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“Yes. I need to see him and thank him for what he did for me.”
* * *
I hurried down the hospital corridor. Would Mason even want to see me? His Uncle Jeb died because of me. If I wouldn’t have requested his help, his uncle would still be alive, and Mason wouldn’t have been shot.
The smell of antiseptic burned my nostrils. I paused in the empty waiting room.
“Do you mind staying here with Izzie?” Jaxson asked Ariella.
“Sure,” she smiled and took the toddler from her father’s arms.
I opened my mouth to offer to watch the little girl for Jaxson but thought better of it. I wasn’t great with kids, and I wanted to see Mason. I just was worried he wouldn’t be happy to see me.
Lincoln and Jaxson headed through the doors and down the corridor. I hesitated before following them, several feet behind them. They talked amongst one another. I was the outsider, and while they hadn’t tried to exclude me, I wasn’t one of them.
What was I doing here? I felt out of place.
Lincoln and Jaxson headed into the private room without so much as a knock. I hung out in the hallway, trying to find the courage to enter. I could handle shoving a gun against my own head, but stepping five feet forward into a hospital room was too much. That apparently was my limit.
“How’s Hazel?” Mason’s voice was raspy and rough.
He couldn’t see me, I was just right outside his room, but I could hear the sweet sound of his voice. It was filled with concern for me. I hugged the wall, my back against the cold white brick.
“She could tell you herself if she came in here,” Lincoln said.
“She’s here?” Mason asked. The sheets rustled and the hospital bed creaked. “Hazel?”
I shut my eyes. I couldn’t hide forever. He’d know I was avoiding him if I didn’t storm into his room and greet him right now. “Hey,” I mustered the best smile that I could as I stepped into his hospital room. “I was just out in the hallway looking for flowers I could steal for you.”
Mason smiled and laughed, grimacing.
“Does it hurt to laugh?” I asked, worried about him. I came up alongside his bed.
“It’s worth it,” Mason said. He reached for my hand, our fingers intertwining. “Sit with me.”
I didn’t want to tell him there wasn’t room. He was injured, but if he wanted my company, how could I say no? He’d only been shot because of me.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed by his side. “Any news when you will be released?”
“The doctor says that I can be discharged into someone’s care at home or else I have to go to a rehab facility.” His eyes never left mine. “You owe me one, Hazel.”
I laughed under my breath. “Don’t beat around the bush.” I couldn’t believe he was playing the fact that I owed him. Of course, I owed him, but I didn’t think he was the kind of guy who would have collected on it.
“Please, will you stay with me?”
I hadn’t thought about where I’d go now that Nikolai was dead and Franco was in prison. Mason needed me, though, and I genuinely liked him. I hadn’t felt that way for anyone else, ever. It had always been him since we were teenagers.
“Well, since you asked nicely,” I said and gave a weak smile. I wanted to stay, but I wanted it to be because he wanted me in his life, not just as his caretaker. Leaning down, I planted a soft, chaste kiss on his forehead.
“Is that all I get? What’s a guy got to do to get a real kiss around here, die?”
My eyes widened in horror.
“Bad joke?” Mason smiled with that boyish grin that made my heart flutter and knees weak. I leaned in and brushed my lips over his.
The heart monitor started beeping faster.
Jaxson stood by the window of the room, a smile on his face. “Don’t kill him. We still need him as part of our team. Speaking of the team, Lincoln, I’m going to offer you again full time. I know your restaurant will be undergoing renovations. Is there any way we can talk you into joining us? Don’t make me beg.”
