16. Patched Up

Chapter Sixteen

PATCHED UP

H er torn and bloodied jeans were in a pile next to her on the patient table inside Dr. Patty Kimmel's in-home clinic. Layne sat there in her underwear furiously typing on her phone.

Jonathan was doing his best not to directly stare at his half-dressed boss, despite her obvious lack of fucks given.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait outside?" He asked for the sixth time.

Growing more irritated every time he asked, Layne finally lowered her hands into her lap and looked over at him with exasperation filling her tone. "You want to be useful? Go outside and tell Joey and Gage to go the hell home."

The guys had followed Jonathan's car there to Dr. Patty's house, despite her repeated protests that her associate was more than capable of getting her there in one piece.

Unsure whose fury he would have rather endured in that moment, it seemed getting out of the room with Layne seemed the wisest decision. Jonathan took the opportunity and immediately scurried out into the hall.

A minute later, Layne could hear the front door close as he went to deliver her message. Did she really think either man lingering out front would listen to him? No, but it at least gave her a few minutes of peace with her thoughts.

She returned to tapping out a few more texts on her phone to her trusted techie, Brandon. From a short stool in front of Layne, the doctor glanced up at her and spoke without judgment in her voice. "You know as well as I do, Layne, that poor man is going to get an earful." She gave a soft chuckle.

Layne sighed. "His damn nervous energy was going to drive me insane if he stayed in here any long—" A hiss of pain escaped her lips as a fresh wave of pain coursed through her thigh.

"Sorry, all done." The woman in front of her finished wrapping the bandage around Layne's leg before getting up from the stool she had been perched on. With a light snapping sound, Dr. Patty removed the latex gloves from her hands and tossed them into a waste basket.

Silence filled the room, but it wasn't until Layne realized that Dr. Patty hadn't moved that she stopped her fingers' swift movements across the screen of her phone. The doctor was standing there with her hip cocked and a hand on her waist looking at Layne over the tops of her glasses.

"What?" Layne asked in clear confusion as to why she was getting a stern look from her private physician. Granted, getting stabbed wasn't an ideal visit, though very few of her visits were routine checkups. Layne would like to think she had been a half-decent patient in not punching the crap out of the doctor when the knife had been dislodged from her leg.

Dr. Patty pulled the glasses from her face and perched them on top of her head. "I know the look of trouble in paradise and I know you. Do you want my non-medical advice?"

"Are you going to give it to me anyway?" Layne had a feeling she knew the answer and expected to hear a long, drawn-out speech about playing nice in the sandbox, not being so damn stubborn, and how everything would be back to normal in a day or so. That was not the talk she got.

"Do they even know why you're pissed off?" She paused and then raised both her brows at Layne. "Do you even know why you're pissed off?"

The pointed questions weren't what Layne had expected. She took a moment to carefully mull over what she was asking then frowned. Layne started to respond, "I…" but then she realized she didn't have a worthy answer.

Layne's eyes watched as the doc moved over to the sink and grabbed an item off the counter. When she returned, she held her hand out to Layne. Lying there in her palm was the pocket knife belonging to Joey that Liam had rudely embedded in her leg.

Taking the weapon from Dr. Patty she gave a partial attempt at a smile. "Thanks."

Lowering her now empty hand, she continued, "I don't know Gage as well as I know Joey, but one of those men took a bullet for you. If that doesn't speak to his character, I don't know what does. So, whatever has you in a tizzy, the least you could do is clue them in on it. In all my years of practicing medicine, I have never come across a man who can read a woman's mind except when it comes to one thing. Even then, it's a rarity."

Looking down at the inscription on the knife, Layne nodded. The truth was, both men had taken a bullet for her. Would they be capable of betraying her trust after something like that? What if they really had gone so far as to break their bonds with her? Maybe they both decided that if she got to indulge in more than one partner, then they should be afforded that luxury as well.

Pulling Layne from her thoughts, the woman spoke as she moved to the door, "Just something to think about." She winked and gave a smile to Layne that was filled with kindness and warmth before leaving Layne to get dressed.

After dropping the knife into her jacket pocket, Layne was pulling up her jeans gingerly over her thighs as her phone began to ring. Answering, she pinned the phone to her ear with her shoulder as her fingers buttoned and zipped her pants. "Howdy, Cowboy. I'm guessing you got all my messages?"

Brandon spoke into her ear and what he said had her straightening up and taking the phone into her hand. "What do you mean the QR code leads to a site that needs a password? It's just a bunch of garbled nonsense when I pull the site up."

Unsurprisingly, Brandon was better at this tech bullshit than she was and was able to sort through the code to find the access point. Apparently, said portal needed a password. That was incredibly inconvenient.

Great, now she needed something she didn't have in order to contact a guy she didn't know. "Okay, I will work on it. What about the two photos I sent over to you?"

