War Torn (6 page)

~ Chapter Eight ~

~ Tucker ~

I wake to my phone ringing. It’s still so weird to me that I can actually have the ringer on now. I glance at the clock. Four a.m. Who the hell is calling me at four in the morning? I fumble for my phone on the nightstand and try to focus on the name on the screen. Lizette. What the fuck? I quickly answer.

“Lizette? Are you okay?”

She sniffs. Obviously, she’s crying. “Tucker, I just got a call from Mt. Sinai Hospital a few minutes ago. Dennis has been in a bad car accident and is in serious condition. Beau and I are on our way over right now.”

I can’t breathe.

“Tucker? Did you hear me?” Lizette asks.

“Ye…yes. I’ll meet you there,” I manage to get out.

“Okay,” she croaks before hanging up.

I’m so confused right now. I didn’t even know that Dennis left the condo. I lurch into action, pulling on sweatpants and a T-shirt. I shove my feet into my shoes then barge into Duke’s room. He startles awake.

“What? What is it?” he asks, looking around frantically.

“Dennis was in a car accident. I need to get to the hospital. Can you drive me? I don’t think I can do it without getting myself into a car accident,” I say, my voice shaky.

“Shit! Yeah, let me get dressed.” Duke whips off his covers and starts pulling on clothes.

We’re out the door and on the way to the hospital in under five minutes.

“Did you know that Dennis left?” I ask Duke when we get into his car.

“Yeah, he said he just needed to get out for a little bit,” he replies.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I snap.

He glances over at me, giving me an incredulous look. “Seriously? Why would I tell you? He’s a big boy and can come and go as he pleases,” he snaps back at me.

I roughly scrub my hands over my face and make an aggravated noise. “You’re right. Sorry.”

Duke just hums his acceptance of my apology.

When we get to the hospital, Lizette and Beau are waiting in the ER waiting room. Lizette is pacing back and forth, her pregnant belly visible even with her coat on. Beau is sitting in a chair near her, his head resting in his hands as he leans forward, his elbows propped on his knees.

I rush over to Lizette. “Hey, any news?” I ask.

She stops her pacing and shakes her head. “Nothing other than that they are trying to stabilize him. It was a head on collision. Some asshole high on drugs hit him.”

“Goddammit,” I bite out and rake a hand through my hair. 

“So you don’t know what his injuries are yet?” Duke asks.

“No,” she croaks, tears slipping down her face.

I pull her into a hug and she cries softly against my chest. Please let him be okay. I can’t lose him, especially after the way things were left between us. I fight back my own tears as I rub gentle circles on Lizette’s back.

Beau stands and comes over to us.

“Hey, Tucker,” he murmurs and shakes my hand then introduces himself to Duke. “Hi, I’m Beau.”

“Duke.”

They shake hands.

It’s another half hour before a doctor comes looking for Dennis’ family. The doctor ushers us into a private little waiting room so that he can explain everything that’s going on. Apparently, Dennis is extremely lucky considering the nature of the crash. Usually head on collisions are more deadly than not. The doctor explains that Dennis received some lacerations on his face from the glass flying around, he has a concussion, severe bruising on his chest and waist from the seat belt, some bruising on his liver, a broken left ankle, and his prosthetic has been destroyed.

“If he had his leg, it would have been shattered by the engine block,” the doctor says. “So he got lucky in that regard. He’s going to have to spend a few days here so that we can keep an eye on him.”

“How long will he be in a cast with his ankle?” I ask, knowing that Dennis is going to have a fit about not being able to use either leg.

“About six weeks. It’s not a horrible break, so it should heal fairly quickly,” the doctor says.

“Can we see him now?” Lizette asks.

“Sure, let me just make sure he’s in a room,” he says and leaves the room.

We all wait in silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts. When the doctor comes back, he leads us to Dennis’ room. We stop outside of his door.

“Just an FYI, he’s a bit groggy from all of the medication that we’ve given him, plus the concussion,” the doctor says before leaving us to visit with Dennis.

The four of us walk into the room. Dennis is lying in the bed, which is mostly reclined, but not flat. He’s hooked up to an IV and other monitors. His left foot is propped up on the outside of the covers and bandaged, but not casted yet. The blanket is covering his right leg and is pulled up to his waist. He, of course, is wearing a hospital gown. They have apparently inserted a catheter going by the tube and bag hanging from the side of the bed.

