I glanced around the room, trying to gage what everyone was thinking. Most of them looked like they were thinking things over. Florrie was still fuming in the corner. Chris and Ice were eyeing each other and Knight stood in the corner with the usual scowl on his face. I wasn’t sure that we were really making any progress here.
My gaze shot back to Florrie and I stared at her, willing her to look at me, to let me know what she was thinking right now. She finally looked at me, and there was a mixture of anger and longing on her face. I wanted to go to her and pull her into my arms, but she wouldn’t like that right now. She hated my possessive side on a good day. She would kick me in the nuts if I showed it now.
“Now, I want Alec and Florrie to take some time off, get your heads on straight. The rest of you will continue to show up for work every fucking morning or you can walk out that door right now. Am I clear?”
Everyone nodded. There was no choice in the matter. Florrie pushed off the wall and walked out the door without a word. My heart thundered, pounding out of control. She was leaving. She was walking out like she didn’t give a damn. My blood pulsed wildly through my veins as I pushed out of my chair and attempted to run after her, but my head swam and I stumbled as I headed for the door. I felt arms grab at me, but everything was turning black and then I was out.
✯✯✯✯✯
For the second time today, I woke up to bright lights shining in my eyes. I swatted at the light, only to realize that nobody was holding a flashlight up to my face. That was just the fucking bright lights of the medic room shining down on me.
“I told you we needed to have you checked out.”
I glared at Rocco, my face twisting in pain from the hard stare. My head was fucking pounding. There was no doubt in my mind that I had a bad concussion. The thing that really got me though, my woman was gone, not even here to watch over me. It wasn’t that I needed her to, but I went from having everything I ever wanted to absolutely nothing. I could feel the loss deep in my gut, churning and making me wish that I could just pass out again. It could have been the concussion, but I knew I would feel this way for a long time to come.
“Where’s Florrie?”
“Gone.”
I sat up, ignoring the way my head swam and the pain that intensified. That was all peanuts compared to fear that shot through me. “What do you mean ‘gone’?”
He shrugged. “She left and you passed out. It kind of seemed more important to check on you than run after her. But hey, if you want me to run after her, I can leave your ass here.”
I laid back down, slightly relieved that he didn’t say she hopped on a plane.
“Do you really think Cap wouldn’t watch out for her? I’m sure Craig’s over there right now with her, along with all the assholes that took her side.”
I snorted. “You’re delusional if you think she’s letting anyone near her right now. They might be camped outside, but that’s as close as they’re getting.”
“And as close as you’re getting. Cap has me under strict orders to keep your ass here until morning. You’re not going anywhere.”
I sighed and rested back on the pillow. It wasn’t like she would let me inside anyway. My gut was telling me to run to Florrie and make her listen, but this was one of those times that I had to ignore all my instincts. Strong arming Florrie had never worked in the past, but if I tried it now, I was sure to get a second concussion, at best.
“So, what’s your plan?”
“For what?”
He scoffed, shaking his head slightly. “For getting Florrie back, asshole.”
I stared at the ceiling, wondering that myself. I had no clue. Florrie was a hard woman on the best of days. She had been almost impossible to crack the first time, and I had walked away to save myself the heartache. I had been lucky that she came
