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“Excuse me, where do you get off calling me boy?”
Then I slipped into a fever dream I never wanted to wake up from.
Holt
A hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“Holt, do you need me to call security?” Mason had no idea who this guy was. Did I want him gone? Yes. But would Watson forgive me if I did that? I wasn’t sure.
“He’s fine,” I lied to Mason. “Stay the fuck away from me,” I warned Watson’s father. “He might want you here, but I don’t.” I moved back to my boyfriend. “You still with me?” I murmured. I had never seen him like this before.
Watson’s eyes fluttered. “Yeah, baby, I’m here.” Oh shit.
“Uh, Watson, we’re in the garage,” I reminded him. “You, me, Mason, Miles, your dad, everyone’s here.” I couldn’t bring myself to look around to see who else might be standing around watching. “You’re delirious,” I tried to brush it off.
“Okay.” His eyes rolled back.
“Mason, get EMS.” I slid my hands over Watson’s cheekbones. This was more than just being upset over his father. This was serious. “Hey, stay with me, okay?” I needed him to keep his eyes on me. Whatever this was, whatever was going on, I needed him alert. “What did you eat for breakfast? Did you cook something, or did you get lunch after your autographs?” Jenna had been with him, so had Miles, but I knew he wasn’t allergic to anything.
I caught sight of a couple EMS workers headed toward us, so I started to step away, but Watson grabbed at my hand and laced his fingers through mine. “Come with me, please,” he begged.
I followed behind as the EMS workers moved Watson to the medical center, making sure to stay out of their way as they looked him over. They checked his temperature, his ears, his eyes, heart, and lungs. He didn’t say much as he clung to my hand, not loosening his grip as he groaned from time to time, but his body began to shake with chills, I started to get scared. What was taking so long to give Watson a diagnosis?
“Hey.” I dragged my hand through his sweat-soaked hair. “I’m here,” I assured him. “I’ll take care of you.” My lips brushed Watson’s ear as I spoke. “You know that.”
His lips twitched as he tried to smile. “Mad?” he asked.
“At you, never ever.”
“My dad.”
I cringed but didn’t want to get into that with him now. Maybe later, when he was back to his usual self. “I love you,” I reminded him, and that seemed to work because Watson relaxed against the table before he started to drift off.
“You’re together.”
I jumped at the voice, then realized his father was standing behind us. Oh crap. “What do you want?” I ignored the question.
“You’re the man my son is with.” He moved into the room, his eyes dropping to where our fingers were still laced together. “No wonder he doesn’t want anyone to know.”
I kept a tight grip on his hand. “It’s none of your business.” I kept my voice low so no one else could hear. “I think you’ve done enough damage today.” I glanced over at Watson to make sure he was still resting.
“Really? You think I’m the one who has done the damage? Imagine what this will do to his career when it gets out.”
“Are you... Is that some sort of threat?” My lip curled up over my teeth.
“If you say one more word, I will have you arrested for blackmail.” Miles’s voice bounced through the room. “Do you understand me? Out!” He pointed toward the door as he stepped inside. “Not you, Holt. You stay right there. I want Ethan Brooks gone. You’re not allowed anywhere near the races, but I bet Watts didn’t tell you that. No, he’s too busy looking for your damn respect. Not me, though. I won’t hesitate to call security and have your ass hauled right out of here.” His nostrils flared angrily. “If you say one word, one damn word about these two boys, I will make your life a living hell. Do not make me tell you again, Ethan,” he growled.
I watched, wide-eyed, as Watson’s father left without a word before Miles turned back to me.
“I can explain.” I couldn’t, but that didn’t stop me from trying to come up with something.
“I’m no fool.” Miles shook his head. “I’m just surprised it took this long for Watts to figure it out. You know the media is going to have a field day with this, Holt.” He waved a hand at me when I started to protest. “I don’t care, it’s none of my business if you two are together, even if you are stepbrothers. It happens more often than you think. You’ve always taken such good care of him, and he loves you just as much as you love him. He just needs to catch up.” He winked at me. “You need to make an announcement before Ethan does, though, because he will say something. It may not be tomorrow or next week, but he will open his mouth to the wrong person.”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“It’s stress. I think having Ethan show up pushed him over the edge,” Miles told me. “Watts needs to rest up today so he can race tomorrow. I’ll get a sub to qualify his car today, which means shit, because he’ll have to start at the back tomorrow, but it’s something. You want help getting him back to the RV? Mason’s outside.”
“Yes, sir, thank you,” I said again because I wasn’t sure what else I could say. So many things were running through my head right now, but mostly I was worried about getting Watson back to his normal self again.
