Page 40 of Beck

“Yes, boss.”

“And leave the sass at home.” Joey ended the call.

Beck gave himself precisely thirty seconds to let the panic and pain wash through him before he raced off to get dressed, and being the exemplary employee that he was, he drained a glass of water before the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, Joey looked in about the same state as Beck probably was, with a creased T-shirt, jeans and a hoodie beneath a worn, thick leather jacket and bloodshot eyes.

“Come on.”

With no other information or words, they headed to Joey’s car. Beck had so many questions but wasn’t sure which to ask. Luckily, Joey knew him well enough to start talking once they were on the road, and Beck gripped his hands together to stop them from giving away just how hard he was shaking.

“I know you might not want to hear the details, but I think you need to, and Kole has given me permission to explain.” Joey’s hands tightened on the wheel, his white knuckles visible on the passing streetlights. He let out a tremendous sigh. “Kole had fallen asleep when the guy let himself in. When Kole realised, he tried talking the guy down, but he wasn’t interested. He had a point to make, apparently. He got Kole on the floor with a hand around his throat. Kole can barely whisper right now, and thedoctors have advised him not to talk too much. His throat needs to heal.”

“Did they catch the guy?”

“Yeah. Kole knew him. Drake something.”

For the second time that night, Beck froze. His lungs burnt, his heart pulsed, and his head throbbed.No. He wouldn’t.But he couldn’t bring himself to believe his thoughts. Drake could and would and…had.

“Jesus, fuck. Breathe, Beck. Fucking breathe.”

His body slammed forward and then back again, and then Joey’s hand rested on his nape and his head was thrust between his knees. Soothing circles were drawn over his spine and he found his lungs easing.

“You scared the fuck out of me, asshole.” Joey exhaled. “You okay?”

“Nope,” he croaked.

“You ready to tell me what the fuck is going on?”

Beck’s brain fired up, and he rose. “You ready to tell me why you’re swearing so much tonight?”

“Because my fucking boyfriend had the scare of his life tonight, and then we find out his best friend was almost fucking killed, and then you’re having fucking panic attacks on me, and I just want to know what the fuck is going on.”

Beck couldn’t help it. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he burst out laughing. And then suddenly, he wasn’t laughing anymore and tears streamed down his cheeks. Arms slid around his shoulders and pulled him into a warm cocoon.

“Whatever the fuck this is, Beck, we’re in it together. You got it?”

Beck nodded against Joey’s chest, but he couldn’t form any words. He just sat there clinging to Joey and crying like the baby he apparently was. That brought him up short. He was stronger than that. He had to be. Kole wanted to see him, andtherefore, he needed to be in one piece. For however long it took him to make sure Kole was all right, he would keep it together. He pulled away from Joey and wiped his face, sniffing hard to unclog his nose and throat.

“Better?” Joey asked, and Beck could almost feel his need to get going.

“Yep.”

“Liar, but I’ll let that go for now.”

Joey started driving again, and Beck tried to get his head around the information Joey had told him. How had Drake even known where Kole lived? But then he rolled his eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time his ex-foster brother had stalked someone, but it would be the last if had anything to do with it.

Keeping himself together for the rest of the journey, he gave himself two precious seconds after Joey had parked the car to breathe, and then he climbed out and followed Joey into the hospital.

The medicinal scent of the place had always turned his stomach, but with the number of times he’d ended up in a place like that, he was used to ignoring it. The fake niceties of the staff still rubbed him the wrong way, but that was a him problem. They were just doing their job, however strained it seemed to him.

“He’s this way.”

Joey led the way. Beck kept his eyes on the distance, turning when Joey did, stepping into the metal death trap that was the lift when he was told to, and finally, Joey stopped outside a door.

“Ethan managed to get him into a room by kicking up a fuss with the staff. His argument was about us being well known, which isn’t wrong, and so Kole has some privacy.”

Beck swallowed and nodded. “Okay.”

Joey stared at him for a long minute and then knocked softly before opening the door and poking his head around the edge.For those few seconds, Beck held his breath, tightening every muscle in his body to keep his feet planted right there instead of tearing him away from the very place he didn’t want to be. But he did it. For Kole. But it would be the last time because Beck had brought pain and disaster to Kole’s door, and he refused to do so again. They were over, even though they had barely begun.

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