Cody cracked an eye and then turned his head as a well-dressed, older man walked into the room. He wasn’t well-dressed as much as he just looked like he had money. Lots of money. He wore a New York Panthers collared shirt, pressed blue jeans—the kind that showed they’d probably never seen a day of manual labor in their existence.
For some reason, he knew he should know this man, but he couldn’t place him in his fumbled brain.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Knox,” he said, coming to stop in the middle of the room among all of his family. Cody looked closer at the doctor, associating the name, but nothing about the man resembled Mitch.
“I’m Johnny Turner, thank you for coming all this way.” Cody watched his dad shake the doctor’s hand.
“It’s not a problem at all. Is this our patient?” Dr. Knox asked. Cody’s heart stirred as the doctor looked his way. Mitch had his eyes. Dr. Knox then gave him a small smile and there were those dimples.
Cody tried to adjust himself. He lifted his good arm to check his hair, but exhaustion had him dropping it in mid-motion.
“This is Cody. He’s our youngest. This is my wife, Connie, and the rest of our crew.” Dr. Knox extended a hand to his mom and looked at the rest of his family, but walked toward the bed, that special smile still in place.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Dr. Knox reached out to take his hand. Cody tried to give a formal shake, but the medicine made him weak. Dr. Knox changed the hold as he gripped Cody and held on as he stood over him. “I wish this were under better circumstances.”
“You live in New York,” Cody responded. Dr. Knox’s smile broadened.
“I do. Mitch asked me to come and look at the care you’re getting. I wanted to stop in and make sure you’re comfortable with his idea before I introduce myself to your doctors.”
“Yes, sir, but I don’t wanna put you out. I don’t think it’s as bad as it could’ve been,” Cody stated.
“You got lucky. No question there,” Dr. Knox agreed. “Since you’re good with me being here, I’ll head down to the nurse’s station, get in touch with your doctors, and give any opinions I think necessary. Is there anything you need before I go?”
“Just sleep.” Cody glanced over at his family. Dr. Knox followed his gaze to see his entire family watching them.
“We have a crew like this back home. Drives Mitch a little crazy. I’ll see what I can do,” he laughed. He didn’t lower his voice, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. “You get some rest. Mitch has this place locked down as if the president himself was in this hospital. If you need me, I’ll leave my phone number at the nurse’s station. Buzz them and they can get a hold of me.” Dr. Knox released Cody’s hand to straighten his blankets.
“Thank you for coming.” Cody was touched by Mitch’s father’s actions. “I’m sorry you came all this way. I think I’m fine.” Cody’s eyes drooped, the medication making him drowsy.
“Mitch never asks anything of anyone. He’s worried. I’ll be his eyes here to evaluate that worry for him,” Dr. Knox said, and Cody had no idea how to respond so he didn’t. Dr. Knox patted his legs and turned to his family. “Can I talk with you outside?”
It was crazy how much Cody appreciated that gesture. When his family left the room, a security guard came inside and stationed himself at the door, but never made eye contact with him. He didn’t even care and fell asleep within minutes of having an empty room.
~~~
Patience never came easy for Mitch, but this plane ride from Austin to DC had just about killed him. Sitting for hours, after so much drama, had Mitch fighting off moments of serious panic. First and foremost, he worried about Cody. Leaving that man had been about the hardest thing he’d ever done, and he wasn’t certain he would have left if Kreed hadn’t shown up.
Kreed was the voice of reason. Something he never considered about the guy before. Kreed also had a clue as to what Mitch was feeling for Cody which was just weird to him. He’d known Kreed ten plus years and never had the guy given any clue that he’d had someone important in his life.
Neither Kreed nor Mitch had their laptops. Mitch had left his in the airport security truck. Who knew where it was now. Kreed had left DC without his. About halfway through the flight, Kreed got internet on his phone, but text and signal were still impossible. The lack of communication hadn’t helped Mitch’s mental state at all.
When they landed, both their phones went nuts. They were ushered off the plane first. Actually he and Kreed stood by the door, phones in hand, before the flight attendants were even unbuckled. Mitch ignored the looks as Kreed glanced over his shoulder.
“Are you calling Connors or the hospital?” Kreed asked.
“My dad sent me a text. I need to call him,” Mitch answered, wondering why in the hell he was putting the call to his father before finding out if Agent Langley had actually been apprehended.
“Cool, I’ll call Connors.” The doors opened, and they ate up the distance to the gate. By the time they hit the terminal, Kreed gave him a thumb’s up and slapped him a high-five. Mitch participated, but listened only to his father talk about Cody’s condition.
“He’s good, Son. I can’t find anything I’d change or recommend that they aren’t doing. I’ve heard some rumbling that the Austin PD wants to be more involved. They don’t like being pushed out, but that’s the only conflict. Only family members are allowed in his area.”
“They aren’t supposed to release any information on his condition until we get this done on our end,” Mitch informed his dad, following Kreed through the airport with a finger stuck inside his other ear.
“Pieces are getting out. Lots of speculation, but his medical team here is very solid.”