Chapter 5

The edge of Rhodey’s lips quirked as Keiran groaned. He moved up behind his sub, squeezing his shoulders and whispering in his ear. “I don’t think I’m the one you have to worry about scaring him, sweetling.”

“You are impossible, sir.” Keiran leaned back into his Dom’s hold and glanced toward Danny. “Could you stay with him? I need to get cleaned up and finish up those pastries, unless…” He met Pike’s eyes. “Do you need me to stay?”

Bottom lip between his teeth, Pike quickly shook his head. His words were sharp when he spoke. “I said I’m Gucci.” He shrank a bit under Rhodey’s glare, blinking fast. “I’m sorry, I’m being a dick. This is just...I thought I was doing something useful. Curtis was gonna restock this morning, but he had to work fast to seal up some open spaces on the fifth floor before the storm rolls in. Everyone’s been so busy. And you’re still busy. It’s bad enough Wren’s gotta take care of me.” He turned his attention to Danny. “You don’t gotta stay either.”

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his loose jeans, Danny looked from Pike to Keiran. He didn’t know Pike well, but he knew Keiran. The other sub wouldn’t leave if he had any doubt Pike would get the comfort he clearly needed—whether he’d admit it or not. Wren was great at a lot of things, but he didn’t always know how to be gentle in a way most people understood.

With all he’d been through, Pike deserved to feel secure and cared for. He should know he had friends here.

Family, like Keiran had said.

The kind who actually gave a damn what happened to him.

He gave Pike a small smile. “If you don’t mind the company, I’d like to stay. I don’t have anything to do until the club opens tonight and I don’t want to get in anyone’s way. I don’t have anything important to do like everyone else, so...I get it. Only...well, I know all the things that could go wrong, so no way would I try to help without supervision.”

“You could help me.” Wren looked up from where he was applying a skin adhesive to Pike’s shoulder. “I think most of these could do without stitches, but I want to bandage the worst ones. The faster I work, the less chance of infection, so you opening packages and handing me supplies would be useful. I know you don’t like seeing blood anymore than Jamie does, but you don’t have to look. You can’t cover your eyes with your hands, though. Or hide under anything. Until we’re done.” Warm understanding filled Wren’s soft brown eyes. “Then there’s plenty of places if you need to.”

For some reason, the way Wren accepted that hiding might be something Danny would need, the way neither Keiran or Rhodey even blinked at the suggestion, settled something inside him. Maybe it was the bit of adrenaline still coursing through his veins from Pike’s near fatal disaster, but the idea of seeing the bloody cuts didn’t bug him so much anymore.

Wren knew what he was doing. Pike was being taken care of.

One crisis averted.

“Yeah, I can give you a hand.” Danny grinned at the sigh of relief Keiran let out. The man loved Wren, he’d do anything for him, but his protective instincts seemed to have him torn between wanting to shield Wren from people, while also shielding those he cared for from Wren’s tendency to go into gruesome fascination mode.

Almost like the man lost the little bit of social filter he had the moment something caught his interest. Sometimes, it freaked Danny out. Others, he couldn’t help admire Wren. He was brilliant. His mind didn’t work like everyone else’s.

And there was nothing wrong with that.

The warm look of approval from Rhodey had Danny ducking his head. “That’s a good boy.” His tone took on a serious edge. “You come get me if there’s any complications.” He turned his attention to Wren. “You’re good, but know your limits.”

“Yes, sir.” Wren kept his focus on Pike, moving to another wound as Rhodey and Keiran left the clinic. He stopped when Pike hissed in a breath. “Danny, there’s still some glass in here and it’s going to be painful to get it all out. I need a syringe and the lidocaine. Scrub in first.”

Following Wren’s directions, leaning on his confidence in everything he was doing, took away the fear of what could go wrong. Instead of his mind latching onto the possibilities, Danny just trusted Wren. It was easy. Almost soothing.

Before he knew it, Pike was all fixed and resting and Wren was nudging Danny toward the sink.

