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It felt strange to go from every day being high drama to absolute silence. That was how it was for Beau since his wife of nearly thirty years had committed suicide. Her addictions had won. Beau had tried every desperate move anyone could make to save her. He had also done his best to totally crush her when he needed her to feel the pain she caused others. By others, he really meant him. As sad as it made him, he hated her now. Everything he once loved had turned against him because she was weak, and he obviously was too. He had let all that bullshit happen. Now, life was just silent. Truthfully, he didn’t even know what to do with himself any longer.

His meeting at the shipyard had gone perfectly. Thousands of weapons were on their way to some war-torn country. He lost track. Beau had even more money and soul-crushing stillness. Only his fight to reclaim the love of his sons gave him purpose. Beau wasn’t sure that made any progress either. Life was simply empty and quiet, so fucking quiet.

His gaze slid toward the window as they waited for the light to turn green. Not a single guard made a sound. It was as if the emptiness of his life had muted everyone and everything around him. It was exhausting. Outside the window, a tiny blond struggled with a collapsible cart. His rage was evident as he fought to get the thing open. A smile tugged at the corners of Beau’s mouth. He recognized the crazily dressed sprite.

“Pull into this lot.”

No one ever questioned an order from him, and Beau didn’t explain himself. A burning need lit in his chest, dispelling the quiet. He had met Kylo once at his son’s club, The PlayPen. Kylo had been dangerously unafraid of Beau, unwittingly saving Beau at his lowest. He had given Beau a crown. His outfit was almost as wild today as it had been that night. He still wore a tutu over pants, but this one was black. The pants were too, so it didn’t look quite as wild as Kylo obviously was. Beau had thought about him more than he should have, but he hadn’t known where to even begin a search for him. All he had was a first name. Kylo should be terrified of how happy Beau was to see him again.

As the SUV rolled to a stop next to the open door of the Beamer where Kylo raged at his inanimate object, Beau stepped out, buttoning his dress jacket as he went. Without a word, he grabbed the cart from Kylo and easily popped it open with the push of a button.

“It was locked.”

“King Boo!”

Beau felt the way his smile grew. When Kylo had crowned him, he had dubbed Beau King Boo. Beau couldn’t let Kylo get away this time without a proper name exchange. “It’s Beau, actually.”

“Beau Actually is an odd name.”

Despite himself, Beau’s smile refused to budge. “Does this smart-ass act win you a lot of friends?”

Kylo’s blue eyes took on a faraway look, as if he had turned inward. Beautiful eyes were one weakness of his. A bright smile exploded across Kylo’s face. “Not really, no.”

Beau shook his head. He was every bit as entertained as he had been the first time they met. “Why were you kicking a cart’s ass when we drove by?”

Kylo blushed. Beau hadn’t thought that possible considering he wore a black leather vest over a hot pink shirt with no purpose. “I need to get my groceries upstairs and I don’t want to make more than one trip.”

“I can help.” Beau had no fucking clue why he had offered such a thing. He had people for that. It was Kylo. Beau wanted any excuse to stay in his odd company.

Kylo reached behind him and grabbed his keys from an open hidden purse beneath the vest. “You can unlock my door, if you’d like.”

Beau’s brain had moved way beyond that topic. “What the fuck, Kylo? You’re bleeding.”

He glanced down. “Oh, yeah. A guy tried to mug me earlier. He stabbed me.”

The way Beau’s brain lagged like an outdated computer was real. Kylo was so blasé about getting stabbed. It enraged him. How dare anyone touch this angel? “For fuck’s sake.” He made a gesture in the air and his security poured from the SUV. “Where is this guy?”

Kylo shrugged. “I don’t know. Outside the grocery store where I left him, I suppose.”

“Which store?” Beau heard the bite in his tone.

Kylo obviously didn’t. “Only Organics on Wriley.”

With a nod toward one of his men, two of his guys climbed back inside the SUV and drove away. He pointed at another. “Get the groceries inside.” Beau focused on the last guard. “Take Kylo’s car and pick up the doctor.”

There was only one doctor used by his family. He knew Mickey would know who he meant. His closest guards had been with him for ages. Beau rarely had to ask for anything.

“Kylo, give Mickey your car fob.”

Kylo dug through his bag and came out with the fob. He passed it over without question. Henry finished unloading the groceries and headed for the door.

Beau swept Kylo off his feet and followed. The upscale apartment building had a doorman, so there was at least that. Beau focused on him as he scrambled to open the door for him. “I have a man named Mickey returning with a doctor. Don’t block their path.”

Showing a serious lack of good judgment, the guy’s dark gaze slid Kylo’s way, silently asking permission.

“Please and thank you, Stew. I got hurt.”

Stew immediately transformed from guard dog to kicked puppy. “Oh no. Is there anything else I can do?”

