15. Jag’s Answer

15

JAG’S ANSWER

When Jag didn’t reply, Niall cracked his eyes open. He found Jag smiling. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“You’re smiling because of the reason you went to jail?” Niall asked incredulously.

“I don’t regret it.”

Niall remembered how Jag didn’t even flinch at the sight of blood. “Did you kill someone?”

“Yes.”

Just like that. Jag didn’t even bat an eyelid.

Niall’s heart quickened. From nerves? He didn’t know. But he knew that Jag was telling the truth. And that Jag had never once touched him with the intention to hurt. “W-why did you do it?”

“Because he beat his omega.” Jag narrowed his eyes. “Lilith’s a good friend of mine. I warned her alpha not to lay a hand on her, and he beat her until she had bone fractures. I only found out two days after the fact. Couldn’t claim self-defense. But I didn’t care at that point. I just wanted him to die, because he’d only get a light sentence in jail, and he’d come back out to hurt someone again.

“Right after I’d killed him, Lilith wanted me to be her alpha, to save me from jail, but we didn’t have any proof of an alpha-omega bond between us.”

And so Jag went to jail—because alphas could only kill someone who was physically threatening their own omega.

Niall suddenly understood why Evan had been so blasé about Jag being an ex-con.

“Are you scared of me now?” Jag asked gently.

Niall shook his head. “You still make me feel safe.”

Jag smiled. “Good.”

They pulled into the hospital’s parking lot soon after. Niall squirmed and squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to panic. “I don’t like needles.”

“I’ll see what I can do, sweetheart. No one will hurt you. I won’t let them.”

“Okay.”

Jag made Niall look when he shut the door. He hurried around to the passenger side and scooped Niall into his arms, carrying him to the ER.

The waiting area was crowded. There were too many people for Niall to feel safe, but it wasn’t as though Jag could do anything about it. So Niall tucked his face into Jag’s shoulder, seeking out Jag’s mahogany scent under his own vanilla.

The triage nurse came to look at Niall’s hands. Then she left, and Jag growled.

“This is taking too long,” he muttered.

He brought Niall to a chair in the corner, sitting with Niall in his lap. With one arm holding Niall close, he pulled out his phone, speaking quietly into it.

“Hey, T-bag. You got a moment? Niall and I are at the ER right now. He fell and hurt his hands. I don’t know how badly, but he’s bleeding. Yeah. Could you pull some strings? I want him home as soon as possible. Thanks. Yeah, that’s fine. I will. Bye.”

Niall stirred against him, breathing through all the pain in his hands. “T-bag? Troy?”

Jag huffed. “I thought it’d be funny to call him T-bag instead of D-bag. The nickname stuck. And Evan may show up at some point.”

Niall groaned. “He’s going to get all overprotective on me.”

“Can’t help you there, sweetheart. If I’m asking Troy for a favor, Evan’s bound to find out.”

Niall whined into Jag’s shoulder. Jag dropped soft kisses down his neck.

A nurse came by to give Niall a mask. Whatever gas it fed him, it worked, because his pain faded.

“Does it still hurt?” Jag asked.

Niall shrugged slightly, careful not to jostle his hands. “I’ve had worse. But... it’s been a while since I’ve hurt this badly.”

Jag tensed, growling at the back of his throat.

“It’s okay,” Niall mumbled. “It’s in the past.”

“I wish you never had to suffer any of that,” Jag said through gritted teeth.

Troy must’ve done something. A nurse came by to clean Niall’s wounds; his skin had split when his bones snapped. Jag reluctantly placed Niall in the wheelchair that another nurse provided, and followed him to his x-ray.

It all passed in a blur after that: Jag holding Niall’s shoulder even though the x-ray technician wanted him to stand further away, Jag cradling Niall’s head against his abdomen when the doctor aligned his bones. He dropped kisses all over Niall’s face when a nurse stitched up his wounds, and rubbed his back when they set his hands in a cast.

Then they were back in Jag’s truck, finally on their way home.

“That was faster than I expected,” Niall said exhaustedly.

“The wonders of pulling strings, huh?”

“I guess.” Niall stared at his hands. They looked like big, clumsy blocks, both better and worse than usual. Better, because he didn’t have to see how shriveled they were. Worse, because: “I can’t use them for four to six weeks. Probably six. This is really going to suck.”

Jag glanced over, surprised. “What do you use your hands for?”

“All kinds of small things. Like poking my keyboard and scooping things up. I have tools that wrap around my hand, like wearable spoons. But those can’t fit over the casts.”

“I can help.”

“I don’t want you to help me with everything,” Niall protested. “It’s too much for you.”

“What if I want to?”

“Are you going to help me pee in the middle of the night if I need it?”

“Yes.”

Niall stared. And cringed. “I don’t want to wake you up for stupid things.”

