At the same time, a shout from the western end of the bridge caused both of them to jump.
“Stop where you are! Don’t move, and don’t jump! Help is on the way!”
Noah and Eduardo both shot to their feet, scrambling to climb all the way back onto the center portion of the bridge. Noah’s foot slipped at one point, and for a horrible moment, he thought he would fall backwards. But a pair of strong arms caught him and hauled him up from the low wall that separated the edges of the bridge from its outer lip.
“Don’t struggle, sir,” the police officer who had him said. “Don’t move until we get you back to safety.”
“Noah?” Beckett’s voice cut through every other tumultuous thought Noah had. “Noah!”
Unexpected joy filled Noah from head to toe. All he wanted was to break away from the police officer and run to his beloved. He wanted to drop to Beckett’s feet and beg forgiveness for yet another moment of madness. He never should have even dreamed of taking his own life. It wouldn’t have been fair to Beckett, and Beckett was all that mattered now.
As he pulled away from the police officer, Noah turned to his new friend…but Eduardo wasn’t there. The man had completely vanished.
“Eduardo?” he called out, searching this way and that. He even moved to the edge of the wall to lean over in case Eduardo had crawled back toward the support tower. “Eduardo?”
“Sir, move back from the edge,” the police office said, grabbing the back of his coat and yanking him.
“But my friend,” Noah said.
“There’s nobody there, sir,” the police officer said. “Just you.”
“No. There was another man with me,” Noah insisted.
And yet, no matter how much he searched, Eduardo was gone.
ChapterTwenty
Beckett couldn’t make out what was happening farther along the bridge clearly as he, his father, Marcus, Blaise, and Graham followed the policeman they’d met in Battery Park—and a few others who had been keeping watch at the base of the bridge—out toward the center. A lone policeman had preceded them onto the bridge minutes before as Beckett had argued with the other officers about being allowed onto the bridge. But when it became apparent that morning traffic would begin traversing the bridge soon anyhow, the policemen let them go.
“Noah?” Beckett called out when he was sure the figure who appeared to be either struggling with or grasping onto the lone officer for support was, in fact, his beloved. “Noah!”
Beckett broke into a run, pushing ahead of his father, his friends, and the other policemen. He wanted only one thing, to have Noah in his arms again, safe and sound. He didn’t care who was there or what they might say, he just wanted his lover.
Noah seemed confused as Beckett charged toward him. He glanced around anxiously, as if searching for something. But as soon as Beckett was within a few yards of him, Noah’s attention snapped to Beckett.
“Beckett!” he called out, surging the last few feet to throw himself into Beckett’s arms.
Beckett shouted with wordless joy as he crushed Noah to him, hugging him as though he would never let to. “You’re alive, you’re safe,” he bellowed, amazed that his mind could conjure words.
“I’m sorry,” Noah wept, but the words were immediately lost as Beckett clasped a hand on the back of Noah’s head and pulled him in for a shattering kiss.
The relief that spilled through Beckett in torrents sweetened their kiss until Beckett didn’t think he’d be able to survive without Noah. Nothing had ever tasted better than his mouth and his tongue as Beckett drew it into his mouth. Nothing could possibly be as warm and reassuring as Noah’s body wrapped around his. Beckett couldn’t hold him close enough, couldn’t meld with him enough until they were one, soul and body, and he would never have to worry about losing Noah again.
“I’m sorry,” Noah panted again when Beckett let him breathe. Tears streamed down his face, but Beckett immediately moved to clasp Noah’s face and wipe his tears with his thumbs. “I shouldn’t have left you like that. I just…I just felt compelled.”
“I understand,” Beckett gasped, drinking in the sight of Noah’s regret-filled face close to his. “I forgive you. I will always forgive you. I should have been more vigilant. I know how you struggle.”
Noah shook his head, and a mournful sound caught in his throat before he formed it into words. “I shouldn’t be your responsibility like that. You shouldn’t have to mind me like I’m a child.”
“I want to,” Beckett said, stressing the words. “I love you, Noah. I love you for your brilliance and your flaws. I love you on your good days and your bad ones. You make me feel as though I have purpose, for the first time in my life. I want this. I want you.”
He crashed into Noah again, kissing him until he was dizzy. Noah hugged him, fisting Beckett’s coat tightly, as though he’d suddenly realized his life was in peril and he didn’t want to fall. Beckett would never let him fall, not if he—and the people surrounding them—could help it.
Someone cleared their throat nearby. “Gents, you might want to….”
Beckett rocked back at the unfinished sentence to find Graham standing close, glancing between them and the policemen with a warning look.
Marcus and Blaise seemed to be arguing with the policemen while Beckett’s father stood nearby. Two of the policemen were pointing to Beckett and Noah with scandalized looks.