Page 164 of Tech Bros

Evan Lockwood

I close my phone with that punched in the gut feeling. Leaning forward in the chair, I let my head hang between my shoulders as I slump and think of all the ways I fucked this up.

Because if I hadn’t fucked up, he’d be here right now. Next to me. He might even be holding my hand or giving me the hug I so desperately need. He’d tell me what the fuck I’m supposed to do next. Four Points Freight is based inLA.

I won’t lie and say I didn’t see this coming. The moment he told me he knew about my date with Deacon, I sensed the beginning of the end, but I thought I’d have more of a chance to show him what we could be together. I was careless, and I mismanaged the fight between him and Deacon—I mismanagedEvan. As much as I hadn’t intended to, I gave him the impression I was taking sides. I wasn’t able to give him what he needed from me, and now I’ve lost him.

Fuck.

A nurse comes into Jake’s room, and I snap my head up.

“I have his discharge orders. I just need to take out his IV and catheter, and then I can go over all the instructions and medication with you.”

I swallow the enormous lump in my throat and nod. I stand, wanting to give Jake the privacy even if he’s barely conscious. Talking about his dick with him is one thing, but watching a nurse remove a catheter from it is different.

When I’m in the hall, I text Deacon.

Me

Are you still here?

Deacon

I’m in the car.

Me

They’re discharging him soon. Do you mind driving us back to my place?

Deacon

No problem.

My eyes burn as the phone screen blurs. Huge emotions fill my chest, and I have to fight for my next breath.

It takes about an hour for the hospital staff to wheel Jake down to the entrance where my car is waiting with Deacon in the driver’s seat. The sight of him is more of a relief than I thought it’d be. He’s gentle when he helps me get Jake into the backseat and doesn’t mind that I want to sit with him on the ride back into the city. He plays Bach at a low volume on the drive, and I start to realize how exhausted I am. “Did you sleep at all?” I ask him.

“Off and on,” he says.

Good, I think, but don’t manage to say. To keep myself sane since we got to the hospital, I made a police report and got the punk who did this to my brother arrested. What started the fight is still a mystery to me, but I know it was one of his fraternity brothers. Unsatisfied with a mere arrest, I’ve also gotten my own attorneys involved. I want to know everything there is to know about this guy and the family he comes from. If I don’t stay angry, I’m afraid I’ll fall apart.

Jake barely makes it into the guest room in my apartment before he collapses. Tears are streaming down his face—pain and exhaustion written all over his swollen features. I give him his meds then rub his back until he falls asleep.

Deacon brings me a sandwich and rubsmyback while I eat it. “You should get some sleep,” he murmurs.

“I wanna sleep in here,” I tell him.

“Maybe a shower? I can stay in here.”

“Maybe,” I say.

“I’ll come get you if he needs anything.”

It goes to show how exhausted I am how much the offer stumps me. I get stuck on the whole—“but he doesn’t know you”—and then I realize Jake hadn’t known any of the nurses at the hospital either, and he’s on so many drugs, he probably barely realizesI’mhere, or where he is. “Sure. Yeah. A shower sounds good.”

The sandwich is perfect, but my stomach is twisted into a thousand knots. I only manage to eat half of it. “Thank you,” I tell Deacon.

He presses a kiss to my forehead, and a wave of warmth flows down my body. Where did I find this fucking angel?