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“Fuck, Minka.” He cups my cheeks and pulls back just far enough to show me his eyes. Red. Frightened. But they’re his. Strong. Perfect. “Jesus, babe. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Hurts.” My throat stings, and when an involuntary cough makes me jump on the bed, my body becomes an inferno of pain that brings fresh tears surging to the surface. “Arch—”
“Water?” He snatches a cup when someone offers it.
I don’t know who’s here. I don’t look anywhere but at my husband.
“Here you go, baby.” He holds the straw between shaking fingers and places the end to my lips. “The nurse said to call her.” He twists his torso and speaks to someone else. “She said Minka’ll need meds right away.”
“Hi there, Doctor Mayet.” Nicki Cleary’s familiar face fills my peripherals as she comes up on my right side with a smile. Leaning across the bed, she shuts off a machine that announces my racing pulse for the entire building to hear. “Welcome back. How are you feeling?”
Nervous, I glance down at my shoulder. To the source of the pain radiating throughout my body, then to the bandages that cover my arm and chest. “Hurts.”
“I bet it does.” She presses a button on the wall over my head, then brushes hair off my forehead. “You’re the lucky recipient of a good-as-new shoulder, Mayet. Reconstructed and sewn back together. It’s gonna sting for a while yet.”
“You?” I look to Archer. To the way he holds my free hand and kisses my knuckles. My palm. My wrist. Slowly, I bring my gaze back to Cleary. “You performed the surgery?”
“No. I was busy. But my colleague Doctor Tran did. He’s the best orthopedic surgeon we have on staff, so I feel confident he did you up right.” She slides a pen from her pocket and holds it a foot from my nose for me to follow with my eyes. “Do you know where you are, Mayet?”
“Um…” I peer toward Archer. Then to the end of the bed, only to frown when I find Felix Malone watching me. His arms folded. His stare hard.
I’m almost tempted to answer Cleary withNew York. But I know what she’s looking for, so I murmur, “Hospital.”
“Good.” She makes me follow her pen all the way to the top of my head. Then down again so I catch another glimpse of Felix. “Do you know what day of the week it is?”
That’s not a fair question. I almost never know what day of the week it is.
“Um… probably Wednesday or Thursday.”
“Wednesday,” she grins. “Well done. What year is it, and who is the current mayor of Copeland City?”
“Twenty-twenty-two,” I sigh. “And Daddy Mayor.”
Startling, she pulls back and meets my eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Lawrence.” I wrinkle my nose and groan at Archer’s soft chuckle. “Can we be done with the neurological exam? I know who I am.”
But remembering the last minutes inside that bank, I twist in search of my friend—or at least, I try, but the movement sends shards of glass-like pain searing through my body. “Wh-where’s Aubree?”
“She’s okay.” Archer gently pushes me down and leans into my space. “She’s getting coffee. And Tim’s with her, so she’s safe. Her brother is here, too.” He brings my hand up and presses a kiss to my palm. “Everyone’s okay. We were just waiting for you to come back to us.”
“How long…” I look around, only to find Felix again.He’s supposed to be in New York.“How long was I out?”
“Not as long as you probably needed to be.” Turning when a nurse bursts through the doorway, Cleary makes space. “Let’s get the patient’s discomfort under control and something in her stomach.” Then she looks back my way. “After that, we’ll get you to your feet. The sooner you’re up and moving, the sooner you’ll heal. You have enough clotting factor in your veins right now, you could probably fall off a cliff and not bleed to death.” She snatches up my file from the end of the bed and takes a different pen from her pocket. “The broken neck would still get you, but rest assured, you’d bleed like a normal person.”
“It’s good to see you awake again, Doc.” Felix grabs my foot and gives it a squeeze. “I like you better when you’re awake and talking shit to me.”
“Why are you here?” Confused, I scowl at Archer. “Why is he here?”
“To make sure you’re okay.” Leaning in, he kisses my lips and steals half of my fight.
I wanted to say something unkind to Felix. Kick him out of my room, purely because he’s an ass every single time we’re near each other. But Archer’s touch undoes me. His fear humbles me.
“Are you okay?” I ask my husband instead. Fragmented memories of the bank flitter into my mind as I study his perfect green eyes. The glass ceiling shattering. Parker Slade pointing a gun at me. Pointing a gun at Archer. “Did you get hurt?”
“Not even a little bit.” He lowers to the edge of his chair and hugs my hand to his face. “I’m fine. Aubree’s fine. The security guard has had surgery and is in recovery. Everyone who was inside the bank has been seen and helped.”
“A-and Parker?” I glance around; at Cleary, then to the nurse who hangs a bag and connects it to the tubing imbedded in my skin. I look to Felix, who smiles. He only has two settings: homicidal rage, or blatant sexual harassment. There’s no in-between for that man. “Where’s Parker Slade?”
