Page 15 of Carver

He cut a glare over to Bookie, who raised his hands as if asking for forgiveness.

"I didn't know it was a secret, Boss."

Carver shook his head because as much as he did want to beat the shit out of someone, he could tell that Silver wasn't going to go along with it blindly anymore. And if he was going to talk about it, well then he probably wasn't going to get to fight about it after.

He dropped his hands to his hips and tilted his head up to the ceiling.

With closed eyes, he said, “There were twice as many survivors there than we thought. We had to coordinate a second truck, but before we could leave, they told us that there was another person there. Someone who had been singled out by Mordecai.”

"Fuck," Silver dragged out slowly.

Carver opened his eyes and looked at the other man. "Yeah, exactly."

Silver scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m guessing that's the one that's here. The one who suffered the most?”

Carver shrugged. “I don't know that he suffered the most, but he's definitely barely hanging on to life. Doc is working him up to see if he can pull through. It might be one of the times that I actually have to hand him over to a hospital, though I don't know what the fuck I would tell the authorities when they come knocking.”

"You tell them to mind their fucking business," Bookie shouted.

A bunch of the other Angels standing around grumbled their agreement. It was only then that Carver realized just how many had gathered. He wasn't paying attention, his thoughts so wrapped up on the boy and the mystery of what had happened to him.

He couldn't wait until he woke up. Carver needed to know what all had gone down, if he had family, and how long he'd been with Mordecai.

He needed to figure out if the boy—because compared to Carver that’s exactly what he was—wanted to go somewhere or if he was going to need counseling.

What was he thinking? Of course he was going to need counseling.

Carver shook his head as the thoughts rushed through his mind one after another. People didn't survive experiences of this nature, then turn out to suddenly be okay. It took work and healing. It took time and patience.

Something the world probably wouldn't give the boy.

But could Carver? Could he be the person that the boy opened up to and trusted? Did he want to become caregiver to someone in that way?

He had never wanted children. Carver didn't see the point after the life he'd grown up in. The club would be passed down to someone else eventually. And sure, it would suck that it wasn't his family line, but since the day he'd realized how much he liked men, he had a feeling that was the way it would go.

Of course he could always have a surrogate or, you know, adopt. He didn’t need to think about those details now. If it were to happen, then he still had plenty of time to make decisions.

His focus was on getting the boy the help he needed. It was also on his club and making sure Royce had everything in order to take care of the people the Angels had sent their way.

Thinking about his friend, Carver turned away from the group and pulled out his phone. Royce answered on the first ring.

“I was wondering if I'd hear from you again today. Word is you've got yourself a stray.”

Carver bristled at the word. “Don't call him that.”

Royce hummed, letting the sound of their voice and the lack of words speak their thoughts.

“I see. Well I'll just let you know that everything here is going well. Slash was a pleasure to deal with, as always.”

Carver could taste the sarcasm. Royce didn't truly mind Slash like he was insinuating. They were total opposites but not enemies.

Royce was more clean-cut than Slash. Considering their family was worth literal billions, they had an image to uphold. They had a face that was often photographed for news articles and asked to do interviews. They avoided any unnecessary public appearances considering the overlap of their business and all that publicity. But they were still pretty damn noticeable.

Slash hid in the shadows. If you met him, then it was likely you weren't going to see the light of day again. The only other option was if you were in some kind of trouble and he was there to help.

It's part of the reason the Angels of Ruin existed still, and it was why they would continue to exist.

“I want to make sure you understand that I'm here to help should things arise. I want all those people taken care of, Royce. They deserve the best.”