Kylo shook his head. “No, but I grabbed you a donut from the store. I’ll have to bring it to you later.”

Stew nodded. “You’re amazing, but don’t worry about me. Just get better.”

Beau ground his back teeth as he swept Kylo inside. “Which floor?” He forced the words past his rage. Beau worried about Kylo, while it seemed like the guy didn’t have the sense to worry about himself.

“Fifteen. It’s the farthest elevator. That’s the only one that goes that high, and you catch more flies with honey.”

A loud snort burst from Beau and Henry. They exchanged a wry look. “Honey doesn’t exist in my world.”

“This isn’t your world.”

Damn. Kylo was either brave or stupid. Beau leaned toward brave, considering he was stabbed and still unafraid of Beau. He obviously had fight.

It turned out Henry had to use a key to take the elevator to Kylo’s floor. At least the guy seemed to have decent security. When they reached the fifteenth floor, Henry and he exchanged glances again. The door opened directly into a gorgeous penthouse. It was the entire floor of the building. He had... questions. Beau shifted Kylo’s weight slightly to get through the door.

Kylo gasped. It was the first indication he had given that he was in pain.

Beau automatically dropped his gaze. He studied Kylo’s expression. It was obvious Kylo fought to stay upbeat, but his eyes swam with agony. Beau rushed toward the couch without looking anywhere else. He knew Henry was bright enough to find a kitchen and unload groceries without being told.

Kylo chuckled. “I’ll bet you didn’t have this on your bingo card for the day.”

Despite everything, a smile exploded across Beau’s face. Kylo made it impossible to be any other way. “I didn’t, but such is life.” He pushed the leather vest away and lifted Kylo’s shirt. It was definitely much worse than Kylo had let on. He imagined only Kylo’s black pants and shoes hid how much blood he had lost. Henry appeared with a towel. Beau tried to distract Kylo while he pressed it against the wound, putting pressure on it to stop the bleeding. “This is a nice place. It makes me realize how little I know about you.”

Kylo visibly worked to draw a slow breath through his nose. When he spoke, it sounded like it was through clenched teeth. “You weren’t up to talking to me the night we met.”

That was true. Beau’s ex had just rejected his pleas for a second chance. Nothing good could have come from them that night. It had been six months now. Beau hadn’t forgotten the kindness this sprite had shown him when it mattered the most. He wouldn’t leave him in this mess.

“Woo. My head is spinning.”

His lips looked pale. A thought occurred to Beau. “Were you attacked before or after you got groceries?”

Kylo closed his eyes, as if he couldn’t handle watching the room spin any longer. “I was on my way inside.”

Beau’s eyes automatically sought Henry. They held each other’s stare in disbelief. “Text Mickey. Let him know you’ll meet him outside so he can get up the elevator. Tell him to make sure the doctor brings blood.”

Henry gave him a sharp nod.

“Would you take Stew his donut? He’s always so good to me.” Kylo didn’t open his eyes as he made the request.

Beau fought not to look Henry’s way again. Kylo sounded weak as hell, and he still worried about the goddamn doorman. On his knees beside the couch, Beau did his best to fight the demons. Memories of finding Tabitha, bleeding and with no hope of survival, poured through his head. It got harder to breathe. All he saw was the blood that covered the walls.

“My last name is Jinko. What’s yours?”

A wry smile pulled at Beau’s lips. This guy was amazing. It was obvious he tried to keep Beau calm, even in his state. He wasn’t ready for Kylo to realize who he was. Beau needed to help him before Kylo tossed him out. A good person like Kylo wouldn’t want a weapons dealer in his life. “Jinko? Like the pop singer? Pride Jinko?” Normally, Beau wouldn’t have known that, but he was bisexual. No one fucked anyone their same sex and didn’t know Pride Jinko. She was the face of gay-centric music since a time when it had been dangerous to be so bold.

Kylo chuckled. “Yeah, exactly like that. She’s my mom.”

Ah. High dollar car and apartment thoroughly explained. The way he dressed made more sense too. His mom was also known for being eccentric. “I can’t imagine what that childhood must’ve been like.”

“What was your childhood like?”

Panic was more than setting in. It had Beau locked down tight. “Poor and hungry.”

“You have a nice accent.”

“I was born in Italy.” He also tried hard to kill his accent and roots, but it was hard when his emotions were high.

The elevator dinged, and Beau nearly cried out in relief. A tall, fit blond man in his forties poured from the lift, followed by Beau’s guards, who were all laden with supplies. Beau moved aside, letting Dr. Fowler do his job.

“You must be Kylo.”

Kylo opened his eyes at Dr. Fowler’s words. “Hi. Yeah. Sorry to pull you away from whatever.”

Beau shook his head.

Dr. Fowler chuckled. It was a deep yet soft sound. “It’s my job. I’m Dr. Fowler. You can call me Austen, if that makes you more comfortable. I need to take a look at your wound.”

