AllFreeNovel
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“I’m sorry, Nico,” she says quietly after a few minutes. “A nurse at the hospital seems to have developed a fascination with me. He made it extremely difficult to borrow what I needed for Mrs. De L—” she stumbles on her words, pulling a face as they appear to sour in her mouth, as if choking her, “Miss Bianchi, I mean.”
“Do we need to worry about him?”
“Danny is harmless. A complete narcissist with delusions of grandeur, but otherwise harmless.”
“Last name?” I push.
She hesitates, considering the implications of giving his details to a man of my… talents. She shrugs before giving in. “Costello, his name is Daniel Costello.” She takes a breath and then adds, “Don’t kill him, Nico. The guy’s a prick, but not a threat.”
“Understood.” I nod, accepting that I’m not supposed to kill him. Doesn’t mean I won’t, but I will pass his details on to Sin to have him checked out.
Ten minutes later, we’re pulling into the garage. She heads down with what she can carry, and I transfer the rest down to Sick Bay. It’s what I call it, or at least it is since Benny forced me to watch what must be every fucking episode of Star Trek ever made. It’s fortunate the man sucks cock like a vacuum cleaner, because if I never have to watch another episode, it will be too fucking soon. Unless it’s Voyager—Seven of Nine is hot. She could join us any fucking time.
While I’m bisexual, Benny hasn’t quite figured out where he lands yet. He’s only really dated me. I’ve tried to encourage him to explore how he feels, but he thinks it’s a betrayal of what we have. He’ll figure it out when he’s ready. I couldn’t give a shit what our labels are. I’m secure in our relationship.
That man is it for me. Now I’ve found him, I’m not letting him go. And I’ll keep telling him until it sinks in.
I’m on my third and final trip down to the basement. I knock on the door this time and pop my head in, letting her know everything she requested is here. As I look over the scene, I’m taken aback. Doc Em raises her finger to her lips, so we don’t disturb them.
Strewn on either side of the hospital bed are Zo and Sin. Hunched over, Zo perches on a stool, resting his head on one arm by her side while the other is reaching forward, holding her hand at her waist. Sinclair’s fallen asleep in the armchair on the other side with one hand on his laptop keyboard and the other on her pillow, stroking her hair.
Fucking pussies. I take out my phone and grab a photo to wind them up with later and Doc Em giggles at me. She approaches, then shakes them awake.
“Out of my way, boys. I need to take her x-rays. In the nicest possible way, all of you fuck right off,” she asserts.
Enzo rises, tilting his head to chivvy Sin along. We all head out of the room as Enzo calls back, “I’ll be back in fifteen.”
We enter the kitchen and stop to circle the island. Enzo looks about as well rested as usual, which means he looks like a zombie. Sin doesn’t look much better.
“I’ll grab a shower and head back down. You two need to sleep. Nico, tell Benny to take over from me when he’s ready. We’ll take shifts. Someone should be with her always.” Enzo commands, shifting easily into boss-mode.
“What about now?” I ask.
Enzo drops his eyes and brings them back up, debating what he wants to say. We’ve worked together for years, we read each other like a book. “Doc Em needs the room for x-rays?—”
“Cut the bullshit, boss. What gives?” I ask.
His eyes flick between us, not nervously, but considering his options. Taking a breath, he concedes. “She needs to examine Aurora. Without us present. Stuff that’s not our business, alright?”
“Shit. Understood,” I reply, “but are we sure we can trust Doc Em, given the circumstances? We don’t know for sure who we can trust, do we?”
With that, Sin punches me in the shoulder. “Shut the fuck up, you prick. Doc Em is solid.”
I raise a questioning eyebrow and Enzo growls out, “She was one of Isabella Bianchi’s closest friends. She’s known Aurora since she was born. There’s no one I would trust more with Aurora’s care.”
I nod and hold my hand up in apology. “Wasn’t questioning your authority, boss. I didn’t know. Before my time, you’ve got a decade on me.”
Running his hand down the back of his neck, he volleys his head, conceding my point.
I turn to Sinclair. “I need you to add a name to your list of people whose asses you need to crawl up. Danny Costello. Nurse at the hospital giving Doc Em trouble. Persistent fucker that seems to have a problem with the word no and was butting his nose into her business while she was grabbing the stuff we needed.” He takes out his phone and makes a note.
“I’ll do it first thing.” With that, he nods at Zo and heads to his room.
I face Enzo and see his brows drawn in… confusion, anger, sadness? “I meant nothing by it, Enzo.”
He shakes his head as if trying to shake off whatever was haunting him. “I know, Nico, I know. We’re good.”
“Talk, boss.”
