“Don’t ever pull that shit again, Hellcat,” Hatchet rasped, his voice raw.
“Getting kidnapped by a psychopath? Or ignoring the part where my organs were literally bleeding inside me?” I asked, raising a brow in challenge.
“Either,” he huffed.
When he pulled back, I could see terror reflected in his eyes.
Hatchet released a shaky exhale. “I was so afraid we were going to lose you,” he admitted, barely above a whisper. “I can’t live without you.”
I tried to smile. “It’ll take more than a few kicks to get rid of me.”
Merrick stepped up on the other side of the bed, his gaze raking over me like he was cataloging every cut and bruise. “You look like shit,” he assessed.
“You should see the other guy,” I quipped. “Speaking of, I assume you finished the job?”
He shook his head. “Didn’t get the chance, seeing as you dropped like a sack of potatoes. Reaper and Fuse took care of it.”A flicker of disappointment and guilt warred in his expression.
A part of him hated not being the one to end Luca’s life.
A part of me hated it, too.
“Sorry,” I croaked, my eyes flitting between Merrick and Hatchet. “I’m sure that was a disappointing end to the fun.”
Merrick pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose in frustration. “‘Disappointing’ was hearing that you’d flatlined. That you’d died on the table and they had to bring you back.” His voice cracked. “‘Disappointing’ was hearing from Hatchet that Luca was terrorizing you for weeks and you never told me.”
“It’s not your responsibility to?—”
He held up a hand, interrupting me before I could finish. “No. I promised Dad I’d protect you. And I failed. You should have told me. You know every Maverick would have had your back.”
“I had it under control.”
Hatchet let out a low, humorless laugh. “Yeah, Hellcat. Clearly. That’s exactly what this looks like.”
I shot him a glare. “Obviously, I had no idea that he was fucking crazy enough to try to smuggle me out of the country.”
Merrick’s jaw flexed again. “Well, at least we know he’llnever hurt you again.”
“Good,” I rasped. “Now, will one of you go grab me something to eat? Hadley keeps a stock of all the good snacks for her favorite patients.”
“Did the doctor say you can eat?” Merrick asked.
“Yeah,” I lied. Technically, I was a doctor. And I was clearing myself.
Hatchet saw right through my ruse and narrowed his eyes. “I’ll check with Dr. Patel. If she says it’s OK, I’ll track down Hadley. But, in my experience, Nurse Lily always has the best snacks. I’ll see what she has, too.”
“Get me a Red Bull,” I rasped as Hatchet slipped out the door.
He raised a brow over his shoulder and smirked, like he knew no doctor would approve a caffeine bomb hours after coding.
Silence settled in the room as Merrick took a seat beside me. I shifted against the pillows, wincing as my stitches pulled.
“So, do you still hate him?”
Silence stretched between us before Merrick responded. “Haven’t killed him yet.”
“Are you going to give him back his cut?”
Merrick crossed his arms. “He made his choice.”
