Mending the Rift (27 page)

A knock from the back doors intercepted Marcus’s answer. He pushed Luca onto a bench mounted to the left side before he hurried toward a peephole. With a snap of his wrist, he opened the door, helping Kyle and Smith inside.

Smith’s eyes shone with something akin to craziness as he dragged Kyle to the floor, one hand pressing against Kyle’s throat. “Hospital, now.”

The van lurched when a stone-faced Marcus knelt in front of a pallid Kyle. Nicholas reappeared, carrying a first-aid package with him. Softly, Marcus said, “Let me have a look. Smith, get your hands off Kyle.”

Smith shook his head. Luca studied the man. Wrinkles that hadn’t been there months earlier were burrowed deeply in his face. No matter how soothingly Marcus and Nicholas talked to him, he didn’t budge an inch.

“Kyle?” Luca asked. A shudder ran through his friend’s frame, almost causing Smith to jump.

“Kyle, hold on, okay? It’ll be okay.” Smith’s voice fractured at the end.

“It would be easier if you’d leave me some room to breathe,” Kyle croaked. “I don’t think he did more than nick my skin. Let Marcus have a look, okay?”

“That can’t be. There was too much blood for this to be a simple nick,” Smith replied stubbornly.

“Liam,
please
.”

Smith’s face contorted into an ugly mask, but in the end, he sat on the bench, pulling Kyle with him. Kyle braced his back against Smith’s legs, his hands reflexively clutching at Smith’s pants when Smith let go of his throat. Blood ran down Kyle’s neck, soaking into his shirt. The coppery smell assaulted Luca and made it difficult not to gag. His father took a seat next to him, while Marcus and Nicholas attended to Kyle’s wound.

“I can’t believe you followed the demands of those people to rescue us,” Luca said when his father slung an arm over his shoulders.

“We had to pretend to adhere to their demands to get you out.”

“Pretend?”

“Yes. We reestablished the status quo yesterday, but right after that we signed contracts for a union between Northern Confederacy and Southern Union. We haven’t settled on a new name yet, though it’ll probably amount to something like World Union or Earth Union. We just didn’t tell those men the whole truth,” Gregory replied.

Luca gasped for air. “Seriously? What… what’s your position now?”

“No position. I’m stepping down from everything. If the last months have taught me something, it’s that I’d like to spend some peaceful years with your dad. No more dealing with laws and all that.”

“I told him he’d be bored out of his mind, but he’s not listening to me,” Nicholas chimed in.

Luca chuckled. “You’re only afraid he’ll get to know what you’re up to all the time.”

“That too.” Nicholas flashed them a quick smile before he helped Marcus finish dressing Kyle’s wound. “Here you go. That should do till we’re in the hospital. They’ll probably want to stitch you up, though.”

“Great,” Kyle muttered. He relaxed against Smith’s legs and closed his eyes. “Liam? What about you? What’s your position if there’s no Southern Union anymore?”

“He’ll be my successor,” Luca’s father answered. “We talked this through and decided he’s perfect for the job. He knows both sides rather well, plus he’s shown he’s ruthless enough to get the job done, even if it means he has to trample on some official’s feet.”

Kyle snorted but aborted this move quickly to clutch the dressing on his throat.

Smith tightened his hold on Kyle’s shoulders before he said, “That position also allows me to make sure no one can take you away from me. Ever again.”

Luca shivered at the steel in Smith’s voice. Smith would make sure everyone knew Kyle was his, that was for damned sure. Anyone with a bit of common sense would back off.

Kyle tilted his head to the side, a lopsided smile on his face. “Did you just ask to marry me?”

“Kind of. What’s your answer?”

“Yes, you idiot. What else?” Kyle retorted, the grin almost splitting his face.

“We’ll have to work on your pet names for me.” Smith bent down to press a swift kiss on Kyle’s forehead.

“I guess no one is interested whether I’ll agree to that, huh?” Marcus asked as he stowed the medical equipment back into the bag.

“No,” everyone chorused.

Luca’s father patted his shoulder before he made room on the bench for Marcus. Luca slid as close as possible to his husband until they pressed together from ankle to knee, hip to shoulder.

Luca rested his head on Marcus’s shoulder, for the first time in a week able to draw in a deep breath, and said, “I intend for us to hide in bed until it’s time for the baby to be delivered.”

