“No, really, Micah,” Tessa said, voice taking on an uncharacteristically somber tone. “He freaked when he found out you were missing. He punched Jensen in the face. I thought he might trash the interview room. The captain – your dad – tried to have him arrested for assaulting an officer, but Damon convinced him he was more good to you on the outside than locked up – even if we probably would have only been able to hold him for a couple hours.” She shook her head. “I think Damon thought one of his enemies or maybe a rival snatched you. It was sweet, actually, how worried he was. Not that I’ve forgiven him for breaking your heart!” she quickly added when she took in Micah’s dumbfounded expression. “I’m still furious with him for how he reacted to finding out you were a cop. He may have saved your life, but rest assured, that doesn’t change the fact that if he hurts you again, I’ll kill him.”

If he hurt Micah again? But that implied Damon would allow Micah to get close enough to be hurt.

Sure, Micah had come to terms with the fact that he loved the man, and he missed Damon so much it was like a physical ache. But that didn’t mean Damon felt the same way, even if he did forgive Micah for lying to him for so long.

After all, if Damon cared about Micah half as much as Micah cared about him, wouldn’t he be there?

Micah loved his dad, and Tessa, and Jasper, and he appreciated their presence in the hospital more than he could say, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed that someone else was conspicuously absent.

He’d been desperately trying to ignore the fact that Damon wasn’t there, but he couldn’t avoid it any longer.

Where is he?

Tessa frowned at the question. “Honey, where do you think he is?”

Micah shrugged, only expounding when Tessa pointedly raised her eyebrows.

I don’t know. Work? His penthouse?

“Micah, sweetie,” Tessa said, sounding exasperated, “he’s been here since they brought you in. He even rode in the ambulance with you. He hasn’t left the hospital – not even after he got into it with your father and Abram threatened to arrest him. He’s been skulking outside your room this whole time. Honestly, the only reason your dad hasn’t tried to drag him out in cuffs – besides the fact he saved your life – is that he brought a couple of goons with him to watch your door, bodyguards or something. One has a particularly interesting mermaid tattoo on his neck.

Micah numbly wrote on the board.

That’s Geoffrey.

“Geoffrey?” Tessa snorted. “That figures.”

But Micah had more important things to focus on. Damon was here.

But that didn’t explain why he hadn’t come in to see him. He had to know Micah was awake between all the alarms he’d set off in his panic earlier and the sudden barrage of visitors.