She listened carefully as Brandon explained that the photo of Mackenzie Pearson was legitimate, it was even posted on the girl's socials. He hadn't been able to find anything out about the father-to-be, effectively leaving Layne still questioning Joey's behavior when he was out of her sight.

There was some good news, the photograph of Gage was a complete fabrication, a good one but fake nonetheless. Fucking AI was getting better and better these days.

Cringing and feeling sheepish, Layne groaned at her idiocy for allowing Liam to fucking toy with her head.

Her hacker friend on the phone continued to give her updates on the other things he was working on, including finding out who had been with Liam at the Chinese restaurant. Brandon had been able to pull images of the two individuals and was cross-referencing their identities as he spoke.

She felt some of her stress melt away. "I appreciate the update. Let me know when you have a name or anything else useful." At least they were getting somewhere on finding out more about who was working with Liam.

As Layne said goodbye and hung up, she heard the front door of Dr. Patty's home aggressively slam shut followed by heavy stomps approaching the exam room.

Swinging the door open, Joey burst into the room, his voice booming in the quaint space. "What the hell is going on with you?! I'm not taking fucking orders from Jonathan just because you're being too chickenshit to come talk to us yourself!"

She opened her mouth to say something but he stepped up in front of her, continuing to yell so she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"When the hell are you going to get it through your thick fucking skull that we are doing every goddamn thing we can to protect your ass and take care of you?! Instead, you keep fighting us tooth, nail, and titty on it!" He kept leaning in towards her with each word he shouted in her face.

In frustration, he let out a growl before continuing his venting, "You are the biggest pain in my ass! I swear to God, if I didn't know better, I'd think you have a fuckin' death wish!"

Layne had enough of his anger being hurtled at her that she finally snapped and began to toss it right back at him. She squared her shoulders and her hand pushed at his chest as a warning for him to step back.

"Who the fuck do you think you are coming in here acting like you're not as big of a pain in the ass, huh?! You don't get to charge in here ready to unleash hell on me because you don't like what I'm doing! I didn't ask for either of you to fuckin' hover over me ready to protect me from a goddamn papercut!" Seeing that he hadn't budged from his position looming over her, she used both hands to shove him this time.

Joey's eyes widened before he pointed at her leg. "You call this a paper cut?!"

Gage came to the doorway of the room right as Layne was beginning to get physical with Joey. As equally frustrated with Layne as his brother was, he had still tried to talk him out of storming in here to wage a war none of them actually wanted. He made another attempt to intervene by firmly speaking up, "Both of you need to calm the fuck down."

With a glance at Gage, Joey sharply responded, "Fuck you! I am fucking calm!"

Layne scoffed at how clearly he was in fact not the least bit calm. "Get the hell out of my way. Gage can take me home."

When she went to shove him again, he defensively diverted her hands away with a firm push.

"Now all is good with him ‘cause he's not the one calling you out?!" The anger still boiled beneath Joey's skin.

"At least he's not going around knocking up some girl while working a contract!" The words just fumbled out of her mouth before she could realize she was saying them. Sometimes her temper could be a heinous bitch.

Gage's eyes widened enough that they nearly fell out of his head while wondering if he correctly heard what Layne had just said.

Joey froze, standing there slack-jawed like she had just slapped him. His lips moved to try and find a response, but no words fell from him. Stunned by her accusation, he watched as Layne pushed past him and stepped around Gage to leave the room.

"What is she talking about?" Gage looked at his brother hoping for clarification. He didn't want to murder his own brother, but if what Layne had said was true, he wouldn't hesitate.

Finally snapping out of trying to process what she had just claimed, he shook his head and stalked after her. "I have no fuckin' clue, but I'm about to find out," his voice calmer as he responded to Gage's question on his way by. Gage followed behind, needing the same answers.

Even fueled by her emotions, the fresh wound in her thigh had her moving slower than she would have liked. She had barely gotten to the front door when Joey ran up behind her and grabbed her by the elbow. He didn't let up when she rolled her shoulder to try and pull free from him.

Swinging her around to face him, Joey's confusion was quickly overriding the outrage he had been unleashing moments ago. "Layne! Have you lost your mind? What in the hell are you talking about?"

Her face was flushed and she refused to meet his eyes. "Just forget it."

"Forget it?!" He caught himself beginning to relight the extremely short fuse he currently had going on. Taking a deep and steady breath, he did his best to ground himself. "Who is knocking up who?" It sounded ridiculous even to ask the question. He lowered his face down trying to force her to look into his concerned brown hues.

Layne saw the doctor standing at the far end of the hall, overseeing the scene unfold. The look she was giving Layne reminded her of the one she had given earlier when she had asked what had Layne so upset.

She shifted her eyes from Dr. Patty to look at Joey who was waiting on her to give an explanation. Layne's emerald eyes were fighting not to fill with tears as she quietly said the name, "You and Mackenzie Pearson."