“That’s fine by me,” Marcus answered. He laid one hand on Luca’s baby bump, and the baby kicked, as if in greeting.

“I guess he’s happy to be back with you too,” Luca said softly.

Wordlessly, Marcus tipped Luca’s face up before he closed his lips over Luca’s in a soft kiss.

THE NEXT
two weeks passed in a blur. The security at home had increased significantly, leaving Luca somewhat bewildered at the amount of people patrolling, not to mention the updated security technology. For the first time, he didn’t mind all the security milling about, especially after he found out that many guards had suffered serious injuries during the assault at his parents’ home. The whole attack had been too quick and professional for anyone to raise an alarm. Only Nicholas’s escape and medical knowledge had rescued several of the men.

Despite the safety arrangements, Gregory never allowed Nicholas to be out of his sight except for trips to the bathroom. Marcus adopted the same routine for Luca, and he still hadn’t concluded whether he wanted to clock his husband or crawl onto his lap at every opportunity. Mostly he took the second option. Liam Smith had gone even further in his desire to keep Kyle at his side—he’d put a collar on Kyle, complete with a leash.

Luca shook his head, remembering Marcus’s vocal reaction when he first saw Liam and Kyle after Kyle had been released from the hospital for the wound he’d suffered during their rescue. Since Kyle’s throat was dressed in layers of gauze, the collar was a simple silver-chained belt Kyle carried around his waist.

“What’s the smile for?” Marcus cast Luca a sideways glance as he wiped the rest of the shaving foam from his face.

“Just remembered your face when you saw Kyle and Liam for the first time.”

Right on cue, Marcus’s brows furrowed. “He’s humiliating Kyle.”

“Kyle doesn’t see it that way, and besides, it’s one of the oldest breeder laws still in use. Not used often, but still. It’s a breeder’s husband’s right to put a collar and leash on him.” Luca sat on the closed toilet seat, trying to find a position in which he could put socks on his feet. Exasperated, he tapped the baby bump and said, “It’s about time you’re done in there. I can’t find my feet anymore.”

Marcus’s expression softened as he hung up the small towel. He came over to Luca, took the socks from his hands, and tugged them onto Luca’s feet. He remained crouched in front of Luca, his left ear pressed against the bump on Luca’s front.

“I’m going to miss listening to him and feeling his little feet and hands moving inside you.”

“We can always have another baby,” Luca blurted.

After a gentle pat, Marcus rose higher until he could press a kiss on Luca’s lips. “I’d like that.” He paused, then asked, “You don’t want to be collared, do you?”

Luca laughed out loud. “No. No, I don’t. But Kyle and Liam’s relationship is different from ours. Besides, I’ve got the reassurance to be yours. They’re still not 100 percent legally set. I understand both of them.”

“I still can’t believe how well you get along with Smith after all that you endured because of him.” Marcus lowered himself back to his knees, where he fumbled with the laces of Luca’s shoes.

“Neither do I. I thought I’d hate him, but…. Kyle’s my friend, and he’s crazy about the guy. It helped that Liam sat me down and apologized.”

“An apology can’t turn back time or relieve you of your memories.”

Luca waited for Marcus to finish tying his shoes before he slid his hands in Marcus’s hair, giving it a light tug. When Marcus looked up, heaving a put-out sigh, Luca smiled. “I do understand you’re harboring negative feelings toward Liam, but I can see where he came from. He was desperate to get Kyle back. I could’ve done without his methods, but he did what he thought he had to do for Kyle, for your baby brother. Anyway, I think this is mostly about you not trusting Kyle to know what’s best for him.”

“What? That’s not true!”

“Are you sure? He’ll always be your little brother, and you’ll always baby him. Trust me, I know how that goes. No matter how old I get, my siblings will always treat me as the baby of the family. They try to accept I’m an adult, but they always slip back into their roles. Look at my dad—he’s got a reputation as a troublemaker, and no matter what he does, he can never win. That reputation is stuck to him like glue.”

“Your dad
is
a troublemaker,” Marcus said as he gave him a hug.

“Speaking of Dad, are you really okay with him being with us before they wheel me into the operating room?”

“For the millionth time, yes. I’m seriously okay with it. He knows best what to expect. He promised to leave us some time for our new family after the birth, so all is good.”

Luca thunked his head against Marcus’s chest. “I’m scared, Marcus. In a few hours, we’ll have our baby boy in our arms. I feel so unprepared.”

