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“Is she outside?”
Dr. Kiley checks my shoulder and nods. “She’s a really special girl. You’re a lucky guy. I hope you know that.”
“I do.” I wince as he presses a finger into the flesh around my wound. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an accident. Dick.
He backs away. “We’re getting an operating room prepped to remove the bullet. But there’s no sign of infection, no redness.”
“Thanks,” I say in a flat voice.
“You know, I’ve been working here for a long time. I’ve never seen so many cops in the waiting room.” Dr. Kiley says, his tone sounding vaguely accusatory. “Not even for major accidents.”
“What are you getting at?” I narrow my eyes, clenching the bedsheet in my fists.
“Sloane is a good girl. I don’t think she needs to be involved in whatever kind of life you lead. Sex trafficking, drugs, kidnapping from what the cops are saying…did I hit on all the highlights?”
“You don’t fucking know anything about me,” I growl, my face twisting, my heart thudding hard against my chest. I want to grab this asshole by his coat and shove him through a goddamn wall. “Don’t you dare judge what you don’t understand.”
“Seems like I understand it pretty well.” He folds his arms across his chest. “And you’re right. I don’t know you, but what I do know is that I’ve never been interrogated by a federal officer. I’ve never been shot. I’ve never had a girlfriend of mine kidnapped by sex traffickers. I don’t live that kind of life. And it’s not the one Sloane deserves.”
I sit up straight on the gurney, my fingers twitching to unload fucking fury on this asshole. “Don’t you fucking stand there telling me how bad I am for Sloane. I would lay my life down for that woman.”
“Yeah, but maybe Sloane should be with someone who isn’t faced with that choice quite so often.” Dr. Kiley cocks an eyebrow, and I want to scratch it off his condescending face. “Think about her future instead of your own.”
Fury consumes me, and I grab a pitcher of water from the side table and fling it across the room, ice and water splashing everywhere. Dr. Kiley jumps to avoid getting hit, his arms flailing to protect himself from the chilled water. His foot catches a puddle, and he skids around on the slippery floor until he crashes into a wall.
He came damn close to wiping out.
And he never saw it coming.
“Shit gets dangerous in places we least expect, don’t they, Doc?” I snarl. “At least Sloane can feel comfortable that I’m always ready for anything that comes my way…unlike you, who almost took a nose dive into some ceramic tile because you let your guard down.” I point to the IV stand next to me. “Now, if you can please do something for this pain, I’d appreciate it. I don’t want to ask again.”
Dr. Kiley narrows his eyes, but he adjusts the morphine drip. I take a deep breath and settle back on the pillows, waiting for the numbness to set in.
“Thanks,” I say.
The doctor nods and stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
A few minutes later, the door opens, and Mom and Shaye run toward me, their faces streaked with tears.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Mom grazes my shoulder with her fingertips. “Oh, my God, what happened? Nobody will tell us anything, and we’ve been waiting and waiting, and nobody has seen Dad.” Her voice cracks, dropping to a whisper as she strokes the side of my face. “Why not, baby? Where’s your father? Why haven’t they brought him in yet?”
Shaye cries softly into my good shoulder, gripping my hand tight. “Daddy is…” she murmurs. “He’s not coming, is he?”
I shake my head, tears stinging my eyes. “No,” I murmur, stroking Shaye’s back. “He isn’t.”
Her body quivers against me as the sobs rise from her throat. Mom’s hand flies to her mouth. “No,” she whimpers through her fingers. “God, no, please tell me it’s not true! I told him not to go! I begged him to stay with us!”
I reach for her, gritting my teeth as I stretch my hand toward hers. It hurts, yeah, but nothing like the pain tearing apart their hearts right now. I struggle to keep my voice steady. “He did what he felt he had to do, Mom. There was a lot he wanted to…needed to…make up for. And he did.” I turn my head toward Shaye. “He saved Nico’s life. He saved my life. He saved a lot of lives today. The Salesi family won today, all because of Dad.”
Tears stream down Mom’s face, her shoulders quaking with sobs. “He carried all of that with him for so long. Why didn’t he say anything? Why didn’t he tell us?” she whispers. “We could have helped.”
“You know he’d have never say a word about any of it. He tried to do right by us and he made some big mistakes along the way. But he came through in the end. He knew his time was short, guys. He was hurt really bad. He’d made a lot of enemies, ones who wanted him to suffer. He beat them at their own game, and he saved us all.” My voice quivers, and I squeeze my mother’s hand. “He loved you guys so much. Loved all of us.”
Take care of your mother and your sister.
Keep making me proud.
I love you, son.
