Chapter 15 #2
I want to say I’m fine again, but don’t.
“I made a calculated decision to not kill someone who was being used as a pawn, Adrain. I got the snot kicked out of me in thanks,” I explain.
“I’ve decided I’m not going to apologize for that decision because it was the right thing to do.
Now, let’s move on. Can I go home or are my lungs fucked? ”
They feel fine, though it hurts at times to breathe since my ribs are broken.
“You’re the most infuriating omega on the goddamn planet,” he growls, breaking character.
“Trust me, I know,” I mutter. “Now, tell me the things.”
“I need a chest scan, and then I can tell you more,” he says. “I also want you to stay through tonight if the scan is clear.”
“Why?” I ask, pouting. “I hate the hospital, Adrain. I only came because I was covered in blood.”
The alpha has a little vein in his forehead that pulses when he’s annoyed. It’s kind of fun to see that I can get under his skin this quickly. He’s typically very calm. His brown eyes are spitting fire and he takes a deep breath.
“Don’t yell at the patient,” he mutters under his breath. “Hollis, you’re scaring the fuck out of everyone.”
“Emilia Richardson declared war amongst the flowers,” I retort. “I didn’t do shit except refuse to let her use dating mixers as a means to sex traffic omegas.”
I’m getting angry because I know that I have to explain my actions. It’s not that simple though. Being the person who says enough is enough rarely is though.
“She’s been threatening me for a few weeks,” I add. “Emilia was always going to make her move and while I can take care of myself typically, even I’m not any match against being body slammed and kicked by an alpha who outweighs me by at least a hundred and fifty pounds.”
Stupid fucking, pointless tears. Goddamnit!
The monitor next to me complains, and begins to beep loudly and quickly. Caleb and Lars step in with guns drawn while Adrain raises his hands in the air.
“She’s pissed off and upset,” he explains. “Put those away.”
Walking over to me, Caleb turns my face toward him, gently wiping away a tear.
“You’re going to make your eyes swell more, Hollis,” he murmurs. “Be mad, that’s fine. I’ve been waiting for you to get here. Emilia is a fucking twunt, and used something you love against you. It is not fine, and I never want you to say that again.”
Lips trembling, I nod as I gasp out a sob. “I don’t want to stay here anymore, Caleb.”
“Today, Hollis also gets whatever the fuck she wants, Doc,” he says.
“You and I both know her lungs are fine. Do you realize that Emilia could decide that she’s going to hire someone to kill Hollis at the hospital, and while Lars and I would kill them, the chances are high that she would be shot. Everyone is at risk while she’s here.”
“I want to know that my friend is alright,” Adrain growls as I lean back on my pillow, still crying.
I’m doing my best to pull them back, but my body is twitchy now that I’m allowing myself to feel things.
I've been numb from the pain before this.
“Hollis, this bitch is fucking insane. All I heard was gun shots at the event, and then no one would let me through. I had to call my father to see how you were.”
Shit. His father is a mafia man, and sometimes asks for favors when we need them. It’s almost funny that it works both ways.
“He told you I was here?” I ask.
“He did, so I chose to come in to work and refused to leave in an effort to be able to monitor you. I’ve been bouncing between departments,” he explains.
“Did I just catch you in a lie, Doctor?” I tease weakly.
“You bet your ass you did,” he says, blowing out a breath. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
“I know for a fact that you’re in perfect health,” I mutter. The man is built like a god. Not mine, but I can appreciate it.
“Bah,” he grunts. “You’re too important to this community to die, Hollis.”
“Why do you think she’s got a fucking target on her back, Doc?” Lars asks before heading back to the door with Caleb.
“Emilia is threatened by me,” I say softly.
Adrain pulls some tissue from the box and carefully blots my tears. It’s better if he does it, because I’m sure to push too hard since I’m frustrated and angry.
“Better,” he says, handing me some clean tissue for my running nose. “ROWS is threatened by anyone with a brain, Hollis. Forever Yours was a beautiful event, and my pack even connected with someone. We have drinks planned out for next week.”
“Really?” I ask, grinning despite the bruises.
“Don’t get too excited,” he warns. “We’re going to see how it goes. Now, who are you staying with while you’re recovering? I know you’re smart enough not to go back to your apartment right now.”
“She’s staying with me and my pack,” Brice says, walking in. “Good morning, Hollis. Sorry I was gone for so long.”
“He brought you something from the coffee shop. I think that’s the only way we’re going to make it out of here alive. You haven’t eaten anything,” Lars calls out.
