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“Easton!” I cried, wanting to hold him or touch him, but I was too afraid. “Baby!”
“Ma’am? Ma’am?”
I didn’t realize they were talking to me until I looked over to see a woman with lights flashing behind her.
“Hi, can you tell me your name?”
“Noemi,” I said, starting to shake.
“Do you know this man?”
“Yes, his name is Easton, Easton Mercer,” I said, looking at two men looking over his injuries.
“Is he ok?” I asked, my trembling was getting worse.
“I don’t know, I suspect both of you are going to need some imaging done to make sure everything is ok,” she said, flashing the light in my face. “What hurts?”
“My hand, they also kicked me, and it hurts to breathe,” I said, flinching when she touched my side.
Easton groaned when they got him on a stretcher making me move to get up, but the EMT held me still.
“He’s fine, they just needed to get him on,” she said in a soothing voice.
“I want to go with him,” I said, feeling panicky.
“You will, I just want to make sure you're ok before we get you up,” she said, putting my hand on a board and taping it up.
That's when I noticed my wrist was at a weird angle and my heart rate shot up.
“Hey, hey, it's ok. You're going to be fine. I promise,” she said softly. “Hold it against your chest and let me help you up.”
It took a moment before we got on the ambulance and when we did, seeing Easton in the light made his injuries look worse. I cried, feeling lost and confused about what to do and I wished Vincent were here because he’d know what the hell to do.
32
VINCENT
Sleep had been a distant memory since I left Denver. I could still hear Noemi crying and every time I wanted to call her back, I always put the phone down thinking it might be best just to talk to her in person. But it had been a week, and I was still in New York.
Turned out that the disaster was worse than any of us thought and it required my team and I to do a lot of digging. We were dealing with the wrong people, and we needed to pull out now. I could have gone home a few days ago, but I told myself I wanted to stay to make sure no one needed me.
I was avoiding life.
I knew what I had to do the moment I got back to Denver and my heart didn’t want me to end it. Our relationship had grown into so much more than a contract. Most days I wondered what life would be like with them if they were mine, all mine. It sounded amazing. There were a few times I could see us being together officially and living together.
Life wasn’t lonely anymore. I had a reason to come home, and as much as I prided myself in not needing anyone, that was a fucking lie. I loved having Noemi and Easton around so much that my life felt complete, it felt worth living like never before.
I rolled over in bed cuddling a pillow. I missed sleeping with them, but I was too much of a coward to go home. My relationship with Patrick and the girls was already strained and limited. I only had one chance to be a dad and grandpa; I couldn't fuck this up. I didn't know if Patrick would ever forgive me, but I had to try. Even if it meant that I had to stay away from Noemi and Easton.
It was mid-morning when I knew I had to get up and hit the office, even though spending the day in bed sounded like what I needed. Is this what break-ups felt like? Was this heartache? I clenched my jaw realizing this was the first time I had ever felt like this. Everyone before them was just a sexual transaction. I don’t think I had even felt like this with Patrick’s mother.
I rubbed my chest as the ache grew. Fuck it, I was not going into work today. If I was going to end our agreement, I deserved a day where I could wallow in my pity. I grabbed my phone, looking for a place to deliver breakfast and maybe lunch so I didn’t have to think about anything for a moment.
Unfortunately, work was so ingrained in me, I checked emails first, then looked at stocks and a few other reports before I realized that I needed to get breakfast. There was a local Boulangerie down the street that had an amazing breakfast and I could get a few chocolate croissants. Maybe I would take some back to Noemi, she did love her sweets with her coffee.
Fuck.
I couldn’t take her croissants and then tell her, hey, I’m ending the contract. Setting my phone down, I massaged my temples, thinking staying home was probably the worst idea ever. It would just make me obsess and I knew I didn’t need that. Looks like I was going to work! My phone rang before I got up, showing Lincoln’s name on the screen.
