No one had ever made him laugh or feel as lighthearted as the incredible man beside him. A thought struck Gio. “When you said ‘in this relationship,’ you mean…?”

  Sacha’s cheeks went pink, and he shrugged. “I’m not putting a label on it, but if you wanted to hang out and, uh, do stuff together, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

  “By stuff, does that include sex?”

  “Definitely wouldn’t be opposed.”

  Gio laughed softly, then quickly sobered. “I don’t share, Sacha. I especially won’t share you.”

  “Then, um, we won’t share. But if it doesn’t work, we’re cool, yeah? I’m not starting anything if it means fucking up my family.”

  “I agree,” Gio replied. “If it doesn’t work, we’re cool.” He laced his fingers with Sacha’s. “One day at a time, yes?”

  Sacha nodded. “I’d like that. Now, how about you get some rest.”

  “Can I have a kiss first?”

  “I don’t know.” Sacha arched an eyebrow at him. “You going to do what the doctor tells you?”

  Gio gaped at him. “Are you blackmailing me?”

  “You bet your ass. Do we have a deal?”

  “Deal,” Gio said, his smile wide as Sacha leaned in and kissed him ever so gently, his soft lips parting for Gio. They kissed sweetly for what seemed like an eternity, and as far as Gio was concerned, he could have remained that way for the rest of his life quite happily. Sacha pulled away, and Gio groaned his protest, making Sacha chuckle.

  “I need to make a phone call.” Sacha removed his phone from his pocket and tapped away at his screen as he walked toward the end of the bed. “Hey, King. He’s awake. No. We’re good. Thanks. Can you do me a favor? Can you keep the guys away, except for Laz? Gio has some stuff he needs to discuss with his brother in private.”

  Gio cursed under his breath. This was not what he needed right now, but judging by the pointed look Sacha aimed his way, he wasn’t being given a choice. Now was as good a time as any, he supposed. It was probably for the best. Talking to his brother would take his mind off the hot mess that was his life right now. He was certainly too exhausted to attempt wrapping his brain around a possible PTSD diagnosis.

  “I will. Thanks, man.” Sacha hung up and returned to Gio’s side. “You’ve put it off long enough. Your brother deserves better.”

  “You’re right,” Gio said through a sigh.

  A text came through, and Sacha winced. “Laz is on his way. I think the fact that Red felt the need to let me know says your brother is losing his shit. Do you want me to stay here with you?”

  Knowing Sacha would face Laz’s wrath for him made his heart skip a beat.

  “Thank you, but I’ll be okay. This conversation is long overdue. I deserve whatever he throws at me.”

  Sacha nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll be outside with Saint.” He opened the door, and Laz rushed through. He skidded to a halt, turned, and threw his arms around Sacha. Gio held back a laugh at Sacha’s startled expression. He didn’t quite know what to do with Laz’s display of affection. Seeming to snap himself out of it, he awkwardly patted Laz’s back.

  “Thank you,” Laz said, squeezing him before releasing him and stepping away.

  “Sure. I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything.” With one last glance at Gio, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

  Laz hurried over to Gio’s bedside. “What happened? What’s going on?”

  “First, I’d like to apologize for not talking to you sooner. You know how much I hate worrying you.”

  “How am I not going to worry about you? You’re my big brother. I hate that you’ve been keeping things from me.” His eyes filled with a mixture of concern and hurt. “What’s going on, Gio?”

  The time had come. Gio told Laz everything, just as he’d told Sacha, about what happened in Sri Lanka, about the kidnapping, his almost dying, his health condition, including his refusing medication and possibly having PTSD. The silence that filled the room was almost overwhelming, but Gio waited patiently, nonetheless.

  Laz dropped down onto the chair Sacha had vacated earlier. He shook his head and moved a trembling hand to his mouth. “You almost died?” His words were barely a whisper. “I wouldn’t have known until God knows when.”

  “I’m sorry,” Gio replied quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

  Seeing the hurt and disappointment in his brother’s big blue eyes was more painful than anything he’d experienced in his life. He’d spent so long looking after his little brother, doing everything he could to make sure Laz never wanted for anything, he never realized how much he hadn’t been giving his brother.

