Page 19 of Sean's Sunshine

When they were standing, Sean found himself reluctant to let go.

“How’re your knees?” Billy asked, sounding a little anxious.

“Knees are fine,” Sean replied, wondering how fair it was that this kid’s sharp cheekbones and full lips should be so damned appealing. My God, they were standing close, and he thought that he might be maybe an inch taller than the guy, but Billy’s broad chest seemed to push him up in height.

A smile played on Billy’s mouth, and it made him even more breathtaking. “Knees are fine?”

“Peachy.” Oh. Hell. Sean knew what he was getting at, but now if he took his arms down like a startled teenager, Billy would have won.

“Then why won’t you let go?” Billy prodded.

“Why won’t you step back?” Sean goaded in return. Their chests were touching. Oh my God,their chests were touching.

And then a miracle occurred.

Sean felt the heat of it, sweeping up from Billy’s stomach, along his chest, coloring the pale skin of his neck, turning his ears a dark red.

“Oh,” Billy said, swallowing and—to Sean’s chagrin—stepping back. “Sorry about that.”

“No worries.” Sean lowered his arms to his sides, keeping his back and shoulders as still as he could. “We should hurry in.”

Billy nodded, and it was still a long molasses-slow minute before they turned and walked to the front doors of the hospital.

ONCE INSIDE,Sean had asked for a big Russian guy with a knife wound—that was all Rivers had told him to look for. Apparently he wasn’t a common patient, but Sean’s badge paved the way.

“Oh dear God,” Billy murmured in his ear as they inched their way into the cubicle. “You sure that’s the good guy?”

“So Jackson Rivers says,” Sean murmured back, and they moved in to take care of business.

It turned out the big Russian had given his name as Dimitri Sartov, but Sean knew his name was Jai, and his last name was sort of up for grabs. It didn’t matter. He used the department’s agreement with the hospital to take care of confidential informants on the down-low to get the giant knife wound in the man’s shoulder treated. A kid named Ernie—and he couldn’t have been more than Billy’s age—stood next to Jai and watched the entire procedure with a combination of sharp-eyed interest and dreamy regard that Sean, quite frankly, found unsettling. Billy, for the most part, was okay with letting Sean take the lead. For once.

“There,” he said quietly to Ernie and Jai. “I just expensed your medical bills. The doc will be back with some pain meds and antibiotics, and then we can play musical cars and you can go.”

Jai regarded Kryzynski narrowly. “Last I heard, you were in a hospital bed. What are you doing here?”

“Killing himself,” Billy snarled. “Did you really have to—”

“This man is a hero, Billy,” Sean told him, not sure how much Billy knew. “You weren’t there when Rivers told the story. This man, Jai, and this young man’s boyfriend just saved a busload of kids, and I’m pretty sure they saved Cotton’s life.”

Billy’s eyes got large.

“I’ll tell you later.” Sean took a careful breath; it wasn’t as easy as it had been that morning. “Right now let’s get me to their car and them to ours. I promised Ellery we’d clean the blood out of their car and give them something that would let them get to LA today.”

“Except our car is your doctor friend’s,” Jai said.

“You got blood in Lance’s Mazda?” Billy asked, aghast. Then understanding dawned. “Which is why we need to take it—to clean the upholstery. Okay. I get it. It’s all coming together.” He shook his head. “You live a very interesting life, Sean. Sometimes. But you still need to get home for your nap.”

Sean gave the kid an exasperated look. “We’re getting there,” he wheezed.

Jai eyed him with quiet disgust. “Everybody. Must everybody be a hero?”

“You are telling me,” Billy muttered. “Anyway, here.” He dug into the pocket of his faded jeans, then dropped the keys in Ernie’s hand. “Now you give me Lance’s.”

“I can’t believe I’m giving up my car for a week,” Sean said weakly as Ernie returned Billy’s gesture by dropping a key fob into his hand. “Love that car.”

Jai grinned at him, his smile as big as the man. “What kind of car is it?”

“Dodge Charger.” He sighed wheezily. “I only wish it was circa 1970, but no. Modern model.”