Pete's Persuasion (2019 Reissue) by Lavinia Lewis

Author:Lavinia Lewis [Lewis, Lavinia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-22T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

As they entered the waiting room to the ER, Pete caught sight of Jared and Nate and stopped dead in his tracks.

They were a mess.

Both were wearing hospital gowns and scrub pants and both had burns on their arms, their faces black with smoke. Jared was enveloped in Nate’s arms and he was sobbing uncontrollably.

Pete’s stomach lurched and, even though he tried to shake away the thought, he couldn’t help but fear the worst.

“Jared, Nate,” Kelan said gently as they approached.

Jared turned in Nate’s arms and pulled in a shaky breath.

He wiped his eyes and tried to compose himself.

“He’s going to be okay,” he said around another sob. “I thought I was going to lose him.”

Pete let out the breath he’d been holding. “Oh, thank God.”

Nate rubbed soothing circles on Jared’s back.

“It was touch and go,” he informed them.

“He got burned pretty badly trying to get out and part of the ceiling fell on him, trapping him underneath. He broke his leg. We only just managed to pull him free before the whole house went up.

“The top half of his body is covered in third-degree burns and there’s damage to his lungs. The doctor said he should recover completely, but he’ll take longer than usual to heal because of all the damage done.

“His body is trying to work harder, but it can’t heal everything at once so his entire healing ability has slowed to little better than that of a human.”

“Jesus,” Pete breathed.

Tony’s hand had found its way into his and he squeezed it tight, grateful for the comforting gesture from his mate.

“I couldn’t protect him,” Jared said. “I promised him I’d look after him when our dad died, but I failed him. He’s in so much pain. He nearly died.”

“This is not your fault, Jared,” Pete said firmly. “You couldn’t have done any more for Tristan than you already did.”

Jared shook his head. “I should never have got involved in the first place. I shouldn’t have investigated Dean—I put my family at risk.”

Nate held Jared at arm’s length and pinned him in place with a fierce glare.

“Now you listen to me. Don’t you dare apologize for doing what you did. Your need to fight injustice is one of the things I love about you. It’s part of who you are.

“Apologizing for that is like apologizing for having brown hair or blue eyes or being born gay. Tristan is going to be fine and you know you can’t protect him from everything.

“What happens when he finds his mate? He’s going to leave home and you’re not going to be there to look after him then. It will be someone else’s job. At some point, you’ve got to let him go.”

Jared sniffed loudly. “From today on, he’s not allowed to date and if any man comes near him claiming they’re mates, he’ll have me and my shotgun to deal with.”

Nate chuckled and pulled Jared back into his arms, gently rubbing his back.

“Can I be in the room when you tell Tristan that?”

A small smile ghosted over Jared’s lips.

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