Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Swift
I leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over my chest, boots planted wide on the tile floor, while I watched the doctor work on her shoulder.
Britta sat on the edge of the exam table, her shirt carefully pulled down off one side so the doctor could get to the stitches. Her jaw was set, and her lips were pressed together like she was trying to pretend none of this hurt.
It hurt.
I could see it in the tightness around her eyes. The way her fingers curled against her thigh. The way her breath caught just a little every time the doctor tugged on a stitch.
My jaw clenched.
I’d taken hits before and broken bones. Had cuts that needed more than a few stitches, and pain wasn’t new to me.
But watching her go through it?
Yeah, that was new, and I didn’t like it one damn bit.
The doctor worked methodically, snipping and pulling, dropping each stitch into a small tray like it was nothing more than thread instead of something that had been holding her together after a bullet tore into her. “You’re doing great,” the doc said.
Britta huffed out a quiet breath. “Define great.”
He smiled like he’d heard that one before. “You’re not yelling at me, so I’m counting it as a win.”
She rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile there.
I pushed off the wall just a little, not even realizing I’d moved until I was closer to her than before.
“You okay, sugar?” I asked.
Her eyes flicked to mine. “Peachy,” she muttered.
Liar, but she was tough. I’d give her that.
The doc finished with the last stitch and leaned back. “All right. That’s the last of them.”
Britta let out a breath like she’d been holding it for five minutes straight. “Finally.”
He grabbed some gauze and cleaned the area, then stepped back to look it over. “You’re healing really well,” he said. “Actually faster than I expected.”
That got my attention, Britta’s too.
“Really?” she asked.
He nodded. “Really. Whatever you’ve been doing, keep doing it.”
She shrugged her good shoulder. “Resting. Taking it easy.”
I almost snorted. She had been… mostly.
The doc nodded. “Good. That’s exactly what you should be doing.” He tapped lightly around the wound, checking her range. “Any pain when you move it like this?”
She winced just a little. “Some.”
“Normal,” he said. “You’re going to have some soreness for a bit, but you should regain full movement.”
I felt some of the tension in my chest loosen at that. Full movement and no permanent damage. That was damn good.
“You’re actually in really good shape, Britta,” the doc added. “You did everything right.”
She smiled a little at that. “First time for everything.”
He chuckled. “Let’s not make getting shot a regular thing, though.”
“Noted,” she said dryly. Then she hesitated. “Can I go back to work?”
I shifted where I stood, watching the doctor closely.
His answer mattered a lot.
He considered her for a second. “You can,” he said. “But take it easy. Don’t overdo it. Listen to your body.”
She nodded quickly. “I can do that.”
I made a low sound in my throat.
She shot me a look.
The doc smiled like he’d picked up on something. “I mean it,” he said. “Ease back into it. You’re healing well, but that doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”
“Got it,” she said.
He gave her one last once-over, then stepped back. “I’ll get you your discharge paperwork. You’re good to go.” And just like that, he was gone.
The room went quiet.
Too quiet.
Britta slid off the exam table carefully, adjusting her shirt back into place. Then she turned toward me with that look. That smug little look. “Looks like I can go back to work,” she said.
I grunted. “He said to take it easy, Britta.”
She shrugged like that meant nothing. “I can do that while I help Tempi get the bar ready to reopen. She can’t stay closed for too long.”
I stepped closer, grabbing her coat from the chair. “Pretty sure Tempi could never charge again for a beer in that bar and she’d be fine.”
She laughed, slipping her arm into the sleeve while I helped guide it up carefully over her shoulder. “I don’t think you know Tempi’s finances.”
I smirked. “No, but I know she’s an ol’ lady of a rich biker.”
That stopped her. She tipped her head, studying me like I’d just said something completely insane. “What are you talking about?”
I chuckled, helping her settle the coat into place without jostling her shoulder. “Sugar, I know it’s a stereotype that bikers are barely scraping by, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth when it comes to Twister.”
Her eyes widened just a little. “Wait… what?”
I laughed under my breath. “Yeah. You’ve been hanging around us this long and didn’t figure that out?”
“I thought—” She cut herself off, shaking her head. “I think I’m going to have to have a little chat with Tempi the next time I see her.”
“I’d pay to watch that,” I said.
She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
We made our way out of the room and down the hallway, the smell of antiseptic following us out like it didn’t want to let go.
The automatic doors whooshed open, and the cool air hit us.
Freedom.
I walked ahead a step, pulling Tempi’s car keys from my pocket and unlocking it.
We were still using her car until we got the all clear from the doc. I opened the passenger door and stepped back.
Britta paused before getting in, looking up at me.
“Next time can we drive your bike?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I guess if you’re up for it.”
She smiled, slow and confident. “I am. Do I need to remind you of what the doctor just said?”
I shook my head. No, I didn’t need reminding. I knew exactly what that doctor had said and I knew exactly what it meant.
A bedridden Britta? Easy to protect.
Britta back on her feet? That was going to be a whole different game.
“How about we just keep taking it easy, sugar?” I said, sliding my sunglasses down over my eyes.
She looked up at me then.
And fuck, that look. Like she was thinking things she hadn’t been thinking two days ago. Like she’d made some kind of decision right there in the parking lot.
“Easy, huh?” she asked.
My jaw tightened.
“Sugar,” I growled low.
Two days ago she hadn’t been ready.
Now? Now she was looking at me like she might drag me into the backseat and prove a point.
“Get in the damn car, Britta,” I muttered. “You can’t look at me like that.”
She arched a brow. “Why not?”
I leaned down just a little, close enough that I could see the way her pupils had blown wide. “Because right after you look at me like that is when things change,” I said. “Change you didn’t want yet.”
She scrunched her nose, then shrugged like it didn’t matter. “Maybe change doesn’t seem so scary anymore.”
“Britta.”
“Swift.”
Jesus, she was going to be the death of me.
“Get in the car,” I said again, rougher this time.
She smiled like she knew exactly what she was doing, then she dipped into the seat.
I shut the door a little harder than necessary and rounded the front of the car, dragging a hand over my jaw before I got in.
The engine turned over and we pulled out into traffic.
And the silence between us? It wasn’t empty. It was thick, heavy, and charged.
I kept my eyes on the road, but my mind wasn’t there. It was back by that car door. Back with the way she’d looked at me. Back with how close I’d come to hauling her against me and finishing what we’d almost started before.
I flexed my fingers on the steering wheel.
She didn’t say a word, and neither did I.
Because if either of us did? That silence was going to snap and I wasn’t sure I had the control to stop what came after.
Not when I could still feel the ghost of her that close to me.
Not when I knew exactly how easily everything between us could change.
And not when I wasn’t sure she was ready for what that change would mean.