Chapter 18

Jak was in the room when he returned. His face was bruised and busted up. His right eye was swollen and his lip was busted. He looked peaceful despite looking like a punching bag. His nostrils flared as he breathed. The nose pieces of the nasal cannula were irritating him despite being sedated.

Tay went with Alana to donate blood as Damian stayed with Reaux. The Alpha didn't say anything as he pulled a chair closer to the bed. He could see the shunt Dr. Green had put in protruding slightly from behind the ear and wondered how long Jak would have it. Knowing his luck, it would be forever.

Damian watched Reaux quietly. Relief and exhaustion rolled off him in droves. Though Jak wasn't out of the woods yet, just seeing him made the Alpha feel somewhat better.

Jak was going to have some impressive bruising. Thecar had hit him square in the abdomen. He'd come away with fixable internal injuries which was amazing. The doctors guessed he'd hit his head either on the trunk of the car or when he'd hit the asphalt. He had to have hit the car with his face to fracture the front sinus cavity. He was going to have a long recovery.

The Omega watched the Alpha stroke Jak's face with gentle fingers. He placed his head on the injured man's stomach above his incisions. Damian understood those emotions. Tay had told him his account of waiting from him to come from surgery when his leg had been shattered and how it fucked with his head. He could only imagine what was going on in Reaux's mind.

He got up and went to the closet. He found an extra blanket and pillow. Reaux wouldn't use the pillow. He would lay on Jak for as long as he possibly could. He was probably blaming himself for this though it wasn't his fault.

Damian walked over to Reaux and wrapped the blanket around his broad shoulders. He lifted his head to look at the Omega then smiled as best as he could. Damian knew it was forced, and he completely understood. It was hard seeing the love of your life lying in a hospital bed.

"Take a nap," he urged. He even sent a small wave of calming pheromones to him.

Reaux knew what he was doing. "What about Alana?" he asked.

"Tay and I will take care of her. You need to be here. Call us if anything happens."

Reaux nodded and put his head back where he'd had it. Damian grabbed his bag then stopped long enough to kiss Jak's forehead. Reaux never moved as the younger man left the room, pulling the door closed quietly.

Tay and Alana stepped off the elevator as Damian was talking to the nurse. Alana looked at the door to her brother's room then back at Damian with confusion on her cute face. The older Omega nodded, and she understood.

"Will he be okay?" Tay asked.

"He's in good hands. Reaux will let us know if anything happens," Damian replied.

"He's the one I'm talking about."

Damian looked at the door with a somber gaze. "If it were anyone else with Jak, I wouldn't have left."

