AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Archer sighs. “Minka—”
“Is he dead?” Tears burn the backs of my eyes as I search Cleary’s face. “He didn’t deserve to die. He was just desperate.”
“He threatened your life,” she counters with a glower. “And you would still defend him?”
“He was trying to help his daughter. He didn’t go into that bank with the intention to take it. He didn’t carry a weapon in there. He was asking for a loan, and things escalated.”
“Well…” She pats my leg and heads toward the door. “He’s not dead. And for now, neither is his daughter.”
My heart thunders painfully in my chest. “Suzanne’s okay?”
“I just got done with her in the OR.” Her lips curl into a grin. “She needs a transplant, but for today, she’s alive… and doing pretty good, considering.”
Relief washes through my veins as I look to Archer. “Is Slade in custody?”
He shakes his head and drops another kiss to my wrist. “No. He escaped the bank during all the fuss as we breached it. Cops are out looking for him now.”
Cops…
I realize there’s a face missing from my crowd. Brutally absent.
“Is Fletch leading the manhunt?”
“Yeah…” Felix glances around with a frown. “Where is that dude? I thought he’d be up your asses in here.”
“I don’t know what Fletch is doing.” Archer’s voice is filled with dread. With secrets. But I’m not sure anyone else hears the underlying tones. “He’s busy. And Fifi took off a little bit ago to shower and clean up.”
“I’ve gotta head out too,” Cleary murmurs, drawing our attention to her. “My real patients need me. But I’ll be around.” She gives us a kind smile. “Your doctor will be by soon to check on you. Expect to be stuck in here another day or so, getting meds around the clock, and more factor to keep you chugging along. But… I wanted to show you something.”
She steps into the hall, disappearing for an easy thirty seconds before returning with a pamphlet. “There’s an experimental oral drug treatment for hemophilia.” She sets the glossy paper on my chest and her hand on my good shoulder. “It would be just one pill a day, replacing your infusions. There’s no rush to decide, but I thought of you when I read about it, and figured I’d give you the option.”
She drops both her hands in her pockets. “Feel better, Doctor Mayet. I don’t particularly enjoy Detective Malone’s company when you’re not around to smooth the edges.” Smirking, she winks for Archer and turns toward the door. “I’ll come back and see you both later.”
Felix spins on his heels to follow the woman. “Before you go, I was gonna see if you—”
“Not if you were the last man on the planet,” she shuts him down in an instant. “Not if you were the last man on the planet and all of humanity was doomed unless I spent two minutes with you.”
She raises a hand when he opens his mouth to speak. “Not if you were the last glass of water in existence and I was dying of thirst. I would notanythingwith you, ever.” Then she grins. “I have eyes in the back of my head and the ability to spot trouble from a thousand miles away.”
And with that, she turns on her heels and leaves poor Felix shattered. Heartbroken.
And by that, I mean he considers the cute doctor’s rejection a mere inconvenience in his mission to bang all four billion women on earth.
“What?” Turning back our way, he sniffs and fixes the collar of his shirt. “Tim’s got himself a doctor. Arch married one. And I’m pretty sure Cato is banging his therapist, so… I just wanna see what all the fuss is about.”
“You’re a fucking idiot.” Shaking his head, Archer brings his attention back to me, part smiling, part broken. “I swear, I’ve never lived through a day that dragged on as long as the one we just had.”
“Yeah?” A long, body-gripping yawn wracks my frame and leaves a deep ache zinging through my blood. But I turn my head and study Archer’s stubbled jaw. His hard gaze. His large hands, and his long fingers as they wrap around mine. “My day went kinda quick,” I mumble sleepily. “Can’t relate.”
He chokes out a pathetic laugh and hugs my hand close to his face. “You’re never going to the bank again. Or the store. Or anywhere,” he presses. “You’re never leaving my sight.”
“‘Kay. I dreamt about you.” I let my eyes flicker closed while my nurse pumps drugs into my veins.
She doesn’t announce them. She doesn’t speak at all. But I feel the warmth slide through my body, the comfort that only narcotics can bring.
“We were on honeymoon on a deserted island, drinking cocktails.” I force my eyes open again and fall deeper in love with Archer’s kindness. His patience. His complete and utter devotion, even after my downfall left him devastated. “You wore stupid shorts,” I snicker, but the sound is almost non-existent. “They had Chloe’s bitch face all over them.”
“My shorts?” His brows shoot high on his forehead. “I wore shorts with the cat’s face on them?”
