Hetch (Men OF S.W.A.T #1)(99)

“So the raid was a bust. Trebook may possibly have a gang war brewing. Detective Marsh doesn’t have a case, and I took two bullets for the f*ck of it?” I summarize what we know.

“We did get Anton.” The only silver lining of the night is delivered by Sterling. Anton off the street is good news.

“Oh, and Detective Marsh is pissed at you for getting shot,” Tate adds, looking over at Hart.

“She’s not pissed. She’s just not looking forward to the clean-up,” Hart defends her. His quick support of the feisty detective confirms my suspicions of the two.

“You have a thing for Marsh, Hart?” I ask outright. No point in f*cking around with suspicions.

“No.” His scoff and fast-delivered scowl tells me different.

“Come on, Hart. You’re f*cking her, admit it.” Fox stirs the pot.

“Fox, I’m not kidding. You keep running your mouth and you’re gonna regret it.” Hart pushes off the wall and steps to the middle of the room. I’m getting way too much enjoyment seeing Hart get worked up over the dig.

“What’s the matter, Hart? Am I hitting a nerve?” Fox keeps his stance, not intimidated by Hart’s threats. My eyes move to Sterling and watch him roll his eyes at their petty bickering.

“So Dominic hasn’t been exposed?” My concern isn’t for the safety of Dominic; it’s for his brother. I don’t want anything to touch Mitch. If Dominic is exposed, there is definitely no way I’m letting him anywhere near Mitch.

“No. As far as Anton knows, Morales turned on him too and instead of turning up for the meet, he sent the cops. Dominic’s cover wasn’t questioned.”

“Jesus, what a f*cking mess. I should have realized this wasn’t going to end well.” I shake my head, forgetting about my neck until the tightness hits me right before the pain.

“Yeah, well it’s out of our hands now. Marsh isn’t going to give up until she has Morales. So you just worry about getting yourself back together,” Walker assures me, but I feel anything but reassured. There’s still the issue of Dominic coming back into Mitch’s life.

“Well, the sooner I get out of here, the sooner I’m back,” I tell them, wondering how long I have to take off.

The doctor explained my injuries last night but didn’t confirm how long I’d be out of work for. My guess is a few weeks.

“I’m sorry, but no talk of going back to work while you’re still in the hospital, Liam,” my mom scolds from the doorway.

“Yeah, listen to your mommy, boss,” Fox taunts from the corner of the room, clearly intent on pissing everyone off today.

I don’t bother arguing with him or my mother. The fact she has Liberty and Kota at her back makes the decision a whole lot easier.

“How are you, boys?” Mom steps into the room and walks around to all of them, offering a hug and kiss on the cheek. They all take it with a quick, “Hi Mrs. Hetcherson.” Kota hangs back, her eyes moving between Sterling and me, while Liberty comes straight to me.

“Hey, sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I had to organize some things for the boys at Haven. Sue called just as we made it to the coffee shop. Your mom and Kota sat down with me.” She offers me a quick kiss.

“It’s okay. I’m good here. Do you need to go in?”

“No, just trying to delegate some things. Then Mitch wanted to talk. He’s been on my case about coming up to see you. I told him I’d talk to you about it.” I can tell she’s unsure about the prospect of bringing Mitch in, but I don’t want to ask her about her reservations while we have a room full of people.

“I’d like that,” I tell her, and it’s the truth. Mitch and Liberty are cut from the same cloth. They wear their heart on their sleeves. Until he sees for himself that I’m okay, he’s going to be taking it hard. Besides, I need to talk to him about Dominic. Detective Marsh might think she’s done a good thing by making this deal, but if Mitch doesn’t want this, then I’m not going to let it happen. I need to figure out if he’s in the right head space for it. Mitch is a good kid. If Dominic is going to be coming back into his life again, he’s going to need someone who has his back. I’m his person. I’ve grown attached to him, and I hope I’m making a difference in his life. He is without a doubt, making one in mine.





Forty





Liberty





“So you’re saying I have no say in this?” Mitch stands and paces the length of Hetch’s hospital room. It’s been three days since Hetch woke up and after coordinating with Sue the last two days, she was finally able to drop him off at the hospital for a visit.

“We’re not saying that, Mitch. We’re just telling you what we know. So you’re prepared.” Hetch tries to calm him, but I can see Mitch starting to work himself up.

The pacing.

The way his hands clench, opening and closing tightly.

The panic in his eyes, the quick rise and fall of his chest.

He's not taking this the way I thought he would at all.

“Well, I don’t want to see him.” He stops his pacing and turns to face us, his cheeks holding a red flush. “I refuse to.”

“You don’t want to at least try, Mitch? You won’t be alone. The visitation will be monitored.” I try to reason with him. When Hetch told me about Dominic and his involvement in The Disciples, I suspected Mitch would be confused, but the last thing I expected was for him to be this angry about it.