Sean

Coming awake from being unconscious, it took a few seconds for me to realize that was what was happening, and finding the woman I love crying next to me and promising she’d come back and not hold me to my words of love was enough to snap me entirely out of the haze. There was no way I’d let her back out. I heard her say she loved me. Touching her face and having her react with tears had me trying to assure her that the accident wasn’t her fault. It was that asshole driving the truck. When she continued to say it was her fault, I pushed to drive home that I meant every word I said about loving her and asking her how to get her forgiveness.

The tears and her beloved face were too much. I knew the last kiss failed epically, but I had to kiss her again. When she responded, I let the bliss of it take over. There was passion behind her kiss, just like there was in mine. This time, when I teased her lips with the tip of my tongue, she immediately opened and let me slip my tongue inside. Her tongue came to meet mine, and it twined around it.

For years, I’d tried to imagine what it would be like to kiss her and what she’d taste like. My imagination didn’t come close to how wonderful reality was. Cassidy always had this thing for Jolly Ranchers candy. She loved them, no matter the flavor. She had since she was a kid. We loved to tease her about it, and we’d leave gifts of them randomly for her. You’d think we left her diamonds when she’d get them.

It should’ve been no surprise that she tasted sweet like them, but underneath the sweet candy taste was a different sweet—one that I could only think was her. I avidly deepened the kiss, but I couldn’t seem to get enough. I tried to bring her closer. As I did, I became aware I was getting hard. Hell, I was always half-hard whenever I was around her, even having an innocent conversation. It was no shock to find myself fully there when we kissed. She moved closer and pressed her body to mine. When she did, I became aware of other sensations. These weren’t so welcome. It was pain and soreness. I hissed. That broke the spell, and she was pulling away from me in a blink.

Her face was flushed, and she was breathing a little hard, which I loved to see, but I saw worry and remorse on her face, too. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she exclaimed. She tried to move away from the bed, but I grabbed her hand to keep her there. I wanted the least distance between us possible.

“Don’t move. I know you didn’t. It’s just a few sore spots. More kisses will make it all better,” I said with a smile.

That got her frown to change to a smile. “I bet they would, but you need to see the doctor. I need to get someone.”

“Then go get someone, but please, don’t leave. Come back.”

Her tender look made me relax. “No one is getting rid of me. I’ll be right back. Try to relax. Tension will only make the pain worse.”

I reluctantly let go of her. If she slipped away, I’d get out of this bed no matter how much it hurt and hunt her down. I wasn’t losing her again. Now that she confessed she still loved me, nothing would stop me from convincing her that I loved her and that we were meant to be together. I was a man with a mission, and they didn’t call me Fiend for no reason.

Most people would take the name to mean I was evil, a devil. In my case, it referred to a lesser-known definition of the word. Fiend meant expert, too. With things that I found worth it, I became highly knowledgeable and skilled in them. I relentlessly pursued and perfected the knowledge and skills pertaining to them. The guys in my SEAL team who gave me the name said I would lock on and never stop until satisfied. Acquiring Cassidy and her love would be my most fiendish effort. I would excel at being a lover and partner to her in every way.

As I waited impatiently and somewhat anxiously for her to return, I recalled the accident, the impact moment, and the subsequent pain, more specifically. Damn, that had hurt. It wasn’t the worst pain I’d ever felt, but the residual was making itself known. My head was pounding, and my upper chest felt like every bone had been broken. It was funny that I felt none of it when I was kissing her. As time ticked by, I grew more anxious. Goddamn it, she’d left. When the curtain opened, I was trying to sit up and get the rail down on the bed. In stepped a man and a woman. Relief filled me as they parted to go to either side of my bed. There was Cassidy. Her smile changed to a frown.

“Sean, what in the world are you doing?” she asked. Her hands went to her hips, and she crooked an eyebrow at me. I loved that look, even when it was aimed at me.

I gave her my best innocent look. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit. You were trying to get up. Are you trying to make your injuries worse? I swear, if you don’t stay there and let them make sure you’re alright, I’ll tie you to that bed.”

I couldn’t help it. The words slipped out. “Baby, if you want to tie me up, all you gotta do is say so. Though I’d prefer if it were somewhere more private.”

She blushed. The doctor chuckled softly, and the nurse giggled. Doc was the one to come to the rescue. “Well, I see you’re alert and able to converse. I’d like to check out a few other things, Mr. Walterson, to be sure of the full extent of your injuries. I do ask that you wait on the tying up, though.” He grinned as he said it. I liked him already.

Cassidy groaned and covered her face with her hand. “He won’t die if he can say stuff like that. Why don’t you do whatever you need to do? I need to go to the waiting area.”

“Cass, please, don’t leave. I’ll behave,” I said hastily.

She came to stand next to the nurse and took my hand. She squeezed it. “Sean, I’m not leaving-leaving. I’ll come back as soon as they’re done. I need to tell Griff and Gabe that you’re awake and talking. They’re worried to death but allowed me to sit with you. I’m not leaving the hospital. I promise on Mark’s soul.”

Hearing her say Mark’s name made me want to cringe, but I didn’t. That was another sin I’d have to make up for one day, God willing. She had no idea the secret the three of us kept about her brother. Hopefully, she’d be too happy to hate us for keeping her in the dark when she found out.

“They’re here?”

“Of course they are. Surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t call them or they wouldn’t come running? They flew in. Now, let them do what they need to do. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she said before dropping a swift kiss on my mouth, and then she was gone.

