Page 92 of Proof Of Life

As I’m walking out of his room, I actually hear that bastard tell the nurse not to cut his legs off by accident.

Leaning against the door frame, I poke my head into the guest room where Mandy is recuperating. “How do you feel?”

With the covers pulled up to his chest, I can only see his face, swollen and covered in bandages on one side.

“Peachy,” he croaks. “My face feels like it’s on fire, like it’s been stung by ten thousand bees.”

“I’ll get you a pain pill. In the meantime, are you up for company? There are some people here who want to see you.”

“Sure,” he says lifelessly.

Taking a step into the room, I cross my arms over my chest and hover over the foot of the bed. “What I meant to say was, I’ve got some bad ass Bitches crowding my living room, and they won’t leave until they make sure you’re okay.”

A hint of a smile tugs at the corner of his lip on the side of his face not covered in bandages. “I guess you better send them in, then.”

McCormick pushes past me, followed by Jax and Stiles. “How are you doing, man? West says you look even uglier than you did, but all I see is improvement.”

Mandy tries to laugh, but winces in pain when his face tightens. “Are you saying it’s an improvement because half my face is covered?”

“Yeah, what did you think I meant?”

“Scoot over,” Stiles grumbles, making himself comfortable on the queen-size bed.

His huge body takes up most of the mattress until McCormick stretches out on Mandy’s other side, squishing him in the middle like the cream filling in an Oreo cookie.

“Are y’all stayin’?” Mandy asks.

“Ain’t got a fucking thing to do today,” Stiles answers.

Jax snorts. “You didn’t get fired already, did you?”

“No, I put in for vacation time.”

“Dude, you just fucking started,” Jax points out. “How do you already have vacation time?”

Instead of answering, he asks, “Do you have any snacks, Wardell?”

All I can do is shake my head at him. When did this turn into a fucking pajama party? Sighing, I crawl across the foot of the bed. “Make room for me.”

Jax makes himself comfortable in the chair in the corner, and a minute later, Brandt pokes his head into the room. “Don’t you look comfortable,” he teases.

“Would you grab those bags we brought?” Stiles asks.

Brandt returns holding plastic grocery store bags. “What’s in these?”

“Care packages,” he answers, sitting up a little to grab the bags. Stiles starts to pull contents out of the bags, dumping them on Mandy’s lap. “Brand new yarn, and these needles are for knitting in the round, in case you want to make handcuffs like McCormick did,” he teases with a smirk. “I’ve got Twinkies, chips, and earplugs.”

“What are the earplugs for?” Mandy asks.

“So you can’t hear them having sex down the hall.”

As a grown man who has been to war, I don’t blush easily, but discussing my sex life with Brandt in front of a bunch of men has heat blooming on my cheeks. There’s no disguising it, and the guys tease me for it.

McCormick grabs a bag from Stiles. “I brought porn mags, lube, and fuzzy socks.”

Mandy’s chest shakes with silent laughter, and he ends up coughing, and then wincing again.

“Brandt, bring the pain pills, and some better care packages. These suck.”

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