Chapter 29 #2
“Sorry, ma’am.” Shaun gave her the smile that had gotten him out of more than a few uncomfortable situations over the years. “In my defense, sneaking up on people is usually considered a professional skill where I work.”
“Don’t you try flirting with me, Mr. Jacobsen. I’m immune to your tricks.” The nurse turned her attention back to Zenko, taking in the hospital gown and bare feet before looking between the two of them. “Now, what exactly are you two troublemakers up to?”
“Nothing that dramatic.” Shaun caught the suspicion on Zenko’s face and knew exactly what the bastard was waiting for him to do. “He needs some fresh air, so I was coming to find you and ask whether I could borrow that wheelchair in the corridor and take him outside for a few minutes.”
“That was not very smart, Mr. Marks.” The nurse carried her tray over to the chair and set it within reach. “I’m going to check your wound, and then we’ll decide whether you’re well enough for this little expedition you two are planning.”
Shaun caught the mutinous look that crossed Zenko’s face and almost laughed. Yeah, getting him back into that bed without a fight wasn’t going to fucking happen, not even if they paid him with the death of every freaking Al-Qaeda member from here to Pakistan.
“Can I go out for some fresh air?” Zenko asked as the nurse moved closer to examine his neck. “I’m not asking to run a marathon, ma’am. I want fifteen minutes outside in a wheelchair where I can see the sky.”
The nurse carefully peeled the bandage away from Zenko’s neck and examined the wound before reaching for a fresh dressing.
“It’s healing well, which is exactly how I’d like it to stay.
” She secured the new bandage and fixed him with a firm look.
“You are not walking down to the ground floor, Mr. Marks. You’ve been severely injured, and being stubborn does not magically replace the blood you lost.”
Shaun bit back a laugh when Zenko’s expression shifted from mutinous to thoroughly unimpressed. Whatever answer was running through his head, he was probably better off making sure it stayed there.
“But—”
“I could grab the wheelchair outside and take him down for a few minutes.” Shaun caught the immediate interest on Zenko’s face. “You already know if you tell him no, he’s going to wait until our backs are turned and try it himself.”
“Idiot.” The nurse looked from Shaun to Zenko before taking his pulse and making a note on his chart. “Operators are going to be the death of me.” She finished whatever she was writing and glanced at Shaun. “If I say no, is he going to go anyway?”
“Yup.” Shaun didn’t hesitate. “He threatened to climb out the window before I was fully awake, and I’m pretty sure he meant it. Give him a few minutes outside, and we might save everybody the paperwork.”
“Bah, then he’ll have a broken spine to go with his injured neck.” The nurse planted herself in front of Zenko. “Fine. You can go outside, but you stay in that wheelchair the entire time. Ten minutes, Mr. Marks. When those ten minutes are up, I expect you back in this room.”
“Roger that, ma’am.” Shaun glanced toward Zenko. “You heard her. Your ten minutes starts when we get outside, so don’t even try arguing that the elevator ride counts.”
“Half an hour?” Zenko countered immediately. “Come on, ma’am. Ten minutes is barely enough time to get downstairs, never mind actually breathe some fresh air.”
“You don’t get to set the rules here, Mr. Marks.” The nurse picked up her tray and gave him a look that suggested she’d dealt with more than enough stubborn servicemen to know exactly how this negotiation worked. “Ten minutes.”
“Twenty-five?” Zenko tried again, apparently deciding that if ten minutes was unacceptable, negotiating down from half an hour was his best option.
“Fine, fifteen,” the nurse allowed, cutting him off before he could bargain for another minute. “If you have a setback because you pushed too hard, you can explain to the doctors why you thought negotiating with me made you medically qualified to ignore them.”
“Deal,” Zenko answered fast enough that Shaun knew he would have accepted five minutes if that had been the final offer.
He also knew that look. Fifteen minutes hadn’t bought his man just fifteen minutes outside; it had bought Zenko fifteen minutes to get the hell out of the hospital. He opened his mouth, ready to call him on it, then caught sight of the nurse standing barely two feet away and closed it again.
Fuck. Zenko was leaving, with his help or without it, and arguing about it in front of her would only make damn sure neither of them got anywhere near the ground floor. He held Zenko’s gaze instead, hoping the stubborn asshole understood exactly what Shaun thought about whatever he was planning.
“Mr. Jacobsen, you come with me, and I’ll get you a wheelchair.” The nurse turned toward the door before pointing back at Zenko. “You are not to move an inch until your butt is in that chair, Mr. Marks. That’s an order.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Zenko gave Shaun a wink that confirmed every fucking suspicion he’d had about what those fifteen minutes were really for.
