Page 19 of Saving Their Forever

“Help me up, big guy. And get my dress? These gowns are itchy and it’s freezing in here.”

I do as she asks, but only seconds after she finishes doing up the buttons, she sways on her feet.

“Whoa.”

“What’s wrong?” I wrap my arm around her waist. Her eyes are glassy and she’s too pale.

“Dizzy again. And hungry. There was a vending machine by the reception desk. Can you get me a bag of dill pickle chips, a package of Oreos, and a ginger ale?”

“I’m not leaving you. I’ll call West.”

“Freakin’ fishsticks, Ry. We’re in a busy medical center. Surrounded by doctors and nurses and security guards. Nothing’s going to happen to me here. I have my panic button.” She pulls her phone with its stick-on panic button out of her dress pocket and waves it at me. “I’m not leaving this room until the nurse comes in. You’ll be able to see the door the whole time. You and West.”

I can’t refuse. Mostly because she’s right. There’s no threat here we won’t see coming from a hundred feet away. Sliding my fingers into her curls, I slant my lips over hers. My tongue begs for entrance, and she yields to me with a little moan. She tastes of mint and home, and my fears melt away while we’re connected. But too soon, I have to pull away or I’ll take her on the narrow exam bed. And if I do, that’s when the nurse will barge right in.

“Pickle chips, Oreos, and ginger ale. I’ll be back in five minutes. Maybe less. Sit down and don’t get up for any reason.”

“Fine,” she huffs. “But once we’re home again, we’re having a serious talk about all this Neanderthal horsepucky. It’s getting a little ridiculous.”

“We’ll see about that, Mrs. Neanderthal.”

* * *

In the hall, I stop at West’s side. “The doctor doesn’t think there’s anything to worry about, but they’re running some tests. Wren’s hungry. I said I’d find the vending machine.”

I don’t make it two steps before West catches my arm. “Ry? It’s that way.” He points in the opposite direction.

“Fuck. I’m a goddamn mess. She’s my everything, man. I can’t lose her.”

“You won’t.” He walks me all the way to the vending machine but keeps one eye on the door to the examination room. “She’s going to be fine, Ry. Besides, we’re right across the street from the hospital.”

I punch A13 on the machine’s keypad and wave my phone over the credit card scanner. The machine beeps, and a package of pickle chips tumbles into the tray. Before I close my fingers around the salty snack, an alarm starts to blare, and a strobe light flashes over the nurse’s station.

West and I move in a heartbeat, but as we turn, heavy fire doors slam shut, cutting us off from the exam rooms. And Wren.

“Fuck!” I throw myself against the doors to no avail. Sampson lends his weight too, but they’re locked tight.

“Call her,” he shouts and sprints back to the nurse’s station. “Get these doors open!”

Wren answers on the first ring. “Ry? Is there actually a fire?”

“We don’t know. But unless you smell smoke, do not leave that room. The fire doors are locked and we can’t get to you.”

“They’d only do that if there were an actual fire, right?” The fear in her voice slays me, and I’d punch a hole in the wall to get to her if I thought it’d work.

“I don’t smell anything, sweetheart. It’s got to be a malfunction. But stay put. West and I will be there in five minutes. Maybe less. If we have to crawl through the ventilation ducts, we will.”

“I won’t go anywhere,” she says. “I promise.”

“I love you, little bird.” I don’t want to hang up, but I need both hands to get into the air duct if Sampson can’t figure out why the doors won’t open on their own. The alarm and flashing lights trigger a headache, but I squeeze my eyes shut and will it away. Or at least into submission where it can’t distract me.

“Sit rep,” I snap at West.

“The doors aren’t supposed to lock. But they’re on a closed system. There’s nothing the staff can do from here,” he says. “Grab one of those chairs so you can give me a boost.”

“I’ll go.”

West stares up at me like I’m off my rocker. “You’re three hundred and twenty pounds. Your shoulders are twice as wide as mine, idiot. Do you really think you’re going to fit?”

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