I assured him I would, then watched as he approached the nurse’s station. His smile was polite as all hell, but there was a determined set to his shoulders and his whole vibe screamed danger. No doubt he'd have both Dallas and I listed as Bree's family in a matter of minutes. It was scarily impressive.
Dallas gave a small chuckle, pulling my attention away from Steele.
"What?" I asked him with a dose of accusation.
He smirked at me. "You're so fucking in love. It's cute as hell."
My cheeks flushed with heat. "What the shit, Dallas? Where did that even come from?"
He shrugged, tilting his head in the direction of where Steele was working his magic on a stern-faced nurse. "The way you were just watching him, it's like the way you look at a really well-made coffee... but a hundred times more. It's adorable."
I sat back in my seat, trying to fold my arms, but my chest hurt too much for that. "Whatever," I grumbled, uncomfortable discussing my love life while his girlfriend—my best friend—was fighting for her life in surgery.
Dallas seemed to let the subject drop, sinking into silence for several minutes. But then he spoke again. "Do they treat you well?"
I frowned. "What does that mean?"
His lips curved up on one side, mocking me. "If you don't know, then the answer is clearly no."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course, they treat me well. I meant why are you even asking that? I wouldn't be putting up with their bullshit if they didn't. You know I don't tolerate stupid fuckboys for long."
He barked a laugh. "True that." With a sigh, he ran a hand over his shaved head. "Well, I'm happy for you, Katie. But if you ever need to dispose of their bodies, you call me first. No questions asked, alright?"
I grinned. "Will do."
We fell back into comfortable silence, sipping our shitty, vending-machine coffee and waiting.
Steele came back over to us some minutes later, announcing that Dallas had been added to Bree's file as her fiancé. So as soon as the doctor had any update to give, we would be told first. Given her parents were currently out of town on some lavish vacation somewhere, that was a relief to hear.
Kody and Archer arrived shortly thereafter, storming through the hospital doors like avenging angels, all streaked in blood. My jaw dropped slightly at the sight of them, and I drank in every inch of their bodies checking that none of the blood was theirs.
Dallas let out a small snicker beside me, and I jabbed him with my elbow. But that motion made me wince, and a second later I had all three of my guys surrounding me with concern creasing their features.
"I'm fine," I groaned, fending off their attention. "I'm only a bit bruised."
"Those painkillers should be working by now," Steele muttered, scowling. "I'm going to talk to someone about something stronger."
He was gone before I could protest, heading over to chat with his new friend in the nurses’ station. Archer took the seat directly beside me, gently placing his hand on the inside of my knee, and Kody sat opposite me.
"Steele gave you guys the update, right?" I asked, and Kody nodded.
Archer rattled off my list of injuries in their entirety, and Dallas winced.
"Fuck, Katie. Why are you even sitting here right now? You should be in bed." His face was drawn, though, and he knew exactly why—because my best friend was in life or death surgery thanks to me.
"I'm fine," I muttered unconvincingly, but when Steele returned with two white pills, I took them without complaint. My body was still aching, and it'd really be great if it could stop doing that for a little while.
The five of us sat there in silence for a long time, not even speaking when Archer got up and poured more coffee for everyone. It was sometime later, when my eyelids were officially drooping as the stronger painkillers did their work, that several phones beeped in unison.
Archer, Kody, and Steele all pulled their mobiles out, and Dallas exchanged a curious look with me.
"Did Charlie just call the Angel's in for a job?" Dallas joked, and I tried to force a weak smile in response. The three guys were reading something they'd all been sent, though, and Kody breathed a curse.
"Spit it out," I ordered, the suspense of waiting overwhelming me. "What's happened now?"
"Remember I told you our guys were forwarding the profile for Scott over?"