God, just watching Bo move made Max hurt. Chances were, Bo wasn’t just beat in the face and arms, his body had probably—
Max’s blood chilled in his veins. Chance had said Bo had been dumped in a field—
nude. Did that mean…? Max wasn’t going to ask. He couldn’t bear to think of someone hurting Bo, especially not like that. But surely Chance would have mentioned—or maybe not. Max knew enough about male pride and egos to think being raped was something most men wouldn’t want to talk about, much less admit to.
Bo grunted and tugged, and Max forced away thoughts that were guaranteed to drive him insane. “I take it you mean move, huh?”
At the slight nod from Bo, Max stepped back, slowly helping Bo from the truck. His arm slid around Bo’s waist as the injured man’s feet touched the ground. Max told himself the reason it felt so good to hold Bo like this was from relief that his friend was alive, even if he was battered all to hell.
The problem with telling himself that was, he couldn’t make himself believe it. Not when Bo fit so perfectly against his side. Not when the touch of Bo’s hands brought such peace and joy to Max’s heart that he felt almost whole for the first time in his life. Not when parts of his body were starting to rise inappropriately—and not when all he wanted to do was take this man home and wrap him in the softest fabrics and keep him safe from all the evil shit in this world.
The only thing Max could believe was that he…was…so screwed.
Bo felt like shit. Just about every part of him hurt, and all he really wanted was to lie down and sleep until he was healed. Maybe forever, even, since he wasn’t sure he’d ever be completely well again, at least not in his head. The physical injuries would be gone in no time MILES TO GO
Bailey Bradford
36
compared to that; the mental recovery seemed insurmountable. He didn’t know if he’d ever feel safe or happy again.
Rory, Annabelle and Chance were huddled together whispering and gesturing. After a minute of concentrating on hearing what they were discussing so intently, he thought he knew what they were trying to figure out—where to put him up. The issue seemed to be whether he’d be better off on the couch or in the guest room. Frankly, Bo didn’t care just then. He wanted to lay down somewhere and go back to sleep, or pretend to, at least. The nightmares made actually sleeping kind of difficult. He started to turn away and crawl back into the truck since nothing had been settled yet. Standing up was just too exhausting at this point.
“Stop before you hurt yourself worse,” Max whispered when Bo started to pull away.
“We’re all being a bunch of dumbasses, ain’t we? Should have had this figured out before you got here. ”
Bo looked into Max’s warm brown eyes and could have wept at the compassion and
regret he found there. Sure, Rory and Chance had been kind, had come when he needed them and been better friends than Bo had a right to expect, but they hadn’t looked at him with such tenderness, only pity, which made Bo want to curl up and die. It almost made Bo wish he’d had the nurse call Max instead, but as awful as Bo looked now, he’d looked even worse then, and he might have been beat to hell but he still had his pride. The idea of the man he was sort of infatuated with seeing him lying bloody and damn near broken in that hospital bed had been too much. Although, what with the kind look in in Max’s eyes, and not a hint of revulsion at Bo’s appearance anywhere to be seen in his expression, maybe he should have just had the nurse call Max instead. It’d have been comforting in a way having Chance and Rory there hadn’t been even though Bo was grateful they came.
“Where do you wanna sleep?” Max asked. Something in his tone made Bo think it
wasn’t the first time Max had asked.
Bo wondered what Max would say to ‘with you’, but since he couldn’t speak without it feeling like his throat was being ripped to shreds, he settled for tipping his head towards the bunkhouse. It was a little further away than Chance’s house, but Bo had just realised something. He didn’t feel nearly as scared standing there with Max. And after all, Max was the only one who’d thought about him, really thought about him just now. The other three MILES TO GO
Bailey Bradford
37
were still in there little huddle. There was also the fact that Bo didn’t want to intrude on Chance and Rory any more than he already was.
Max looked past him. “Y’all okay with Bo making his own decision?”
The other two men inclined their heads, and while they didn’t look happy, they didn’t object when Max led Bo to the bunkhouse. The woman—Annabelle, he assumed—started walking towards him and Max.
“We should probably put Bo in the middle bedroom, the one with the pair of twin
beds,” Annabelle said as she stepped up to Bo’s other side. “We could take turns sleeping in there, or I can do it.” She paused as they helped him up the steps. “Or maybe Bo would be more comfortable if you stayed with him.”
Bo felt Max tense beside him. Was it fear, or something else that made him do that? Bo glanced at the man and saw the blush that had darkened his cheeks. Max didn’t look angry, or scared. Maybe it was the pain meds that Bo had taken, but he thought Max would look just like he did now if he were a little turned on. Of course, he’d probably never get to know what Max in the midst of arousal looked