  “How… how could you keep all this from me?”

  “It’s my job to protect you.” Suddenly his reasoning sounded weak. Was he protecting Laz or himself?

  Anger flashed through his brother’s eyes. “I’m not a child, Giovanni. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, you know I do, but you need to stop treating me like that same little boy you had to raise after Dad died.”

  “I know.”

  “Jesus.” Laz jumped to his feet and paced, his hands in his hair. He spun to glare at Gio. “You almost died!”

  Gio remained silent. His brother had every reason to be livid. Would Gio have reacted all that differently had the roles been reversed?

  “You almost died in some jungle in the middle of fucking nowhere!” Laz continued to pace, grumbling to himself. He shook his head, his jaw clenched tight. Turning, he opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, his jaw muscles working and eyes ablaze. “I could strangle you!”

  Gio had never seen his little brother so angry, and it made him smile. Clearly, that wasn’t the reaction Laz expected, and he stared incredulously at Gio.

  “What on earth could you possibly be smiling about right now?”

  “You. I remember a time when you would have quietly accepted whatever I said and not argued back.”

  Laz snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, well, those days are long gone.”

  “I know, and I’m glad.” His brother had come such a long way. “You’re stronger than I gave you credit for. I’m sorry. I know you don’t need me to look after you anymore.”

  Laz’s expression softened, and he placed a hand on Gio’s arm. “I’ll always need my big brother, but I also need you to understand that I can take care of myself. I also have a small army of former Green Berets looking out for me.”

  Gio laughed softly. “I see that now.”

  “And so do you. Maybe it’s time you let someone take care of you, huh?”

  Gio smiled through the wetness in his eyes and nodded. When had his little brother gotten so strong? It was going to be tough. He’d been taking care of Laz for so long. Even when he’d been abroad, he’d made sure Laz was taken care of, made sure to check in with him, to send him anything he needed. It hadn’t occurred to him that his little brother was all grown up and could take care of himself. And as of a couple of years ago, he had a big strong former Green Beret to protect him as well.

  “I promise I’ll do better at talking to you,” Gio said.

  “Good.” A mischievous smile came onto Laz’s face as he took a seat. “You can start with telling me how things are going with Joker.”

  “Oh, we’re, um, dating. Sort of.”

  Laz eyed him. “Sort of dating?”

  “It’s new. Like, ‘five minutes before you showed up’ new. We’re taking it one day at a time.”

  “Right.” Laz nodded slowly. A smile spread across his face. “Okay. If you’re happy—are you happy?”

  Gio’s heart swelled at the thought of Sacha.

  “I guess that answers that,” Laz said with a laugh, and Gio realized he was smiling like a dope. “I’m happy for you.”

  A knock on the door stopped Gio’s response, and they replied to the doctor’s greeting as he stepped into the room. After reading the chart in his hand, the older man arched a disapproving eyebrow, and Gio groaned.

  “Well, at least you know what you did,” the doctor said with a warm smile. “Now, here’s how we’re going to fix it.”

  Gio and Laz listened intently as the doctor went over Gio’s condition and the medication he’d be starting to help stabilize his heart and blood pressure, which would help with the fainting.

  “Don’t worry, Doctor. He’s going to be following your instructions to the letter.”

  Gio peered at his brother.

  “Because I’ll be giving a copy of this,” Laz said, holding up all the paperwork the doctor had given him, “to my boyfriend, who happens to be a former Green Beret and medic, and another copy to his boyfriend, also a former Green Beret.”

  The doctor blinked at Laz before letting out a hearty laugh. He turned to Gio with a smile. “Well then, Mr. Galanos, I expect your doctor is going to see a good deal of improvement on your follow-up visit.” They exchanged a few more pleasantries before the doctor left to arrange Gio’s discharge.

  “Do you want me to call in Colton? Who are you going home with tonight?”

  Gio cleared his throat. “I was thinking of actually sleeping in my bed tonight.” Reading between the lines, Laz nodded.

