gut.
My sweet West did not warrant the treatment he went through. Fury lit under my skin, burning me with the thought of how his parents had done this.
“The church,” I stated softly.
“What?” Kylo asked, also in a hushed tone, from where he stood beside me. I could feel Lucas’s eyes on me from my other side.
“I will have my men investigate the church where those people attended,” I answered.
Kylo hummed. “Good fuckin’ idea. We need to make sure those two weren’t the only cunts like that. I’m sure the brothers will help with that.”
I nodded once. “We will work together.”
“I-I need a shower,” Lucas whispered. It had been hard on him assisting West with the wounds, but I could see the strength he held within himself.
“I will stay with him,” I told Lucas.
“I’ll go talk to the brothers about the church.”
“Have someone speak with Dimitri when he returns.”
Kylo gently slapped my back. “I will.” He exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
Lucas stayed a little longer, and I waited him out, knowing he had something to say. He sucked in a shuddering breath. “I’m glad you were here today, Adrik. If you hadn’t been, we might not have got to him in time. We might have walked away.” He sniffed. “It’ll be a long healing process, not only physically, but mentally.”
“I will help him.”
“I know you will. But what I’m saying is that he might not want you around when he wakes and is fully with it. He won’t want to be a burden. He won’t want you to see him like this. You’ll need to be persistent.”
“Nothing will have me leave him. Not now.” Not ever. West was mine. If I had not been stubborn in the first place, none of this would have happened. I would have had him with me, at my side, protecting him. “I fucked up.”
“How?”
“I should have gone after him sooner.”
Lucas shook his head. “No one would have seen this coming.”
“I could have. If I had come to him sooner.”
“Don’t blame yourself. West won’t want that.”
It was too late. Even so, I would do everything in my power to make it up to him.
“Do you—” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
“No, you can ask or tell me anything.”
I glanced down at him. Both Kylo and Lucas were good friends for West. No, they were more than that; they were his family. With the amount of time I had been around them, I could see the love they had for one another. I was glad West had that.
But I wanted to give him more.
I wanted to give him what Lucas had with Wreck or Kylo with Saint.
And, of course, I wanted that to come from me and no other.
“West has spoken of me?”
“Yes.”
“So you know I was a client?”
“Yes.”
“Would he want me to be around?”
He paused and bit his bottom lip in thought. Lucas would know what West thought about me. He would also know if deep down West wanted me.
When he nodded, I let out a heavy relieved breath. The gaping hole in my chest filled a little. “Good.” Because nothing West could say would have me leaving him again. In some eyes, it might seem too soon for something between us. Nevertheless, I knew we had something special we could build on.
“I’ll be back soon,” Lucas said.
“Take your time. You know I will be fine here, and I will call if he needs anything medical.”
“I know.” He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. I understood. Trauma took a lot from a person. He patted my arm before he walked out of the room.
There was an armchair in the corner of the room near the door with a few clothes. I removed the clothes, picked up the chair, and placed it next to the bed. When I accidentally landed it down a little heavy, I cringed and looked at West. Mercifully, he did not wake. What helped would be the drugs Lucas had a man from the brotherhood retrieve from the hospital—a call he made on the drive back to the house. Lucas had also set up fluids to help counter the damage the vinegar had done.
I closed my eyes, once more wishing I had not let the rage take me over when I saw West chained to the floor. If the father was alive, I would enjoy delivering pain to him slowly, like I would the mother.
My eyes flashed open when West moaned. His brows drew down in his