Her eyes look straight into mine and she asks me, “Do you have an allergy to morphine? Or any other pain meds?”
“No,” I whisper, my voice raw.
She nods, glances at me, and then draws out a quarter of the syringe.
I don’t even twitch when she gives me the dose, and I look straight ahead when she cleans up a few more of the cuts on my face and gives me another shot of antibiotics. I can already feel the morphine dulling the pain, but not fuzzing up my brain. Not yet. Thank God.
When she finally pulls away, she puts everything back in the bag and pulls off her gloves. “Shall we?” she asks the guard drily. He mutters something I can’t hear and jerks his head for her to follow him.
I watch her leave for a brief moment, before I lower my head and close my eyes. She might not know it, but she’s given me the reprieve I need and the little bit of a boost to keep on going until the next time. I don’t know who she is, but she’s my angel in scrubs for now. I just have to hope that she keeps coming back or I might just give in.
CHAPTER FOUR
SHADOW
They have him, and we’re going to find him and bring him back.
“Why can’tyou come with us, Daddy?” Macy pouts, looking at me as she stands with her mother just outside of security at the airport. She’s clutching her favorite stuffed animal, still dressed her in her pajamas, and her hair in a hastily done braid that she insisted I do before we left the house. My heart aches knowing that I’m sending her away, but it’s for the best.
“I need to fix a few things here and then I’ll come,” I promise her, crouching so we’re face to face. “I need you to be good for your mama, okay? She’s tired of carrying around your siblings.”
“I keep saying she needs to take them out already,” Macy reminds me. “Why would they want to stay in there when they can come out and play with me?”
I can’t help but smile. “Well, I’m afraid that they’re going to be in there awhile longer. They’re not done cooking yet. Youshould be good for Auntie Peyton, Grandma, and Grandpa, too, okay? They’re really excited to see you.”
Macy nods. “Grandma promised we’d go shopping for new clothes,” she says with a big smile. “But I need some money, Daddy, and I don’t have time to paint any pictures for the uncles.”
“Macy,” Quinn groans.
I chuckle and pull out my wallet. I pull out a twenty and hand it to her. “Will that be enough?” She makes a big deal of inspecting it before she nods and grins at me. “Good. Now you be good and listen to your mama, right, Macy?”
She tucks the bill in the small pocket of her pajama pants and then she throws her arms around my neck, holding me tight. “I’ll miss you, Daddy,” she whispers.
“I’ll miss you too, baby girl,” I tell her, kissing her forehead. “But it won’t be for long, right? Make sure you do a bunch of pictures for me. I need more for the fridge at home.”
She nods, and I hold her tight as I look down at Quinn who looks like she’s on the verge of tears. I move Macy to my hip and wrap my free arm around her, pulling her in tight. “Everything will be fine,” I promise her softly, cupping the back of her head to tilt her head up to look up at me.
“Promise me you’ll be safe,” she whispers, her voice quivering as she tries to hold back her emotions.
“Always, sunshine,” I promise her. I lean down to press a kiss to her lips. She grips my shirt tightly, not wanting to let go. When I pull away, I move my hand from her head to her stomach, feeling the movements of the babies under my palm. It’s a feeling I’ll never get enough of. “I’ll see you all soon,” I tell her, looking at her with a promise in my eyes.
Quinn nods. “I love you,” she tells me, laying her head on my chest briefly before stepping back. “Alright, Macy, let’s go. Eden, Archer, and Sadie are waiting for us over there.”
Some more hugs and tears from Macy later, along with another kiss from Quinn, they finally head for security. A heavy weight settles in my chest as I watch them go, but then it instantly lightens slightly when I hear Macy ask Quinn, “Is this like the last time with Auntie Peyton and Grandma and Grampa? Do we have to have toys in our suitcases too? I have this one, but nothing else. Oh no! We forgot the dildo, Mama. We forgot it!”
I start to laugh, unable to help myself. Quinn shoots daggers at me as she tries to calm Macy down and also tells her to stop asking about that stupid dildo. God, I might need that bail fund after all if the security guys overheard that. I turn and head out to where Viper and Bowie are waiting. Both of them have different expressions. Bowie looks pained, while Viper looks smug.
Viper snickers. “Sadie didn’t take too kindly to being told that she had to go,” he explains. “Gave our brother here a good knee to the nuts for his trouble before she headed in with Eden and Archer. Think he’s rethinking a few things now.”
“Thought it was your woman who was the ball buster,” Bowie grits out tightly, wincing as he shifts slightly to turn and open the rear passenger door of the SUV.
“The girl spends time at a sex club, and she’s the one in charge,” Viper reminds him pointedly as he gets in the front passenger seat, and I climb in the driver’s seat. “And Eden’s the ass killer, not the ball killer.” He sighs with contentment. “I love that woman.”
“You and your love of crazy women is fucking nuts,” Bowie huffs.
“It keeps life fun,” Viper answers with a shrug. “And speaking of women, what the fuck is going on with you and Sadie?”
Bowie doesn’t answer for a moment. I glance back at him in the rearview mirror and see the pained expression on his face.
