Page 89 of Brandishing Betrayals
“Yep,” I nodded.
“I’m sorry about your guy here.”
“Thanks,” Marcos spoke up from the doorway of the room, where he’d stationed himself, watching on while we worked. “I appreciate this doc.”
Griffin smiled and nodded. “No worries.” He shook hands with Nico and then me, “You did good.” He nodded at me, then he grabbed his bag and cooler off the bed and headed toward the door where Marcos was standing.
Marcos pushed off the door and turned around, leading Griffin out of my room.
I took a deep breath in the quiet that descended over my small bedroom. My limbs began to slowly shake as tears welled in my eyes.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Nico crooned, moving to me immediately. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “You did so good, baby. I’m so proud of you.”
I clung to him as I broke down in his arms, the overwhelming emotions pouring out of me now that the traumatic event was over.
When I heard footsteps behind me, I took a shaky breath and cleared my throat. I pulled away from Nico and wiped my eyes, putting on a brave face again, just as Marcos walked back in the room. Ignoring him, I turned back to Jason, who was still unconscious in my bed. The IV fluids were still flowing and Jason was still breathing, so there wasn’t much for me to do.
“Thank you.” Marcos spoke so softly, I almost didn’t realize he was speaking to me.
“Yeah.”
I busied myself by picking up the blankets from where I’d tossed them on the floor earlier. I started making the bed, when Marcos came up and gently pried the blankets from my hands. “Maya,” he murmured my name softly, his hands so soft on mine.
A tortured sob ripped out of me.
Marcos sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me into his arms, settling me on his lap. “It’s alright,” he said, “let it all out.”
I clung to him, burring my face into the crook of his neck, breathing in his familiar scent of leather and mint. He rocked me gently, careful not to jostle the bed too much as he rubbed my back and whispered softly in my ear. I ignored all the shit between us, and held on, savoring his warmth and his strength—I had needed it more than I thought.
A while later, I felt strong enough to pull away. A glance at the clock told me it was going on four in the morning and my alarm would be going off in two hours. I already knew I wouldn’t be going to work, though. So I grabbed my phone and texted my boss that I’d had a rough night and needed the day.
My boss had been extremely understanding since my father’s passing and had told me if I needed more time, that it was ok to take additional days. This wasn’t exactly what my boss probably had in mind, but I didn’t care. I needed the day.
It was also Luke’s first day of school. The new school year had crept up on me and I didn’t want him to miss anything. It felt like life was too unstable these days, too many unknowns kept popping up. We needed routine.
“You call in?” Nico asked as I set my phone back down on the nightstand.
“Yeah,” I murmured, my voice raspy. I picked up the sheets and blankets again, and this time Marcos helped me remake the bed, covering Jason and tucking the sheet and blankets under the mattress. “I’m gonna try and get some more rest before I have to get up with Luke,” I told them, looking between Nico and Marcos.
“I’m gonna drag the recliner in here,” Marcos declared.
“I’ll help you.”
I let them do what they wanted and slid under the covers next to Jason in my queen-sized bed. At one point during our care for him, I had Nico grab the extra pillows out of the hallway linen closet to prop him up with, so I could use my own pillow to curl up next to him.
Marcos and Nico carried in my father’s recliner from the living room, and the stack of cushions from the couch. They set up the recliner in the corner, and Nico threw the cushions on the floor at the end of the bed before he left the room again. He came back a moment later carrying two throw blankets and a throw pillow.He tossed one of the blankets at Marcos—who raised an eyebrow at him—and then made himself a bed on the couch cushions.
I chuckled softly and shook my head at Nico’s antics. I fucking loved him, though, and I was so grateful that they both were camping out in my bedroom with me, while we waited for Jason to recover.
“Marcos, the lamp next you has a super dim nightlight feature. Turn it on, please?”
“’’Fraid of the dark, Mi Vida?” Marcos voice rumbled through the darkness.
My gasp of surprise at the term of endearment, carried louder than I’d intended.
Both men ignored it, and Marcos turned on the nightlight.
I thought it would be impossible to sleep, but with all three of my men in the room, I drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
