Page 65 of The Devil You Know
“Drink. It’ll help with the shock. We’ll get you patched up,” Seth told the cop, who still looked dazed. “And get you some clothes and food.”
“Drink some yourself—the doc is gonna fix both of you,” Evan ordered.
Seth stayed in the truck with Nelson while Evan—who was less bloodstained—opened the door to the hotel room with a spell since they didn’t have the key. Evan kept lookout while Seth hurried the bloody, nearly naked man into the room, then quickly closed the blinds before turning on a light.
“Do you need to use the restroom?” Evan asked, worried at how quiet the usually bombastic cop had become. He dug into the emergency kit he kept in the truck and set out a couple of bottles of water, protein bars, a spare T-shirt, and a pair of sweatpants.
“I can’t promise the clothes will fit, but they’re better than nothing,” he said, handing off the items. Nelson nodded his thanks and stumbled into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Evan turned to Seth, and for the first time since his kidnapping, they were alone. “Come here,” Evan said in a broken voice. Seth moved wordlessly into Evan’s arms, hugging him so tight it was hard to breathe.
“I was scared,” Evan confessed, burying his face in Seth’s neck. Seth smelled of blood and sweat from days without a shower, which didn’t bother Evan at all. Seth was alive, and he was here with him.
Evan kissed him, a gentle press against dry lips. Now wasn’t the time for more, and Seth had his own recovering to do, but Evan ached to wrap his body around Seth and never let him go.
“So was I,” Seth admitted. Evan felt Seth tremble and realized he hadn’t gotten a good look at his injuries.
“The doc is going to take care of you too,” Evan promised. He stepped back, giving Seth a head-to-toe scan. He saw bruising on Seth’s hand from an IV, reddened skin around his wrists from cuffs, shadowed eyes, and a pallor that hadn’t been there before.
“I pulled the fire alarm,” Seth told him. “And I called 911 from the cell phone I stole to get someone there to rescue the others. They were in worse shape. Texted you, too.”
Evan’s heart dropped. “Shit. I didn’t get a text—”
“It failed. Probably come through later.” Seth gave a ragged laugh.
“We figured you and the others were at the old hospital, so Jenna took her Supernatural Secret Service team to bust you all out while we went after Osborn,” Evan told Seth, leading him over to sit on the end of a bed.
Evan offered Seth a drink and food, but Seth shook his head. “Too much adrenaline in my system right now. I’d bring it all back up.”
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t with you at the library. If I had been—”
Seth turned to him and cupped Evan’s face with one hand. “—they’d have taken you too. They drugged me, then used magic. It wasn’t a fair fight. The only thing I could think of when I woke up was that you might have gotten away, that you were safe.”
“Do you remember anything?”
Seth looked away, and Evan knew there was something he wasn’t saying, something important. “I’ll tell you later.” Seth’s tone warned Evan that whatever happened had been really bad.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Evan told him and kissed his temple. Seth managed a grateful smile in return.
Nelson emerged from the bathroom, shaky and shirtless but less bloody. He stumbled toward the other bed and fell more than sat. “Figured there was no point putting on a shirt while I’m still bleeding.”
“Probably true,” Evan replied, unsure how to react to this new side of the cop.
“Thanks for getting me out of there.” Nelson went on without making eye contact. “I thought I was a goner. I still don’t know how they got the drop on me.”
Evan and Seth exchanged a look. “Drugs and magic,” Seth replied. “That’s how they got me too.”
Nelson let out a sharp, harsh chuckle. “You tried to warn me.”
“Someone primed you to mistrust us from the beginning,” Evan said. “I’m betting that person has ties to Osborn. He played you to keep you from being protected.”
“Yeah, I get that—now.” Nelson sighed, wincing. The numerous cuts looked deep and had to hurt. “I knew that my family was ‘unlucky.’ We called it the ‘Nelson curse.’ My aunt thought some ancestor made a deal with the devil.”
Seth shook his head. “No demon deal involved.”
Nelson looked from Seth to Evan, all of his bluster gone. “You lost people too? That’s why you do this?” Battered as he was, Nelson had moved into cop mode, and Evan wondered if it gave him a sense of control and a way to not freak out.
“Seth lost his brother. I lost my uncle—and would have been the next victim,” Evan replied, sparing Seth the effort.
