Chapter 39 Faith
FAITH
“You don’t need stitches.” Blake pulled the latex gloves off his hands with a sharp snap. “But you do need to watch for infection. Did you hit him in the mouth?”
Ryker sat at my kitchen table, displaying his bruised knuckles like battle trophies. “I hit him everywhere.”
“The mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria.” Blake tossed the gloves into my trash can. “Antibacterial ointment twice a day. Change the dressing. Any redness or signs of infection, you tell me immediately.”
“Will do, Doc.”
My brother’s steely gaze locked on to mine. “You gonna tell me exactly what happened?”
Right. So, Blake had gone full doctor mode the second he arrived, and triaging injuries was priority one. He’d checked me over first, then moved on to assess and treat Ryker’s wounds. Now came the interrogation portion of our evening.
Lucky me.
Heat crept up my cheeks. “My ex-boss is a total douchebag. He tried to turn my situation into leverage. I refused. He got aggressive. I fought back.” I paused. “Oh, and I lost my job. That about covers it.”
“Jesus.” Blake’s jaw could’ve been carved from granite. “What’s his name?”
“Do not answer that.” I jabbed my finger at Ryker with what I hoped was an intimidating glare.
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
Ryker’s lips twitched. “Don’t worry. The guy won’t be bothering her again.”
“If he does …” Blake moved closer, and it hit me how intimidating my brother could look when he wanted to. Tall. Muscular. I knew if push came to shove, Jace and Axel would have his back too.
It almost made me feel sorry for Brett.
Almost.
It struck me then that I, a discarded foster kid, suddenly had this group of men willing to protect me from every angle.
Legal problems? Check. Emotional support?
Check. Hands-on justice if my scumbag boss stepped out of line again?
Also check. The realization wrapped around my heart like a warm blanket.
“He won’t,” I said firmly.
Blake studied me. Then his doctor eyes seemed to reassess, this time lingering on my hair. A crease appeared between his brows. His gaze swept to Ryker’s equally mussed locks.
Oh no.
That’s when I realized that Ryker and I were both sporting the Just Ravaged Each Other hairstyle.
Not good. Blake would not be happy—
A knock on the front door saved me.
Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.
“I’ll get it!” I chirped, probably a little too enthusiastically.
Blake continued glaring at Ryker, who bit back a smile.
“Harper! So good to see you.” I swung the door wide, grinning like a maniac. “Come on in!”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re being weird.”
I laughed. Well, here’s the thing: my brother suspects I just got busy with his best friend, so distractions are welcome. “Long day. Come in.”
Harper entered like she suspected a trap, then froze when she spotted not only Ryker, but also my brother.
“Harper, this is my brother, Blake. Blake, Harper.”
Blake offered a polite nod, and then his eyes zeroed in on the darkened skin around Harper’s eye. It was probably the only thing that could’ve diverted his attention from the did-they-or-didn’t-they question.
Thank you, medicine.
“Harper lives next door,” I explained quickly. “We’re becoming fast friends. She’s really nice.”
God, I sounded like a kindergartener, introducing her new buddy at show-and-tell.
Harper noticed my stammering. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Blake, meanwhile, stayed fixated on her bruise. Say what you will about my brother being intimidating and maybe even dangerous, but someone hurting a woman? That was a hard line he wouldn’t tolerate.
He closed the distance between them slowly, like approaching a wounded animal. Harper watched him with a look that could only be described as, What the actual hell?
Couldn’t blame her. She had no clue my brother was an ER doctor.
“May I?” Blake raised his hand toward her face, stopping inches from her skin.
“Uh, no.” Harper leaned away so far, she nearly fell over. “You may absolutely not.”
Blake frowned, hand still hovering. “I’m just trying to—”
“To what? See if my face is real?”
“There’s edema around the—”
“Does he know he’s talking out loud right now?” Harper looked at me desperately.
Ryker made a choking sound that might have been a laugh.
“I’m trying to assess your injury,” Blake said, looking genuinely confused. Like he couldn’t fathom why she wasn’t cooperating.
“Oh, is that what we’re calling it now?” Harper held her palm up. “Look, buddy, I don’t know what weird pickup artist manual you’ve been reading, but let me ‘assess your injury’ is not the smooth line you think it is.”
