Your nurse will let you know when it’s okay for you to leave.”
“Thanks, doctor,” I said and shook his hand.
Shortly after he left, the door opened again. Expecting it to be my nurse, I kept my eyes closed and waited for her to start going over my instructions. “The fuck you doing getting shot at a book signing convention?” Phoenix rumbled from the door.
I flinched, followed by a grimace. “Fuck if I know. Trouble follows me everywhere.”
“You got that right. You doing okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s just a flesh wound. I’m worried about Sloane, though. She’s in surgery now.”
“Knock, knock,” my nurse said before she entered the room. “I have your discharge papers to go over with you, and then we can get you out of here.”
“Let me save us all some time,” I interrupted. “I’ve had stitches more than once before. I know how to take care of them. If I have any questions, I have a very good friend who’s a nurse and one who’s a paramedic that I can ask.”
“Okay, I need you to sign here, and here, and then you’re free to go.”
“Thanks,” I said and got to my feet. Turning my attention to Phoenix, I asked, “Is Copper on his way?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Should be here soon. Shaker left to go get him as soon as I got off the phone with Chains.”
I stopped by the front desk and asked the receptionist where I could find Sloane. My eyes flicked to hers when she made a choking sound. She sat ramrod straight in her chair and kept her eyes focused on the screen. “I need you to verify the password before I can provide any information.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. No, she didn’t. But, I knew she fucking did. Sighing, I tilted my head to the sky and uttered the words I was going to spank her ass for making me say, “I like anal.”
The secretary was trying to contain her laughter and looked like she was about to have a seizure. I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Just fucking laugh and tell me where my woman is.”
We followed the directions to the surgical waiting area and made ourselves comfortable. It seemed like only seconds passed before Copper, Judge, and Batta arrived. And Batta looked pissed.
“Oh, fuck. She didn’t?” I asked, already knowing the answer—she left without telling him she was attending the book signing with the intent of taking down a criminal.
“She fucking did,” he grumbled, “but I’ll take that up with her. Right now, I’m just glad you and your woman weren’t hurt worse than you were.”
“Family of O’Shea,” a female voice called from behind me. I stood and made my way over to her. “She’s in room three. It’s the third door on the left once I buzz you through.”
With that, she pressed the button that opened the door giving me access to Sloane’s room. Without hesitation, I made a beeline for the third door on the left and almost tripped over my feet trying to enter the door too quickly.
I sagged in relief when I saw Sloane awake and looking somewhat healthy. Rushing to the side of the bed, I reached for her hand and leaned over to place a kiss on the top of her head. “How are you feeling? Have you spoken to the surgeon? What did he say?” I rattled off.
My relief vanished when Sloane began to speak. “I fleel grapes. A bully went zippy zoom through me flesh, and Dr. Groan plucked it out with his mighty plucker. But they took me titsling, and now me boobies is a wee bit nippily,” she slurred and erupted into a fit of giggles when she finished.
I whirled around to look for a nurse and found one sitting in a chair at the nurse’s station. “What the fuck is wrong with her?” I demanded.
“She’s recently had some pain medicine and is still coming off the anesthesia. The combination made her pretty loopy. She was singing songs from Disney movies at the top of her lungs until she dozed off a few minutes before you came back,” she shared.
Exhaling in relief, I smiled, “That sounds like something she’d do. Did everything go okay?”
“Yes, it did. The doctor was able to stop the bleeding and close the wounds. He’ll be by to go over things in more detail with Sloane when she’s awake and alert.”