31

As I came to consciousness, the first thing I noticed was the cold seeping into my bones. The second was that I couldn't move my hands. I tried harder to pull them free, but to no avail. Groaning, I opened my eyes. My hands were bound tightly together by a chain that looked familiar. What the hell? Where was I?

The pale light filtered into the hospital bedroom, reminding me of where I was and why I was there. The gunmen. Had they found us?

I shook my hands, but the chain didn't budge. Last night, Bloom had blown my mind when we'd had sex, but this was too much. Our safety came first. When we found a way out of the hospital, we could have all the kinky sex he wanted.

The bed was no longer against the door. Where the hell was Bloom? Had he gone out without me?

I tried to get up but stumbled back. My belt was tied around my ankles. I cursed under my breath, struggling to sit up. I must have been dead tired for him to get away with restraining me without me waking up. I strained my ears, trying to make out any sounds, but other than my breathing, nothing.

I twisted my wrists. The chain rubbed against my flesh, but I ignored the sting, focusing on getting myself free. I sought any leverage that might give me an inch of slack, but it was futile. Shit. I was stuck, truly stuck.

Where was Bloom? Was he okay? I could no longer deny the truth. He'd tied me up and left me.

Worry gnawed at me, an endless loop of increasingly dire scenarios playing out in my mind. Each minute felt like an eternity, stretching out before me with no end in sight. My imagination painted vivid pictures of Bloom, hurt or in danger, because of me, because he wouldn't leave me behind. Why didn't he value his life more? He was reckless, constantly putting himself in danger.

I had no idea how long had passed when the doorknob turned slowly, its creaking sound slicing through the heavy silence. The door opened a crack. I stiffened, drawing in a sharp breath, bracing myself for whoever was on the other side.

A slender figure slipped through. The tightness in my chest unraveled as the tension in my body rippled away, replaced by a flood of relief.

Bloom. He was okay.

He closed the door silently behind him. We stared at each other, the worry of the situation suspended between us. He held a bloody knife in his hand.

Shit.

"So this was your plan? You leave me tied up to wander off on your own?"

"I had to check out the floors to see what's going on. Someone should have found us already. I don't like not knowing what's happening."

"And it was necessary to tie me up?"

"Yes."

Bloom caught a corner of the sheet and wiped the blade clean. A hint of regret flickered in his eyes.

"Why?" I asked.

He wouldn't meet my gaze. "I'm going to free you so you can use the bathroom. It can't flush, but it'll have to do."

I let out the breath I'd been holding. For a second, I'd thought he would leave me tied up. He dropped to one knee and unbuckled the belt around my ankles. The belt he usually wore as a part of his wardrobe.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I found answers."

"To what?"

"Come."

He helped me to my feet and guided me toward the bathroom.

"What about my hands?"

"You don't need them. I'll help you."

I wanted to argue, but my bladder was at bursting point, and I would rather not be left in pants soaked by urine. In the bathroom, he unzipped me and helped me to aim.

"You have such a beautiful cock," he said. When I was done, he stroked me slowly. I gritted my teeth, willing my body not to respond, but it was Bloom. Of course I was going to get hard.

"Fuck it. I need to taste you one more time."

Bloom went down on his knees and took my still-dripping cock into his mouth. I groaned at the sensation of his lips running up and down my length. He sucked me wet, just like I'd taught him, alternating between using the suction of his cheeks and the plumpness of his lips to stimulate me.

I wanted to pull away, to tell him this was neither the time nor the place and he was keeping secrets from me, but I bucked my hips instead, fucking his throat. The uncertainty of the future might be to blame for my reckless abandon as I gave in to him. He was always so eager to tease. He spat saliva on my cock, stroking me while he licked the seam of my balls and popped them into his mouth.

A hum rang through me. "Bloom, this is—"

He alternated, squeezing my balls gently and sucking the head of my cock back into his mouth. He stared into my eyes, bobbing his head with each stroke.

"Fuck. Fuck. Bloom…"

I grunted as I came into his mouth while he seemed adamant about draining my balls and milking me. When he backed off and licked his lips, my weak knees almost gave out on me.

As gently as he could, he placed several kisses on my cock, the last one lingering with his eyes closed. A deep sense of foreboding washed over me. My heart pitter-pattered way too fast.

Bloom fixed my clothing and stood. "Let's go."

He slipped out ahead of me, so I had no choice but to follow him back into the dingy room.

"Bloom, tell me what you're planning."

"I have to tie your legs again."

"Why?"

"So you can't come after me."

"Come after you for what?"

"Sit, Logan. Please don't make this difficult. Their positions may change the longer I am here. I am banking on knowing exactly where they are."

"And if I don't cooperate?"

"One way or another, I'm tying your legs together, but I want to give you a more dignified way to do it."

"If I sit and let you tie that thing back around my legs, will you explain everything?"

"Yes."

