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But still, I took his words and held them close.
Tonight, we’d worry about that other stuff.
Right now, I had a few brothers to patch up, then a little girl to go see at the hospital.
• • •
CROCKETT
I didn’t know what to expect when I got to the hospital where Zach used to work, but I never expected everyone to gush over seeing him.
Apparently, he was a popular doctor that everyone missed, even the director of nursing.
She was the one that came up to us with a smile.
“Zach.” The beautiful blonde walked up and hugged him tight. “Are you okay?”
Zach returned the hug, then held out his hand to me. “Cheyenne, this is Crockett. Crockett, this is a lady that I kind of sort of grew up around. She’s married to a guy that owns a motorcycle shop in town.” He winced. “And she’s also the person that I was trying to refer Zakelina’s mother to.”
Zach had told me this weekend how he knew of an organization that made women, children, and even some men safe again by giving them ways out of their old lives.
He’d been trying to get Zakelina’s mother to take the card for a while now, but she’d refused.
And look where that led her.
Dead, along with her abusive husband, and her daughter barely clinging to life in a hospital with nobody at her side.
That wasn’t fair of me to think, of course. I didn’t know what was going down in their lives. I didn’t know jack shit about anything, actually.
But what I did know was that a little girl named Zakelina, who my Zach had taken a liking to, was barely holding on, and that fucking hurt.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Cheyenne held out her hand, and I shook it. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
My brows rose, and I looked to Zach.
“Not me. You know I’ve been avoiding this particular city for a while,” he said.
Cheyenne started to giggle. “Actually, it was from quite a few people. A lot of the ladies here had a huge crush on Doctor McDark-and-Dangerous. When they heard that he was out of prison, he became a hot topic again. Anything you do or say in this city, or any surrounding cities, is fair game. You’ve been the talk of the ER for a while now.”
I bit my lip. “Ummm, I hope that I live up to their expectations.”
Zach squeezed my hand, not liking hearing that come from my lips.
I rolled my eyes.
“We’re here to check on the little girl that came in with the gunshot wound. Any news on her?” I asked Cheyenne.
Cheyenne looked haunted for a few long seconds.
“She’s in surgery. She was shot through the jaw. Her jaw was shattered. She lost a lot of blood, and so far, she’s still in very critical condition.”
Zach’s eyes closed, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in my arms and squeeze him tight.
I would have had my father not chosen that second to hear us talking and whip the curtain aside and glare at me.
“This is all your fault!”
I blinked, stunned. Not just at seeing him, but at hearing his words directed at me, as if I had any control over any of the situation.
“Um, what?” I asked.
“Your fault!” he repeated. “This is your fault.”
“How do you figure?” Zach asked. “We were gone for the weekend. We had no control over what happened.”
“This started way before this weekend!” my father roared. “It was her fault her mother died. Her fault I had to get remarried. Her fault that I had a whacked-out kid. And now my second wife is practically dead, too!”
My mouth all but fell open in surprise. “It’s my fault that you knocked someone up? I’m sorry, correct me if I’m wrong, but I have no control over your penis! His penis?” I pointed at Zach. “I don’t even technically have control of that, and we’re dating. You’re my father. I have zero control over yours. Plus, that’s just fucking gross.”
“He’s on pain meds,” Cheyenne whispered to Zach loud enough that I could hear. “I don’t think he means some of the stuff that he’s saying.”
“Oh, he means it,” my father confirmed. “He can also hear everything. He knows what he’s saying.”
“Well, if you know what you’re saying, then why the hell have you been treating your own daughter like shit?”
That was not Zach.
That was Danny.
Danny and his wife, who were most certainly no longer on their honeymoon.
I hadn’t called them. I’d called my big sister, yes. Danny, no.
I didn’t want to disturb their honeymoon. Not with this. Not when none of us would really lose sleep over Melody.
And for the time being, Rockett was safe in jail where nobody could hurt her. She was also, sadly, not getting out anytime soon.
Danny being home wouldn’t change that.