It wasn’t until he reached it and had a second to wonder why he needed to wash up again that he noticed the blood on his gloves. Saw the splatters of it on his cheeks in the mirror above the sink. A shudder ran down his spine and he jerked back. Air came in short little bursts. He twisted at a grip on his arm.

Get away. I need to get away before...before...

“Danny?” Wren turned him, stroking a hand over Danny’s hair, searching his eyes as he spoke like he might to a spooked dog. “You’re here with me and you’re safe, you know that, right? Nothing bad will happen to you. I know that look.” He kept petting Danny’s hair. “Keiran gets it sometimes. I probably do too, but I don’t remember. Sometimes, I think I’m lucky because of it. Not remembering everything? You remember and that’s normal, but you need to be here with me.”

“I’m here.” Danny closed his eyes, letting Wren’s touch soothe him. A lot of the time he managed not to make it obvious when he had little freak outs. He’d push them aside and smile the right way and it would be like it always was before he’d come to The Asylum.

No one noticed except his Doms. Sometimes Jared or Lawson, when they weren’t busy. He could fade into the background and not take up the spotlight, because it didn’t belong to him.

“Good puppy.” Wren’s smile was a bit shy, like he wasn’t sure how Danny would react to being called that. He did it sometimes, almost automatically, but this was the first time he seemed fully aware the praise might not be welcome.

Inching closer, Danny rubbed his cheek against Wren’s hand with a playful, “Woof.”

Wren let out a quiet laugh. “Much better. You made a really good nurse. I’m sure Pike will thank you.” He looked back at the exam table, where Pike was groaning softly in his sleep. “When he wakes up. I don’t think we should let him sleep there, though. It’s sterile, but since he’s all bandaged up he’d be fine somewhere more comfortable. He’s not big, but I can’t carry him.” He gave Danny an assessing look. “Neither can you.”

“I’ve got him, thank you, Wren.” Stepping forward from where he must have slipped in silently during their exchange, Lawson approached the bed. Concern darkened his green eyes as he looked Pike over. “I’m sure you did well, my boy, but I hope you’ll understand if I ask Jared to check on him when he gets back.”

“Of course, sir.” Wren wet a cloth, speaking matter-of-factly as he wrung it out, then gently wiped off Danny’s face. “He would in any case. I wouldn’t have done this without him, but most of the cuts were small and I’ve done stitches on Curtis. He said I could and he won’t tell, so Jared won’t lose his medical license.” He glanced over. “I did stitches on you, too. But that was different. And it was my choice. I didn’t want you to die and Jared was telling me…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head. “No, he wasn’t really there. I know that.”

Lawson’s smile was soft with understanding. “He was there in the way you needed him to be. And he has faith in you. As do I.” He lifted Pike carefully into his arms without waking him. “Besides, you get plenty of practice around here. I’m grateful you could care for Pike. He hasn’t had much of that in his life. Maybe he’ll finally begin to believe he can have it here.”

“He will.” Wren set down the rag on the edge of the sink and went to get the door for Lawson. “He’s not as bad as he thinks he is. That probably scares him a bit, because he was supposed to be bad to be accepted. Curtis talks to him about it a lot which is good, he listens to his cousin. I don’t think me talking to him would help as much, but I could tell him he’s only killed two people. And he had good reasons. Avery and Rhodey have killed more—so have you.” His brow furrowed as he glanced up at Lawson. “Will knowing that make a difference?”

Chuckling, Lawson shook his head. “Let’s avoid that topic. Spending time with him will make enough of a difference. He needs to feel welcome here. Given a chance to learn and adapt. He could also use some limits while Seth and Quint are gone, but the core Doms will handle that. You did well, Wren.” He nodded to Danny. “As did you. Keiran told me how quickly you reacted. It might not have been life threatening, but with all that glass there was a chance of him getting hurt worse if you hadn’t managed to more him out of harm’s way.”

Cheeks heated, Danny shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “It’s what anyone would’ve done, sir. I’m glad I was there.”

Lawson inclined his head. “So am I.”