  “You think he’ll agree?”

  “I think so. If not, I promise I’ll call Colton.”

  “Okay.” Laz hugged him. “If you need anything at all, you call me.”

  “Absolutely.”

  With one more hug, Laz left the room, and a heartbeat later, Sacha stepped inside. “How did it go?”

  “He was disappointed in me, naturally, but we talked it through. I should have confided in him long ago, but I was still seeing him as that scared little boy he’d once been.”

  “Yeah, he’s less scared and a little more scary these days,” Sacha said with a smile as he took a seat next to Gio’s bedside. “He somewhat forcefully informed me I’d be getting a copy of your paperwork.”

  Gio laughed at that. “He’s rather commanding, isn’t he?”

  “It’s always the quiet ones,” Sacha teased. “So, what’s the plan? We won’t be able to pick up your new medication tonight, but I can pick it up for you in the morning.”

  “Thank you.” Gio met Sacha’s gaze. “Would you… come home with me tonight?”

  Sacha didn’t hesitate. “Sure. I need to call Jack. Just to let him know, since he’s got Chip.”

  “Do you think he’d mind dropping Chip off at mine?”

  Sacha smiled warmly. “He’ll be fine with it.”

  Not long after Gio was discharged, they stepped out into the waiting room, and Gio let out a shaky breath at the sight of all the Kings and their partners. They were all here… for him. Colton hurried over and brought Gio into a gentle hug.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He pulled back and narrowed his eyes. “The only reason I’m not knocking some sense into you is that you just got discharged from the hospital. If you ever do anything like this again, Giovanni, I’m going to be very upset with you.”

  Judging by the pointed look Colton gave him, Laz had brought Colton up to speed, and that was okay. If Laz hadn’t, Gio would have. As calm and collected as Colton appeared—not one fair hair out of place or one wrinkle in his navy Armani suit—Gio knew the truth. He’d scared Colton.

  “I’m sorry I worried you,” Gio said.

  Colton grumbled something unintelligible under his breath that made Gio chuckle. He smiled at Ace, who stepped forward.

  “None of this suffer-in-silence lone-wolf bullshit anymore, got it? You’re family, and family looks after one another.”

  The back of Gio’s eyes stung, and he blinked back the wetness, nodding his understanding.

  “All right, let’s all go home,” King said, patting Gio’s shoulder as if to confirm Ace’s words.

  Colton turned to Gio. “You coming with us?”

  “No, um, I’m going home.”

  Colton’s brows drew together until Gio motioned to Sacha, who was talking to Jack. Realization dawned, and Colton smiled knowingly. “Call if you need anything.”

  “Will do. Thank you.” While Colton headed off, Gio searched the waiting area and found Saint standing serenely to one side. Even in the hospital waiting room, he was on the job, vigilant as he assessed everyone in the place. Gio headed over.

  “Thank you for everything, Saint. I’m sorry for giving you a hard time earlier tonight. I know you were just doing your job.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You were scared for him. I understand that, believe me. It wasn’t easy to do, but you’re my priority, and he understands that. Pretty sure he would kick my ass if I let anything happen to you.” Saint’s eyes widened. “He’s kinda scary for a little guy.”

  “Don’t worry.” Gio patted Saint’s bicep. “I’ll protect you.”

  Saint snorted and resumed his seat to wait for them. It couldn’t have been easy for him to walk away from Sacha, from that situation. It was a testament to Saint’s professionalism that he’d done what he had to, despite the dangers they faced.

  Sacha stepped up to Gio, hands in his pockets, and his lips quirked in a little smile. “Jack’s gonna pick up Chip and drop him off. Ready?”

  With Sacha at his side, Gio was pretty confident he was ready for anything.

  SEVEN

  It was late when they got in, and Gio looked about ready to collapse, but first, he wanted a shower. Joker couldn’t blame him. It had been one hell of a night.

