Page 201 of Steel Queen

“No one gets to touch her,” said Corey with the same fire in his voice. “Even if Nick wasn’t taking a personal interest, we’d make sure the bastard stayed behind bars.”

“I’ve been reading the news,” I said in a grim tone. “It won’t be long before Beckett Industries crumbles to dust. Don’t you guys think this is a good time to grab some of their staff, experts, and resources?”

Corey and Caleb glanced at each other.

“That’s what we’ve thinking too.”

“Start looking into it,” I said. “Milla’s not in the right headspace at the moment, so you guys will have to pick up the slack.”

“We’re on it,” said Caleb and Corey together.

“My mouth hurts,” said a different voice.

Looking to the front, I saw Irene was done with half the apple.

“I can’t eat anymore,” she said in a small, disappointed voice.

“That’s okay, sweetheart,” said Corey with a chuckle. He took the apple from her, aimed it at a waste bin and threw the fruit into it.

The door to the room slid open once more.

Milla and Dad walked in with Dr. Patel, an older surgeon who’d operated on me.

Milla winked at me and grinned.

Dr. Patel picked up the charts kept on the bedside table and flicked through them.

“Is Noah going to be okay?” Irene asked in a worried voice.

Dr. Patel smiled down at her. “Of course! He’s a strong man. Nothing will keep him down for long.”

“Can we take him home?” Milla asked.

“His vitals look stable,” the doctor said, looking back at the charts in his hand. “I think he’ll be fine but please make sure he takes his meds on time and gets his bandages changed regularly. The only threat now is to treat the wound carefully and keep it from getting infected.”

“We’ll take care of him,” said Dad in a serious tone.

Dr. Patel gave a nod. “Please, come with me. There are some forms where we need family signatures. After that, you can take your son home tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” A disappointed huff escaped me.

“I’m going to appoint a few special staff to move you,” said Dr. Patel. “It’s only a matter of a day. You’ll be home tomorrow morning, Mr. Amhurst.”

The doctor left with Dad, leaving me feeling disappointed.

“We’ve got to go too,” said Caleb, glancing at his phone. “I’ll go for a site visit now and Corey will cover the evening shift.”

“I’m sorry you guys aren’t getting a break,” said Milla. A guilty look came over her. “I’ll get back to work soon and you guys can take a break.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Corey, wrapping his arms around her. “Let us take care of everything.”

Caleb moved toward them and extracted her from Corey’s arms. Leaning down, he captured her lips in a kiss.

Heat flared inside me at the sight. I wanted to hold Milla tight and kiss all the worry out of her mind.

“Do you want to hang out here longer?” Corey asked after a while.

“Yeah,” said Milla. “Can you take Irene to Brian, please? He’ll take her home.”

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