Page 28

Horrified, Luca watched Noe get yanked forward, his grip on the rope pulling him straight over the harbor and then out of his hands. He hit the water with a hard splash and Luca just knew, from the angle he went in, he wasn’t going to come out. Luca moved before he made any decision to do so.

He heard Sho and Brahms yelling about the beam, but he paid them no mind. Nothing else mattered in this moment. He had to get to Noe. Quickly .

His heart raced so hard, it was like a drumbeat in his ears as Luca crossed the distance in a blink. Luca was terrified in a way he’d rarely been in his life, damn near shaking with fear, but his only thought was to get to Noe. Luca had to get to him. Luca had to get to Noe right now because like hell would he lose this wonderful man after he’d just found him.

If anyone tried to shout something to him, Luca didn’t hear them, he just ran for the one part of the coastline that jutted out slightly over the water, needing that lift to get the right angle. Luca only had the presence of mind to shed his coat to give himself some more dexterity, blowing all air out between pursed lips to prepare, and then he took a leaping dive into the water.

The water was horrifically cold, truly breath-stealing, and Luca felt it impact him straight to his bones. Luca fought through it, forcing his eyes to stay open even in this salt water, tasting the brine in his mouth but not caring. It felt like he was moving in slow motion, the cold stealing into his muscles and forcing him to a damn crawl. It was painful being under the water like this, too, his body hating the extreme cold. Luca fought through both sensations, forcing his body forward like a tool. Fortunately, the water was fairly clear in the harbor and Luca was able to find Noe some distance ahead of him.

Noe was slowly spinning in place, like he was trying to find the way up but was too confused. It worried Luca, that slowing of limbs, as it might be a sign Noe was losing consciousness. Luca swam hard, faster than he ever had in his life, and only felt marginally reassured when he clamped a hand down on Noe’s arm. Hauling Noe against him, Luca kicked to the surface, and Noe thankfully didn’t fight him.

Luca’s head broke the surface and he immediately sucked in a deep breath, shifting onto his back in a half-float position. “Noe. Noe!”

Noe was too busy sucking in air to answer him, but those noisy gasps were like an angelic choir to Luca. At least he breathed. Right now, that was the most important thing—that and getting him out of the water.

Luca felt frozen to his core, but he had to move. Luca had to get them both out of here.

“Keep yer head on me shoulder, chin up. I’ve got ye.”

Luca moved Noe onto his back, using his own body for flotation, and struck off strongly.

Sho waved from the shoreline and called, “HERE! COME HERE!”

There was a mini dock over there for the rowboats, and it was closer. Luca changed direction slightly and went to him, although gods, it was hard. Luca was so cold—so very cold—he didn’t want to swim or force his muscles to move. But if Luca didn’t, they were both dead men. Luca also refused to make someone come in here after them.

It felt like a fucking decade before Luca reached the dock. The second Luca was within arm’s reach, Sho reached down, along with Giric, and took Noe from him.

Noe let out a sharp cry of pain and they all stopped for a second.

“Get me up,” Noe gritted out, teeth chattering audibly. “I-I think my arm’s broken, s-so avoid it.”

Shit. Of course it was possible he’d broken something with that horrible angle of entry into the water. If you approached water wrong, it could slap you like granite.

Giric shifted his grip to under Noe’s arm, and they continued getting him out.

Luca barely had his hands free before another arm extended down, and Luca looked up into Brahms’s concerned eyes. Trust the man to be almost as fast as his husband in an emergency. (Let’s face it, Luca had never seen a man faster than Sho.) Luca grasped his hand, not surprised at the strength with which Brahms pulled him out of the water. The air was warmer than the water, at least, but being free of the icy ocean felt like pins and needle were invading his skin all over again.

Caedmon promptly threw a blanket around his shoulders, already hustling him toward the town. “Quickly, before things freeze and fall off.”

“N-Noe.” Luca turned his head to see him and realized Giric and Sho supported him on either side, with a blanket thrown around him, too. “Noe, are you all right?”

He shook his head. “Ribs are on f-fire. Arm too.”

Likely both broken, then? Shit.

The general in him, the part of his mind that could keep thinking even in emergencies, snapped out one last order. “G-Giric, take charge here. I’ve got him.”

Giric was clearly torn, wanting to follow a friend, but he was the most senior engineer aside from Noe. Someone had to stay and straighten this out before anyone else got hurt. He gave an unhappy nod, let Ewan take his place supporting Noe, and turned back, calling out to people as he moved.

Sho kept them moving, right up the hill, as quickly as they could manage to get Noe up there. Even with the warmer temperature today, it was still cold enough to risk hypothermia. Luca felt the cold to the extreme, and he was hardier than Noe. Noe felt cold even when there was barely a drop in temperature. Luca couldn’t begin to describe his worry for him. Seeing him upright and breathing helped calm his terror to some degree, but he’d seen men die of hypothermia. Frankly, Luca wouldn’t rest well until those wet clothes were off and Noe was warm again.