  Jack was on his way with Chip, so Joker ignored Gio’s griping and instructed Saint to stand outside Gio’s bathroom suite door while he showered in case he got dizzy or passed out. Since he’d had a bad episode, the doctor insisted Gio not do anything alone that might leave him in a vulnerable position or without someone within hearing distance.

  Tomorrow Joker would pick up Gio’s new medication and make damn sure he started taking it, though after tonight, with everyone on his ass, Joker would guess Gio wasn’t going to be taking any more stupid risks with his health.

  Since Gio was occupied and Jack hadn’t arrived yet, Joker took the opportunity to do a quick scan of the perimeter. For possible threats, not because he was nosy and wanted to have a good look at the house. He planned on making a closer inspection in the morning when he could see everything properly.

  Gio didn’t spend a lot of time at his house, and Joker couldn’t figure out why. The place was amazing and huge, as Joker had expected. The guy was obscenely wealthy, after all. However, Joker hadn’t expected Gio’s house to be smaller than Colton’s.

  “What the—” Joker stood outside on the patio and stared up at the house. “It’s fucking pink.” Not just any pink. He squinted at the wall next to the bright wall sconce. Salmon pink. “Of course it is.” Joker shook his head, amused. It should have been tacky, but instead it was charming, with its white shutters, white windows, white trim, and a pale gray roof.

  The house was a three-story luxury oceanfront property with two garages, a pool, spa, and firepit. A private walkway led down to the quiet beach. Everything about the house screamed Gio, from the property’s pristine landscaping and impeccable paint job to the interior’s eclectic decor and comfortable-looking mismatched furniture.

  This was the house of a man who’d traveled far and wide and brought back with him a little piece of his experience. Each room was painted a different color—the dining room a pale salmon pink, one guest room a light blue, another a light yellow. The only white rooms were the living room, foyer, and halls.

  Artwork from various parts of the world hung in each room, along with framed photos of Gio smiling wide with the many people he’d helped. The entire house burst with color, inside and out. Anyone who didn’t know Gio and went on outward appearances might be confused, but it all made perfect sense to Joker. For Gio, the places he’d visited, the people he’d met and those he’d helped were more than a job; they were a part of his life.

  Joker had discovered a small elevator inside the house on the main floor, but the doorbell rang, interrupting his exploration. After checking who it was, Joker opened the door for Jack and Chip.

  “Here’s your rotten brat. He wouldn’t shut up the entire ride over here. You didn’t come pick him up like you were supposed to, so he made his displeasure known.”

  “Aw.” Joker knelt to give Chip some love. “Were you a pain in the ass for your uncle Jack? Who’s my good boy?”

  Chip howled and barked, letting Joker know he was mad and he had words for him about it. After an acceptable amount of scritches had been given, Chip turned his nose up at Joker and trotted off to explore.

  “Good luck with that,” Jack said, laughing. “Your dog is such a diva.”

  “He’s fine. He’ll ignore me and give me the side-eye for the rest of the night. I’ll give him his you-know-what in the morning and all will be forgiven.”

  Jack nodded and handed Joker Chip’s bag, along with Joker’s beat-up Army backpack. “What about you?”

  “What about me?” Joker peered at his best friend. He looked a little smug for some reason. Jack shrugged and glanced around the expansive living room.

  “So… pink house.”

  Joker shoved his hands into his pockets with a heavy sigh. “Salmon pink, yes.”

  “It’s nice.”

  “Why are you telling me?”

  Another shrug. “Chip’s gonna love running on the beach.”

  “What’s with the shrugging? You got a tic or something? Cut it out.” And of course Chip would love running on the beach. It wasn’t exactly a new experience for him. Why did Jack make it sound so weird?

  “Hi, Jack.” Gio appeared, and Joker almost swallowed his tongue. He must have made some kind of noise, because his asshole best friend laughed while Gio looked at Joker with concern. “You okay?”

  “Yep. Just, uh, feeling a bit parched. Need some water.”

  “Parched?” Jack mouthed, and Joker flipped him off when Gio had turned away.

  “There are bottles of cold water in the fridge,” Gio informed him, his smile huge as Chip barked, howled, and danced excitedly around his feet.