Page 20 of Carver
As soon as the words left Hex’s lips, the boy began to struggle again.Ah, so he does understand.This time, there was no calming him down. Doc abandoned the supplies he’d gathered to administer a sedative at Carver’s order.
It frustrated him to know it had to come to this. Whatever the boy had been through before made him wary. Despite the fact they were his rescuers, there was no gaining his trust as easily as Carver had hoped. It was going to be a long, arduous journey to convince him the Angels were a safe place.
Once the boy’s body sagged against the bed once more, Doc returned with the supplies. “Everyone but Prez can leave. I won’t need help anymore.”
The men shuffled out of the room. All except Carver, Hex, and Slash. It was unspoken that he’d keep the two of them behind. Whatever decisions would be made, they’d have to be involved. Whether it was to share them with the other men, or to be a listening ear, they needed to stick around.
“What is it, Doc? Tell me what you’re thinking,” Carver pressed.
Doc sighed as he used an antiseptic wipe to clear away blood. “The trauma is more severe than I expected. You’re going to need to have Fury setup a consistent schedule with him. And I think it would do best for him to wake up somewhere else. The medical wing might remind him too much of the place he was held before. Things are… sterile down here. It may do better for things to be softer wherever you put him.”
“He’s going to be in the room beside mine.”
Carver’s words didn’t sway Doc. If anything, the old man appeared to have surmised this information already. As if he knew that’s what Carver would choose to do.
Was he so predictable? How could anyone have known when this was the first time something of this nature happened?
“I suggest adding as much soft stuff to the room as possible then. Blankets, pillows, and all that. Maybe send one of the women out to get what you need. They’ll know best.”
Hex spoke up then. “You want me to go handle that now, Boss?”
“Not yet. The stores are all closed this late. Besides, he won’t be up for a while.”
“Boss is right,” Doc added. “He’ll likely sleep the rest of the night and into the morning with the dose I gave him. You have plenty of time.”
Slash’s inquired, “What do we do until then? How can we help?”
“Prepare the others. Get Fury involved. Make sure you all get some rest yourselves while he does. There's no telling how he’ll react the next time he rises. We could either get a docile man, or he could be hell on wheels.”
Doc’s words settled over Carver. He nodded, then sent Hex to update the others. Slash stayed with him, ever the watchful guard he was known to be.
Pulling out his phone, Carver texted Fury himself. The other man would be furious had anyone else woken him up anyway. With it being Carver, he dressed and made himself available instantly.
“What do you know so far?” Fury asked once he sat on the stool Doc pushed his way.
Doc went over all the information he knew about the boy's wounds. With every new development, Carver became more frustrated. He wanted to fix everything. Wanted to make this boy’s life better every way he could. Unlike the others he'd helped, this felt different. He was emotionally invested. That much he could tell right away.
Carver fought not to think of his own past and the darkness lurking there. While his father had been a good man to him, there were others who sought to hold his position. They had tried time and time again to take advantage of him when he was vulnerable.
He knew a bit about what it was like to be under someone else's thumb.
The boy would need time to recover. Would need the help that Fury gave.
Carver came back to the conversation as Fury moaned. He blinked to clear his mind and saw that Doc had brewed him a cup of coffee. Fury nearly gulped it all down in one go. Then he wiped his mouth and rubbed his hands on his sleep pants.
“In my opinion, he needs full-time eyes on him. If he's already managed to hurt himself once, he's likely to do it again. It could be that it was part of the torture that was done to him, or maybe he thinks that hurting himself will allow him to escape. He has no clue where he is or what's going on. We're strangers to him. A potential danger. I can't see him trusting us easily.”
Carver frowned at the idea. He wanted the boy's trust. Wanted to know that the boy felt safe with him. It was more than his normal feelings of providing safety to others. Usually it was to get whoever had been harmed and get them to Royce. From there, they would take care of things. Carver would occasionally think about who he'd saved through the years, but he never had the urge to take care of them himself.
This time was different.
“We'll do whatever you suggest,” Carver told Fury. “I’m going to put him in the room beside mine. I figure that's the best place for him so I can hear if anything goes wrong.”
Fury's brow furrowed. “I agree it's a good idea. However, I would go as far as to say he might end up in the room with you.”
Carver's eyes went wide. “What do you mean? Why would he need to be in the room with me?”
A part of him liked the sound of that. Having the boy close would assure Carver that nothing bad would happen to him. Whether it be by his own hand or because one of his men were too curious. They'd never brought anyone back to the compound. Never had someone in such a vulnerable state behind their doors.