The doctor’s clinic was fortunately close, only one street up from the wharf, so they got there in record time. Someone had run ahead of them, and a nurse met them at the door, taking charge of Noe immediately.

Luca wanted to follow him, but he was dripping wet and also in danger at the moment. Should Luca go to the ryokan, change, and bring Noe clothes back? Luca didn’t want to. His heart rebelled at just the idea of leaving Noe alone for a few minutes when he was in this much pain and vulnerable.

Caedmon pushed him farther in with a hand against his shoulder blades. “Go, I’ll fetch ye both clothes.”

“Thank you.” Relieved, Luca went in, chasing after Noe.

Another nurse in a blue kimono stopped Luca before he got more than two feet. “No, O’ Broín-sama, you must not follow him. I will help you out of those clothes and into kimono.”

“Can I sit with him after I’m dry?”

“If you keep blankets on you, yes. We do not need more patients. I will bring you hot tea. You must drink it. Warm your heart.”

The way she said this, with such motherly exasperation, somehow reassured him. She was sure to have seen far too many incidents of people being tossed into the harbor or falling overboard, and she didn’t look the least bit concerned. It was heartening.

Luca still wanted out of these clothes as fast as possible.

She was military efficient helping him out of sodden, half-frozen clothes, and Luca did feel better with them off him and his skin dry. He kept shivering, relentlessly, as warmth started to seep into his body once more. Luca slipped into the kimono—she seemed surprised Luca knew how to put it on—and with two blankets around his torso, plus hot tea with plenty of honey in it, he was deemed all right for now. Luca hustled across the narrow hallway and into the other room, where Noe was being treated.

When Luca walked in, Noe was also free of wet clothes, sitting upright on a bed, a bandage carefully being wrapped around his ribs. Seeing this, Luca felt heartsick all over again. He never wanted Noe injured. He looked so fragile sitting there, too. Somehow more innocent without those blocky glasses of his resting on his nose. Shit, his glasses. They had likely been lost to the harbor. Did he have a spare? Or was he doomed to be visually impaired until they could have new ones made?

“Did you break ribs?” Luca couldn’t keep the distress out of his voice.

Noe nodded his head with a wince semipermanent on his face. “Fractured. Arm too.”

Sho had supported a wall until Luca’s entrance, but now he drew Luca farther in, settling him into the chair nearby. “Sit, get warm. I’m here to translate the medical stuff. I doubt either of you know the vocab. He’s fine, or will be. Doctor said it’s a minor fracture in his arm and ribs. He’ll be right as rain in a month or so. He’ll need lots of rest and can’t sleep lying down for a while. You, on the other hand, still look half frozen. Sit, get your feet under the blankets. Drink your tea. It’s the best thing to warm your body right now.”

Relieved Noe’s injuries weren’t worse than they were, Luca did as told. By the time he got situated in the chair, blanket tucked in around his legs and feet, Noe’s ribs were wrapped and his kimono pulled back into place. The nurse from before came in with two cloth-wrapped bricks and tucked them in against Noe’s sides.

“Gods, they’re so warm.” He gave her a quick smile even as the doctor worked on splinting his arm. “Thank you.”

She gave him a smile in turn, then went back out and fetched another brick for Luca, which he appreciated. It was hard to warm up these blankets when his own internal temperature was so low.

Only after she left did Luca realize Petar hovered in the doorway. He looked hangdog, eyes on his brother, nothing but regret on his face. Luca didn’t care. He didn’t care how Petar felt, how much remorse he might feel. His stupidity, his arrogance, had damn near killed Noe, and Luca couldn’t forgive him for it.

Luca flew out of his chair, forcing cold limbs to work, and had Petar by the throat before anyone could begin to stop him. “Ye goddamn motherfucking— ”

Petar squirmed and gasped, clawing at Luca’s hands, trying to breathe, but even that didn’t abate Luca’s fury. He needed to hurt Petar worse than this. He needed to extract every bit of revenge for this stupid stunt. Luca wouldn’t be satisfied until Petar was blue in the face and hurt at least twice as badly as Noe.

Strong arms banded around Luca’s shoulders, pulling him off. He fought it, lost ground, his own limbs not cooperating fully, and it cost him. Luca was physically pulled off Petar, and he snapped and snarled at the people doing it. He wanted blood. How dare they, how dare they ? Luca wanted this man dead .

“O’ Broín.” Sho’s voice was in his ear, calm even though he was physically keeping Luca from killing a man. “Deep breaths. I know you want to kill him, but you can’t. Deep breaths, calm down.”

Ewan had latched on to one arm, also tugging him back. “Relax, yer man be fine. We’ll deal with this young whelp.”

Luca stood there, barely in check even with both of them holding him back, and didn’t feel the quicksilver rage diminish any. Luca wanted to break Petar. Taking him over his knee and breaking his back sounded good. If he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t put his brother in danger, right? Or maybe break his jaw. If anyone needed to lose the power of speech, it was Petar.

