“No—your friends made damn sure of that.”
I bet they did. I wondered what had happened to Daniel after Mac and Dalton found me, then I realized I really didn’t care.
“I feel so fucking filthy,” I whispered.
“If you want, I can help you shower. We’ll have to be careful with your stitches. Dr. Jaques approved some pain relief. Would you like to wait for that before then? Otherwise, I won’t lie, it’s not going to feel good.”
“No, I don’t want to wait. Please, just help me get up.”
I had never felt so weak. It took me approximately tenyears just to stand, and even then, I leaned heavily on her. She took my weight like a champ. The bathroom looked miles away. Step by agonizing step, we shuffled our way there.
“I’m Nurse Humphrey, by the way. But you can call me Stella—all my friends do.”
I smiled at her as best I could through the haze of pain that I was beginning to realize was going to be my new normal for a while. My legs shook. My breath came fast. My head swam. I zeroed in on the far wall, trying to think of anything but the pain.
When we finally got to the bathroom, a thin sheen of sweat coated my body, and I was panting. It made my abdomen hurt, so I found myself whimpering in between the wheezing for breath. Stella murmured reassuring words, and I didn’t give a damn as she helped me undress. I was sure she had seen much worse in her years as a trauma nurse than my naked body. I was grateful for the thin hospital gown, not even wanting to think about how hard it would be to remove actual clothes. Stella was an angel, her touch feather-light as she helped me in the shower.
She was right—the shower was anything but comfortable. But I felt infinitely better, washing the last remnants of that asshole down the drain. I sat in the little white chair as she made me feel a bit more whole. When she helped me back into bed, she gave me a glass of water and some white pills that I hoped were the strongest painkiller this side of the moon.
“I’ll have someone from the cafeteria bring you something to eat. Just something light, some broth. If you can keep that down and want more, just let me know. But you need to eat something with that medicine I just gave you—otherwise you’ll be tasting colors.”
I smiled at her. “I think I love you.”
She patted my knee, tucking me into bed. Stella had pulled out all the stops to make me comfortable, even braiding my wet hair. “Would you like me to send your friends in?”
I nodded. “Please.”
I lay back against the pillows, closing my eyes. That was the most exhausting shower of my life. A piercing shriek broke the silence, and my eyes flew open just as Maria all but skidded to a stop next to my bed. She reached for me before hugging herself, realizing that touching me might not be the best idea. Her hands twitched like she itched to hug me. Holly was right behind her, a rare smile on her face.
Maria bounced on her toes. “Oh, I want to hug you so damn bad, girl!”
I grinned at her. “I appreciate it, but please don’t. You may actually finish me off.”
Her face fell, and she shook her head. “No,hermana, no death jokes from you for a long while. My heart can’t take it.”
Holly sat on the bed at my feet. “You scared the shit out of all of us, Nicky.”
“Maybe next time I should set the dude on fire, and not the bike.”
Holly smiled at me. “Nowthere’san idea.”
Maria dragged the chair Mac had been sitting in closer to me. “How are you holding up?”
I gave her a shaky smile. “It’s hit or miss, not gonna lie. One second I’m fine; the next, I am an absolute fucking mess. Plus, a doctor was digging around in my stomach and took a souvenir, so… yeah.”
“You almost died. I would wheel you down to the psychiatric ward if you weren’t kinda messed up in the head for a bit,” she replied.
“If it helps, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that you have those two boys wrapped around your pretty little finger. They spent almost every hour right next to you. The doctors and nurses all but dragged them out at the end of the night,” Holly added.
I was about to ask them if they knew what happened to Daniel, but there was a knock on the door. I fought tokeep the shock off my face when I looked up and saw Agent Braxton in a white doctor’s coat. Agent Williams stood beside him, dressed like the world’s grumpiest nurse.
“Excuse me, ladies, but we need to run some more tests on the patient.” Braxton lied with practiced ease, and he smiled at Holly and Maria as they assured me they would be back later, before leaving the room.
As soon as they were gone, Braxton’s smile disappeared. Williams shut the door and closed all the blinds. Braxton came up beside the bed and made a show out of looking over the monitor, and I hated that I couldn’t do much more than lie there. Finally, he broke the heavy silence.
“What the fuck are you doing, McGrady?”
I blinked at him. “Excuse me?” I had expected condolences. Sympathy. Reassurance. Being admonished hadn’t even crossed my mind, and his tone raised my hackles.
