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“I don’t, but I can check it out.”
Ghost nods, not saying a word.
“I’ll go with him,” Flame adds.
“I don’t need your fucking permission, Ghost. I’m telling you out of consideration that I’m going downstairs to check it out,” I proclaim through clenched teeth, earning Ghost’s attention. His eyes narrow as he pushes off the wall to stand at his full height.
“You seem to keep forgetting how we fucking do things, Ringer. We don’t just go off at the drop of a fucking hat. We communicate so we can watch each others’ fucking backs. Flame didn’t offer to go with you so that I wouldletyou. He offered to go with you so that you have some fucking backup.” He adds air quotes with his fingers around the word “let,” further pissing me off. “Get your head out of your ass, little brother. You seem to forget that we’re a family.”
“You seem to be forgetting something too,big brother.The note at the clubhouse made it pretty fucking obvious why this shit is happening. This is because of me, so fuck me for wanting to handle it.”
Flame holds his hands up, shushing us as we must be getting too loud for the hospital hallway.
“I’m not saying you can’t handle it, Ringer. I want you to take a goddamn breath and let us help you,” Ghost mutters, stepping around me and heading back towards the waiting room door.
I pause in the hallway, watching behind Ghost as the door closes before looking at Flame. “You comin’? Cause I’m going down there.”
“Jesus, you two are going to give me a fucking ulcer,” he mumbles as he follows me to the elevators.
On the ride down to the first floor, I break the silence. “You and Brenna planning on having crotch goblins anytime soon?”
Flame chuckles. “Shit, I was going to propose tonight before all this shit went down. I bribed Lilah to rig the costume contest results so that I could get Brenna on the stage and was going to do it up there. How fucking funny would that have been, Hugh Hefner propsing to a Playboy Bunny. I thought it was catchy.”
I let a burst of laughter out as the elevator doors slide open. “Holy fuck, that’s good.”
Flame and I probably look suspicious as fuck as we wander around the ER, peeking our heads into random rooms, searching for gunshot victims.
A young girl in scrubs bats her eyelashes at us from across the room.Bingo.We head in her direction and stop in front of her. I lean down against the desk and wink. I paste the smirk on my face that Lilah calls “the panty-melter” and introduce myself.
“Hey, darlin.’ My name is Emmett, and this is my friend Jace. We’re looking for some friends of ours. Weren’t sure if this is the hospital they were brought to.”
She twirls the hair of her ponytail around her finger as she snaps her gum in her mouth. “What’re their names?”
“They’re new to town, so we only know them by their nicknames,” Flame adds smoothly, not missing a beat.
“Oh. Hmm,” she says.
“Did anyone come in saying they’d been shot?” I ask, and at her widened eyes, I try to reassure her with a smile. “They are buddies of ours. They were checking out their new guns, and one accidentally misfired.”
“Well, I’ve been here all night, and no one has come in with any gunshots,” she shrugs.
“Damn. Okay, thanks anyways, darlin,’” I say through my smile and turn to walk away.
“Wait! Can I have your number? I can call you if they come in,” she suggests with a twinkle in her eye.
I look at Flame who holds his hands up, shaking his head as he turns to head in the direction of the elevator we came down on.
I war with myself for a moment. Do I actually think this chick wants my number so she can call if two dudes with gunshot wounds come in? Fuck no. But do I leave it to chance that she would if they do?
“My wife is upstairs with my phone. I just got a new one, and I don’t know the number by heart yet. Thanks anyway.” I turn away without a look back and get on the elevator next to Flame.
As the doors close, I let out sigh of frustration at yet another speed bump in this whole fucked up mess.
twenty-six
Lilah
“Hi,sweet boy. I’m your Auntie Lilah,” I say to the tiny baby in my arms.