Tay nodded with a sigh. He extended his hand, wrapping it securely around Damian's. Despite not wanting to leave their friend, they knew their presence would agitate Reaux. They'd known Jak nearly all their lives and he was family, but he was also Reaux's. Right now they didn't have much of a say. Like Damian said if it was anyone else, they wouldn't have left.

~~~~~~~

Reaux knew someone other than the nurses or doctors was in the room. Slowly, he came awake. He looked at Jak who was still asleep. He preferred to stay asleep since being unconscious made him feel helpless.

He lifted his head and looked over the bed. A woman sat in the chair Damian had vacated, her hand on Jak's forearm. She stared lovingly at the injured man. Reaux could see the tear stains running through her makeup. She didn't seem to care as a fresh set ran from her big blue eyes.

Jak favored his mother. He had her high cheekbones and deep set eyes. Her greying hair matched his unruly dark locks almost perfectly. He also had her heart-shaped lips. All of that was set in his father's long face and squared jaw. Even badly bruised as it was, Reaux could see both his parents in his face.

Reaux sat up and the blanket fell from his shoulders. He passed it over the foot of the bed. Jak's father took it and covered his wife's bare shoulders. She pulled it around her and tucked both hands inside of it. Her gaze never left Jak's face.

"How did this happen?" she asked. She choked on fresh tears.

"He was hit by a car," Reaux said. A strangled cry left her stained lips. "My partner has all the footage at the station. I'm sure she would love to talk to you."

"Alana said the surgeries were a success?" his father said.

Reaux shrugged a bit. "Both were. The force of the impact severed his hepatic artery and there was a laceration to his liver. Those were repaired. He had bleeding on the brain so a shunt was inserted to relieve the pressure. He'll be sedated for a few days."

"Who signed the paperwork?"

Reaux's hair stood on end. "In the case of life threatening injuries, a doctor's main priority is saving the patient. Consent forms are signed when the family arrives."

"Dear, don't be rude. He's been here the entire time," his wife scolded. She wiped her face and turned to Reaux. "I'm Karen Olson. This is my husband John. We're Jak's parents."

"I'm Reaux Grant, or Detective Grant." He paused as his heart leapt. "I'm Jak's bonded."

John nodded. "We know who you are. Alana doesn't keep much from us."

"Jak has been very secretive about you, Reaux. I wasn't sure if it was because he was embarrassed to tell us or if he just didn't want us to know," Karen added.

Reaux nodded. "He had a hard time, still does sometimes. I told him he could tell you when he was ready."

"Do your parents know?" John asked.

"I would tell them if I knew who they were." Reaux saw understanding flash across Karen's eyes. "Grant was the last name of the nun before she entered service. It was given to me by her when I started school. Her brother's name was Devereaux so that's from where my first name is derived."

"I'm sorry," Karen apologized. "I didn't mean to be insensitive."

"I've grown used to people's reactions. Sister Agatha was good to us. Out of the fifteen kids under her care, ten of us went to college and became something."

Karen took Jak's hand again, rubbing her thrumb over the back of it. She looked at the cuts and bruises on his skin. Reaux looked back at his face, wishing he'd wake up. He knew Jak wouldn't until the sedation wore off, but he wanted him to see his family was here.

"He took his final," he said. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I dropped him off to give his presentation. He was going to meet Damian for lunch."

"Do we know the grade?" John asked.

Reaux shook his head. "It won't be posted until tomorrow at the earliest. They have to have grades for graduation on Saturday." He paused, this time because he was choked up. "He wanted to walk that line. He was so proud to have made it and to have passed. He was even planning to announce his results at the party tomorrow night."

"He can tell us when he's better. For now we should focus on getting him better."

There was a knock at the door. This time Damian stepped around the corner first followed by his father David. He nodded at John and Karen before going to stand behind Reaux. He slid his hands down his shoulders and laced his fingers together. The Alpha leaned back into a comforting presence, taking in as much as he could.

Damian's pheromones eased everyone present. Even Jak settled down, the lines creasing his forehead smoothing out instantly. It was moments like this where Omegas excelled. They could calm any situation almost instantly.

"How was your flight?" David asked.

"Too long after we got the call," John replied. He sat beside David on the couch. "I don't understand why this happened. Why was Jak in the street? He's not stupid."

"He was pushed," Damian said.

He told as much as he knew, giving names and dates. What he couldn't remember, Reaux filled in the rest. They talked in tandem, one starting and the other finishing the thought. They were able to tell the entire story with as much detail as possible. It was from two perspectives, but it gave a bigger picture to the parents.

David and John shared a long look. Their features never changed, but their eyes told their feelings. After Damian's ordeal, David had buckled down on 'his three boys'. He doted on all of them, and he wouldn't hesitate to start a war with whoever went against them. At his back was John Olson and Christoph Marzano. There was a reason they were knocn as the Big Three of business.

John stood up and left the room, phone coming out of his pocket as he went. Karen pulled her phone out and started texting people. Who knew what she was up to, but by the determined look on her face, she was mobilizing the Mommy Brigade, all the wives of their influential families who had a stake in their family's business. They were nearly as dangerous as the Big Three and the other husbands.

Reaux glanced at Damian. The Omega's gaze was steady as he looked back at his friend. In his thirty-six years, Reaux had only ever had one person he could truly call a friend. He'd dated Andrew briefly before they'd decided to be just friends. Since then, the crazy Alpha had been his closest confidant. They'd lived together all the way up until college before life had taken them away from their comfort zones.

Looking at Damian, he realized in a few short years he'd not only gained a friend in Tiffany, but also a family. Tay, Domain, and Jak were much like him and Andrew. They'd grown up together, but the one place they'd differed is they had made their own family outside of their respective families. They were willing to die for each other, or at least beat the shit out of someone.

When he'd claimed Jak, he'd unintentionally claimed Tay and Damian. They were a package deal. In return, they'd welcomed him into their small world as a family member. He'd only ever known the love of Sister Agatha. While that had been enough at the time, he now knew what family was all about. It was unconditional no matter how much hot water a person got into.

He looked at Jak, at every bruise and cut on his handsome face. Anger surged through him so hot and palpable he was amazed he didn't melt the chair arm. He was going to keep his anger in check when he got his hands on Dante.