Take What You Want (73 page)

“
I'm
sure you would,” Adam said, stepping into the room. “But,
that's not gonna happen.”

Adam walked closer to them,
his gaze fixed on Alex. “Take off for a while,” he said
to Chase and Danni. “I want to be alone with Alex.”

Chase stood up from his
chair and stepped toward Adam. He stopped in front of Adam and
glared at the man, hating every detail about him, especially the
detail he once owned Alex's heart. Maybe he still did? Chase
couldn't be sure and he wasn't going to assume anything. He'd hold
his ground until he and Alex had talked, and if Alex did want Adam,
then he and Danni would head home.

“
We're
not leaving,” Chase said slowly. “You can visit with
him, but it won't be alone.”

Adam tipped his head at
Chase; a cynical smile lifted one side of his lips. “You're
giving me permission to visit with him? How nice of you,” Adam
said. “But, your permission isn't needed.”

Adam moved away from Chase
and approached Alex's bed. His fingers ran the length of Alex's leg
concealed beneath the lightweight bed blanket and settled on Alex's
broad chest. Chase watched Adam from several feet away, not liking
the fact Adam's hand was on Alex. Adam's touch was intimate and
familiar and it made fury boil in the pit of Chase's gut. Danni came
and stood beside Chase. Her fingers curled around his bicep and her
chin lifted in defiance.

Adam looked over his
shoulder at Chase. “Why would you fly across the country to
see a guy you kicked to the curb?” Adam asked.

“
What
happened between us is none of your business,” Chase said.

“
Wheland
shouldn't have called you,” Adam said and shook his head. “I'm
the next-of-kin for Alex and I can handle it from here. You might as
well fly home and stay there.”

“
Next-of-kin?
Doubtful,” Chase said.

“
The
hospital called me,” Adam said. “I'm listed as Alex's
contact person on all of his personal documents.”

“
That's
an oversight,” Wheland said, stepping into the room. “A
gross oversight on Alex's part, and one I'm sure he'll change as soon
as he's back on his feet.”

“
You
call it an oversight,” Adam said with a devious grin. “I
call it divine intervention.”

“
Wait
in the fucking hall,” Wheland said to Adam. “While you
can still walk there on your own.”

Adam didn't move right away,
but finally started shifting toward the door. Once the door closed,
a collective sigh of relief rang out between Chase and Danni.

Chase moved to Alex's side
and sat down in the hard plastic chair again. Alex was making soft
moaning noises, while Chase stroked his forearm. “He woke up
briefly,” Chase said, lifting his eyes to Wheland. “It
didn't last long, though. The pain was too much, so they medicated
him again.”

“
It
will probably be like that for a while,” Wheland said. He
moved to Chase's side and draped an arm around his shoulder. “Don't
put too much stock in what comes out of Adam's mouth.”

“
Any
truth to the next-of-kin comment?” Danni asked.

“
Yeah,
apparently Alex forgot to change everything after they split,”
Wheland said. “I was as surprised to see him here as you were.
I mean, I knew they'd been talking before the accident, but it
wasn't on a level serious enough to warrant him being here.”

“
He's
one person I could have gone through life without ever meeting,”
Chase said.

“
I
didn't like him when he was with Alex and Sarah,” Wheland said.
“He was a prick then and he's a bigger prick now. I wish I
could legally keep him out of Alex's room now, but since his name is
all over Alex's paperwork, I can't do it.”

Chase rubbed at his
forehead. Stress and sleep deprivation was getting to him in a big
way. He hadn't had a decent nights sleep in a week and dealing with
Adam wasn't helping his tension headaches at all.

Chase
looked at Alex's face and ran the backs of his fingers across his
cheek. He looked peaceful; content. “I worry Adam is going to
cause real trouble,” Chase said. “He could make it so
uncomfortable that we won't be able to put up with it. I don't want
to leave, but …”

Wheland squeezed the tight,
knot of muscle on Chase's shoulder. “You're not leaving,”
he said. “No matter what Adam tries to pull. If I have to,
I'll talk to Alex's lawyer.”

-0-

Two more days passed, with
Alex drifting in and out of lucidness. Chase and Danni still hadn't
been able to talk at length to him or with much substance to their
conversation before he'd drift off to sleep again. The doctors were
all positive Alex would make a full recovery; most likely after a
lengthy rehabilitation to regain the physical mobility he had prior
to the accident, but it was an obtainable goal.

The
bandages had been taken off of Alex's forehead and the stitches
removed from the laceration. All that remained was a thin red line
running up from his eyebrow to his hair line. The facial bruising
was almost completely faded and dotted his skin in colors of murky
yellows and browns. The split in his bottom lip was nearly healed,
too.

Chase stood by the window in
Alex's hospital room, watching the doctor taking Alex's latest vitals
and jotting the information into a file. Adam had returned to the
room and was hovering beside the doctor, making the blood boil inside
Chase's veins and pitching his anger closer to a critical point of
explosion.

“
We
should probably discuss Alex's post care,” the doctor said to
Adam. “He'll need additional care in a rehab facility before
going home, then follow-up care once he gets home.”

