Mutual Possession (Nine Tenths of the Law #1)

29. Spencer

Chapter twenty-nine

Spencer

Light touches against my cheek and forehead wake me, and I flinch away from the annoyance, sitting up. I’ve been hunched over the bed too long, and my back protests at the movement.

Kendrick’s awake, his fingers brushing my skin, twisting the cord attached to the IV in the back of his hand. “I told you to go home.”

“And I told you what I thought of that.” As if I’d leave him here alone. Wherever he is, that’s where I belong even if I hate the smell of hospitals.

His caresses are feather light as they move across my forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“How am I feeling? I’m not the one that got shot.”

“Went straight through. Doctor says it should heal pretty good. Minimal scarring. It’ll match the ones on my knee.”

“That’s not funny.” I’ll never forget the sheer terror on Six’s face when he arrived. Waiting for him to check Greer was the longest few minutes of my entire life. And then I couldn’t do anything when the paramedics got there. Useless, with Kendrick’s blood all over me. Our blood types don’t match, and my advanced-first-aid knowledge has nothing on what they could do for him.

“I know. I’m right here, Spence.”

“I can’t. Ken—I can’t—” My voice breaks. Seeing him here, clean, awake, healing, does nothing to ease the tension I’ve been living with for what feels like years but has only been days.

“What happened isn’t your fault. We were all caught off-guard. You saved me, Spence. Did everything you needed to while you waited. Six said the same thing, remember?”

I don’t fucking care what Six says. If I’d done my job, he’d never have been shot in the first place. That’s on me and no one else. Prevention is better than the cure, and I failed. I failed, and Kendrick is sitting in this hospital bed because of me. Again.

“I can see you thinking,” Kendrick murmurs. “And don’t you dare take this on. We got the guy, and we’re all alive. That’s a job well done, Spence. We can’t change what happened, and I can’t even say it won’t happen again, because we don’t exactly have the safest jobs in the world. I’ll try not to get shot next time.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better or…?” It’s not working. The opposite, in fact, if I’m being honest.

“Move in with me.”

I blink at the sudden change in conversation. “You already did.”

“I moved in with you.”

“Don’t play semantics with me; we already live together.”

“I want us to get a house. With better security. Jericho knows a guy.”

“Jericho always knows a guy.” He’s pedantic about that kind of thing, so at least it should be a decent guy who’ll bubble wrap the entire block. If it’ll stop any more psychotic assholes making themselves at home in our space, then I’m all for it.

“We could get a rabbit. You like rabbits.”

“Liking rabbits doesn’t mean I want one.” Kendrick doesn’t like animals. He doesn’t dislike them or anything, he’s just never wanted them. He tolerates my fish because they’re at least contained. “Can we call it Skittles?”

Kendrick laughs and then groans. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts. Yeah, Spence, we can call it Skittles. Just don’t feed it Skittles.”

What a killjoy. I bet rabbits would like Skittles. “You really want to get a house with me?”

“I want you to be safe. Both of us to be, and this will be better. It means more room too.”

“Room for what?” Why do we need more room? How many rabbits does he want to get?

“For whatever we want.”

“I’ll start looking today,” I promise. He wants a house? I’ll get him one by next week.

He traces my bottom lip with his thumb. “I love you.”

“I love you so much that I hate it, Ken. I want to chain you to me so that you can never move more than a foot away from me. I want to put a tracker on you so I know where you are every second you’re not with me. I want to walk around having you smell of me. I want the entire world to know I’ll skin them alive if they even think about laying claim to you.”

“No one can. I’m yours.”

Half standing from my chair, I lean over him and kiss him, softly. Just to feel his warmth against me. To feel his breath, more reassurance that he’s here. I’ll need that for a long time.

“Do you think they have anything decent to eat here?” Kendrick asks against my lips. “I’m starving, and I don’t think what they fed us last night was any animal I’ve ever heard of.”

“It was probably human,” I say with a chuckle.

“I’d believe it.”

Rubbing my eyes, I twist to look around the room. “They left you something before.” The bed next to us is empty, and I’d shoved it over there. Easy enough to wheel it back over so that Kendrick can reach it.

He’s halfway through a sandwich when Hunter comes in, Jericho behind him.

“We’re here to spring you,” Hunter says, a cheerful lilt to his tone. “Six is dealing with some paperwork and getting some things from the doctors, and then you’re free.” He puts a hand on the railing at the end of the bed while Jericho sits heavily in the chair near the window. “If you two do this to me a third time, you’re fired.”

