Page 13 of The Queen's Denial

“Mara, he’ll be fine. I mean, he’ll still be a hard-headed prick, but he’ll be alive.”

Her lip trembles as she nods and looks away, and there’s no use in trying to comfort her further, especially when we have a 230-pound body to haul to the car. “All right, on three.”

*****

We make it there without incident, but Mara’s arms barely work by the time we get Cas to the door of the clinic, so I haul him up and put his arm around me, supporting his weight with my own. Doc Kane has a room cleared for us and gives us the same chilly reception he always does.

Once Cas is finally in the bed and hooked up to various machines, blasted with IV fluids and antibiotics, we find out that his kidneys are in the beginning stages of shutting down and that his temperature is nearly 106. The doctor diagnoses him with sepsis and finds the source of the infection quickly; a miniscule piece of shrapnel in his upper arm, just past where his bulletproof vest ended.

It is touch and go for a bit as Cas gets worse before he gets better. I consider the fact that Mara’s worry earlier might not have been as melodramatic as I thought. I don’t mention that to her, though; I just keep smacking Cas’s cheek and yelling at him to make his kidneys work again.

Finally, many hours into the early morning, Cas is stable, and his kidneys seem to be making a turn in the right direction. His temperature is down, and his blood pressure has stabilized. I collapse into the chair next to Mara, trying not to heave the sigh of relief that threatens to burst out of me.

She looks at me as though she sees right through my bullshit. And she probably does. We’ve only known each other for a couple of months, but I’ve liked her since the day I met her. She’s good for Cas, and she’s a secret badass on top of it. Not only that, but I honestly believe that she’d never misplace the trust it takes for me to let down my guard with her, even if all I’ll do is sigh heavily. She won’t make a big deal out of it or tell anyone. I don’t really mind so much if she knows I’ve been more than a little nervous for the past few hours.

She gives the sigh I’ve been wanting to give, so I let my lips open on a long exhale as well. “He’s still so out of it,” she says with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, the doctor said he’s still got a fever. Still has a good deal of recovery to go through, but he’ll be okay.”

She worries her lip and picks at the skin around her fingernails. “Yeah, I know what the doctor said. But… what does ‘okay’ even mean? He might have life-altering issues from this, and for no reason. Just because he was too fucking stubborn to get it checked out.”

Cas is my best friend, my cousin, and my boss. As much as I like Mara, I’m not about to talk shit about him with her. I shrug my shoulders. “It’s his life, Mara.”

She shoots me a death glare, as if she knows exactly why I’m saying this. She has fought him on making choices for her throughout most of their relationship. Unfortunately, what I’m saying can also be seen as holding a double standard, since I got behind many of the dubious actions he’s taken on her behalf. I was mostly okay with it when he hauled her over his shoulder and locked her in a room since he was protecting her from the people who were trying to kill her.

Unfortunately for her, I don’t really care much about being hypocritical.

To my surprise, she doesn’t push the subject. “Okay, you don’t want to talk about him, obviously. So, what do you want to talk about? Hmmmm?” She taps her fingers impatiently and raises an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes. “How do chicks do that? Change their entire personality in the blink of an eye?”

She leans back with a cool smile. “It’s a gift. Tell me so I can get my mind off of this shitty situation I’m currently in. What’s going on with you and Chi?

It’s weird to gossip to a girl about her friend, even though I want my mind taken off of the current situation, too. “I don’t know. Nothing.”

“Nothing… yet?” Mara asks persistently. I get the feeling that she’s said these exact same words before. I’m sure she talks to Chi about me. Although I’d never admit it, I find that I don’t hate that idea.

“Why don’t you just ask your BFF? I’m sure she’ll spill all the beans. The nonexistent beans.”

Mara shakes her head. “She doesn’t want to talk about you for some reason. She says you’re hot, but we all knew that already.”

I know what she means, but I give her a sly smile anyway. “Thanks. Glad you’ve noticed.”

Mara’s face turns red, and she lets out a little huff. “No, I mean I don’t think you are…” She eyes the bed where Cas lies in a very drugged-out sleep. “Don’t tell Cas I just said that.”

I give a genuine chuckle. “I won’t. I don’t want my fingers cut off, thanks.”

“Okay, good.” She gives a heavy breath of relief. “Anyway, Chi definitely thinks you are—ya know—hot.”

I huff another laugh. “Yeah, I’m aware of that too. Very fucking aware.”

She looks at me curiously for a moment. “You haven’t pulled the trigger yet, have you?”

I dart a glance her way and scoff. “Gee, maybe if I wasn’t finding your ass when you got kidnapped and then saving Cas from himself, I’d have been able to get it in by now.”

Mara’s mouth drops open. “Get it in? Get it into what exactly?”

I clamp my mouth shut. This is exactly why I didn’t want to talk to her. “No, I mean get a kiss. On the cheek.”

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