loss.” I step closer and shove him back into the bed.
“Ow. Come on, Chaser. Get me out of here.” He casts a suspicious look around the room. “Hospitals are breeding grounds for bacteria. I’m gonna catch something and my arm will rot off. I just know it.”
“You’re kidding, right? I’ve seen the filth you live in on your bus.”
“Yeah, but that’s my filth.” He wrinkles his nose and scans the room again. “Who knows what’s lingering in here.”
“Christ.” I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Andrew.” The extra patience Mallory forces into her voice draws a chuckle out of me. “You have to stay a little longer. Please.”
“I need my arms, Mallory.” He flails one in the air to demonstrate. “I’ll be better off at the hotel. I can hire a nurse to look after me.” He whistles. “Ooo! Yes! A hot nurse.”
“Good grief,” Mallory mutters.
“Mr. Lane.” An elderly doctor bursts into the room and Andrew recoils against the mattress.
I lean against the wall, crossing my ankles in front of me and Mallory slides up against my side.
“We cannot discharge you, yet.” The doctor’s stern tone finally seems to break through Andrew’s desire to flee, he stops flailing and crosses his arms over his chest like a pouty kid. “You had surgery. This isn’t a joke, Mr. Lane.”
“Can I at least get some drugs? I’m in a lot of pain.”
Andrew needs a chemical knock-out. The doctor flips through his chart and frowns. “I’ll have something else brought up.”
“What if I go to my hotel and hire a nurse to watch out for me?” Andrew asks. “Can I leave then?”
The doctor stares at him, obviously not used to dealing with annoying patients of this magnitude.
“We can discuss that option tomorrow. Right now, I need you to rest.”
He pats Andrew’s shoulder and whirls around, rolling his eyes at me on the way out.
“Are you okay?” Andrew asks me. “I’m sorry you got arrested.”
“Not the first time. Probably not the last, either.”
Mallory frowns at me.
“I knew you were a punk!” Andrew thrusts his fists in the air. “Seriously though, as soon as I found out, I told those dick cops to release you.”
“Appreciate it.”
“Is Jacob okay?”
“As far as I know.”
“That was some fucked up shit, bro.”
I hold up my hands. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Andrew’s gaze darts toward the open door. “Good call.”
Mallory’s busy tucking sheets and blankets around Andrew. I can’t say I’m thrilled about her fussing over the jackass but I am amused that she appears to be trying to turn him into some sort of blanket burrito.
“You’re going to stay put and let the doctors take care of you, right, Andrew?” she asks.
“Will you keep me company?”
“No,” she answers in the same tone I imagine she’d use with a toddler or puppy. “I need to get Chaser back to the hotel and wash his jail stay off him.”
Andrew scans me from head to toe. “You do look like shit.”
“Back at ya, bro.”
The corner of his mouth curls up and his wild eyes refocus on Mallory. “Are you gonna give your man a reunion fuck? Those are the best.”
“Who says we didn’t already?” Mallory arches a brow and taps her foot.
“I approve.” His gaze strays to the phone, mouth hanging down like a damn basset hound. “Have you heard from Pammy?”
“She called this morning,” Mallory says. “We couldn’t talk long.”
Andrew picks up his phone and slams it back down. “No dial tone.”
“I’ll ask the nurse if they can get it set up for you,” Mallory promises.
“I don’t want to be in here by myself.” Andrew pouts.
“Vinnie’s here.” I’m actually not sure he stuck around but Andrew’s whining is already working my last nerve. “Alvin’s here too.”
Mallory leans down and kisses Andrew’s forehead. “We’ll be back in the morning.”
“Maybe,” I add, wrapping my arm around her waist. “Come on, Nurse Nightingale,” I tease in a lighter voice than I’m feeling.
“Chaser.” Andrew’s serious tone stops me.
He reaches out, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer. “Thank you, bro. I think you saved my life last night.”
“Nah, doctors said the bullet barely touched you.”
He points to his bandages. “This hole in my side says otherwise.”
I reach out and slap his cheek. “Good thing you’ve been slacking on the workouts and had those love handles to catch the bullet.”
“Fuck you.” He slaps my hand away. “I could bench press your big ass right this second, motherfucker.”
Laughing, we bid him good night and head back to the waiting room.