Kylo nodded and closed his eyes again, as if the motion was too much.

Austen lifted the towel.

Beau eyed him, searching for any sign he made the pain worse than it already was.

“This might sound like a weird request, but I promise I have a good reason. Is it okay if we take off your shoes?”

“Of course. Do whatever you need.”

Fuck. He sounded bad.

Austen carefully took off Kylo’s shoe, as if anticipating exactly what happened. Blood poured out. He straightened and immediately set to work. Beau got out of the way and watched from across the room. Austen had Mickey and Rico in surgical gloves and helping. He started an IV while Mickey hung a bag of blood from the IV pole he had just pieced together. Austen pulled a shot from his pocket and stuck it in the IV line. “I’m just injecting a little saline first, so you’ll feel a little rush of cold.” He did that, then immediately pulled a second shot from the pocket of his doctor’s coat. “This one is for pain. It’ll send heat through your veins, but you should feel relief almost immediately.”

From there, Austen was on his knees, tearing into more things from his pockets. “First, I’ll deaden the skin, but it won’t help completely with the numbing until after a few sticks. Sorry about that, but I need to feel around for damage, and I don’t want you to feel that any more than you have to.”

Kylo never responded.

That had Beau moving to where Kylo’s head rested on the end of the couch. He kneeled and swiped his fingers through Kylo’s hair. It was so light but also obviously his natural color.

Kylo reached up and grabbed his hand.

Beau’s throat swelled. Kylo was incredibly tough and brave. He felt Kylo’s grip loosen, and his hand slipped away.

Beau’s panicked gaze shot to Austen. “Good. He’s passed out. He did not want to be awake for this.” Austen stuck his fingers inside the wound and felt around. His light blue eyes looked completely focused on his work.

Henry touched Beau’s shoulder, pulling his attention away. He held out a phone. “You should see this.”

Reluctantly, Beau stood and accepted the device. A video was cued up. Beau tapped the screen, starting it. It was security footage from the store. Beau didn’t ask how he got it. His men were the best. He watched as what looked to be a homeless man jumped Kylo. In one swift move, Kylo had the guy flipped over his shoulder and on the ground. Unfortunately, drug-fueled rage was real. He had seen it with Tabitha a million times. The guy was immediately back on his feet. He lunged at Kylo, stabbing him. Beau winced. No doubt that was a disgusting knife. Kylo’s hand shot out. He used the lower part of his palm, exactly like someone trained would, driving it straight into the guy’s nose. Without missing a beat, his knee landed in the guy’s gut. He used the momentum to throw him to the ground. Kylo stepped over him and went inside the store as if nothing had happened.

Beau shook his head. “This guy.”

Henry chuckled. “Right? What the fuck?” The pride-filled laugh matched the feeling in Beau’s chest. Kylo was one tough cookie.

“I need more light.”

At his pronouncement, everyone scrambled, looking for anything that could be used. Henry rolled his eyes, turned on the flashlight on his phone, and moved to hold it over Austen’s shoulder like a kid helping his dad work on a car.

Despite everything, Beau smiled. Kylo would be fine. He was obviously one tough Little. Plus, Beau was here. He would make sure Kylo got whatever he needed. Kylo had once saved his sanity. Beau owed him for that. He paid his debts.

The cotton mouth was new. Kylo usually was pretty good at staying hydrated. He didn’t drink, but he imagined this was what a hangover felt like. His eyelids didn’t want to lift. He felt weird—like overly exhausted and weak. Kylo didn’t get sick often. This felt like the flu. He forced his eyes to open. His gaze slid around the room. He was in bed. An IV bag hung over his head. Red liquid headed toward his arm. Oh yeah. The homeless guy. How exhausting.

He peered over the edge of the bed. Yep. The IV pole had wheels. He needed to pee and then find out if the handsome doctor was still here. Kylo hated the thought of having to remove an IV alone. He sat up, gritting his teeth and trying not to scream at the tearing sensation in his gut. He wore his mouse pajamas. Kylo didn’t remember changing clothes. Carefully, he padded to the bathroom. He winced when he flipped on the light and caught a glimpse of his reflection. There were dark circles under his eyes. Poor Beau. He always showed up when Kylo was at his worst. The first time they met, Kylo had been having a bit of a meltdown. This wasn’t much better.

Kylo ran through the usual morning routine of emptying his bladder, washing his hands, and brushing his teeth. He didn’t know if it was morning or night. The familiar routine helped him feel a little more human. As he slowly made his way from the bedroom, he was engulfed in total darkness. That was pretty par for course for his bedroom. He kept the blackout curtains drawn, but he never turned off his kitchen light. Kylo couldn’t see shit.

He carefully shuffled his way to the kitchen, trying not to trip over anything or run his IV pole into anything.