“
I'll
stay with him at his house and we'll hire the staff necessary to help
care for him,” Adam said.

Chase pushed off the sill of
the window and stepped toward them. He was grateful Danni had gone
to the ladies room because he feared his temper was about to bubble
over.

“
Adam.
You're overstepping your bounds – again,” Chase said.

“
Is
that so?” Adam said.

The doctor closed Alex's
file and slid his pen back into the pocket of his lab coat. “I'll
leave you two to discuss this,” the doctor said. “Let me
know what you decide.”

The doctor left the room, as
Wheland was entering it.

“
I
see you're still stirring up shit,” Wheland said to Adam.

“
Maybe
it's your friend here that's stirring it up?” Adam said.

Wheland shook his head. “I
don't think so,” he said. “Visiting hours are almost
over. We all need to leave.”

“
Go
ahead,” Adam said, moving toward a chair beside Alex's bed.

Wheland's
large hand slammed down on Adam's shoulder. He pulled Adam backward,
making the man stumble out of the chair. “We'll all leave
together,” Wheland said. He kept his grip on Adam and tugged
him all the way to the door. As he passed by Chase and Danni he
signaled them with his eyes to go back to Alex.

After a brief good-bye,
Chase and Danni met Wheland in the hall. It was hard to miss the
absence of Adam.

“
Is
he gone?” Chase asked Wheland.

“
Yeah,
he remembered someplace he needed to be,” Wheland said. The
grin on his face told a different story. “Dare I ask what that
last scuffle with Adam was about?”

“
The
doctor wants to talk about Alex's rehab plan,” Chase said.
“Adam told the doctor he planned on moving into Alex's house
and would hire extra people to help care for him. I didn't like
Adam's plan and I said so.”

Wheland smiled broadly and
slapped Chase on the back. “I really like how you stick up for
Alex,” he said. “He'd be thrilled to hear you do it with
Adam, too.”

Chase shook his head. He
wasn't sure if what he was doing was the right thing or not. He
really needed to talk to Alex and clear the air; find out if they
both wanted the same things, and create a plan of action for the
future – if there was to be a future for them at all.
Decisions needed to be made – and soon.

“
The
doctor was right,” Chase said. “We do need to figure out
a plan for when Alex can leave this place.”

“
You're
staying, right?” Wheland asked, then his gaze turned to Danni.
“I mean, you want to stay, don't you?”

Chase looked at Danni and
nodded. “We do want to stay, but only if Alex wants us here.
I'm concerned about a lot of things.”

“
Like
what?” Wheland asked.

“
Work.
If we stay we both need jobs,” Chase said.

Wheland
finger combed his long hair; thinking, then waved Chase down the
hall. “I might have a solution.”

Chase and Danni followed
Wheland down the hallway to the waiting room. Cooper and Tony stood
up as soon as Wheland entered the small, square room.

“
How
is he?” Cooper asked.

“
The
same,” Wheland said. “But he's been moaning a lot, so
either he's having a wet dream about these two, or he's starting to
come back to us. Slowly.”

Chase smiled and Danni
blushed.

“
My
money is on the wet dream,” Cooper said. “That sounds
like Alex.”

“
Coop,
are you still looking to have some work done on your house?”
Wheland asked.

“
Yeah,
but I haven't had time to look for a contractor,” Cooper said.
“Why are you asking?”

“
Meet
your new contractor,” Wheland said, pointing to Chase.

Chase held up his hands and
shook his head. “That's not usually how it works, Wheland.”

“
Why
not? You need a job and Cooper needs work done on his house.
Where's the problem?”

“
I'd
need to look at the job first, then bid on it,” Chase said.
“He may not like my price and besides, I'm not licensed to do
construction in this state, nor do I have a crew to help me do the
work.”

Cooper stepped closer,
sliding his hands into the front pocket of his jeans, flexing the
muscles in his arms when he did. Thick, wavy blond hair with a
darker shade of brown beneath it covered his head, naturally tussled
and sexy as hell; he looked more like a California surfer-dude than a
drummer for a rock band. The only hint he was a musician were the
eyebrow piercings and the tattoos Chase could see peeking out beneath
Cooper's short-sleeved t-shirt.

“
What
about your friend?” Cooper asked. “He does construction,
doesn't he?”

“
My
friend?” Chase asked. “You mean, Jayson?”

“
Yeah,
him,” Cooper said, a big smile forming on his boyishly handsome
face. “He's been talking about flying out for a visit. Maybe
he'd help you do the work while he was here?”

“
You've
talked to him?” Chase and Danni asked at the same time.

“
Here
and there,” Cooper said. “I got his number at Alex's
party and we've been staying in touch ever since.”

That was news to Chase.
Funny how Jayson hadn't mentioned that, but then again, a lot of shit
had happened since Alex's party. Maybe Jayson didn't tell Chase
because he thought it might upset him, knowing Chase was no longer
with Alex? Chase didn't know, but it was something he'd be
discussing with Jayson the next time they talked.

“
What
do you want done to your house?” Chase asked.

“
I
want to redo the basement and add a sound studio. I also want to
remodel my bedroom and the master bath. Is that something you could
do?”