Michael sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. He’d been so caught up in the drama with his brothers that he hadn’t even thought to ask if Tyler had survived.
Pretty shitty, especially considering that Tyler had probably kept them all from burning to a crisp.
“Stop,” he said to Tyler. “Wait. I’m sorry.”
Tyler turned, and one crutch squeaked against the floor. “Did you just say you’re sorry?”
“Don’t make me take it back.” He paused and gave Tyler a clear once-over. “I’m glad you didn’t lose your leg or anything.”
“They said I might need surgery. Screw that. I told them to give me the good pain pills and let me get the hell out of here.”
Michael raised his eyebrows. “And they listened?”
“Nah, but Quinn brought me a lighter. My second ultrasound looked amazing. They must have read the first one wrong. The crutches are really just for show. ” Tyler half smiled. “Maybe I should have brought you a bag of sand or something.”
“I’m all right. Nick helped.” Michael swallowed.
Tyler glanced at Hunter and Adam. “Yeah, they told me what happened.” He paused. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” He gave a laugh though nothing was very funny. “I don’t even know where my wallet is, much less—”
“Here,” said Hunter. He pulled a plastic bag from beneath his chair. “The nurse brought this by. She said it was everything you had on you.”
Michael began pulling things free. His jeans: filthy and torn. His shirt: filthy, torn, and bloody. His shoes followed the trend.
But at the bottom of the bag was his wallet—with everything intact, from what he could tell—and his watch. He pocketed the first and slipped the second over his wrist. In the pocket of his jeans he found his keys.
He pocketed those, too. “At least I have access to a vehicle,” he said. Maybe his day was looking up.
Adam and Hunter exchanged glances.
“What?” said Michael. “Jesus. I can’t handle one more thing. What?”
Hunter winced. “The truck isn’t drivable.”
“Define ‘isn’t drivable.’ ”
“Like . . . you can’t drive it.”
“Hunter!”
“You were parked behind the bar,” said Adam. “Hannah said most vehicles took some damage, but the truck had a beam through the cab. They towed it. You can probably—”
“Stop. God. Stop.” Michael ran his hands down his face. His truck. His truck.
No. Not his.
His father’s.
He waited for this news to tighten his chest and bring tears to his eyes, but surprisingly, he felt nothing. Maybe all his emotion had been used up.
“Have you been back to the house?” he said, his voice bleak. “What about the SUV? Is that drivable?”
“They’re not letting anyone on the court,” said Hunter. “Well, not us anyway. We tried, but they’ve got it cordoned off, with an officer standing guard.”
“Great.”
“I have a truck,” said Tyler.
“Good for you,” Michael snapped. “I’m sure you have a place to live, too.”
“Maybe if you’d quit with the shitty attitude I could say, yeah, I do, and yeah, you can stay with me.”
Now they were all staring at him. For the first time, Tyler looked uncomfortable. He shrugged and looked back at the door. “If you need a place. I have a spare bedroom. I’m just saying.”
“Why would you do that?” said Michael.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
Michael didn’t buy it. “You? Altruistic? Try again.”
“Because it’s what my sister would want me to do.”
That, Michael bought. It had been years since Tyler’s sister had died, but Michael still had clear memories of Emily Morgan. She’d been the first Elemental in town who treated him like a human being instead of someone who needed to be put to death.
“Won’t it piss off your parents?” he asked Tyler.
“You going to call and tell them?”
“No, but I don’t want to wake up chained to the bed and set on fire, either.”
“Look, man, whatever you want to do with your sex life is your business—”
“I’m serious,” said Michael. Tyler and his friends had once trapped Michael in a parking lot. They’d pinned him to the ground with a truck chain and Tyler himself had put a butane lighter against Michael’s face.
It had been years ago, but Michael hadn’t forgotten. Tyler’s sister had rescued him—but that moment had led down the path that had ended with Emily’s death.
Tyler hadn’t forgotten either. He looked at Michael. “I can’t play both sides anymore. I’m either one of you or one of them.” His expression didn’t waver. “I don’t know who blew up the restaurant, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he sent you to a place my parents own. A place where I’d be. Do you?”
Michael hadn’t considered it. He’d been focused on the people he’d been told to bring: his brothers and the police. He hadn’t thought about the people who’d already been there.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all.” He paused. “What if he targets your place?”
Tyler’s expression darkened. “He already tried to get rid of me once.”