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He nods lazily, and my heart swells. He didn’t leave my side for a moment. I try to sit up, but my body is so sore and stiff. It will take a while to get used to it again. But there’s plenty of time. I have nothing but time.
The curtain pulls back, and a tall man enters the room dressed in a lab coat and wearing a small smile. “It’s nice to see you awake, Juliana,” he tells me cordially. “How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“My head really hurts,” I tell him, assuming he’s a doctor and not a random man asking me. “Is there any way I can get some pain meds?”
He pulls out a chart from the foot of my bed and checks it. “I apologize, you are due for your next dose. I’ll get that for you now. These people have kept me busy the last few days.”
He and Hex share a meaningful look, and he exits as quickly as he entered.
“Was that man really a doctor?” He didn’t look like any of the doctors I’ve ever had.
Hex laughs and nods. “That’s Graveyard,” he tells me, and it strikes me as a very odd name for a doctor. “He works at the hospital, but he’s part of the Ruthless Kings. He’s basically always on call for us. He hates it sometimes. But he seems to like you pretty well.”
“That’ll change if he doesn’t bring me pain meds soon,” I yell out, sure Graveyard is close by.
“Quiet,” he yells back, making me laugh. “We have VIP patients here trying to rest.”
Daisy struggles against my arms, desperately trying to get to her daddy. The moment she saw him lying in the infirmary bed, she didn’t care that I existed. She missed him. But I hold her back despite her protests. Pocus is badly injured.
Evanesce and I came back the night of the fire. Mama sent a message to Evanesce that we should get back right away. I didn’t need to be told twice. I’d been a wreck since Pocus sent us away. Even having Evanesce with me didn’t soothe the anxiety.
I’ll never let him do it again. He was a stupid, stubborn man, and he didn’t understand I can take care of myself. I’ve been through more than he could possibly imagine, and I remembered how to fight. He never should have tried to take on Anderson Grey without me. He almost lost his life in the process.
“Don’t worry, he isn’t in much pain,” Evanesce says beside me. “I took away most of the burning. He’ll be sore, but he’ll be fine.”
“Oh, I’m not worried,” I tell her truthfully. “He needs to be worried about what happens when he wakes up. I’m going to kick his ass.”
“Good girl.” She laughs. “Give him hell.”
An odd choice of words, since he’d been burned by literal hellfire. These people never ceased to amaze me. Tory filled us in as soon as we’d arrived, very early the next morning. Pocus held a warlock at gunpoint, ensuring he would do a spell to conjure hellfire to destroy a stone that held Anderson’s spirit.
It was a lot of information to process, especially since Pocus had told me nothing about Anderson being the evil spirit haunting him. It was added to the long list of reasons I was angry with him.
In any case, Tory and Mama had secretly cast protection spells on Pocus. He’d been willing to sacrifice himself to save everyone—the very top reason I could throttle him right now. He was badly burned in the fire, but he survived. The warlock wasn’t so lucky, and the stone was successfully destroyed.
None of that matters to me, though. All that matters is that my idiotic, stubborn, sacrificial, completely wonderful husband is still here with me. He’s been in and out of consciousness since we arrived, but when he was awake, he was so goddamn happy it melted my heart. He’s lucky I love him so much.
Now, as I hold our little girl in my arms, he opens his eyes slightly, and she screams out in joy.
Tory stirs next to me, likely having one of her vivid dreams. As long as I’ve known her, she’s been prone to them. They’ve apparently gotten worse with the pregnancy. Last night, she had such a vivid dream, she accidentally punched me in the stomach.
I pull her against me and wrap my arms around her, mostly for my own safety. But I do love the way our naked bodies feel against each other. A slight sheen of sweat covers her body from our earlier excursions. Pregnancy has also made her incredibly horny, but I have zero complaints about that.
It’s hard to remember what life was like before she showed up. I must have been terribly bored. She definitely keeps things interesting. I move my hand down to her stomach, and I leave it there, imagining I can feel our son kicking against her.
She’s told me repeatedly that he hasn’t developed legs yet. She’s early in her pregnancy, but I’m already head over heels for my son. We haven’t decided on a name yet, but I’m trying to convince her that his middle name should be Pocus. After all, if it weren’t for him, we’d still be dealing with Anderson’s evil spirit.
Although, truthfully, Tory laid most of the groundwork. She never ceases to amaze me. She sighs happily and turns into me so we’re lying chest to chest. I press a sweet kiss on her nose and bury my fingers in her hair, holding her to me as I drift off to sleep.
“I really feel okay,” Juliana tells me as Graveyard unhooks her from the machines. “Even Doctor Death said I can leave.”
Graveyard rolls his eyes at her nickname for him, but we find it hysterical. She’s already fitting in so well, and she’s only been awake for half an hour. Graveyard tells her to keep up with ibuprofen every few hours, but says that otherwise, she’ll be fine.
“So,” she says hesitantly. “Technically, I think I’m homeless.”
I laugh at her randomness. “That is a dilemma,” I agree, grabbing her hand and helping her off the bed. “Maybe a nice man will offer you a safe place to stay.”
“I haven’t had a lot of luck with nice men,” she jokes. “Maybe a dangerous motorcycle gang member will let me share his bed though. It’s the least he can do.”
