“I will stay with him,” I told Lucas.

“I’ll go talk to the brothers about the church.”

“Have someone speak with Dimitri when he returns.”

Kylo gently slapped my back. “I will.” He exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Lucas stayed a little longer, and I waited him out, knowing he had something to say. He sucked in a shuddering breath. “I’m glad you were here today, Adrik. If you hadn’t been, we might not have got to him in time. We might have walked away.” He sniffed. “It’ll be a long healing process, not only physically, but mentally.”

“I will help him.”

“I know you will. But what I’m saying is that he might not want you around when he wakes and is fully with it. He won’t want to be a burden. He won’t want you to see him like this. You’ll need to be persistent.”

“Nothing will have me leave him. Not now.” Not ever. West was mine. If I had not been stubborn in the first place, none of this would have happened. I would have had him with me, at my side, protecting him. “I fucked up.”

“How?”

“I should have gone after him sooner.”

Lucas shook his head. “No one would have seen this coming.”

“I could have. If I had come to him sooner.”

“Don’t blame yourself. West won’t want that.”

It was too late. Even so, I would do everything in my power to make it up to him.

“Do you—” I shook my head. “Never mind.”

“No, you can ask or tell me anything.”

I glanced down at him. Both Kylo and Lucas were good friends for West. No, they were more than that; they were his family. With the amount of time I had been around them, I could see the love they had for one another. I was glad West had that.

But I wanted to give him more.

I wanted to give him what Lucas had with Wreck or Kylo with Saint.

And, of course, I wanted that to come from me and no other.

“West has spoken of me?”

“Yes.”

“So you know I was a client?”

“Yes.”

“Would he want me to be around?”

He paused and bit his bottom lip in thought. Lucas would know what West thought about me. He would also know if deep down West wanted me.

When he nodded, I let out a heavy relieved breath. The gaping hole in my chest filled a little. “Good.” Because nothing West could say would have me leaving him again. In some eyes, it might seem too soon for something between us. Nevertheless, I knew we had something special we could build on.

“I’ll be back soon,” Lucas said.

“Take your time. You know I will be fine here, and I will call if he needs anything medical.”