Joey wrinkled his forehead, becoming more perplexed. " Mackenzie ?" The way he spoke her name was like it could leave an STD in his mouth. Good God, he wouldn't have touched that twisted bitch no matter how much she paid him.

Explaining further, "Yeah, I mean it all makes sense. You were so damn off that night you came home from the job and refused to talk about it. You've never been that way after a job–ever." Layne shrugged defeatedly before attempting to pry herself out of his grasp again only to remain unsuccessful.

He stared at her trying to wrap his head around what alternate universe Layne thought they were living in. Then, Joey couldn't help it when a laugh bubbled up from his chest at the insanity of it all. He tried to hold it back, but the more his brain envisioned fucking Mackenzie the next few laughs couldn't be contained.

Layne scowled at him. "I'm glad you find this fucking amusing, asshole." Taking his laughter as a sign of admission, she was damn near the point of kicking him in the balls to see if he thought that shit was funny, too.

His hand released her elbow only so he could take a firm hold of her face with both hands, looking her directly in the eyes. He failed miserably at containing his smile despite his efforts to be serious with her. "Layney, first of all, I'm not putting babies in anybody—not even you. I had that shit snipped years ago."

Seeing Layne's skepticism still etched over her features, he reassured her, "I will go jack off in a cup right now and Dr. Patty can have it analyzed just to confirm that all I got are blanks."

"Fine, then you're not the father. Congrats." Her voice was completely flat and devoid of any emotion. It still didn't mean that Joey hadn't slept with the dumb hoe.

His thumb rubbed over her cheek, trying to stroke away her doubts. "Second, the reason I was in a bad mood that night wasn't because I had to come home to you after fucking someone else. It's because Mackenzie is a whack job, she's the one who hired me to take out her dad. She wasn't even supposed to be there that night. I was trying to get the job done and she fucking grabbed my dick—twice." He shuddered at the memory. "Then, when I tied her up to make it look like a home invasion gone wrong–and so she would keep her hands to herself–she kept moaning like a beached whale and begging me to do weird shit to her."

Joey felt dirty even thinking about that night. "Layne, it was the worst contract I've ever taken because I had to deal with her." He was also certain if he had fucked the girl, his dick would have disintegrated into ashes from some undiscovered venereal disease.

Layne's cheeks began to grow hot as Joey began to explain away all her concerns about his faithfulness. All the concerns that had spiraled out of control in her mind thanks to all the stress Liam's bullshit was causing her.

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip as she scrunched her brows together, realizing that maybe she overreacted and her possessiveness over the two guys got the better of her. It wasn't like her to jump to conclusions, but nothing about what was going on in her life right now felt normal.

He shook his head at her and brought his mouth down onto hers lovingly to grab her attention for what he had to say next. "Not once since the day I met you has my cock been in another woman, and it never will be. You understand me?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry… Liam had mentioned it, then today he showed me these pictures to try to show me you both aren't as loyal to me as I thought."

Gage stiffened hearing the source of all the lies being fed to her and grumbled, "That little prick doesn't have shit on me."

Her gaze shifted to settle on Gage while she frowned with embarrassment. "I thought he did, he sent me a picture of you at the club with two girls. It ended up being a fake, but it looked so damn real and my head was already spinning by that point."

Pulling her into a hug, Joey gave her a hard squeeze and a peck on the forehead before he released her.

Gage took his place, capturing her chin with his fingers as he traced the bottom of her lip with the pad of his thumb. "Layne Nicole De Luca," he spoke with a playful sternness but still used her full name to emphasize how serious he was. "Until there is a day where you no longer want to wear my collar, you are the only woman that exists for me. If you haven't learned that by now, I may need to finally put you on my St. Andrew's cross."

He smirked at her, already thinking how she would look spread for him on the x-frame. Gage leaned in and affectionately locked his mouth onto hers to help wash away any of the fabrications and doubts Liam had tried to fill her head with.

When the sweet moment concluded, she suddenly remembered one more thing. "Oh!" Her hand dove into her jacket pocket and pulled out Joey's pocket knife. "This is yours." Layne offered it to him.

Joey perked up a brow seeing that it indeed was his knife. Unnerved that Liam had gotten his hands on it and then used it on Layne, his jaw ticked as he swallowed his rage. He had been looking for that knife for several weeks and assumed it was hiding out somewhere in O'Reilly Manor.

Shaking his head, Joey nudged the closed blade back into her hand. "Hold onto it. I'll let you return it to Liam in whatever method you feel he deserves." He didn't want anything responsible for spilling Layne's blood in his possession.

Dr. Patty smiled as she watched Layne with the two men in her life who were bound to her with the utmost devotion. She knew the late Scott O'Reilly would have been so proud of his daughter, no matter how unexpected her life had taken a turn.