d memorized, doing his best not to react to Curtis’s head snapping up or the way Lawson put a soothing hand on his shoulder. Switches were something new to Quint, and he was still learning how to understand how they fit in the lifestyle. He didn’t question their place, but he had a hard time seeing how a sub could give in fully without wondering if their Dom could take what they needed to surrender. With Rhodey, it was simpler. The way the Dom took charge, Dallas being more submissive made sense.

With Lawson, Quint expected him to stand with an equal, but as time passed, he saw how the man had to take the weight of the relationships he was in. How he sometimes struggled with Noah to be the one who took control over Curtis.

To Quint, he could wait and see from day to day where Curtis stood and respond appropriately.

His sub was clearly still struggling with that. Taking control where he shouldn’t have to.

“Curtis’s job is here.” Lawson spoke up when Curtis jerked away, pacing to the window. “Reed, you know he would’ve stayed if he could.”

Dropping his head back on the pillow, Reed let out a rough sound. “Sure. But he couldn’t and I don’t want him forced to because I’m fucked up. I did this. I knew it would mess me up. Like I said, I’m good.”

Hesitating by the edge of the bed, Curtis looked to Lawson, as though needing his support to approach their sub and tell him what he needed to hear. “Reed, I love you. I’m here now. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Reed let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah? Nowhere else like going ‘undercover’ with your family? Trying to ‘fix’ everything? Rhodey told you that wouldn’t work and you kept trying. I love you too, but don’t fucking lie to me. You were willing to die for this more than you were willing to live with me. And I’m not okay with that. Not yet. I might be one day, but I need you to stick around before I even go there. Because you don’t. It’s not just me and I’m tired of fucking with my own head and pretending I’m seeing shit all wrong. Your first instinct is to take off and...it hurts, Curtis. I forgave you because bad stuff happened, but that didn’t fix anything.”

“No, it didn’t.” Curtis laid his hand on the edge of the mattress, his gaze fixed on Reed. “But I meant every word I said to you. I want you in my life. I want forever with you. And I’ll do whatever I have to so I can prove it.”

Reed slammed his fist into the mattress, his whole body jerking with pain. “I heard you! You back from this mission and you told Lawson you wanna talk to Vani and convince her you can get in touch with your people. Then you ask me why I didn’t say anything like I don’t fucking know you. You’d have come back. You would’ve stayed just long enough to make you leaving hurt even more.”

One look at Curtis made it obvious nothing he could say would resolve things, and Reed was at risk of doing himself serious damage. Quint filled a needle with a painkiller that would help Reed sleep, waving Curtis back from the bed. “No one is going anywhere for the next few weeks, let’s leave it at that. My patient needs to rest. This discussion can wait.”

“That sounds good.” Matt slid up on the bed next to Reed, wrapping an arm around him. “Don’t puke on me. You’ve gotta chill, man. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Frowning, Quint looked at Reed’s chart again. It had been over an hour since either Seth or Jared had checked on him, but Seth had made a note of him being sick since they’d gotten here. Which could be stress, but moving Reed so soon after surgery also put him at risk for infection.

He glanced over at Lawson. “If he’s sick again, come get me. If you’re all too tired to stay up with him, let me, Jared, or Seth know.”

“We will, thank you.” Lawson moved up behind Curtis, rubbing his shoulders. “I don’t think any of us will get much sleep tonight.”

What was meant to be some kind of reassurance really wasn’t, but Quint simply nodded, stepping out of the room and closing the door. He massaged the back of his neck, doing his own mental check-in. Since he’d been informed of the situation and taken action, it had been over forty-eight hours. He was running low on sleep, but not more than he could manage. During his residency, he’d managed almost twice as much.

In warzones? He’d often lost count.

One look at him and Seth directed him up to the bedroom they would share with Pike to get some sleep. With Pike cuddled up in his arms, it was easy to sink into that sweet zone of nothingness.

Hours later, he woke to low voices. Felt around the empty side of the bed where the sheets had gone cold.

Still half asleep, he stumbled down the steps. It had been a long time since he’d been the lead on a mission with this much uncertainty. He still wasn’t, but his mind went over every misstep as he took in the argument between the Doms.

Pike was gone. With Danny.

The phones had been locked away in a safe.

That didn’t matter.

Quint walked out the front door of the house, searching the darkness.

Two of the men in his care were out of reach. One of whom he’d tried to convince not to do something like this. But he thought back on what Pike had said to him. He wanted to be a better man. And helping Danny would make him feel like he was.

He went to the safe still open on the kitchen table. Leaned down and inspected the small scratches around the keyhole. Neither Pike or Danny could pick locks.

Reed wouldn’t have had the strength to get out of bed to help them.

There was only one person who he hadn’t considered since he’d gotten here. One who hadn’t spoken a word. Who he knew was dealing with something he wasn’t prepared to share yet. Lifting his gaze, Quint met Ezran’s eyes.

“I told you to leave me behind.” Ezran lifted his chin, the bruises on his throat reminding Quint why he hadn’t hesitated to force the young man to join them. “I’m not gonna help you force anyone else to be where they don’t want to.”

Quint stepped up to Ezran, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know what happened to you. I will find out. But, if it means anything, I won’t blame you if they die out there in the fucking cold. You’re a child. You don’t know better.” He tried to use his words to convince himself and failed. Pike was out there. And he wouldn’t find any forgiveness if he didn’t find him alive and well. “Go to your room. And stay out of my fucking way.”

There had been a list of people Quint knew he couldn’t abandon at The Asylum. Danny had been one of them. Ezran another when he’d returned with injuries he refused to let Quint look at, claiming he’d lost a fight in one of the underground clubs he frequented. Quint didn’t have the chance to look too deep into his claims, but he didn’t need to. The wounds didn’t fit. Neither did the reaction to him wanting to look at them.

But as he stepped onto the porch and the cold hit him, he couldn’t focus on that.

Pike was out there, wanting to fix something that had always been out of his hands.

With Danny, who was desperate to get a hold of his Doms.

Either they’d both end up lost in the cold, hopefully not too far to be found before it did some real damage…

Or they’d find a cell signal. Manage to tell Jacks and Shea exactly where they were.

Along with anyone else who was looking.

And Quint wasn’t sure which would be worse.