“What?” Adrain asks. “When is the last time you’ve eaten?”
“A muffin yesterday morning,” I reply. “I haven’t been awake for long, Adrain. That’s the same reason I haven’t seen you until now.”
Adrain presses his lips together and laces his fingers together before stretching to hold back the expletives I’m sure that are running through his mind. Broody alpha.
“Alright, fuck it,” he says. “What did you bring my patient, and is there enough to share?”
Brice raises his brow with a smirk. “That depends entirely on my girl,” he says, handing me the bag.
My stomach flip flops as he so publicly calls me his, and I open the bakery bag.
“Hollis, please share, and explain the last part of what he said,” Adrain grunts. “Is Minneapolis’ most eligible bachelorette off the market?”
“Adrain, that was one article in a magazine,” I complain.
I say this at the exact same time that Brice simply says, “Yes.”
“Interesting,” Adrain says as I dig into the bag.
“Lemon squares!” I gasp.
“Go easy on them,” Brice advises. “I don’t want you to overdose on sugar and get a stomach ache because there’s nothing else in there.”
“Hmm. He’s cute, Hollis,” Adrain says. “Good choice.”
Handing him a lemon square, I smirk. “Choice and scent match, Doctor.”
“You’re gossiping," Brice says, amused.
“When I’m not being completely professional, I occasionally gossip with Hollis,” Adrain admits, taking a bite of his treat.
His groan as he bites into it makes me grin. Pulling out my food, I happily begin to eat it. Sugar makes everything better.
“Have you been crying?” Brice asks, eyes narrowing.
“I’m currently very angry with life,” I mumble. “This helps though.”
“I’m glad,” he murmurs. “We can be angry together, Baby Girl.”
“Me three,” Adrain says. “Are we sure we can’t kill her?”
“Shh,” I say, listening to the Finnegan brothers chuckle as they close the door. “Yes, I’m sure we can’t. I think it would upset the other mafia packs. Plus, she had motorcycle thugs beat me up. I think this goes way deeper than we think.”
“You have boot mark bruises on your stomach,” Adrain says. “It’s in her chart, I didn’t look.”
The last part is directed to Brice, who chuckles under his breath.
“We haven’t met yet,” he says, putting his hand out over me. “Brice Ledger.”
Adrain dusts his hand on his scrubs before shaking Brice’s offered hand.
“Dr. Adrain Royal,” he says. I personally love his name, because it makes everyone think he’s completely pretentious when he’s not. “Hollis is amazing. Don’t fuck it up.”
“Noted,” Brice says, dropping Adrain’s hand. “There’s a lot of that going around.”
“I have a feeling some of it may have been done at gunpoint,” Adrain says unapologetically, popping the last bite of lemon square in his mouth.
He straddles the line between upstanding citizen and mafia son, he doesn’t care about what side you’re on as long as you’re not a scumbag.
“You’d be right,” Brice sighs. “Can she leave tonight?”
“Yes,” Adrain says. “I was stalling until she and I could talk about where she’d be staying. I also wanted to know about what happened. I didn’t mean to make her cry.”
“It was going to happen at some point,” I grumble. “The light is wrong here, and I hate how hospitals smell.”
“I know, I know,” Adrain breathes. “I have more questions. Please drink some water with your sugar and answer them.”
Grabbing the water bottle, he holds it in front of me so I can obediently take a sip. The water is cool and feels really good. At least my throat isn’t the worst for wear after everything. I can deal with broken ribs because they’ll heal on their own.
A cast would legitimately kill me since it would limit my mobility. Glancing at Brice, I hide a smile. I doubt they’ll let me walk much if they can carry me around everywhere.
This should be interesting.
“Ask away,” I tell Adrain.
“Are you planning to go into the office next week?” he asks.
“No. I look like a patchwork quilt of bruises. I’m positive I would scare people. Why?”
“Wondering. Don’t go in for at least two weeks,” he says. “You have a penchant for healing quickly, and I don’t want you to use that as an excuse for going in too soon.”
“Adrain,” I sigh.
“You know that you’ll be right as rain in a week and a half. Don’t play with me,” he grumbles.
He’s not wrong. Migraines are the only thing that really tend to knock me out for the count. I can bounce back quickly from everything else.
“Fine,” I sigh, digging into the bag for a chocolate chip cookie. Smiling slightly, I break off a piece before putting away the rest. I know my sugar limits.
“Next question, how secure is the Ledger pack home?” he asks.
“That’s cute,” I murmur, glancing at him.
“Cian and my father put me up to this part. Yell at them,” he says.