Chapter 23 #2
I covered my ears. “La-la-la. I do not need to hear about that.”
Eva laughed. “Right. Now that you’re going to be an old lady, we’ll have to watch what we say in the group chat.”
I pursed my lips pensively. “I don’t think I’ll ever be an old lady. Hatchet handed in his cut.”
“I already ordered Merrick to give it back,” Kenna stated simply.
“You ordered Merrick?” I asked, skepticism bleeding through my voice.
“I believe my exact words were ‘Pull your head out of your ass, stop the patriarchal bullshit, and be happy for them.’”
“What does Thane think?” I asked Rhetta, already knowing the president’s inflexible stance on the code.
“I believe his exact words were ‘If it were my sister, no one would ever find Hatchet’s body.’ And then he and Don debated on the ideal order for body part removal.”
I grimaced. I’d expected as much.
“If it helps, Reaper’s on your side,” Eva said.
“He says there’s a difference between the intent behind the code and the reality.
The code was intended to make sure brothers weren’t endlessly pursuing sisters and daughters like they were sweetbutts.
You and Hatchet are textbook ‘friends-to-lovers.’ Honestly, I’m disappointed I didn’t call it sooner. ”
I laughed and glanced at the small library she’d brought. Her gaze followed mine.
Eva smirked. “That entire stack of books includes friends-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, and age-gap romances. Thought you might enjoy them.”
After they left, I settled in with a book until I fell asleep. When I woke, the light was dimmer. Hatchet sat by my side, flipping through the novel I’d been reading, with Jessa in the corner on her phone.
“Hey,” I croaked, my throat still sore.
Hatchet set the book down on my lap and poured me a glass of water.
“So, these are the types of books you read?” he asked with a mischievous expression.
I sipped the water. “Eva brought them. I usually prefer a good thriller.”
“Oh, this book seems thrilling,” he said, stroking his beard. He glanced over at Jessa, who listened curiously. “But let’s not talk about Eva’s smutty book collection right now.”
Jessa stood and handed me a stuffed armadillo. “We got this for you. I’m glad you’re OK. And that you’re moving in with us. I always wanted a sister, and now it’ll be like having one with you around.”
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. “I always wanted a sister, too,” I whispered.
* * *
After a few days, Dr. Patel sent in the big guns. Nurse Natasha ambled into my room.
“Up,” she said, yanking a dark romance about a masked stalker from my hands and tossing it behind me.
You didn’t argue with Nurse Natasha. The tall woman with a stilted Russian accent didn’t give a fuck about how much you whined. With thirty years of nursing under her belt, she’d seen and heard it all.
I swung my legs over the side. “Has anyone ever told you your bedside manner sucks?”
“Cry a river. You’ve gotten to the bathroom just fine. Today, you’ll walk to the nurse’s station and back, or else I’ll tell Dr. Patel to keep you for another week.”
“You wouldn’t,” I seethed as I stepped forward, despite feeling like someone had wrapped barbed wire around my abdomen.
She shoved a walker in front of me. “Stop being a baby. Do you need this?”
“No,” I grumbled. “I can use my own two damn legs.”
Each step pulled at the incision, causing a deep ache to radiate through my core. “Fucking hurts still,” I whined.
“Pain means you’re alive. Be happy you’re in pain.”
I rolled my eyes. I was never going to ask her to help a patient again. At least any patient I liked.
The elevator at the end of the long floor dinged. The doors slid open, and there he was. Hatchet’s face split into a grin. He stalked toward me, but then stopped when he hit the nurse’s station, like he knew it was the end goal.
“Look at you, Hellcat. You’ll be back to causing havoc in no time.”
When I reached him, Natasha stepped away and appraised me. He pressed a kiss to my lips and looked conspiratorially at my now-least-favorite nurse.
“She pass the test? Do I get to take her home?”
Natasha sniffed. “She walked. She did not faint. Did not curse at me more than usual. I suppose she can go.” She gave me a pointed look. “Rest. You try to lift anything heavier than a cup of water, I’ll tie you to the bed.”
Hatchet chuckled. “She might enjoy that.”
Natasha narrowed her eyes and pointed at Hatchet. “You. Keep it in your pants. No funny business.”
Hatchet held up his hands. “Wouldn’t think of it.”
Her glare hardened.
“Well, I’ll certainly think of it,” he clarified. “But I won’t act on it.”
“I’ll get the discharge papers.”
Back in my room, I traded my gown for a loose, comfy dress that Hatchet helped me slip over my head. He’d shockingly even brought me cotton panties, claiming he’d chosen the least sexy pair he could find to keep his imagination from running wild.
I hated the wheelchair ride down the hall, people seeing me as a helpless patient rather than a competent doctor.
“Not nearly as fun from this side, huh?” Hatchet commented, waving at the nurses who knew him all too well.
“Zero out of ten, do not recommend.”
He bent down, lips brushing my temple. “I’m so fucking happy I get to finally take you home, Hellcat.”