More patiently than Niall deserved, Jag said, “They’re not stupid. If you need something done, I’ll do it.”

“Alphas don’t do that in real life!”

Jag raised an eyebrow. Niall bit his lip. Jag had asked for a chance to prove himself. And Niall’s broken hands would give him plenty of chances.

Warily, Niall asked, “What’s in it for you?”

“A beautiful omega needing me,” Jag said honestly. “Is there a better reason?”

“I guess not.” Niall fidgeted. It was strange to think that this might be real—an alpha who liked doing things for him. An alpha who thought Niall was beautiful. “I thought this only happens in books and movies.”

“All fiction is based on some truth, right?” Jag smiled. “Are you really turning down my help?”

“No.”

Jag’s smile grew. “You’re welcome to live with me for the duration, if you’d like. If the construction noise is too loud for you during the day, you could spend just your nights in my bed.”

Niall shivered. “Just sleeping?”

“I could be convinced to do more than sleep.”

Niall almost agreed, until he remembered his dentures. “I don’t know. We’ll see.”

“Alright.”

Niall straightened when the truck turned down their street. There was a new purple car in his driveway—that he took a moment to place. “Damn it. Ever since Evan got a new car, it always feels weird when he’s home.”

“Is this still his home?” Jag asked pointedly.

Niall sighed. “No.”

And maybe he envied his brother—bonded with his mates, with babies and a family to care for. Niall didn’t even have working hands; how would he raise a child?

Jag squeezed his thigh. “He’s happy to come visit you.”

Niall sighed harder. Jag wasn’t missing his hands. He wouldn’t understand.

Evan was out of his car by the time they parked. He stalked up to the truck’s passenger door with his brow furrowed, shadows under his eyes.

Without Niall having to ask, Jag unbuckled Niall’s seatbelt, cracking open the passenger door.

Evan was in Niall’s space immediately. “Niall! Are you okay?”

Niall shrugged, lifting his bandaged hands. “I broke them.”

His brother was horrified. “You what? How?”

Niall winced. “I tripped.”

“You—” Evan narrowed his eyes accusingly at Jag. “Why’d Jag let you trip?”

Oh, gods. this was going to sound so bad. “I was running away.”

Evan looked positively murderous. “Why?”

With his forearms, Niall pushed Evan away from the truck. It wasn’t until they were almost back at their house, that Niall mumbled, “Because he kissed me and I wasn’t ready. Because of my teeth.”

Evan’s mouth fell open. “He kissed you?”

“Hey! Alphas can find me attractive, okay?”

“It’s not that. I just didn’t think...” Evan glanced at Jag. “He’s a lot older than you.”

Niall rolled his eyes. “ You are bonded to his brother. Same difference!”

“I guess it makes sense, if he wants someone to protect.” Evan rubbed his chin and looked at Jag again. Too obviously. “Does he know about your teeth?”

Niall shrugged. “I haven’t shown him. But I think he suspects.”

Evan watched warily as Jag hopped out of the truck and strode toward them.

Jag extended his hand to Evan. “I thought I’d meet you sooner.”

Evan sighed grumpily but accepted the handshake. “Turns out, having triplets plus an older kid is hell on my sleep.”

Jag cracked a smile. “I’m sure they’re a handful.”

“They are. Anyway, I know you can probably knock me out with a punch,” Evan said, suddenly fierce. “But don’t you dare hurt Niall. He’s been through enough.”

Jag shook his head. “I feel the same way. The last thing I want to do is hurt him.”

“Good.”

They stared at each other for a charged moment. Then Jag nodded at Niall and Evan, and headed toward his house.

He wasn’t even near his front door when Evan said to Niall, “I saw your newsletter about the new book. Really? You’re writing about him?”

Niall panicked and almost clocked Evan in the face with his cast-heavy hands. “Evan! Shut up!”

His heart pounding, Niall turned and caught the slight pause in Jag’s step.

“He heard,” Niall hissed. “Oh, gods!”

Evan’s eyes almost fell out of his head. In a whisper, “He doesn’t know?”

“No! Why would I tell him? I started that book thinking—it’d be a fun book. Just a fantasy. I never expected things to happen between us! And now it’ll just be creepy if I let him know.”

Evan made a face. But he started looking contemplative. “If you want him as your alpha, you can’t hide anything from him, you know. You’ll have to let him see the worst parts of you, and trust that he’ll accept them.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Niall asked in a small voice.

“Then he’s not worth your time.”

“It would just end up awkward if he continues to be my neighbor,” Niall mumbled. And he’d be lonely, too, because Jag was the only alpha Niall trusted to touch him in a good way, and not fuss about his hands. “It’s a lot to risk.”

“Would you rather keep living a lie, then?”

Living a lie was literally Niall’s job. His books were a nice place to hide in. “I don’t know.”

Evan pulled him into a hug. “Think about it.”