Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

Eros

Z eppelin stepped into the kitchen, his hair damp from his shower—a shower I refused to join him in, even though I needed to wash the day off of me as well. Instead, I’d grabbed my clothes and showered in the guest bathroom, too angry to share even bathroom space with my husband.

He’d overreacted last night—badly. The only thing he had going for him was that he’d confessed what he’d done as soon as I woke up. That was it. Otherwise, he was a total dick who’d broken the heart of one of the kindest, most selfless men I’d ever known. Jaxon had already been through so much—losing his wife, being one of those things. Fuck, he’d even taken on two other kids. Granted, they were his son’s boyfriends or whatever, but still. It was clear he was doing his best to make their transition into adulthood easier. He was being a fucking father to them when their parents clearly weren’t.

There’d been so much pain in Jaxon’s eyes when I’d seen him at the police station. He’d looked haggard and broken, like he was just too tired to function. When I’d tried talking to him, Ezra had intercepted, telling me to fuck off. For Ezra to be that upset when he was usually the easy-going, quiet one of the bunch, I knew Zeppelin had royally fucked up everything for both of us.

Fuck, I hadn’t even done anything wrong. And had I been awake when Zeppelin lost his shit at Jaxon, I wouldn’t have let Jaxon leave.

I… loved him. I loved Jaxon as much as I loved Zeppelin, and losing him fucking hurt . Like the beating organ inside my chest was being ripped out, each artery and vein being slowly plucked from the bloody organ so I felt every fucking painful, agonizing beat of my heart.

“I’m sorry,” Zeppelin rasped, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweats. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, leaving all his tattooed skin on display. Usually, I would ogle the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen, but I was too hurt. Too angry. Too… too fucking everything .

I jerkily wiped down the kitchen counter, turning away from him. “You know he called the office today?” I snapped, tension riding my shoulders. “I didn’t speak to him—hadn’t known he called until the end of the day when Miranda told me about it. He asked for all of Ash’s records to be transferred to another vet.” I dropped the wipe into the trashcan and turned to face my asshole of a husband. “We’re fucking losing him, Zeppelin, and it’s because of you .”

Zeppelin scrubbed his hands down his face. I hated that I was hurting for him, too, even though he’d caused all of this. Because my husband looked just as broken as I felt. “I thought?—”

“Thought what ?” I snapped, cutting him off. “That he was betraying you? Gossiping about you? You should have known better. He bled for you, goddammit. He allowed you to rip him open and fucking hurt him, Zeppelin.” Zeppelin swallowed thickly, his face paling a little. “He gave you everything you fucking needed in that moment, and you thought he would just take the first fucking opportunity he had to run his mouth about you? You’ve got to be a fucking idiot.”

“I know,” Zeppelin said quietly, staring at me with so much pain, it cut me. I hated seeing Zeppelin hurt. He’d already been through so damn much. He had enough trauma to fill a fucking football stadium. I never wanted him to hurt like this, but dammit, his actions had hurt me, too. “I want to fix this. I just… I don’t know how ,” he croaked, his words strangled. He flailed his hands helplessly, breaking my heart even more. His tongue flicked out over his lips, his gaze pleading. God , he looked so fucking broken.

His voice cracked as he confessed, “He told me he fucking loves me, Eros.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “He… he told me he loves me, and I just… I fucking panicked. I panicked and sent him away and?—”

I couldn’t stand there a second longer, watching him suffer like that. Fucking spiraling. I wrapped him in my arms, squeezing him to me. And Zeppelin fucking broke down, tucking his face into my neck and crying, his tears wetting my shirt. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he croaked, clinging to me. “I’m so sorry, Eros.”

I held him tighter, my own eyes glistening with tears, but I held them back. “You’re going to fix this,” I whispered, sounding like I’d been chewing and swallowing gravel. “You will. I fucking know you will.” I stepped back and grasped his damp cheeks in my palms, letting my eyes meet his sorrowful dark ones. “I’ll go talk to him tomorrow. I know one of his kids will be around, so I’ll see if they’ll back off a bit so you can see him and fix things, okay?” I brushed some tears off his cheeks with my thumbs. “I love you. I’ll always love you, even when you fuck up. And I know he still loves you, too.”

Zeppelin shook his head. “I’ll hurt you, too,” he whispered.

I shook my head. “Just like Jaxon, baby, I’ll bleed for you, too,” I promised him. “Figuratively or literally. I’m yours. I’ll always be yours. But Jaxon belongs to us, too. You have to make this right.”

Zeppelin nodded and then tugged me back to him. We stood there in silence, wrapped in each other’s arms. I didn’t know how long we stood in that kitchen for, holding each other, but eventually, the sun went down completely, and stars twinkled in the sky, the moon shining into the kitchen, casting us in a silvery glow.

After making sure Zeppelin ate and drank his coffee, I left him at the tattoo shop after he promised me he would stay there all day and not try to take this situation into his own hands. He was too overbearing and too pressuring. I had no idea what state of mind Jaxon would be in, so I wanted to get him open to seeing Zeppelin first.

I thought he might be just by the way he’d been staring at Zeppelin yesterday—longing and pain in his eyes. But I also knew he had three overprotective kids—one of those kids being one that wasn’t afraid to throw his fists around and get arrested to protect the man who’d become his father figure. He’d done a number to my husband. Zeppelin’s eye was black, and his throat was bruised in the shape of Logan’s hand.

The drive to Jaxon’s took me about ten minutes since traffic was light. When I pulled into the driveway, I saw Logan’s Jeep parked next to Jaxon’s Toyota. Sighing and preparing myself for a fight, I angled out of my car and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell, my heart in my throat and my stomach in knots.

The door opened, and Spencer blinked at me in surprise. “Oh, hey,” he said, smiling at me, though it looked a little uneasy. “What’s up?”

“Um, is Jaxon home?” I asked, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “I want to talk to him.”

Spencer grimaced. “Dad…” He sighed. “Dad flew to Atlanta on a red-eye flight last night.”

I blinked. Then, I blinked again. Because, surely, I hadn’t heard him right. “What?” I asked, not understanding. “He… left?”

Spencer nodded, scuffing his foot along the rug beneath his bare feet. “I think he needed some space or alone time. I’m not sure. He’s been a… mess, to put it lightly.” I swallowed thickly, unsure what to do with this new information. “He asked me to come take care of Ash, so since we can’t have pets at the apartment, Logan, Ezra, and I are staying here until he comes back.”

I rubbed at my arm, feeling displaced. How was I meant to fix all this shit when Jaxon had dipped out of town? “When is he supposed to be back?”

Spencer shrugged, his eyes pinched. “I don’t know, honestly. He didn’t book a return flight. Just said he’d be back once his head was clear.” He offered me a tight smile. “I wish I knew more, Eros. I really do. I know Logan and Ezra have been… rude, but I know this wasn’t your fault.”

I nodded. “Thanks,” I rasped. “I, uh—if you have any problems with Ash, please call me or bring her into the office. I know he transferred her records, but?—”

“I will,” Spencer assured me. “She should continue seeing the vet she’s been seeing from the get-go anyway.”

I nodded, lost for words, and turned on my heel, walking back to my car. Once I was in the driver’s seat, I grabbed my phone from the passenger seat and texted Jaxon.

Eros: I’m sorry you and Zeppelin had a falling out, but please don’t cut me out, Jax. I miss you. There has to be a way to fix all of this.