She stared at Bishop, her eyes heated with what she knew he could do. “Well, if you aren’t going to tell her… we sure as hell are.”
Clover shut the door and let out a breath. “Maggie, Bishop is a werewolf?—”
“—and frankly he’s quite the selfish one,” Ruby butted in.
“What do you expect me to do, ma’am?” Bishop’s voice lowered. “I can’t go in there… wolf-out in the middle of the triage and have my team witness the chief of the ER take a big ole bite out of the man, now can I?”
“No. But youwilldo it.” Ruby stared Bishop down like she had control of him, like if he disobeyed, there’d be hell to pay.
He nodded once. “If he makes it out of his second surgery. I’ll do it tonight when the ER calms down. When I’m alone.”
“Hold on, hold on! What do you mean ‘take a bite’?” I asked, stepping between the two. “What good would adding another injury to an already fragile body be?”
“Maggie, sit with me, dear.” Clover took me by the arm and led me to a set of chairs near the window. We sat and she held my hands in hers. I watched the color in her stones swirl in circles, mesmerizing me with their perfection. “Bishop is a werewolf, yes?” she said. “Therefore, he’s a carrier of lycanthropic DNA. While yes… it’s a disease of sorts, it also comes with extreme benefits—such as rapid healing. If we are lucky, Graham will come out of this mostly unfazed—maybe a little hairier.”
“And… this will work?”
“It’s our only option,” said Ruby as she spun her ring on her finger.
I locked eyes with Bishop. “Will it work?”
“In theory.” Bishop didn’t break our gaze, but his face shifted into a version of concern I’d never seen before—like whiskey mixed with milk, you’d think it’d curdle but it stayed smooth, composed, impossibly stable. “Every person responds differently to the initial infection, some handle it well. Some become a completely different person. But Maggie, you must know, being a werewolf will be one of the biggest challenges Graham will face—especially if he is going to remain in the public eye. He cannot let the world know about what he has become.”
“I don’t care. He’ll be alive, won’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Then fucking do it.”
Time ticked by. I stared at the clock, convinced the hands hadn’t moved. It had been a week of doctors filling our ears with empty promises, visitors from town showing up with flowers and chocolates and gifts that filled the room, and would probably rot before he woke up. It hurt to see them come, not because of the concern in their eyes but becausenone of it meant anything… no one knew him… not like I did. No oneactuallycared about him, just what they could get from him through the donations he brought in… the cases he solved… the horny wives he calmed.
I couldn’t stand the broken hearts from people who only knew him from the way he shook his ass or the one fuck he gave them. The anger boiled inside, until it came out in one sharp burst. “I want everyone out!” I yelled and collapsed to my knees, gripping his hand in mine.
Then Katie’s hand found my back and lifted me to my feet.
Katie and Derek had taken turns bringing me food and clothes. And everyday, at least twice they’d offer to take me home. But no matter what they did, they couldn’t pry me away from him.
“I’ve been pulling cards on you everyday girl,” Katie said, directing me to the sad attempt at a couch and snuggling in next to me. “You’ve gotta come home, even if it’s just for a few hours.”
“What if he never wakes up?” I asked, my vision cloudy and eyes burning. “What if what Bishop did to him doesn’t work? What if we’re too late?”
“Hey, let’s not what if our way through this. We’re going to take it one day at a time. Why don’t you come home with me? Bishop’s shift starts in fifteen minutes. We’ll get updates and leave when he gets here. He’ll keep us posted. Plus, Derek and Trixi will be here soon too. It will be okay.”
“Katie, it’s not going to be okay. Everyone is already moving on without him.”
“What Derek and Trixi? I’d hardly call that moving on. A little more than platonic fucking, sure… but not moving on. Besides…” she put her hands on her hips, “you know as well as I do that Officer McTrampstamp doesn’t want anyone wallowing over him. Especially you, Mags. Let’s go home. Get some fresh clothes, good food… a shower.” She wrapped her arms around me and I collapsed into her, sobbing.
I stepped out of the hospital, and the smell of disinfectant gave way to the cool air and caught in my lungs, almost making me cough.
A sickening dread lurked inside my gut the closer we got to the Gremlin. Ihadto tell her what happened to Hunter.
I slid into the passenger seat. “Kates…” I said, my voice quiet but filled with so much apprehension I doubted she even heard me, but she turned to me with an expression that said she was trying to remain upbeat, for me. “I killed him.”
“What? Don’t be silly. Graham’s not dead. He’s in a coma. He’ll wake when his body has healed enough. The doctor said sometimes?—”
“No, Katie. Not Graham.” I stared down at my hands and picked at the corner of my thumbnail. “Hunter. He’s dead.”
“What? What do you mean? Where is he?” Katie’s voice dropped.