“We’re as well prepared as anyone can be, kitten. Maybe you’re feeling unprepared because of the political situation. The union heralds a new era for humankind. Just think, our baby will be one of the first children born under the new rules. Even if he’s a breeder, he’ll get to choose his partner.” Marcus smacked a sound kiss on Luca’s forehead.

“You’re right.” The situation for breeders was improving by leaps and bounds, and their baby would be one of the first to benefit from those changes. Less than a year ago, Luca had been on the run to get out of an arranged marriage, and now? Now he was married to Marcus, and soon he’d have many more rights than he’d ever had in his lifetime. “Let’s go and get this show on the road. I can’t wait to hold our baby for the first time.”

LUCA LAY
on a comfortable bed in the hospital, naked except for a thin gown. Despite the blanket drawn tightly up to his chin, the shivers wracking his body rattled the bed. An IV line was stuck in his hand, securely taped. He’d undergone all the necessary preparations, and the doctor had already administered a light sedative, but it didn’t seem to have worked one bit.

Marcus sat next to the bed, his face a mask of… of what? Luca had no idea. He glanced over at his dad, who busied himself stroking Luca’s free hand. “How nervous are you on a scale of one to ten, sweetheart?”

“Fifteen?”

Nicholas laughed. “Only fifteen? Every time your father asked me that question, I told him at least twenty. When my own father asked me that question, I was ready to beat him.”

“Tsk, Dad.”

Nicholas shrugged while the laugh lines around his eyes deepened. “Giving birth always terrified me.”

“Why? You never had any trouble except for the last time.”

“Because it meant there was another little boy or girl dependent on me. What if I fucked up with any of you? What if something happened to any of you? Your father always talked me down, but that initial fear remained the same.” Nicholas tucked a strand of hair behind Luca’s left ear. “It’s a life-altering situation.”

“That’s true.” Luca expelled a drawn breath. “I’m not so much afraid of the procedure of the C-section. I’m still wondering if the baby will be all right, and if the political situation will stay as calm as it is now. What if something goes wrong? I couldn’t stand for something to happen to my baby.”

Marcus stirred to life. He grasped Luca’s ankle and shook it lightly. “Nothing will go wrong. The security detail is as tight as possible. Your parents’ home is like a maximum-security prison, thanks to the most important people of the newly formed union living there at the moment. I won’t let anything happen to you. Not again. I won’t fail you ever again.”

A shiver crept up Luca’s spine. Albeit knowing Marcus couldn’t make such a promise, he craved the words, the reassurance, and the fierceness with which he spoke. He gave a jerky nod. “All right.”

A knock sounded from the door, and a middle-aged nurse entered, together with a male nurse. “Everyone’s ready for your big day. Please lie down, and we’ll bring you into the operating room.” She turned to Marcus while she unlocked the brakes on Luca’s bed. “You can come with us, and we’ll get you into scrubs so you can sit with your husband during the C-section.”

Luca gave his dad’s hand a quick squeeze as the nurses rolled him out of the room. Outside, he passed Liam and Kyle, Keith, and lots of security personnel. His dad and Marcus followed the bed, but Nicholas stopped at Gregory’s side. Without a word, the nurses stopped next to Gregory and allowed him a moment to kiss Luca’s cheek.

“Make sure you keep Dad occupied,” Luca joked.

Gregory pulled Nicholas into his side, making a show of clamping both arms around his dad’s torso. Nicholas rolled his eyes. “You don’t think your father’s nervous too?”

“I know he’s nervous, but from the other times someone in the family gave birth, I know you’re the one going crazy after ten minutes.”

Nicholas grimaced while the nurses exchanged a knowing glance. As they pushed the bed forward, Luca caught his dad saying, “I’m not going to last ten minutes this time. That’s
my baby
having his first baby.”

The farther the bed rolled away, the quieter their surroundings became. Luca’s heart hammered in his chest, almost painful in its forcefulness. He barely heard Marcus when they separated for the time Marcus needed to scrub and dress in appropriate clothing.

A doctor told Luca to climb onto a cold steel table and round his back as much as possible so he could give him an injection. Luca’s teeth chattered violently as he remembered another time people had prodded him. He became aware of people rushing around him. Hands were on his body, while tears streamed down his face. Something was wrong, horribly wrong. He just knew it. The room around him blurred at the edges, and sounds were muted, making no sense at all.