Page 9 of His to Keep

Moving quicker, Colt stalked his prey, his heart thudding in his chest. A strange mix of anticipation and trepidation filled him as he navigated the sterile halls.

When he turned the corner, a door was just swinging shut.STAFF ONLY, the sign said. There was an ID card reader by the door. Damn.

There was a reason that Zane had come to this particular hospital. The Thornes donated a certain amount of money to thehospital's 'charity', and in turn, Thorne men always had a place to go to when they got messed up — a place that wouldn't ask too many questions about suspicious gunshot wounds, or make any phone calls to the authorities.

Colt could have gone and found one of the hospital's contacts, and strongarmed them into giving him an ID card under the table. They'd squawk about it, of course, but what could they do about it? They were already secretly harboring a mafia boss.

But doing that would have meant letting Liam out of his sight.

And Colt found that he didn't want to do that.

Liam had already slipped through his fingers once. He wasn't going to let it happen again.

Colt stayed hidden outside, peering through the windows at the bustling room within. His eyes scanned over the various medical personnel until they landed on the one person he sought. The young doctor was hunched over a counter, selecting a sad little sandwich from the limited options available.

Colt couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the man, who looked utterly exhausted.Can't say I blame him,he thought, watching Liam closely.Saving Zane's life must've taken a lot out of him. He must have barely slept last night.

Despite the weariness etched into Liam's features, Colt felt a strange sense of pride that the doctor was up and continuing his work. It was admirable. The doctor had a spine hidden somewhere in that skinny body.

Liam paid for his sad little lunch and turned toward the door. Shifting away from the window, Colt stood outside the door. He leaned back against the wall, and waited. He was a patient man. When he had a job, he'd wait as long as it took.

Thankfully, this time he didn't have to wait long at all. Within minutes, the door to the cafeteria swung open, and Liam stepped out, completely unaware of Colt's presence. Liam nearly walked right past him.

"Doc," Colt called out.

At the sound of Colt's voice, Liam jolted like he'd been shocked. He took a step back, his face going pale, and raised his plastic-covered sandwich defensively. "Wh-what do you want?"

Colt eyed the sandwich. "I didn't know they let you carry deadly weapons in here."

Liam's heart was racing, his pulse visibly kicking in his throat. But at that, he tore his scared gaze away from Colt's face, and looked at the sandwich. Somewhat embarrassed, he lowered it.

"Relax, Doc." Colt raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm not here to hurt you. Quite the opposite, actually. We need to have a little chat about how I can repay you for saving Zane's life."

Liam eyed him warily. "I don't want anything."

It wasn't often someone stood up to him like this — and it was even less common for someone to turn down a gift from the Thornes. Colt couldn't help but smile. "Come on, Doc," he drawled, kicking himself off of the wall. "The Thorne family always squares its debts. So what'll it be? Money? Watches? Sports tickets? Anything you ask for, it's yours."

"None of it," Liam replied, crossing his arms across his chest, huddling protectively. "I don't need — or want — your rewards."

Colt's gaze roamed over Liam as he spoke, taking in the details that made him so intriguing. The harsh hospital lights did no-one any favors, but even underneath the eye-straining glare, Liam was still attractive. The stubborn set of his jaw, the way his glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, and that messy hair that begged to be smoothed down—

Or to be messed up even more. The things that Colt could do to reward a pretty little thing like this…

Then Colt's eyes focused on the hand that was holding the sandwich.

Ah.

A ring.

Well, Liam was a doctor, wasn't he? The ladies loved that kind of thing. "You got a wife? Get her something, then."

Liam blanched. "No. A… a husband. Fiance, actually." He said it with a hint of defiance, as if daring Colt to be disgusted.

"Yeah? No shit." Men, women — Colt took his partners like he took life, enjoying it as it came. He hadn't had time for someone recently, though. With all the shit that the Thornes had faced lately, he hadn't had time to even think about that. It had just been him, his hand, and thoughts of making some pretty little thing lose control underneath him.

Protecting the family was his number one priority. Everything else came second. Even him, unfortunately.

"Where's your man, then?" Colt asked, curious. If Liam was his guy, he would never have allowed him to walk into a mafia den in the middle of the night like he'd done. That was madness. "Why isn't he pampering the fuck outta you after a night like that?"

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