Page 274 of By His Rule

The second a set of doors parts, I race inside. There’s no time for hesitation when my brothers need me.

She directs me to the ward they’ve moved Wilder to, and after being welcomed by a nurse at the desk, I rush into his room.

“Lori,” Hendrix cries, jumping to his feet and wrapping me in his arms.

Emotion crawls up my throat and my eyes sting once more.

He’s grown again, and his embrace is stronger than ever.

I miss these boys every single day, but I don’t realize just how much until we’re together again.

His hug is only brief before he guides me to Wilder’s bedside.

He looks rough. His skin is gray, his eyes dark, and he’s got a nasty bruise on his jaw.

“Hey, Wild Child,” I say, forcing a smile onto my face as I reach for his hand and squeeze.

I hate that he can see how worried I am. I wish I could hide it, but it’s impossible.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I got flattened by a three-hundred-pound linebacker,” he deadpans.

“Bro, he was not three hundred pounds,” Hendrix argues.

“How the fuck would you know? He wasn’t on top of you.”

“Too right he wasn’t. That’s not how I roll.”

“Jesus,” I mutter, glancing back at Noelle, who’s standing just inside the room as if she’s not sure if she’s welcome or not. “Glad to see everything is normal here. What has the doctor said?” I ask.

“Nothing,” Hendrix confesses. “They want to speak to you. Apparently, I’m not grown up enough to be Wild’s guardian.”

I look between the two of them with a question dancing on the tip of my tongue.

“We haven’t even called her,” Hendrix confesses, able to read my mind. “We told the doctor you were coming and that you’d deal with everything.”

I nod. “I’ve got you,” I say, squeezing Hendrix’s shoulder.

“We know,” he states proudly.

“You didn’t need to drop everything and come, though,” Wilder argues.

“It’s okay, I think she was glad of the excuse,” Noelle says helpfully.

“Oh yeah?” Hendrix asks.

“It’s nothing,” I argue.

“Didn’t sound like nothing,” Noelle teases. “Sounded interesting.”

“Have you met someone?” Wilder asks with hope in his eyes.

I don’t make a habit of sharing details of my love life with my little brothers.

Sure, they’re old enough now, but I still don’t see the point of telling them anything until I’ve found someone I’m willing to introduce them to.

“No,” I sigh, shooting Noelle a glare. Not that she cares.

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