his ear as it began ringing.
“Eduard?” Victor sounded slightly panicked.
“It’s me.”
“Riggs.”
He breathed for a moment, so relieved just from the sound of Victor’s voice. He heard Victor breathing as well, mimicking each inhale and exhale he took.
“I’m fine.”
“Of course you are. I never doubted.”
Lies.
Riggs grinned and adjusted his grip on the phone. Lucky he’d learned to see right through them. “I know. Just figured I’d let you know. Did you meet my mom?”
“No.”
“She’s here.”
“That’s good. You should have your mother there with you.”
“I figured you’d think that.”
“I want you to get well quickly. We have work to do.”
Riggs grinned. “I know. People are counting on us.”
“They are. I’m very busy.”
“I know. When are you coming back?”
Victor’s breath caught. “I have a lot of work to do here.”
“Yeah. It’s okay. Stay as long as you need to. I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Riggs.”
“I can’t say more. There are little ears present.”
Victor’s breath hitched again. “Yeah?”
“Yep. You aren’t gonna believe this. Draco’s playing cars with him on the floor of my room.”
“What?”
“This kid has everybody whipped. He even had my mom rocking him to sleep last night.”
Victor breathed, a long pull of air. “That’s good.”
“We’re here, Victor. Your cousin’s gonna watch out for me I bet. He’s got that look on his face that you get when I do something stupid and you have to fix it.”
“It’s not every day you get magically crushed by a demonic fairy.”
“True. You’re gonna have to give him back one of those fancy paintings at this rate, though. Probably ought to think about that. You’re gonna owe him for looking out for us. Gus and me? We’re pains in the ass.”
Victor choked out a laugh, but it didn’t sound happy at all.
“But we’re your pains in the ass, Victor.”
“I need to get back to work.”
“Okay.” Riggs ended the call and handed the phone back to Eduard. “Thanks.”
Eduard tucked the phone away and resumed his position in the chair by Riggs’s bed.
“Is he coming back?” Eduard asked.
“Nah. Not yet. He will.”
“Why are you okay about this?”
Riggs wasn’t entirely sure. He wanted to see Victor. He absolutely did. He wanted to breathe him in and hold him close. He wanted to watch him try to teach Gus new words while avoiding the inevitable ketchup splatters on his clothes.
He’d also recognized something else, in those last few moments he’d had of consciousness after the attack. He’d locked eyes with Victor and seen the true devastation in his mate’s gaze. He’d been as gutted as Riggs, only emotionally instead of physically.
It had messed with his head. And he’d run. He’d have to deal with Nick being pissed off, so there was no need for Riggs to add to it. When you loved something, you set it free.
Riggs grinned.
Loved.
He loved Victor. When the hell had that happened to him? He’d tripped and fallen in love with an aloof griffin whose version of roughing it was staying at a hotel that didn’t provide silk sheets. Riggs coughed out a laugh. How the hell had the universe thought they’d make the perfect match?
Riggs stared at his calloused hands and imagined Victor’s perfect golden skin. His body oversized and bulky where Victor was lean and smooth. They were a study in contrasts, and Riggs couldn’t wait to get a degree in Victor. He figured he’d only gotten so far as Victor 101 at this point, but he was gonna give himself an A+ in the class.
He grinned again and turned to face Eduard. “I love him.”
The concern on Eduard’s face fell away. “Yeah?”
“Yep. Probably ought to tell him, huh?”
“That might be a good idea.”
“Help me sit up?”
Eduard reached over the hospital bed and pushed the buttons until Riggs had been eased into a sitting position.
“Bear! Vroom!”
Gus held up a car for him to see. Draco had sprawled out on the floor on… was that Gus’s road rug that they had in their cottage? “Vroom!”
Gus beamed and returned to his game.
“He’s gonna be a great dad.”
“Yeah,” Eduard said, smiling fondly at his mate.
“No, I mean Victor. I mean, Draco too. I’m sure.”
Eduard laughed. “You have a one-track mind. He really is your mate, isn’t he?”
“I think so? I mean, mates are rare, right? I don’t know anyone, really, who’s found their mates. Well… I guess except for… all of you. Wait. That’s weird, right?”
Riggs scratched at his nose, then yanked out the annoying air flow thingy.
“Victor didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
Eduard laughed. “Just how stoned are you?”
“On a scale of drugged up to totally