Page 82 of Holding On to a Hero
His eyes were shut but not relaxed. He was holding his right elbow in his left hand. The bullet had gone through his right shoulder. I whacked Cole on the leg to get his attention, and then gestured at Will behind us.
Cole turned to look. “Hey, Will? I know your back’s been bothering you, but you look like you’re in more pain than you were earlier. Do you need some more ibuprofen?”
Will opened his eyes and smiled tiredly at Cole. “It’s okay, Cole. I used my right arm in the wrong way earlier, and my shoulder’s a little angry at me is all. When we get to Spence’s I just need to do the thing where I lie on the floor with my feet on a chair or something. I’ll take some ibuprofen then.”
“You know, Spence might have something stronger,” I suggested.
Cole nodded. “We can ask. He’s had enough injuries, that’s for sure.”
“That would help a lot,” Will responded. “I wish I had my prescription pain pills, but it wasn’t like I could run home and get them yesterday.”
“Only about thirty more minutes until we get there,” I assured him.
It was more like thirty-five, but eventually we were driving slowly down a residential street and pulling up to a small one-story bungalow. An old Honda sedan was parked on one side of the driveway, and on the other side the garage door was open but no light was on inside.
“Spence thought ahead,” I said approvingly as I pulled the SUV into the garage.
“He’s been in enough spy movies, he had to have picked up some things,” Cole agreed as the garage door came down behind us. As soon as it touched the ground the light came on and Spence was flying around the car to Cole’s door, whisper-shouting Cole’s name. I grinned back at Will, who was looking wonderingly at Spence’s outfit of a grayBronyt-shirt over torn jeans with a purple silk robe fluttering behind him.
Cole opened his door and Spence practically dragged him out of the car. “Oh Em Gee, let me look at you! Oh, I like the beard, but your poor face! Where else are you hurt? I’ve been so worried about you!” He stopped petting Cole’s cheek and pulled him into a hug. I took the opportunity to get out.
“I’m okay, Spence. It’s good to see you.” Cole stepped back and turned to me.
“Hi, Spence,” I said as I went to open Will’s door. “Thanks for having us. Let me help Will get out and you can meet him.”
Not waiting for me, Spence pulled open the rear door on the passenger side with a dramatic flourish and ducked in. “You’re Will! Come here and give me a hug right now!”
Fortunately for Will, he was sitting on my side of the car. “Uh,” he said, “I’ll come around.” When he turned back toward me I winked at him.
“Don’t let Spence run you over. How do you want to do this? Same as before?”
He shook his head. “No, no pulling on my arms. Let me try just sliding out and you can pull my hips if I get stuck.”
Spence, of course, had come around to our side of the car, and he finally seemed to grasp that something was wrong.
“What happened? Will’s injured?”
“He’s the one who was actually shot,” Cole told him.
While Spence went wide-eyed and, for once, silent, I helped Will ease out of the car. When he stood upright he leaned against me and said simply, “Ouch,” as he caught his breath.
“Spence, do you have any pain meds?” Bless you, Cole.
“Oh! Of course! I never travel without them. I’ll run ahead and meet you in the kitchen. Just through that door.” He hurried away, his robe billowing dramatically.
“He’s great,” Will said quietly. I pressed a kiss to his head and helped him walk to the door into the house.
Cole called out, “I’ll get Dave, and we can leave the bags in the car for now.” I hoped Spence liked cats.
Chapter Forty-Three
Will
Jason propped me against the kitchen counter and started opening cabinets. “Glasses are to the right of the fridge!” Spence called out as he went further back into the house. I gritted my teeth and distracted myself from the pain by looking around. Spence’s mother’s home was decorated in old, faded wallpaper and flowery upholstery. From the kitchen I could see boxes stacked against the far wall of the living room, no doubt holding whatever knickknacks had once graced the empty bookcase on the opposite wall.
The kitchen was painted a warm, muted yellow. I was sure it’d be much prettier when the sun was coming in through the windows.
“All I have is Vicodin.” I looked up with a start. Spence had returned and I hadn’t even noticed. He was a beautiful man, the slight Asian cast to his features framed by a strong, square jaw. I could absolutely see how he could pass for Cole, as they had the same baseball player build, black hair and similar height.