His hair is a mess and his face has a couple of small cuts, but there is a larger cut on his left cheekbone, which has been stitched. There is also a stitched cut over his left eyebrow. His eyes are closed at the moment, and his lips are parted as he breathes in a slow steady pattern.

Lizette is the first one to reach his side. She places her hand over his where it rests next to his hip. Denny slowly drags his eyes open. His green eyes are unfocused as he looks around, touching on everyone in the room before settling on Lizette.

“What happened?” he asks, his voice rough.

“You were in a car accident,” Lizette tells him.

His eyes close as his eyebrows furrow. “I was?”

“Yeah, sweetie, a pretty bad one. Your car was totaled,” she says softly.

“Damn,” he mutters then yawns. “I’m tired.”

“You have a concussion,” Beau says from next to Lizette. “Plus you’re doped up on pain meds.”

“Where’s Tucker?” he asks, much to my delight.

“I’m right here,” I tell him and move around to the other side of the bed so that I can be next to him without pushing Lizette out of the way.

Dennis flips his hand over on the bed, an obvious invitation for me to take it, so I do. I intertwine my fingers with his.

“Hey,” he breathes.

“Hi.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs.

I frown. “For what?”

“Yelling at you earlier.” He sighs.

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry, too. I only did what I thought was right.”

He nods slightly. “I know.”

Dennis’ eyes close and he starts to drift off. I lean in and lay a kiss on his forehead. He sucks in a sharp breath, pulling his eyes open again.

“Go back to sleep, baby,” I whisper and kiss his head one more time before pulling back.

Dennis nods and almost instantly falls back to sleep.

~ Dennis ~

“Un-fucking-believable,” I bite out and rake a hand through my hair.

Lizette just told me what happened to my prosthetic. I’m so fucking screwed now. I have a broken ankle and no leg. Where does that leave me? Wheelchair bound. Just fucking great!

“I called your insurance company morning and they said that they will cover half of the cost for a new prosthetic. Beau and I will cover the other half. And I swear, if you say one word in protest, I will hurt you,” my darling pregnant sister says with such conviction that I can’t help but believe her.

I sigh and pull up my big boy undies. “Who am I to argue with a pregnant woman? Thank you,” I say begrudgingly.

She goes to reply but then her eyes get really big and she smiles as she places a hand on her very rounded belly. She’s almost seven months pregnant now. “The baby just kicked.” She giggles.

I grin. “Come here, let me feel!”

She sits down next to me and takes my hand. She places it on her belly where she felt the kick. A moment goes by without feeling anything, but then, there is it, a bump against the palm of my hand.

“Ha! I felt it!” I exclaim before looking over at her in awe. “That’s incredible.”

She nods. “I know. It’s so crazy.”

Another kick has us both laughing. It’s just the two of us in the room at the moment. Beau went to grab a coffee and Tucker just hasn’t gotten here yet.

“Are you and Tucker okay?” Lizette asks gently after our laughter dies down.

I give her belly a rub. “Yeah, I think so. We both apologized and now I don’t really have a choice in the matter, so he’s getting what he wants.”

“But he only wants what’s best for you, you know that.”

“I know,” I say quietly.

“He doesn’t like to see you hurting, and neither do I. I can’t believe you didn’t come to me sooner,” she huffs.

“It’s a lot of money,” I tell her.

“So? I have plenty to spare. Especially for you,” she coos and pinches my cheek.

I roll my eyes and swat at her hand. “Well, I do appreciate it.”

“I know you do, Denny.”

The door to my room opens and in walks Beau followed by Tucker and Duke. “Look who I found wandering the halls,” Beau jokes.

Tucker smiles when he sees that I’m awake and alert. Lizette slides off the bed to give Tucker room to lean in to give me a kiss.

“Hi,” he murmurs.

“Hey, babe.”

Duke gives me a fist bump. “Hey, man.”

“Hey.”

Tucker pulls out a piece of paper from his back pocket. “I…uh…I looked up a prosthetist for you and made you an appointment for next week. I hope you don’t mind,” Tucker says and I can hear the hesitancy and worry in his tone.

I hold my hand out for the paper and he hands it to me. “Thank you, Tuck,” I say gratefully, meeting his eyes.

He gives me a small smile. I can tell that he’s still not sure if everything is okay between us.

“Can you all give Tucker and me a moment alone?” I ask everyone.

They quickly agree and leave the room. Tucker remains standing next to the bed, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black sweat pants. His long-sleeved, royal blue T-shirt fits snuggly to his chest and biceps. His dark wavy hair is a mess, as usual, and his face is covered in a couple of days’ worth of stubble. He looks delicious, and if I weren’t in this hospital bed right now with a catheter shoved up my dick, I’d be all over him.

