AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’d just nodded her head. I’d hoped she could, hoped we’d make it.
Even in a small city like Astoria, Halloween night in the Emergency Room was chaos. Every seat in the waiting room was taken, mostly by parents of children who’d been the victims of various mishaps, but there were a few adults as well—one fairy cradling her wrist, and someone dressed in one of those inflatable T-Rex costumes holding an ice-filled bag that contained what looked like his index finger.
Looks like a fun night.
I didn’t want to sit down, though. I didn’t think I could. I could barely stand, slung over Greer, who looked remarkably composed for a woman who’d just been attacked in a cemetery. Fortunately, a series of posterior stab wounds dripping blood onto the freshly mopped hallway accompanied by a story about a deranged elderly woman was enough to get us into a room quickly.
“Look at her arms first,” I mumbled to the nurse who’d brought us back.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jace Blackwell,” Greer hissed. “You’re about to die.”
“Not about to die,” the nurse tsked as she lifted my shirt. “But I suppose anything’s possible.”
She soon had me on my stomach, cleaning my wounds. An hour later, I was stitched up and bandaged. I was right—the stabs weren’t long or especially deep. They just bled like motherfuckers, and it could be weeks before I felt like myself again, strength-wise.
I’d been so focused on remaining upright, I hadn’t fully processed the fact that while I’d been using Greer’s top as a blood sponge, she’d been sitting in the truck, driving into town, filling out admission paperwork, and was now sitting beside me in the hospital room in only her sports bra. Her chest was flawless, her skin pale and soft to the touch, her large breasts perfectly formed. Even in the full-coverage sports bra, I couldn’t stop staring at her. And if I was staring at her, other people were too. Christ, if I saw anyone so much as glance in the direction of her chest…I needed to cover her up with…something.
The nurse stepped out just as Dr. Dickweed—the same doctor who’d paid Greer multiple house calls—stepped in to check on me. He wasn’t the doctor who’d stitched me up.
“Ms. Richmond. You’re looking so much better.”
I’m sure he did notice how good she looked. I’m sure everyone did.
“Thank you, Dr. Stevenson, for your help that day,” Greer said as if this was a luncheon social. As if she wasn’t in her bra, didn’t have my blood smeared onto her face.
“Please—call me Guy. Mr. Blackwell, we meet again,” he said, looking at his notes. “Two stab wounds in the back?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, but what are you doing in here?”
“I’m the doctor on call, Mr. Blackwell,” he said, looking at my chart. “Just starting my rounds.”
“Can someone get a gown or something for her?”
Greer smiled at me. Usually, she’d be pissed, so I guess I really did look pathetic.
“Of course. My apologies, Ms. Richmond. Excuse me one moment, and I’ll be back with something for you to wear.”
The doctor passed Detective Scott—Amato’s partner—who’d been about to knock on what was fast becoming a revolving door of assholes I didn’t want to deal with.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I hissed. “Can’t this wait until I get home?”
“You’re not going home,” Greer said matter-of-factly. “You’ve been stabbed—twice.”
“I’m afraid it can’t wait, actually,” the detective said before I could get another word in. “Ms. Richmond, would you mind waiting outside? Hospital staff alerted us to the situation at hand, and I just have a few questions for Mr. Blackwell.”
I watched her winged brows draw together mutinously. She thought the detective was here to accuse me of something, but I knew as soon as he asked her to leave the room that it was her he was suspicious of. Might as well get this over with.
Normally, I’d order Greer to leave and enjoy watching her lose her shit, but I was tired. And I knew where this was going and didn’t want her exposed to any more stress.
“It’s fine, sweetheart. Please.”
She nodded, stood, and walked out the door into the hall. The detective sat down in Greer’s seat.
“Mr. Blackwell—Jace—I don’t have to tell you that Ms. Richmond recently stood accused of stabbing two men to death—”
“It was one man. She was never accused of murdering your partner.”
“And I know female-on-male domestic violence is often a difficult thing to discuss, but if you’d like to press charges against her—” Detective Scott continued.