Shit. I sat with my legs together. Bloom's jaw was set as he worked the belt around my ankles. I tried to create a space between them, but he wasn't that na?ve. Not in the illegal things. When he was done, he pressed a kiss to my lips. "Thanks for not being difficult."

"You promised to tell me what's going on."

"Like I said, I needed to check what was happening in the hospital. They're still occupying the rear exit you brought us to yesterday, so that's out of the question. I need to find a way to get you out."

"You mean get us out. I can help. I know this hospital better than you. Why do you have to restrain me?"

"Because you're gonna hate what I have to do."

"Which is?" I sat up straight, staring directly at him.

"I have to go back out there. Alone."

"No! No! I will not allow it."

"You don't have a choice. This is the one time I can't listen to you, so don't ask me to. Too much is at stake. I've called Crowe to explain where you are and that if he doesn't hear from me, he needs to get to you regardless of what those police officers think."

I shook my head slowly. His earlier words about his life not being as important as mine came back. He didn't believe that, did he? He wouldn't.

"I already know what you're going to say, Logan, so don't."

"This isn't what I want. We made it here together, and we can make it out together."

"I can't risk it. You're the one they want, not me."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"When I surveilled the place, I learned the reason they didn't come after you. Took a while to get information out of the slimeball I killed, but you'd be surprised what a man will confess with a little motivation."

"What do you mean?"

"They blame you for their leader's death."

"Me? He was involved in a shootout with the cops. How am I responsible for his death?"

"I don't know who spread the rumor, but they think we killed Two Fingers and left their leader to die alone in the operating room."

"What the fuck! He was already dead."

"You and I know that. They don't. They want you to pay and don't care how many people they have to kill for that to happen."

A lump formed in my throat. I'd survived all I had in my past for this? When I decided to become a doctor, I'd been so excited about this career. I was going to do great things and save lives. But this job was the biggest misfortune I'd ever had.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"Well, there's good news. Since their leader died, some have given themselves up to the police rather than go down with the rest, so I have fewer assholes to kill."

"Bloom—"

"I have to, Logan."

"Why? You don't need to do this."

"Because they hold several doctors and nurses hostage in the lunch room on the first floor, and they plan to kill one person every hour if you don't hand yourself over unless the cops meet their demands for a helicopter to get them out of the town. They want to take you as a hostage. From what Crowe says, backup has arrived to support the Smoky Vale PD, and they'll be making their move soon. The gang members are getting antsy. It's going to get bloody."

I stared at him, jaw slack. "You can't be serious."

"I'd never joke about anything concerning your life."

"But we have a greater chance of escaping together. Remove the restraints." I fought against the bonds, straining with the effort, but Bloom shook his head and pressed a calming hand to my chest.

"I know you too well. The minute you find out another victim has died, you will want to give yourself in. I won't allow it."

But how could I know innocent people were being killed because of me and not do anything about it? "It's the right thing to do. They've already killed too many. My life is one versus several doctors and nurses who—"

"But it's your life!" He grabbed the front of my shirt. "It's worth more than a hundred. Do you hear me, Logan? I wouldn't sacrifice you to save a thousand. You staying alive is all that matters."

I dragged heavy breaths into my lungs, his words lingering like a dense fog. This was all my fault. I'd enjoyed him putting me on a pedestal instead of showing him I was no different than him, than anyone else. My life was no more valuable than any of the other doctors. But from the determined angle of his jaw, I knew I couldn't convince him.

If he died because of me, how would I forgive myself? This wasn't his fight. My life was not his war zone, and I hadn't meant to conscript him as a soldier to defend it.

"Bloom, don't go. Stay here with me. Keep me tied up like this if you want. Just don't go."

"I have to."

"You don't!"

"If I stay here with you while they're killing all those people, you'll resent me. I don't want you to hate me, Logan. I'd rather you see me as a hero. I don't care about those people. I don't even care if they survive, but I have to do what you would to try and save them."

"I swear I won't hate you. Just stay."

Bloom slipped his fingers into my hair and kissed me. When he touched my face, his fingers trembled. He was afraid.

"Stay," I said against his lips. "Stay, dammit! I can't lose you."

He pressed his forehead to mine and smiled. "Hey, I'm more capable than you think. I can take them out. The good thing is that they're spread out. I can kill them off one by one."

"Why won't you let me help?"

"You will. You being here safe will help me to focus on getting business done." Bloom rose to his feet. "Accept it, Logan, just as I have. I'm not afraid to die, but I am terrified at the thought of losing you."

"Well…" My mind spun wildly, desperate to find anything to keep him with me. "If you die, I'll kill myself too. Then what would be the point of you doing this?"

Bloom backed up toward the door, his smile sweet but sad. "You won't. I'd do it for you without a doubt, but you don't love me that much to physically be unable to exist without me."

Numb, I watched him go, unable to find the right words to get him to stay. Only after he'd disappeared did it hit me. I never told him I loved him. What if he died, never knowing just how much he meant to me?