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I couldn’t hold back my whimper. “Don’t say that,” I whispered fiercely. “You’re not going to die. Do you hear me? I won’t let you.”
His smile told me how tired he was, how much pain he was really in. “Always liked it when you got all bossy. Even when you were just a little girl, you threw out orders like you owned the world.”
“My grandpa was your boss. Of course, I got to order you around,” I reminded him. “I guess I’m your boss for real now.” At least that was what Grandpa always said. When he passed, I would take over the construction company he’d spent his entire life building up. Dad didn’t want to run it, had never shown any interest in the business side of Barker Construction.
Tanner’s brow puckered in confusion, but he didn’t comment.
“Ma’am, I let you stay so we could get him comfortable, but there are rules here in the ICU ward. I need you to go now until visiting hours.”
I glanced up at the nurse. “Why? I’m not causing any trouble. He’s more comfortable when I’m close to him. Isn’t that more important?”
She pressed her lips together, that disdainful look returning tenfold, and I felt insulted just from the way her eyes kept going to the spaghetti sauce stain on my left boob. I refused to fold my arms over my chest to hide it. “He needs to rest. That is what is most important right now. This is a quiet floor, with limited outside contact to help the patients recharge. You will only hinder not just Mr. Reid’s recovery, but also that of my other patients.”
I wanted to punch her in the face for the snide way she was talking to me, but I didn’t want them to kick me out of the hospital—or worse, arrest me.
Kissing Tanner’s brow again, I straightened, but he didn’t release my hand. “Where you goin’?” he demanded, his voice slurred. “You said you’d stay with me.”
“I’m not going far. Just out into
the waiting room. You need to sleep,” I tried to explain. “I’ll be back as soon as visiting hours start.”
His fingers clutched at me, the stitches on the nail beds catching my attention. Would his fingernails ever grow back? I kissed the back of his hand, fighting tears.
“Don’t go,” he pleaded raggedly. “It’s dark when you’re not with me.”
Twin tears fell over my lashes and onto the gown the nurses in the ER had dressed him in earlier, once his back had been bandaged. “I’m sorry, Tanner.”
I tried to pry my hand free of his grasp, but he had surprising strength even in his weakened condition. “Don’t go. Don’t leave me here.”
“I’m not,” I soothed when his heart monitor started going crazy. “Baby, I’m not. I swear. I’ll be right outside.”
“No. Fuck that.” His eyes were wild, and I ached to give in. “I want you here. Beside me.”
The nurse grasped my elbow, pulling me backward roughly, and suddenly I was in the middle of a game of tug-of-war with me as the rope. I twisted my arm, pushing the nurse off me. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me again, bitch.” I grabbed her scrubs top and pulled her in close now that I was free, getting in her face. “I might look sweet and malleable, but you put your hands on me a second time, and you will become a patient in this ward.”
The woman paled, but she didn’t lose that “I’m better than you” expression on her face. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll call security, and you won’t be allowed back.”
“Jos!” Tanner roared when I started to tug my hand free again. His heart monitor was screaming now.
My mind made up, I leaned over him, stroking his brow as I tried to soothe him. “I’m right here. Shh, shh. I’m here.”
Muttering under her breath, the nurse left the room in a hurry, no doubt to call security on me. They could try to kick me out, but I wasn’t going anywhere. Not when his heart did scary things when he thought I was leaving him.
Fuck them and their rules. All I cared about was taking care of Tanner.
Slowly, his heart rate lowered, and I sat on the edge of his bed, stroking his face, murmuring softly to him.
His eyes were just starting to drift shut again when the nurse returned with two men in security uniforms. I eyed them both. Lean, lazy-looking. The scariest thing about them was probably the Tasers attached to their belts.
Even as small as I was, I was fairly sure I could take them both if I needed to. I worked two jobs to take care of Reid. One of them was as a bartender at a club a few blocks from my apartment in Oakland.
I dealt with guys six evenings a week, and they tended to get handsy a lot. Especially when they were drinking. Sometimes, I had to show them who was boss when they thought they could order more than just beer or shots from me.
“Ma’am, we’re going to have to ask you to leave,” the one on my left said. He was the nicer-looking of the two, with short, dark hair and brown eyes.
Beside him, his partner, a blond with a snarl on his face much like the nurse’s, shifted as if he thought he was going to have to take me down.
I smiled sweetly up at the dark-haired security officer. “I would like to speak to your administrator in regard to filing a complaint against the nurse beside you.”