“Why are you up?”

The groggy-sounding question startled him, but not horribly. He had doubted they would leave him with an IV in and all their equipment without someone to help.

Kylo felt around until he found the light switch and turned on the kitchen light. It was always the best choice since the wall, doorway, and light fixture were perfectly aligned to only give a soft glow to the living room.

Beau was stretched out on the couch.

Kylo couldn’t help the smile that snapped to his lips at the sight of him, sleep-mussed and looking like the sexy daddy he was. “Hey. You could’ve slept with me or even in one of the guest rooms.”

“I don’t sleep with people when they can’t consent, and I wanted to be here in case you did exactly this.”

Beau sat up. “What do you need?”

“I’m thirsty. Do you want anything?”

With a shake of his head, Beau stood. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll bring it to you.”

Kylo didn’t budge. At tea parties, the host always served. He didn’t know how to act.

“You have a pitcher of water in the fridge. Is that what you usually drink?”

“I don’t like plain water. There are some of those flavor pack things in the cabinet next to the fridge. If you’re interested,” he tacked on because he still wasn’t sure if he should host.

Beau padded his way. His feet were bare. Kylo had no idea why that caught his attention. Both times he had seen Beau before now, he had been so put together. It seemed odd to see him relaxed.

“Come on. Back to bed. You’re not supposed to be up until after the infusions.”

“How much blood have I gotten?”

“A lot.” Beau steered him toward the bedroom. With his arm around Kylo’s waist. Kylo felt warm and safe. Beau talked as they walked. “You know, most people, when they get stabbed, go immediately to the hospital.”

Kylo shrugged. “I had things to do.”

Beau snorted. He turned on the light before he eased Kylo into bed and tucked him in. “When exactly did you plan to get help?”

He was getting a little irritated at the third degree. “As soon as I put up my groceries. That’s why I was so angry over the cart not opening. I’ve been taking care of myself for a while, you know.” The irritation drained from him as quickly as it hit. Considering the way he had passed out not long after getting home, he probably would have died if Beau hadn’t shown up when he did. “Maybe I’m not very good at it, but—so far—I’ve kept myself alive.”

“I know. It’s okay to relax now. You have help.”

The claim nearly cracked Kylo, even though he would never show it. He had spent his life alone. “Thank you. After you get something to drink, you’re welcome to sleep with me.”

“I appreciate it.”

Kylo stared at the ceiling when Beau walked away. He was in a lot of pain. Someone was being nice to him, and he felt vulnerable as hell. He tried to breathe through the discomfort in his chest and gut.

Beau returned with a bright red drink, proving he had put extra drink mix in the water. “Let’s get you sat up for a minute so you can drink this and take some pain meds.”

Kylo tried not to show his relief. Unfortunately, it laced his voice. “Thank you.”

Beau sat on the edge of the bed and watched him take the pain pill. “You’re tough as nails. Most people would be crying right now, and you handled that guy who attacked you like a champ.”

The pain made him weepy, and he said too much. Kylo settled back on the pillows and closed his eyes. “I have a famous mom. That meant I raised myself except for the security and private tutors she hired for me. My favorite guard, Gary, taught me how to defend myself. He knew I would be alone as soon as I got grown. Boy, was he right,” Kylo muttered under his breath.

“It looks like your mom has kept you financially safe.”

Kylo took a slow breath, praying the fire in his gut eased. There was something in Beau’s voice. “Do you have kids?”

“Yes. Two sons.”

Ah. He obviously kept his sons in the high life while barely seeing them. That was the tone he had heard. Another parent who thought parenting meant buying shit. “Do you see them?” Kylo knew he dug and was being nosey. More than anything, he needed something to focus on while waiting for the meds to kick in.

“Sometimes. My youngest owns The PlayPen.”

With his eyes still closed, Kylo smiled. “It’s good you still support him, even with him owning a kink club.”

“I was there for a reason the night I met you, so I can’t judge, can I?”

Kylo finally opened his eyes and focused on Beau. Holy hell. It was obvious Beau hadn’t expected him to open his eyes. The heat that stared at him—until Beau rearranged his features—scorched him to his soul.

Kylo had never been a wilting butterfly. He gave the heat right back. “Good to know you weren’t just visiting your son. That means I have a shot.”

“Go to sleep.”

“Or not,” Kylo muttered as Beau turned out the light.

He felt the bed dip. Kylo listened as Beau shuffled around, getting comfortable. Truth be told, he didn’t know why he flirted with Beau. The guy was obviously someone important. Kylo hadn’t missed the way he had dodged giving his last name. He was probably married or something. Fuck. He had two sons. There was a very real chance he had a wife at home. Well, shit. Life was always a kick right in his ass. Beau had made a singular mistake, though. He had told him about his son owning The PlayPen. Now he was an internet search away from Kylo knowing all about him.