Shaun followed the nurse into the corridor without saying a word, although he could practically feel Zenko’s satisfaction following him through the door. The asshole thought he’d won. Maybe he had, but if they were really doing this, he intended to make damn sure Zenko didn’t try to do it alone.
Once they were far enough down the corridor that the nurse couldn’t see what he was doing, Shaun pulled out his cell and opened Drax’s contact details. If Zenko was determined to leave the damn hospital, then they needed a ride waiting before those fifteen minutes ran out.
Shaun: Need a pickup at the hospital. South entrance. Fifteen minutes.
Drax: What? Who the fuck is ‘we’?
He followed the nurse toward the station, keeping his phone low at his side so he wouldn’t see it.
“You wait here, Mr. Jacobsen. I’ll be right back with the wheelchair.” The nurse pointed toward the station as if she didn’t trust him any more than she trusted Zenko. “And don’t disappear.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He waited until she disappeared before bringing his phone back up.
Shaun: Ambra One refuses to stay. If I don’t bring him back with me, he’s going to take off by himself.
Drax: He’s a fucking dumbass. Noble will have a shit fit.
Shaun: I knew.
He tapped the backspace and corrected his spelling.
Shaun: I know.
His fingers were too freaking big for the keyboard. Time to change it again, no matter how fucking encrypted it was.
Shaun: Think you can persuade him to get discharge orders for Zen?
His phone pinged with Drax’s answer.
Drax: Fuck. Do you want him to shoot me?
“Here you go, Mr. Jacobsen.” The nurse returned with a wheelchair and pushed it toward him. “Fifteen minutes, and I will come looking for you both if you’re not back.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Shaun took control of the wheelchair and gave her his most innocent smile.
He was pretty damn sure she knew he was up to something, especially after that smile failed to earn him anything except another suspicious look.
He didn’t have time to worry about it now.
Drax was coming, Zenko was leaving, and somewhere in the middle of this fucking mess they still needed Noble to make the whole thing official.
Shaun turned the wheelchair around and headed back toward the room.
“I need my boots and clothes.” Zenko didn’t even give Shaun time to get the wheelchair through the door before he started issuing demands. “If I’m getting out of here, I’m not doing it with my ass hanging out of this fucking gown.”
“I can’t give you what I don’t have.” He pushed the wheelchair into position beside him.
“The docs cut off everything you were wearing, including your boots, and Noble hasn’t brought your go-bag yet.
” He offered Zenko his forearm and waited until he had a solid grip before helping him to his feet.
“Sorry, Zen. Hospital designer wear is what you’ve got until we can find you something better. ”
“Fuck.” Zenko glanced down at the hospital gown, then back at him. “You’re seriously telling me I’m making my great escape with my ass hanging out?”
“Won’t be the first time you’ve wandered around in public with your ass out,” Shaun reminded him. “At least this time you can blame it on the hospital.”
“Ugh.” Zenko grimaced. “There are some things a man should be allowed to keep between himself, his man, and whichever unfortunate medical professionals drew the short straw.”
He pressed a kiss to the side of Zenko’s head before helping him settle into the wheelchair. “For the record, I still think you should stay until the doctors officially discharge you, but since I know damn well you’re leaving either way, I’d rather be there when you do it.”
“No.” Zenko’s answer came fast enough to kill any hope Shaun might have had that the argument was still open. “You can disagree with me all the way to the fucking parking lot, babe, but I’m not staying.”
Shaun stared at him for a second as the tone of that single word registered. “Did you seriously just whine at me? Zenko Marks, badass Former Navy SEAL, is sitting in a wheelchair wearing a hospital gown and fucking whining because I suggested he stay where the doctors put him?”
“No, I’m not.” Zenko somehow managed to sound offended by the accusation. “SEALs don’t whine. We aggressively express our dissatisfaction with unacceptable circumstances.”
Shaun’s phone buzzed in his back pocket as he turned the wheelchair and pushed Zenko out of the room. Once they were clear of the doorway, he pulled it free and checked the screen while steering them toward the elevator.
Drax: I’ll be at the south entrance in five. D.
Shaun: Copy.
He sent the message and stopped in front of the elevator, hitting the call button while keeping the wheelchair angled beside him so Zenko couldn’t reach it first and start hammering the damn thing like that would make the elevator arrive any faster.
Shaun: Does he know?