“They get a lot of domestic abuse. I’m sure this hallway has other cases. She’s just being careful. I’m not insulted Sammy Jo. She should be suspiciously pissed. Boys shouldn’t hit girls.”
I closed my eyes and said nothing further. That helped somewhat with the pain. My skull felt like a vice was clamped on it and the handle was being spun.
“I should’ve come in sooner. I knew it would eventually happen.” His hand touched my forehead and brushed my hair back. He was a gentle but ferocious man.
“You came in when it was needed. You had no way to know. Ezra, you can’t see through walls. I’m going to be okay.” I was too tired to keep reassuring him. But I did have a question or two: “is Gia your girlfriend? Are you getting married? Or is she already your wife in secret?” There, I covered it all. Time for the truth I guess.
Ezra chuckled. “No and no and no. She has her own girlfriend. The same one for the past five years. She has zero interest in me. Or any other man as that goes.”
Girlfriend? Oh, she’s a lesbian. That’s not at all what I was expecting.
“Gia was a Marine. Gia’s mental and physical evaluations scored the same or better than the males. Not the bottom rung, but the top. She’s not really a human.” He laughed and then he held it. “I don’t completely understand her myself. She gets the job done and is more efficient than most men in this particular business. They wouldn’t hire her because she’s a woman. I hired her before ten other men and none of them have taken a bullet. Gia’s taken three. One still sits near her spine.”
I hadn’t been that nice to her. She could twist my head from my shoulders. I felt guilty now. She’d shown she cared and I was harsh. My jealousy kept me from being grateful.
“I need to apologize. Will I ever see her again?”
“Why do you need to apologize?” Although my eyes were closed, I could tell he was smiling.
“Because I was jealous and possessive of you. I saw the two of you earlier on the street and I thought, well, you know.”
This time Ezra roared. “Gia doesn’t need or expect an apology. She would’ve killed Hale a thousand times over if she wouldn’t have been in my employment.”
That didn’t matter. She deserved one. “I should’ve been nicer to her.”
The sound of the door interrupted us. “Pain medicine is here,” the nurse sang. She sounded chipper and fairly upbeat.
“It’ll be cold,” she said. She then picked up my hand and administered the dosage directly through my IV. The sensation in my veins only lasted a minute and then the air became greasy and I drifted off into space.
“Nighty night,” Ezra said.
When I came to there were voices in the room. Two men, gruff and masculine. I kept my eyes closed and listened.
“You need to get her home. She’s not safe with him. You knew that from the beginning. I thought you’d learned your lesson. You can’t get attached to a woman while working a job.”
Ezra released a hard laugh. “As if you can talk. You’re married to Nan.”
Who was Nan? What the hell? Was I dead? No, that was Ezra.
“I left the business. You, however died, so you could live this life. It was what you wanted my friend. Dead men can’t have relationships. They can’t care for another like this.”
Dead? He wasn’t dead. Was I still asleep?
“I know what I can and can’t do. Cope, Jesus, back off. I shouldn’t have called you to help.”
“But you did. Now deal with my opinion. It is now in the fucking room.”
Ezra sighed. “Just get her home safe. Let me know when she’s there if you will. I don’t trust anyone else. Not with her I don’t. Hale’s father was right from the start. He’s a fucked up piece of shit. There are things going on that Hale doesn’t know and the water is over his head. It’s about to get bad, then worse. She needs to stay away from him.”
“I’ll get her there safe. I promise. But I don’t do this shit anymore. I’ve got to get home to Nan and Axel, they’re waiting and expecting me. Because she doesn’t know that you aren’t dead I couldn’t tell her the truth about this. I’m not getting sucked back in.”
“Understood. I owe you one.” Ezra replied sounding humble.
“No Major, you owe me a fucking ton, this just adds to your tally.”
Major? Who was Major?
“Whatever. Just get her home. I’ve got to go to Tennessee and deal with this. Christopher is waiting on me.”