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“Is he any good?”
“The best in the business.” Something dark moved through Zak’s eyes. “These guys saved me, brought me home from Afghanistan. If anyone can save Pierce, it’s them.”
chapter
twenty-six
Cal was admitted to the hospital for two nights for severe dehydration, but he was ready to get out of there after the first few hours. By the first morning, she was about as successful at keeping him still and quiet as she was at keeping Puzzle from eating all of her socks. Which was to say, not successful at all.
“Cal, you need to rest. Don’t make me tie you to this bed.”
“While that sounds fun…” He stood up and wobbled a little, grabbing the overbed table to steady himself. “I want to see Pierce.”
She rolled her eyes, but instead of arguing with him, she just got a wheelchair from the hallway.
He eyed it with suspicion as she wheeled it in. “Thanks, but I can walk.”
“You can barely stand, and you have an IV. It’s either this or you sit your gorgeous ass back down on that bed and relax like the doctor ordered.”
Cal smirked. “You’re kinda hot when you’re bossy.”
Ellie’s face flushed as she gave him a playful shove back into the bed. “Not helping your case, Holden. You’re staying put.”
He caught her hand before she pulled away, and for once, his expression was serious. “Elle, I need to see him. They hurt him because of me. Please.”
She held his gaze for a beat, saw the worry and guilt eating away at him, and sighed. “Okay. But let me see if he’s up for a visit first.”
Cal grumbled but settled back into the bed. “Ellie,” he called when she got to the door. “Tell him I’m sorry.”
Her heart clenched. It was wrong for Cal to look so… sad. “I will. Please try to rest. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
The hallway outside was bustling with nurses and doctors, their movements quick and urgent. The smell of antiseptic hung in the air like a heavy blanket, and Ellie quickened her pace to escape it.
Pierce had been upgraded from critical to stable yesterday and moved into a regular room down the hall from Cal’s. She found him propped up in bed, his dark eyes glued to a silent TV, but he didn’t appear actually to be watching the news segment. He looked miles away.
She tapped on the door. “Pierce?”
He glanced up as she entered, and his gaze softened.
“Hey.” She walked in and perched on the chair beside his bed. She’d visited him every day, but now that she knew he had a thing for her, there was an awkwardness between them that hadn’t been there before. She liked him—she’d always liked him, but only as a friend. She wished she’d known about his feelings before… but even if she had, it wouldn’t have made a difference. There was only one man who had ever sparked her interest, and he was currently battling his guilt a few doors down the hallway.
But Pierce needed a friend now, and she hoped he would still consider her one.
She studied his bruised and battered face. “How are you doing?”
He simply shrugged in response and avoided her gaze.
“Cal wants to visit if you’re up for it.”
His lips thinned, and he shook his bandaged head, wincing.
“No?”
Pierce just shrugged again, his gaze distant. He was always quiet, but it used to be a calm kind of quiet like he’d made peace with himself. Now, the air around him was charged with anger and other emotions she couldn’t put a name to.
She hated seeing him in so much pain.
“Dude,” Ellie said, cracking a half-smile, trying to lighten the mood. “He’s been driving me up the wall. I swear I’m about ready to smack him with a bedpan.”
