Page 49 of Flash and Bang
“Lie back,” the second man crooned softly as he squatted beside Jarrett. “Your partner has a fewminor lacerations but nothing is broken that I can tell,” the man said. “I told him he had to stay on the ground but he’s not going to stay long. He wants to see you and know you’re all right.”
Warmth spread through Jarrett and he wanted to get off the ground and run to Thayne. He turned his head and saw him walking toward him. He was covered with dirt and his clothes were torn. Thank God they’d both put on their heavy leather jackets. Thayne’s was ripped at the shoulder but he looked like an angel to Jarrett. The expression on his lover’s face was one of grave concern as he knelt beside Jarrett and leaned over him. He had a laceration across his forehead at the hairline. The gash was bleeding and running down his face but other than that, he looked beautiful. Jarrett closed his eyes as Thayne leaned down and pressed his face to the side of his. He whispered to him.
“Thank God,” he sighed. “You all here, Jarrett?” Thayne sat back on his heels and ran his hands over Jarrett’s leather jacket frantically.
“I think so.”
“I thought you were dead, Marine.”
The sob in Thayne’s shaky voice was heartbreaking. Jarrett reached up and cupped the back of Thayne’s head sinking his fingers intoThayne’s dark hair. It was filled with twigs and dirt but it felt amazing to Jarrett. He was so grateful Thayne seemed unhurt except for the cut which would need stitches for sure. “I’m okay, darlin’. You doin’ okay?”
Thayne answered him by kissing the side of Jarrett’s head. “Yes. Now that I see you’re okay.” He brushed the palm of his hand over Jarrett’s forehead and hair, probably brushing away twigs and dirt. “I spoke to the 911 operator. They’re sending a life flight to lift you out of this canyon. You might have internal injuries and with the traffic, an ambulance will take too long to get here, Jarrett.” He leaned down again, kissing his temple. He let his lips linger on Jarrett’s face. Jarrett breathed in the scent of Thayne before he sat back on his heels again and stared down into his face. Thayne’s eyes glistened with unshed tears and it made Jarrett’s stomach do a flip-flop. Thayne caressed his cheek gently.
“He’s gonna be okay,” the first nurse said. His voice was compassionate and Jarrett was so relieved. He watched the nurse hand Thayne a piece of gauze, telling him to hold it to the cut. Thayne took the gauze and did as he was told, not moving his other hand which was still on Jarrett’s cheek. It was as if he was reluctant to break any connection they had with each other. Jarrett watched Thayne’s face for amoment, leaning into the touch of the palm on his cheek and then let his eyelids close. In seconds he was unconscious.
****
Thayne didn’t think Jarrett would remember much of the flight that transported him to the hospital. One minute those gorgeous ice-blue eyes had been staring into Thayne’s and the next minute he’d passed out only to be revived by the unmistakablewhoop whoopof helicopter blades approaching. Pretty soon, a huge life flight helicopter was hovering above them. Thayne bent and covered Jarrett’s face with his own body so he wouldn’t get pelted with debris being kicked into the air from the helicopter blades. The rescue team dropped a basket and rappelled on ropes down to where they waited on the hillside. The rescue team jostled Jarrett into the basket as gently as possible, after strapping him onto a board and putting a large plastic collar on him to stabilize his neck. For all Thayne knew, Jarrett might have broken his neck or his back and the thought was terrifying. Thayne stood by quite helpless to do much as the nurses explained what the next step would be as they loaded Jarrett into the basket.
The nurses offered to take Thayne to thehospital where he could be checked over and Thayne was so grateful, he felt the sting of tears prick his eyes. He watched until Jarrett’s basket had been raised and he was safely in the helicopter before making the long trip back up the hillside with the help of the two nurses who’d come to their aid. Having them there to help him and Jarrett had truly been a miracle. Jarrett surely would have injured himself even worse, trying to get to him, if Adam hadn’t insisted he stay put. The men were guardian angels and Thayne sent up a silent prayer of thanks as they each took one of his arms to help him climb back up the hill. They’d tumbled a long way, perhaps two or three hundred feet. It was a miracle he and Jarrett had both come out of that canyon alive.