“Alright, let’s get started. I’m Dr. Troy, and this is Nurse Pia. You’re a fortunate man. So far, our tests show a better scenario than we hoped for. While you were out, we did an MRI. You appear not to have any internal injuries to major organs or bleeding that we can see. The organs in your upper body have been bruised. Your sternum and ribs, while painful, I have no doubt, aren’t fractured by some miracle. You have hard bones.”

“What about my head? It hurts like hell,” I asked.

“Ah, yes, we didn’t see anything on the brain MRI other than a concussion, but we’d like to be sure. We want you to stay here a while to ensure nothing unexpected crops up. Before you leave, we’ll do another set of MRIs to be sure. You did strike your head hard, and there’s a laceration there in addition to the concussion. Also, we did have to do bloodwork. The police insisted we test you for the presence of drugs and alcohol. We did it because they had a warrant. I’ve never seen them get one that fast. I thought you should know.”

“Alcohol and drugs, why the hell would they need that? I was the victim of the accident. I guess I can see how they have to rule out everything, but—” I was cut off by the curtain opening again. Only this time, it wasn’t Cassidy or even my brothers. It was two men in uniform, cops. As they entered my space without asking, Cassidy, Gabe, and Griff came right behind them. Those three were glaring at the back of the cops’ heads.

“Officers, you can’t be in here yet. I’m not done assessing Mr. Walterson,” Dr. Troy reprimanded them.

“We have some questions for him. He seems wide awake to me. What were the results of his toxicology tests?” the taller cop asked.

Before the doctor could answer, Gabe pushed forward and crowded the cops. He was giving them his best pissed-off look. You didn’t mess with Midas unless you wanted him to fuck up your life or take it.

“Officer O’Grady, you and your partner were informed that no questions would be answered until our lawyer arrived. You lost that privilege when you badgered Cassidy and Vader. You seem more worried about finding some way to pin the accident on our brother than the man who ran the red light. We’d like to know why. I have your chief’s name and number. Should I call him? As for toxicology results, those will be shared if our lawyer deems you’ve gone through the proper channels to have them drawn. Sean, good to see you awake, brother. Say nothing.”

I smiled and relaxed back. Usually, I’d take the lead and lay down the law to someone like this, but I was content to let Gabe and Griffin do it this time. O’Grady’s scowl grew darker. His partner was casting angry looks at my brothers and Cassidy. I didn’t like it. I held out my hand.

“Cassie, baby, come here. I need your hand.” I might’ve phrased it more as an order than a request, but she skirted around the cops and came right to me. She smiled and took my hand.

“Listen, I don’t know what your people’s problem is, but we have a job—,” the other cop said but was cut off by Dr. Troy.

“This is a hospital. You can’t be back here. Officers, please go back to the waiting area. It seems you have to wait for a lawyer. As for the three of you, I’ll give you a couple of minutes to say hi, and then all but one of you has to leave. I promise we’ll get him situated as fast as we can.”

Boring holes through us, if possible, the officers reluctantly left. When they did, all of us relaxed. Doc rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what’s got into those two. We’ve dealt with them before, but I’ve not seen them this insistent.”

“I have. Sometimes, they seem to get an idea in their heads, and they want to badger certain people,” Pia stated softly.

“Flanagan will take care of them. He should be here soon. So, how’s he doing, Doc? Sorry, how rude of me. I’m Gabriel Pagett, and this is Griffin Voss. We’re this one’s best friends.” He held his hand out to the doctor. They shook hands, and then Griffin shook the doc’s. They nodded to the nurse since she was on the opposite side of the bed.

“Gentlemen, nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Troy, and this is Pia. Are you alright with me sharing your medical condition with these three? I’ve got to ask.”

“They’re the only three who have permission to know everything or to make decisions for me. Make sure that’s noted on my chart.”

“Pia, make sure to do that. Let me review what we already told Mr. Walterson, and then we can go from there. I still need to do a physical exam.”

“Call me Sean, please.”

He nodded and then got to talking. He didn’t share anything new. When he was done, my crew asked him how long I might be here, and they all gave me awkward hugs because I was in bed. They promised to be back soon, then left. Cassidy remained behind.

“Miss, I’m going to do a physical exam. Are you staying…” Dr. Troy petered off.

“I’ll step outside the curtain. I’ll be back as soon as they’re done, Sean.”

As much as I didn’t care what she saw, I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. Maybe being banged up wasn’t the image I wanted in her head. I let her go. Troy and Pia got to it after she was on the other side of the curtain. He rattled off things to her, mainly orders, and she assisted when he wanted to do things like roll me over to check out my backside. I admit, being in this gown and having a woman who I wasn’t planning to have sex with see my cock and ass was rather weird. Especially when Cassidy was outside the curtain. As odd as it sounded, I felt like I was cheating on her. Eventually, they finished up, and Cass was called back inside. She came right to my side and held my hand.

“Well, you’re lucky. There are a few small nicks and lacerations from the flying glass—nothing serious or needing sutures. The cut on your head will need to be kept clean and dry. We’ll go over how to care for it later. Movement will be painful for a while. We’d like to keep you for observation for the next few hours. We’ll move you to a different area for that. As long as you exhibit no new issues, you should be able to go home later today. I’ll say it again: you were fortunate. We’ll get you moved over. You can have two visitors at a time there.”

Wanting to do whatever it took to get out of here, I didn’t disagree. As Dr. Troy and Pia got things in place to move me, I stayed there, content to hold Cassie’s hand. I knew we needed to talk, but not here. I’d wait until we got out of here.