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My heart gallops in my chest. “Is he all right?”
“He should be just fine. They’re just being careful. Last I heard, they plan to send him home in a few days.” He grins. “They keep suggesting that he retire, but he says you could plant him in a grave faster than you could make him retire. Loves his work, that man does.”
“Thank you, Marcus,” I say absently. He holds the door for me and I step out onto the street. I’m wearing a hoodie and dark jeans, and I put on some mirrored sunglasses and pull a baseball cap low over my eyes. I don’t need a bodyguard to go to the hospital.
I pull my phone from my pocket and text my sisters all at once. “Did you guys know that Henry is in the hospital?”
They all respond with shock. I explained what I was told about what happened and tell them I’m on the way to see him. They make me promise to let them know how he’s doing.
I traipse all the way across town and go directly to his room, once someone tells me where he is. I take my glasses off my face, and pull my cap from my hair, letting it fall around my shoulders. Knocking softly on the door, I wait quietly for someone to call out, but no one does. I give it a gentle shove and open it to find Faith sitting in a chair reading a book. Her legs are propped on the edge of the hospital bed. She looks up at me and smiles, her head resting against the back of the chair where she’s slouched.
“Hey,” I say quietly. Henry is sleeping. He doesn’t look terrible. He’s in a hospital gown and has a nasal cannula in his nose for oxygen. “How is he?”
She laughs quietly. “He’s mean, that’s what he is,” she whispers. “He’s been griping about going home ever since he got here.”
I step closer to the bed. “Is he okay?”
“I’d be fine if Faith would go home and let me sleep,” Henry suddenly trumpets from the bed. I jump and Faith laughs.
“I’ll be happy to go home, as soon as you’re up and moving around,” she tells him. “So, shut it and lie there like a good sick person.”
He chuckles. “She gets that from me.”
I lean over and kiss his balding pate. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Eh,” he says with a wave of his hand. “You were on a very important mission. Didn’t want you to miss any of it.”
My mission went south. I guess it showed on my face.
“Uh oh,” he says. “What’s that look for?”
I shrug and sit down on the edge of the bed.
“Let me get rid of Faith and we’ll talk,” he says. I nod. “Faith!” he says loudly.
She rolls her eyes. “I’m sitting right here. About two feet from you.” She doesn’t get up. She just adjusts her feet. “I know you can see me,” she taunts.
“Don’t you have a husband to get home to?” he asks.
“He’ll survive until I get there.”
“She’s been here all night, every night,” he says to me. But she can still hear him. “I keep telling her to go home, but she’s stubborn. She gets that from her grandmother.”
Faith snorts. “I told you that even if I go home, I won’t be able to get any sleep. I’ll just lie there and worry. I’d rather be here. So, shut up and quit your griping, would you?”
He laughs, which turns into a coughing fit that scares me. Faith gets up and hands him a cup of water.
“See?” she says. “I told you so. You need me. Admit it.”
“I’ll always need you, Faith,” he says. “But you should tap out and let Wren here keep me company for a little bit.”
“I’m sure Wren has better things to do.”
“I don’t,” I chirp. And I don’t. My apartment is empty, my family is busy, and Mick…well, he’s gone. “I can stay. You should go home and get some rest.”
She starts to protest but I stop her.
“Really, I don’t mind.” In fact, I’d kind of enjoy it.