The Harley lay halfway up from where they’d eventually stopped falling, tangled in a massive Manzanita tree. It was destroyed and all Thayne could think was how unfair life had been to Jarrett lately. As far as Thayne was concerned, he never wanted to get back onto a bike again, even one as nice as Jarrett’s had been, regardless of how close he felt to his lover when his arms were wrapped around him as they drove.
When Thayne got to the top of the hill, the two nurses, Adam and John, led them over to their Honda Civic which they’d parked on the shoulderjust beyond the area where he and Jarrett had been pushed over. Traffic was still slow going but it seemed to speed up after they got a couple of miles down the road. Adam, the driver, told Thayne that they both worked at Loma Linda University Medical Center where the helipad was located. John explained that the hospital was a major trauma center for the area and it was where Jarrett was headed. Thayne was just so grateful that these two kind men had been on the scene to help them out, he thanked his lucky stars for them.
“So, you and Jarrett are lovers? You said you were partners.” Adam asked, pinning Thayne with a look in the rearview mirror.
Thayne was a little thrown for a minute. No one had ever asked him that before and he didn’t know what to say. He stared at the reflection of Adam’s eyes in the mirror. His expression didn’t appear to be judging or the least bit of anything but genuinely curious. Thayne watched him for a while before nodding. “Yes, we’re lovers and partners. We are agents with the ATF.”
“The ATF? Like, alcohol, tobacco, and firearms? That’s so sexy,” John said, swiveling around in his seat.
“Baby, don’t say something like that,” Adamchided. He reached across the front seat’s console and took John’s hand.
“It’s okay,” Thayne said. He was slightly surprised that the men were so open with their relationship. It seemed the men were much more than coworkers. He wondered if he and Jarrett would ever be able to be open about their relationship and with a pang of regret he realized that was probably never going to happen as long as they were partners at work.
“So, were you on like some big case or something?” John asked. “Oh! Do you think someone was trying to kill you?”
Thayne smiled. John was practically bouncing in his seat and as entertaining as it was, he could only think of Jarrett and how injured he was. It was scaring the crap out of him and he just wished they’d get to the hospital soon. “I’m not so sure what happened back there,” he said. He’d only gotten a glimpse of the SUV when he’d glanced over his shoulder after being hit the first time. “I don’t suppose the two of you happened to get a license plate off the SUV that hit us?”
“No,” Adam said. “Actually, I was too worried when I saw the bike go over to think of anything but how in the hell the two of you were going to survivethat drop to look for the guy’s license plate. I’m sorry. Now, I wish I would have tried to write it down. All I could think of was getting down that hill to see if I could help.”
“That’s because you are a wonderful caregiver and it’s why I love you,” John said. He made a kissing moue toward his partner.
“Thank you for what you did back there. Jarrett’s so stubborn, if you hadn’t been there, he would have probably injured himself even worse trying to get to me.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” John said. “He must love you very much. How cool is it that you can work together as partners.”
“Yeah, well, our boss doesn’t know about our relationship, only that we make decent enough partners. Jarrett has saved my life more than once,” Thayne said. Saying the word relationship out loud felt weird. He didn’t know how Jarrett would take that description of them. He wondered why he was being so open with these men but they were very easy to talk to and he instinctively knew they wouldn’t let anyone else know about him and Jarrett. It actually felt wonderful to talk to someone about his man. He hadn’t been able to confide in anyone. He probably could have called his mother and talked to her sincehe was out to her but it wasn’t the same thing as being able to tell another guy about it. It still felt strange, though.
“Adam and I have to keep our life a secret as well,” John said. “I hate it but the hospital has a no fraternization policy among employees. I mean, it’s bullshit. A lot of the men and women I know date each other but when it comes to two gay guys…”
“John, you don’t know that,” Adam chided. “How many of our coworkers are gay and lesbian? A ton of them. The hospital was really good about it when Blaine had to take time off to be with his husband when he got sick.”
“Yeah, but Blaine’s husband doesn’t work at the hospital. It’s easy to follow the rule of the law and grant a guy paid family leave to be with his dying husband,” John said.
Adam looked into the rearview mirror again. “I’m sorry. We’re not fighting. Not really. This is the way we make love,” he said to Thayne.
Thayne smiled. “It’s okay.” He looked out the window. They were finally going the speed limit since traffic had unsnarled.