“Gods,” Sho muttered, sounding surprised, “I’ve never seen you lose your temper like this before. Stands to reason, though. If Arman had been endangered by one of his brothers, I’d snap too. Still, breathe. I can’t have you killing this whelp. The paperwork alone isn’t worth it. Noe should decide. He’s the victim.”

“He be too kind,” Luca snapped at Sho, subtly trying to test the grip Sho had on him. It was ironclad. Dammit. “He’ll forgive him for it.”

Petar rubbed his abused throat, still trying to draw in a full breath around the bruises, but he did manage to speak. “I’m here to apologize.”

Luca managed to get in his face, dragging Sho and Ewan with him. “ I do not fuckin’ care .”

“Luca?”

Noe’s tremulous voice stopped him like nothing else could. Luca turned toward the bed, anxiously taking in Noe. “What?”

He met his eyes steadily, and for once, Luca saw something different. Some hint of steel shone in those hazel eyes. “Luca. It’s all right. This time, I won’t forgive him.”

For a second, the words were almost surreal to Luca. Really? Noe wouldn’t forgive Petar this time?

Could Luca trust that?

Well, he could always kill the moron out of sight, later.

“I’ll handle this.” Noe looked past him, to his brother, and while there was regret in his eyes, his tone was hard. “You’re done. You go home today. I don’t want to hear from or speak with you ever again.”

Petar had been scared of Luca, but this? This broke him. Luca could see his heart breaking in front of his eyes and he felt nothing but vicious satisfaction. Finally, after so much fucking around, Petar got to find out.

“Noe,” he whispered, voice still raw, “please. I’m so sorry. I never meant to put you in danger—”

“I told you, repeatedly, this was dangerous. That you shouldn’t be talking to me about your favorite rant while we were doing something that could literally kill someone. But this isn’t even about today. This is about the last ten years . Ten years of you telling me, showing me, that you can’t accept me as I am. You didn’t care if you put me in danger, or put me in an embarrassing situation. Not once in ten years have you ever cared about how your actions and words have affected me . I’ve come to realize you don’t love me. You’d never have put me in that kind of danger if you actually loved me. I—” He winced, good hand rising to cradle his head. “I’m sitting here, in horrible pain and freezing, all because you couldn’t keep your goddamn opinion to yourself for five minutes. I’ve put up with you for ten long years, trying to love a brother who couldn’t accept me or love me back, and I don’t have the heart to do it anymore. I’m done. Leave. I don’t want you in my life anymore.”

Luca was so proud of Noe for standing up for himself, finally, that he wanted to hug the stuffing out of him. Couldn’t though. Ribs.

“No, Brother, no! I do love you, it’s why I’ve been fighting for you so hard—”

Noe turned to Ewan. “Escort him onto a ship.”

“NOE, DON’T DO THIS! PLEASE!”

Ewan was all too happy to drag him out the door, acting like Petar’s words were nothing more serious than the barking of a dog.

Petar wailed out a protest, acting like he was going to somehow get past them to reach Noe, but Ewan was quicker. He grabbed Petar and forced him the other way, shoving him out the door. Luca trusted Ewan to take care of it and finally felt like he could regain his own temper—tenuous hold that it was.

Luca still wanted to kill Petar. Part of him recognized he shouldn’t, though. Still, the temptation lingered.

Sho kept a hand on his shoulder, eyes carefully evaluating him. “How about you sit and get warm too? Rather than kill a stupid child.”

“Probably for the best.” Luca ran a hand over his face, reason starting to return. “Thanks, Sho.”

“Again, I completely understand why you lost your temper, as in your shoes I’d have done the same. But don’t kill him later, either. It’ll cause problems. I’ll make sure he’s on a ship for Scovia no later than tomorrow morning, and with a black mark on his record.”

The thought of Petar being in so much trouble after this cheered him. “Thanks.”

“Now, go sit. Be a good patient.”

Noe extended his good arm to Luca, trying to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “Please. My head’s woozy.”

The doctor came back in with a nurse following, mixing up medication in a glass. “You have concussion. Of course you woozy. Drink it all.”

Noe made a face at the taste but downed the whole glass.

“Pain medicine,” the doctor explained, like he was anxious to make sure Luca didn’t go after him too. “Also will help him sleep. Must sleep propped up, remember?”

“I will. Thank you, Doctor.”

Luca set his murderous inclinations aside and returned to Noe. His lover needed his attention the most just then, and Luca trusted Sho to handle Petar. Luca took Noe’s hand in his. Cold still, but it was a marked improvement over how he’d felt when Luca dragged him free of the water. He was warming up.

Noe smiled at him, looking a little sleepy already. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Saving me.”

“I happen to want you to live a very long time at my side, you know.”

His smile grew a little wider even as his eyes fluttered closed. “I know.”

Luca had no intention of moving from his side until he was well enough to stand on his own feet again. To hell with everything else.

Noe was his priority.