“I don’t have answers to either of those questions yet.” That was a lie; he knew Neil wasn’t going to be able to work again. Not as a cop. Even without the hip, the PTSD from this incident alone would keep Neil off the street. His hands began to shake, and he paced away from the door and down the hall to where it was quieter. “But…no.”
“I’m sorry that he’s hurt. It’s so hard to see your lover down. Have either of you eaten? Can I have something sent to you?”
“Alain left etouffee…” They hadn’t eaten, and his boy’s hard work was going to waste in their kitchen. “I’m not hungry. Maybe something for Alain; he’s trying so hard.” He took a deep breath. “Brandon. They beat the hell out of him. His face, his chest, his arms…they wanted to kill him.”
“Motherfuckers. They don’t have any idea? None at all? He’s a fucking cop at work!”
“I know!” Isaac nodded because that was exactly how he felt. He wanted Neil to tell him who did this so he could track them down and…and violate the fuck out of his Hippocratic Oath. But he needed to control that emotion. Poor Alain needed him steady, and it wasn’t going to help anyway. “Neil was into something. If this is related, then they know more than they’re saying.” Neil’s partner hadn’t even seemed rattled. He hadn’t seemed to care at all.
And actually, Neil hadn’t ever mentioned having a partner. So the guy was either an ass, a liar, or both.
“And if it wasn’t related, then it was just Neil being Neil, trying to handle something alone that he shouldn’t have.”
“Well, I’d say I was shocked, but…”
“Yeah.” Exactly. There was so much weight in that one word.
Neil was who he was. If there was a wrong, he was going to right it, and if someone needed help, he was the first in line. There were deep-seated reasons for it in his past, and Isaac was already envisioning the difficult sessions they were going to have to have if Neil had to give up his career.
“And Alain…with his background, and now this. He’s being so strong right now, and I hate that for him.”
“He’s a nurturer, or so Peter tells me. He’ll be invaluable to you when Neil’s home and recovering.”
“I expect so. And I think it will be good for him too. I just hope Alain lets me be invaluable to him, you know? I can see him struggling with that.” Alain seemed to define himself by how well he took care of people. But he would need taking care of too.
“You will have your hands full. I’d offer to send Cyrus over to juggle this, but…” Brandon’s tease almost made him laugh.
His eyes narrowed reflexively, and he couldn’t help his grin, even if Brandon couldn’t see it. “Don’t you dare. I’ve got too many Doms in my house as it is.”
“Well… Neil is a mini-Dom…”
That did make him laugh, the words shocking it out of him.
“Jesus, Brandon. Don’t tellhimthat.” He was still chuckling. “Imagine? He’d probably leave me.” One thing he knew for certain; Neil didn’t think of himself as anything less than a capable Dom when he was in that mood. And from what he’d seen, Isaac had to agree. That was what had kept them apart for so long.
“That will never happen. That man loves you completely. Although the discussion where he discussed switching with my boy? Hysterical.”
“He discussed it with Peter? Jesus, he could hardly get the words out to discuss it with me.”
“He wasn’t trying to be amazing for Peter. He was just being adude. Peter’s word, not mine.”
“Well, thank Peter for his concise assessment.” He chuckled again. “I may ask to borrow your boy tomorrow. Alain will need to get out of here.”
“Of course. We’ll come down, and I’ll do whatever y’all need.” Every so often, the Texan came out of Brandon, even after all this time.
“Okay. Thank you. You’ve been good to us, and I appreciate that. I better get back inside to my boys.”
“I’ll call before bed to check on everyone. I’m hoping for a good night for him.”
“Thank you, Brandon. Give your boy a nice spanking for me.” He chuckled and hung up the phone.
The answer to Alain’s question was clear to him all of a sudden. Maybe he had been born with confidence. But it was his community that made him feel safe. Of course. He knew that so deeply in his bones he’d nearly taken it for granted.
He stepped back into Neil’s room quietly to check on his boys.
Alain was holding Neil’s hand and singing, just like a little bird. Neil’s heart rate was steady and calm, but he could see that somewhere Neil was listening, because it spiked whenever Alain stopped.
“That was Brandon.” He sat in a chair nearby, watching Alain and Neil. “He reminded me that we have a whole community behind us. That I can lean on him if I need to. This is hard, but we’re going to be fine.”