I scowled at him as my best friend stood and walked away.
Instead of taking the chair, he sat at the edge of the mattress and took my hand. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“How much did you hear?”
“Pretty much all of it.”
“Eavesdropping is super rude, Mouse.”
“Well, how else am I supposed to know what you’re really feeling, Kennedy? It’s either eavesdrop or get you so fuckin’ high you tell me the truth.”
My heart raced and I felt sick. “I’m scared.”
“No shit?”
“You know my history. I’m not good at this relationship stuff.”
He smiled. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“Can we figure it out after I can get myself to a bathroom?”
“Nope,” he said.
I grabbed his arm. “Declan, I’m at my literal worst. That is no way to start a relationship.”
“We aren’t starting shit,” he said. “We’ve been in this for a while, and this is not your worst. I look forward to worse when we’re ninety and gummin’ each other.”
“I’m going to be unable to walk for weeks,” I reminded him.
“Means you can’t run away from me.”
“I have a pee bag.”
“I’ll wear gloves.”
“I won’t be able to have sex for months.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true,” he countered.
“See? You’re always thinking with your dick.”
He dropped his head back and burst into laughter before he leaned over and kissed me gently. “You’re the fuckin’ funniest person alive, Lace. I love you.”
“You’re the fuckin’ weirdest person alive,” I retorted.
He kissed my nose. “And?”
I rolled my eyes. “And...”
“Say it again, Kennedy.”
I frowned. “Again?”
“Yeah.”
I let out a quiet gasp. “When did I say it before?”
“Right before your surgery.”
“I did not.”
He just stared at me without comment and I knew he wasn’t lying.
“Shit,” I whispered. “Did I?”
Mouse nodded. “So, you wanna try that again?”
“Not particularly.”
He chucked my chin gently, then kissed my cheek. “We’ll revisit this conversation at a later date.”
“No, I don’t think we will.”
He grinned. “Okay, Lace.”
“We seriously won’t.”
“I believe you,” he said, shifting off the bed and sitting in the chair again.
“Do you?”
“No, not really.”
I forced back a laugh as I closed my eyes.
“Pretending to sleep isn’t getting you out of this, Lacey.”
“I can’t hear you,” I whispered. “I’m asleep.”
He chuckled again and I think I really did fall asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, I was in a regular room.
And I was hot.
Too hot.
* * *
Mouse
The sound of an alarm shocked me out of the fitful sleep I’d managed to fall into soon after they moved Kennedy to her room.
I shot out of the chair, but was shoved toward the door as nurses came rushing in. “Sir, you need to wait outside.”
“What the fuck’s goin’ on?”
“Sir, we need you to give us room to work.”
“Tell me what the hell is wrong with her!”
“Do I need to call security?” the nurse threatened.
“Bitch, try it.”
“Mouse, come with me,” Remington demanded, her hand wrapping my arm and tugging. I’d forgotten she was still here.
“Rem—”
“Get out of the room, Mouse,” she growled. “Or I swear to god—”
“What, Remington?” I challenged. “What will you do?”
“Don’t be a dick,” she snapped, then lowered her voice now that were standing in the hallway. “Just let the doctors do their thing.”
I dragged my hands down my face and paced the hallway as medical staff rushed in and out of the room. I tried to follow, but Remington held me back and she was shockingly strong for someone so petit.
“This is the worst possible time to have none of your biker brethren here to help me hold you back,” she grumbled.
I sighed. She was right. I was making things difficult for her and I couldn’t do anything for Kennedy if I was charging at the doctors and demanding answers.
“I just want to know what the fuck’s happening, Rem.”
“Me too, buddy,” she whispered, and I pulled her in for a hug.
Her phone pealed in the silence of the hallway and she dug in her purse and pulled it out. “Hi, Trish. Well, the surgery went well, but she’s got a really high fever. The doctor’s in with her now. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Sure. I’m here with—hm? Oh, right. Yes. Him.” She nodded and I watched her closely as she filled Kennedy’s mother in on everything. “Yep. He sure is.” She glanced at me, grinned, then turned away. “Absolutely. Okay, we’ll see you when you get here. Sounds good. Okay. Bye.”
“She on her way?” I asked.
“Yes. They’re leaving London in two hours, so they won’t be here until late tomorrow, but they got a flight.”
I nodded.
“She knows who you are and is really happy you’re here with her.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
Remington grinned. “Yeah. You seem surprised.”
“Not gonna lie, I am.”
“That tracks.” Remington chuckled. “Kennedy’s super close to her mom, so if she’s ever going to admit how she feels about anyone, it’ll be to Trish. Kennedy’s obviously filled Trish in and she said she hoped you’d stick around even after they come.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.” She grinned. “Trish seems to like you even though you haven’t met.”
“We did meet. Once.”
“You did?”
I nodded. “At your friend’s funeral.”
“Oh, yeah.” She blinked back tears and I immediately felt like an asshole for bringing up the subject of Michelle’s death.
“Sorry,” I said.
“No, it’s okay. It’s just hard to be reminded she’s gone. Some days, I just pretend she’s on some great traveling adventure and I’ll see her again soon.”
“I get that.”
Before she could say anything else, a doctor walked out of Kennedy’s room and we stood as he approached.
“What’s goin’ on?” I demanded.
“We’re trying to figure out if it’s an infection or blood clot, or both,” he said, and my blood ran cold.
“A clot could kill her.”
“We’re going to do what we can so that doesn’t happen,” he assured me. “She’s stable now and we’re monitoring her temperature. If it doesn’t come down in the next two hours, we’ll run more tests.”
“Is she awake?” Remington asked.
“No, but she’s comfortable.”
I dragged my hands down my face and did my best not to grab the doctor by