“Come here, love,” I murmur softly and pat the bed next to me.

Tucked pulls in a deep breath then comes to sit down on the bed next to me. We sit shoulder to shoulder. I take his hand and lace my fingers in his.

“You okay?” I ask quietly.

Tucker nods. “Yeah, I just keep thinking about how differently this could have turned out. You could have died and our last moments together would have been of us fighting.” He sighs and rubs the side of his face.

“You can’t think like that, Tuck. We’re going to argue and fight. We’re not going to agree on everything. And it’s always possible that something could happen to one of us. It’s like you said, just because we’re fighting, doesn’t mean that we don’t love each other,” I say.

“Are we okay, though? You’re not still mad at me for going behind your back to Lizette?”

I shake my head. “No, I understand why you did it. I’m sure if the situation was reversed, I would have done the same thing.”

He smiles slightly, his eyes staring down at our hands. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Look at me,” I whisper.

His gorgeous blue eyes lift to meet mine.

“I’m so fucking in love with you. Don’t ever doubt that for one second, you understand me?” I tell him firmly.

He nods. “I love you, too, Denny,” he breathes then leans in to brush his lips against mine.

The kiss is soft yet passionate. It’s more an exchange of love than anything sexual.

Tucker slowly pulls back. “I’ll go tell everyone to come back in.”

I agree and check out his ass as he walks toward the door. 

~ Chapter Nine ~

~ Duke ~

After a few days in the hospital, Dennis is able to return home. Right now, he’s confined to a wheelchair, which he absolutely despises. But he’s got a cast on his ankle and no prosthetic. It’s not like he can use crutches because he’s not allowed to put weight on his casted ankle. To say he’s a miserable bitch would be an understatement. Currently, he and Tucker are in the bathroom trying to give him a shower. I laugh to myself because I can only imagine the scene going on in that bathroom. I can hear them bickering from the living room.

A knock on the front door has me cocking an eyebrow. Wonder who that could be? I shove to my feet and go to the door. I pull open the door to see a gorgeous brunette standing there. Her long, dark mahogany hair is laying in waves over her shoulders. Her eyes are big and a chocolatey brown color. Her lips are pouty, bow-shaped, and the prettiest shade of pink I’ve ever seen.

I let my eyes drift down her body. She’s beautifully curvy. I wouldn’t call her heavy, but she’s not super thin either. Voluptuous. That’s a good word for her. She’s wearing a pretty floral blouse under a gray pea coat. Her dark jeans are formfitting and tucked into a pair of high-heeled black leather boots that come up to just under her knees.

I see that she’s checking me out, too. Her eyes drift over my naked torso before dropping down to the front of my low-slung jeans before coming back up to my face. I fold my arms over my chest and lean against the doorframe. I give her a cocky smirk.

“Hey, beautiful. What can I do for you?” I ask.

I’m far from looking for a woman, but I wouldn’t mind getting into her pants.

She frowns up at me. “I might have the wrong condo. I was looking for Tucker and Dennis.”

“You got the right place. I’m Duke,” I say and hold out my hand to her.

She shakes it. “Arianna.”

“What do you want with Tucker and Dennis?”

“Well, my brother told me that Tucker got his hearing back and that Dennis was in a bad car accident. I just wanted to stop by and bring them a little something that I made as a congrats and a get well,” she says and holds up a casserole dish that I didn’t even notice that she was holding before.

I step aside and wave her into the condo. She walks in and I shut the door behind her.

“Who’s your brother?”

“Keith Bennett,” she replies as she makes her way toward the kitchen.

“No shit? You’re Bennett’s little sister?” I ask in surprise.

Keith Bennett was one of Tucker and my Marine buddies. I knew he lived in New York, but we were never that close. Tucker was always friendlier with him than I was.

Arianna glances over her shoulder with a fond smile before putting the casserole dish in the fridge.

“Yep, that’s me.”

“Good to know that you don’t look anything like him.” I smirk.

She laughs. “Thanks, I guess. How do you know my brother?”

When she turns to face me, I have to bite back a groan and fight off the hard on that threatens to embarrass me. Damn, she’s straight up beautiful.

“I’m a Marine. I was in the same unit as Tucker and Keith.”

She nods in understanding.

“So where are Tucker and Dennis?” she asks, looking around.

“Taking a shower,” I reply.

She blinks at me. “What?”

