Chapter 47 Badger
FORTY-SEVEN
BADGER
As I held onto Lily in the hospital bed, I wondered where Kade had taken Stefanos.
That pig needed to pay for what he did, and I had no doubt that Machine and Kade would take care of him.
Phantom, Buddha, and Chief were with us, not letting us out of their sight.
Monte was outside the hospital, standing watch for any more trouble.
The doctors looked us over, and asked questions, but neither of us told the truth of what actually happened.
My suspicions were correct about Lily; she was severely dehydrated and had several broken ribs, along with the two black eyes.
Thankfully, the staff didn’t call social services because of Kade's connections with the hospital.
Perks of having the Mafia on your side, I guess.
Lily would need to stay in the hospital for at least a night to make sure she was fully hydrated.
I lay in bed with her curled around me, not saying a word.
What could I possibly say Sorry it took so long to find you?
Sorry you were taken and not me? There were so many things I wanted to say to her, but I couldn’t find the words.
“I’m so sorry, Peanut,” was all I could muster.
“It’s not your fault, it was the bad man’s fault,” she said, which did nothing to ease my guilt.
“I promise I am never letting you go,” I said into her hair.
Lily squeezed me tighter before finally falling asleep. She was safe now. She was in my arms. My Lily was back. But why was I so worried about what Machine was doing? Why was there an ache in my chest that he wasn’t here too, holding us?
Lily seemed to have a real connection with Machine already, and it made my heart swell a little more. Machine had helped save my girl, had saved the piece of me that had been missing. He healed something inside of me that I thought would be permanently broken.
I just hoped he was okay.