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Soon enough they arrived at a locked door, this one with a handful of armed guards standing outside. They were talking amongst themselves, but they straightened up when they spotted Derri, contempt in their eyes when their gazes landed on Vince.
He’d gotten used to it by now. He was the enemy after all. They just hated that they couldn’t kill him.
At a jerk of Derri’s chin, one of the guards opened the door and stepped aside. Derri entered the room. Vince followed, taking Scotty with him.
His gaze zeroed in on the figure in the bed immediately. Zander sat up against the pillows, his upper half bare, a large bandage wrapped around his left side. The doctor guy was bent over him as they conversed in a low tone.
Vince inhaled sharply.
Zander glanced toward the door.
His gaze clashed with Vince’s, and Vince didn’t miss the relief in Zander’s eyes. Or the way his posture appeared to loosen. The activity and sound around them disappeared and Vince had to curl his toes to keep from rushing over to Zander and demanding to know if he was really alright.
“Where’s Scotty?” Zander asked after a beat, forehead creasing in a frown.
Vince stepped aside so Zander could see Scotty, who was standing behind him. There went that relief in Zander’s eyes again.
“You’ve seen them,” Derri said. “Now, can we talk about?—”
“What happened to your face?” Zander ignored Derri, laser-focused on Vince.
Vince shrugged. “Met the butt of one of those guys’ guns.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and Zander’s gaze sharpened.
“Who?”
“What the fuck does it matter?” Derri’s voice rose. “We have bigger things?—”
“Derri.” Zander turned to his ex for the first time. “Get the fuck out.” His expression turned hard, cold, eyes unforgiving. “And I want whoever put that mark on Vince dead before I leave this bed.”
Derri gaped at Zander, but Zander didn’t flinch nor did he back down. Derri broke eye contact first, jaw clenched as he left the room, taking the others with him. Vince waited until the door closed behind them, then he grabbed Scotty’s hand and they raced to the bed.
Zander smothered a wince at the pain in his side as he took in the men who sat on the bed next to him. Scotty had a hand on Zander’s leg, his touch gentle, as if the younger man was afraid to put his hands on him at all. He didn’t like the way Scotty looked—pale, as if he were wasting away before Zander’s fucking eyes.
Then there was Vince, who didn’t quite hide the panic in his eyes to go along with the dark bruise on his cheek.
What in the hell had gone on while he’d been unconscious?
Derri had a lot to answer for, but first…
“Talk to me.” He turned to Vince. “What happened?”
Vince shrugged. “You came out of the tunnel and passed out. During a lucid moment, you gave us a number and said to call Derri, so I did.” He paused. “Did you know he would be coming with your uncle?”
Derri was his uncle’s right hand and the old man never made a move without Derri being at his side, so while Derri hadn’t explicitly told him he was accompanying his uncle, Zander had expected it. “I knew.” He nodded and reached for Scotty’s hand, linking their fingers. When Scotty’s gaze jumped to his, Zander smiled at him. He hoped he did it right; he couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled at anyone. But Scotty didn’t seem to mind it; his expression lightened just the tiniest bit.
Zander would take it. For now. But he and Vince would have to talk about what the fuck was going on with Scotty because Zander didn’t like it one bit. He listened as Vince told him about Derri and the others showing up in the parking garage and Vince insisting on him and Scotty staying with them.
Zander didn’t know what Vince said or did to convince Derri to keep them around, but it must have been a doozy. The fact that Derri hadn’t hurt them, especially Vince, was a miracle. Panic and fear, the likes of which Zander had only experienced when his entire family was killed, had swamped him when he’d opened his eyes to see Derri standing over him.
Derri had no love for the law.
But when he’d learned that both Vince and Scotty were alive and just a few doors away, he’d been unable to hide the huge sigh of relief that had escaped him. Derri had questions, but fuck him. Zander wasn’t about to give him any answers. Not yet, at least.
“He kept us locked in the room,” Vince continued. “He refused to tell us how you were or if you were even alive.” He swallowed, glancing at Scotty and then back to Zander. “It’s been rough.”
Zander could see that. On Scotty at least. Vince was much better at hiding what he felt. Still, holding on to Scotty, Zander reached for Vince with his free hand, cupping the back of his neck and bringing him in closer.
“I’m sorry about Derri and his bullshit,” he murmured so both men could hear. “If I’d known he’d do this?—”