“Yes, boss,” Kendrick mumbles through his bite.

Greer enters next, a clean bandage covering half his face. It has to be a mess of stitches under there. Anger throbs like a physical ache in my chest at the damage Ferguson caused. I can’t imagine how Greer’s going to feel, looking at the evidence every day in the mirror.

“Here, I got you this.” Greer tosses Kendrick a small bite-size Snickers. “Enjoy it; you’ll never get another one from me.”

“Love you too,” Kendrick says, lips flickering. He unwraps it and takes a bite of half before passing the rest to me. I shove it in my mouth before Greer can growl that it’s not for me. I should have taken a picture first to capture the monumental occasion. “Did we get the guy?”

I’m interested to know as well. I have no idea what’s happening behind the scenes. If they told me, I don’t remember, everything but Kendrick a haze for days.

Greer nods and sits beside Jericho, who knocks their knees together gently.

“Kelly’s on his way, and he’ll be taking the case,” Jericho explains. “I don’t want Sebastian anywhere near this, but Kelly will ensure he won’t be getting out for a long time.”

“And we’ll be waiting for him when he does,” I say darkly. The second he has his freedom, whether that’s twenty or thirty years from now, I’ll be stripping everything from him. He won’t ever have a day that the noose won’t be around his neck.

No one argues with me. Pointless if they did; they don’t control me.

Hunter’s phone goes off with a message notification, and he pulls it from his pocket. “It’s Moira. She’s got everything set up for you at her place and wants to know what you need from yours.”

“Why didn’t she message us?” Kendrick asks.

“She did. You aren’t answering.”

“I’ll send her a list,” I say before Kendrick can respond to that. I’m not leaving his side, and he shouldn’t be wandering around too much. “What about the guy that shot Kendrick? What did you do to him?”

“His name was Anthony Ralph. An old teammate of Ferguson. Still enlisted and not particularly well-liked by his peers or his superiors. One step away from his own dishonourable discharge. No family. Maverick and Abigail collected him, and no one knows he was there. As far as the world is concerned, he’s AWOL, and he’ll never be found. Doubt he’ll be missed.”

Good. He deserves to fucking rot. I hope whatever the afterlife has in store for him, it’s excruciatingly painful.

Jericho stands and drops a hand on Greer’s shoulder. “I’ll go get the car. Your wheelchair should be here soon.”

Kendrick rolls his eyes. “That’s such a stupid fucking policy.”

“Like you could walk far by yourself right now.” He’s as weak as a kitten. They had to give him a lot of blood, and he’s gonna be sore for a while now. “And no sudden movements, you know what the doctor said.”

“I think he’s secretly a sadist. So are the nurses. This hospital’s just a front for a BDSM club. That’s why they make you sign waivers.”

“Okay, Mr. Paranoid.”

Six passes Jericho as he leaves, a bunch of papers and a bag that looks like it’s filled with medical shit in his hands. “They’ve given the all clear for you to get the fuck out of their hospital,” he declares. He lifts the bag. “And I have supplies. You’ll have to change everything at least once a day—twice if needed—and I will be the one doing it.”

“Piss off, I can do it,” I say with a scowl. Kendrick is mine to look after. I’m capable of changing some bandages.

Six nods. “Fair enough. I’ll come by tomorrow and show you how it’s done. If he needs a sponge bath, I’m very good at those and offer them free of charge.”

“You put soapy hands anywhere near my man, and you’ll lose them,” I promise. If anyone is giving Kendrick sponge baths, it’ll be me. “Wait, so he can’t shower?”

“Not straightaway, no.”

I’m not opposed to some sponge baths. Maybe he’ll need a few a day. Gotta keep him clean, after all. “We need to get you dressed. Everyone, get the fuck out.”

“And miss the show?” Six asks. “That’s not very nice, Spencer.”

“I will break you.”

“Greer, control your man,” Kendrick says with a heavy sigh, “before there’s more bloodshed.”

Greer snorts, crossing the room to wait at the door, not making a move to stop Six from wading further into dangerous territory.

Six presses a hand to his heart. “I can see when I’m not wanted.” His gaze turns haunted when his eyes flick to Greer. I doubt he’ll be straying far from his own partner. We’re all gonna be twitchy for a while. “Yell if you need help.”

“We’ll be fine.”

I can still hear their muffled voices on the other side of the door and knowing they’re there, guarding us, helps me relax. A little. This nightmare is over, at least.