Page 136 of Tracking Luxe

“Couldn’t miss being the best uncle, now could I? And Prez … thanks.”

Rider nodded and walked out.

Next was Snake who had been somber the whole time, he moved to the head of the bed, leaned down and fisted some of Grinder’s thick unruly hair. He looked naked without his beanie hat, she wanted to find it and give him it back to make everything better, somehow. “Fucking jackass, stop trying to get dead.” There was no heat in his words, Luxe watched more exchanges with the men as they left one by one, there was more of them out in the waiting room, these men...brothers. Had all been worried about losing Grinder, none of them had moved an inch, even when hospital staff had tried to get them to leave.

When finally, it was only Luxe and Preacher left, she watched their exchange more closely. The bigger, wider man hunched over the bed so he could rest his forehead against Grinder’s, his words were too low for her to hear but she saw Grinder nod and clasp Preacher’s shoulder. A minute went by, the deep friendship between the pair more than evident she wondered if she should give them space, but then Preacher straightened, approached her.

She braced for harsher, deserved words. Preacher had only been looking out for his boy.

Instead his intense green eyes focused fully on her, his head hung a little. An apology in the depths looking right at her, his face softer now.

And then he did something startling even after he’d left the room Luxe was speechless.

He reached out and cupped the side of her head. “Take care of our boy, darling.”

Then she was alone with his approval and with Nathan.

“Come here, love. These things have me harpooned to the bed. I need to hold you.” He gestured to the blood pressure tag on his finger, the oxygen pipe going to his nose and the drip by the side of the bed pumping regular fluids and medicine into him.

Water swam in her eyes finally allowing the tears to fall. “Come here, don’t cry, baby, I’m alright.”

For a realistic, logical person, Luxe was running on pure emotional fumes when she staggered over to the bed and gripped Nathan’s hand, unaware she was crying until she laid her cheek on his and felt the wetness, it opened the floodgates and out they poured.

Arms came around her. Held her tightly. “How are you feeling?” she asked into his chest.

“Better now for seeing you. Hey, now, you’ll make me start, let me wipe those tears, I’m okay, love.”

When she rose her head, eyes blazed now the worry was lessened. “I should punch you for sending me away. And for making me promise to tell Rider to leave you there.”

He laughed and she wanted to cry all over again when he winced. “Maybe you could stand on the oxygen pipe instead of punching me?” he offered like the sweet man she knew him to be. He appeared tired, fatigue weighing heavy on the one eye he could blink.

He was so battered and bruised, every part of skin she could see was purple.

Her heart did an acrobatic flip it hadn’t done in ...ever, his taped fingers played with hers, stroking down her thumb, across her forefinger. God. She really was in love with him.

Really, really in love.

“They got me in this damn dress-gown-thing, I look fucking ridiculous,” despite his condition his scowl made her chuckle. “Help me out of it?”

She soothed his brow. “Maybe keep it on for a while, okay?” keep him warm. Take care of her man. It was a thunder inside her heart.

Emotion got busy in her throat so she buried her face in his neck and did some silent thanking again that he was here with her.

******

An ordinate of silence later, when he allowed his girl to burrow into his skin without getting into the bed with him, and he really wanted her there, but first he had to know. "Tell me they didn't hurt you." He croaked, hating the weakness in his voice. As soon as his body had enough fluids he was breaking out of this hard-as-nails bed, he wanted home and he wanted his girl more than he needed to lie there like limp fucking lettuce unable to protect the one thing he cared for.

"Nathan, shhh, I'm fine."

"Tell me. Please, Luxe. Don’t keep that shit from me. I don’t know how long they had you for. What they could have done. It's been driving me mad. I'll kill them all, I swear-----"

"It was less than an hour before they brought you. They didn't touch me, just threw me into an empty room and I had to wait."

"You swear it?"

"Sí. I promise. The room smelled like feet and I waited there until----" Until they’d brought him in. Until they’d beaten him enough into submission. "Imbecile men are so easy to distract with a pair of tits, they just stared at me a little and I told them to go fuck their moms." Grinder growled and buried his face in the tits in question, her fingers stroked into his hair, soothing his aching head. He was sore all over but the pain didn’t bother him so much when Luxe put her hands on him.

Her hand crept up, one finger at a time, crawling up his chest, and curled around the back of his neck. Man, they felt so good.