I bit my lip. Hard.
Blake frowned deeper. “I’m not hitting on you.”
“Really? Because walking up to a stranger and immediately fixating on their face while asking to touch them? That screams, I collect skin suits in my basement.”
Ryker lost it. Full-on shoulder-shaking, trying-not-to-laugh-out-loud lost it.
Blake’s jaw ticced. “I’m examining the contusion around your orbital bone.”
Harper looked at me, eyes wide with mock horror. “Faith, your brother is deeply unsettling.”
“He’s a doctor,” I managed between trying not to laugh. “An ER doctor. Not a serial killer.”
Harper blinked. Once. Twice. “Oh.” Her face went through an impressive spectrum of reds. “That’s … that makes way more sense than the skin suit thing.”
“Skin suit thing?” Blake looked personally offended.
“In my defense, you have very intense eyes,” Harper shot back. “And the way you were staring at my bruise? Total creeper vibes.”
Ryker was practically wheezing now.
Blake’s expression remained perfectly professional. “I’m an emergency room doctor at Mercy Harbor. May I examine your injury?”
Fresh apprehension washed over Harper’s features. She didn’t like someone seeing her bruise. Didn’t like attention called to it.
“It’s okay,” I assured her softly.
My words seemed to matter. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Okay.”
Gently, Blake took her chin between his thumb and finger, tilting her face to catch the light better. His touch was clinical. Professional.
Harper’s eyes flicked to mine, wide and uncertain.
“Has your cheekbone been X-rayed?”
“No.”
“Dizziness? Dark spots in your vision?”
“No. And FYI, I’m a nurse, so I knew what to watch for.”
That didn’t stop Blake from completing a series of questions though, along with a careful inspection. “I don’t think it’s broken,” he concluded, “but I can’t be sure without imaging. You could have a hairline fracture.”
Harper looked to me for rescue.
“Imaging means explaining how she got it,” I said. “And that’s not happening.”
Blake’s fingers twitched at his sides, putting the pieces together. Not that it was a tough puzzle.
“You have somewhere safe to stay?” he asked.
Harper’s cheeks flushed. I could see Blake meant well, but she needed rescuing. Stat.
“She just moved in next door.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
“Are you living alone?” Blake pressed.
Translation: Is whoever gave you that black eye still a threat?
“I live alone,” Harper replied stiffly.
“She just moved in a few days ago,” I added.
Blake studied her. “You must’ve moved pretty quickly after that incident.”
Jesus, Blake. Read the room.
To her credit, Harper straightened. When she spoke, her voice was strong. “Sometimes, you have to run while you still can.”
The men exchanged a loaded look.
“Well.” Blake pulled a business card from his back pocket and handed it to her. “If you want to get that imaged, give me a call. I’ll figure out a way to get it done without the bill.”
Harper’s eyes went wide. We all knew he was breaking rules. Who knew how much trouble he could get into with the hospital, let alone insurance companies? Then again, knowing Blake, he might just secretly fund it himself.
“Thank you.” She held up the card, then tucked it into her back pocket.
“Did whoever did that to you go to jail?” Blake asked.
Harper’s face shuttered. “That’s … complicated.”
“Complicated how?” Blake’s voice carried an edge that made me nervous.
“The kind of complicated that means we’re not talking about it.” Harper’s tone was firm. Final.
Blake looked like he wanted to push, but Harper’s expression warned him off.
Smart man.
“Well,” I said, desperate to lighten the mood, “who wants a drink? I think we could all use—”
“Ryker.” Blake’s tone tightened, and his gaze cut to his best friend. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Oh shit.
Here I thought, we’d gotten away with our sexcapade.
My eyes met Ryker’s across the room. Heat flared between us, quick and electric. His lips quirked up just slightly, and I felt my pulse kick.
Worth it, his expression seemed to say.
Totally worth it, mine replied.
“Outside.” Blake’s tone could have frozen hell over twice. “Now.”
Ryker’s gaze still locked on mine for one more heated second before he followed Blake toward the door.
Harper leaned in close. “Why does it look like your brother is about to beat Ryker up?”