Oh, shit. She doesn’t know that they’re together.

“Uh, well, I mean that Tucker is helping Dennis take a shower. He really can’t do it on his own right now.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Oookay,” she drawls.

Just then the bathroom door opens, which is at the beginning of the hallway that leads to the bedrooms, and Tucker walks out with Dennis riding piggyback. Both of them in only their underwear. Dennis with no prosthetic and a cast on the other leg. Of course, Arianna is directly facing them. I roll my lips in to keep from laughing as her mouth drops open. Both Dennis and Tucker seem frozen as they stare at her.

A slow smile curls Tucker’s mouth. “Hey, Arianna.”

I cover my mouth to help stifle my laughter. Tucker, that cocky bastard; I knew that he would find this amusing. Dennis, on the other hand, looks completely mortified. His face is bright red, but he turns it away so he doesn’t have to look at her.

“Tucker,” Arianna says in greeting. She looks confused as hell, though. She definitely does not know what to make of the scene in front of her.

“Be right back,” Tucker chirps. He hikes Dennis up a little higher on his back before turning and walking down the hall to their bedroom. When the door closes behind them, Arianna looks at me.

“They’re totally together, aren’t they?” she asks, a slight smile curling one side of her mouth.

“Totes.” I chuckle.

She snorts and shakes her head. “How did that happen?”

I shrug. “No idea, really.”

“Are you…?” she asks, eyebrow raised.

I give her an incredulous look. “What? With them two? Fuck no! I’m as straight as they come.”

She gives me a dubious look but nods.

“I’m serious. I’m completely straight. No dudes for me. Go out with me and I’ll show you,” I offer, because seriously, I want her in my bed.

She holds up her left hand, showing me the giant rock on her finger. “Engaged.”

“Damn, that sucks,” I mutter, honestly disappointed. “We could have had a lot of fun together,” I say, lowering my voice a little, letting her know exactly what my intent had been.

I notice the slight shudder that she tries to fight and I can’t help but grin at her.

“Oh well, too bad for you,” she says a bit snarkily. She’s probably pissed because I apparently have some kind of effect on her.

A dressed Tucker steps out of the bedroom and shuts the door behind him. He goes to Arianna and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asks.

“I brought over a chicken and vegetable casserole for you and Dennis. Congrats on the successful surgery, by the way.”

“Thanks, I’m still getting used to being able to hear everything,” he replies.

“How’s Dennis feeling? Is he not coming out?” she asks.

“He’s a bit embarrassed at the moment, but he’s feeling okay.”

She tsks. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“He just feels weird without his prosthetic.”

She hums then says, “So, were you ever going to tell me that you two are together?” She puts her hands on her flared hips and gives him an expectant look.

Tucker shrugs, totally unaffected by her knowing. “I don’t see you that often.”

“You know, I knew something was up with you two when I saw you at that deli a few months back,” she murmurs thoughtfully.

“It was still new then.”

“And now?” she asks curiously.

“We’re in love with each other.”

Arianna smiles softly and gives Tucker’s bicep a squeeze. “That’s great. I’m glad you have both found someone.”

Tucker smiles. “Thanks. How’s your fiancé? Everything still going good?”

She smiles brightly. “Yep. We set a date.”

“Awesome. I’m going to be invited, right?”

She rolls her eyes. “We’ll see.”

Tucker chuckles. “Not in the habit of inviting ex-lovers?”

“Yeah, that would be kind of weird, don’t you think?” She snickers.

Tucker laughs. “Yeah, probably.”

“Alright, I have to go. I’ll see you later. Just give my dish to my brother when you’re done.”

Tucker nods. “Will do. And thank you for that.”

She smiles prettily. “You’re very welcome.”

She gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to me. “Duke, it was nice to meet you.”

“You, too, Arianna.”

She gives me a cute wave and a smile before going to the door.

After she leaves, I turn to glare at Tucker. He smirks. “What?”

“You hit that beautiful piece of ass?”

“It was a long time ago,” he replies. “We kinda dated for a little while, but she wanted more and I didn’t.”

“Dude!”

“Dennis went on a couple of dates with her, too, but didn’t sleep with her,” Tucker says, rubbing it in more.

“Dude!” I huff and throw my arms out. “Thanks for not throwing me a bone, man!”

“I was going to, but she got engaged before I could set you up with her!” he defends himself with a laugh.

“She’s good in bed, isn’t she?”

Tucker grins. “She’s wild.”

“I knew it! Goddamnit!”