Page 20 of Wicked Healing

“I’m sorry, Luca. Didn’t we give you a timeline when you came in?”

He nodded, a little numbly. “Yeah, you did, but, damn…”

“I didn’t bring all of Wicked’s paperwork, if we are transferring possession,” Erin said.

Luca looked at her. She seemed concerned as well, though not as shocked as he felt.

Damn. He could go home in a couple of days. But where the hell was he going to go? He pulled in a breath, deep enough to make his chest ache. “I guess I’d better be looking for somewhere to go,” he said, forcing a smile for Paul’s benefit. The guy hadn’t meant to blindside him.

Paul had been around the block a time or two though. It was obvious he could see that Luca was rattled. “Don’t worry, kid, we won’t turn you out on the streets. Well, I’ll let you get back to your reunion. And start thinking about where you’d like to go. If you need it I can give you some recommendations for half-way houses.”

Luca gritted his teeth and forced a smile. “I’ll figure something out.”

With a final wave, Paul left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Erin looked at him, her soft brows raised. “Seems like that was a bit of a shock.”

Luca snorted, looking out the window. “It shouldn’t have been, really.”

His throat was tight, like he was about to get his ass kicked. What the fuck was he supposed to do? Going to his parents’ house was out of the question. He would have to be at the bottom of the barrel before he’d go back there, though he was sure his mother expected him to. Because what other options did he have?

Apparently, he could do a halfway house, but even that sounded not cool.

“Hey,” Erin said, walking up to stand next to him. She braced a strong hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him, and he appreciated the touch, though he cringed a little at how well she could probably see his injuries now. “Don’t freak out. If you want we can start surfing the net to find you a place. I assume you don’t want to go to your mom’s house.”

“No,” he said definitively. “There’s no way she’d let Wicked go with me.”

“So, you want to look for a place that allows dogs. You need a fenced yard for him,” she warned. “Or a place with an actual kennel. Yes, he’ll be with you probably ninety-nine percent of the time, but you need to have a safe way to lock him up.”

Yeah, he would, and the possibility of finding a rental like that was probably a stretch. Luca felt overwhelmed. “As ridiculous as it sounds, I’ve never had to do this before. Look for an apartment, I mean. I joined the Navy when I was eighteen, right out of school.”

Erin grinned and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “You’ve missed out on the finer points of home rental, then. Well, just so you know you’ll have to have a deposit and probably the first month’s rent, as well as references. Think you can get a couple of buddies to vouch for you?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you now that actually getting into an apartment or house within just a couple of days is going to be hard. There are a lot of hurdles. Then you’ll have to set the place up to live in. Maybe we can find a place that’s already furnished.”

Luca felt his heart racing and he had to brace his arms out to the side of himself. Wicked whined, obviously aware that something was wrong. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his breathing and get a hold of his panicked emotions. Besides finding a place, the thought of stocking it to make it livable gave him hives. Where would he even start?

Erin rested her hand on his shoulder again, and Luca appreciated the contact. Then she began stroking his hair at the back of his neck. “Hey,” she whispered, her golden eyes kind. “Don’t worry. We’ll find you something. This isn’t anything to get upset about. It’s just work. You’re about to be able to be back with Boss full time, and you’re getting out of this damn hospital. You should be shouting from the rooftops,” she laughed.

And she was right. If he could walk out of here with Boss at his side and find a place to settle, he would be a happy man. He glanced at Erin, feeling ridiculous for reacting to something that civilians did every day.

“And it can be fun. My dad helped me find my first apartment and it was an incredible adventure.”

“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “you haven’t seen me at my best. I’m normally a pretty cool guy, suave with the ladies,” he twitched his eyebrows at her, making her laugh. Then he sobered. “This injury, and everything that’s gone along with it, has really humbled me,” he admitted, his throat tight. “I want to thank you. I mean, I already owe you my life for saving Wicked. But you don’t have to stay and watch me fumble around trying to find a roost. If you want, you can go. I don’t want Wicked to leave but I understand if you’d rather remove yourself.”

Erin continued to stroke his too-long hair, sending shivers up his spine. “And if I prefer to stay?” she asked softly.

Luca looked up at her, giving her good eye contact. “Then I would owe you more than I can say.”

Erin sighed dramatically. “It might be nice to have a Navy SEAL owe me a favor,” she said thoughtfully.

Luca chuckled, feeling regret. “I’m not a SEAL anymore, but I will owe you.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said, moving back to the recliner.

Luca felt her loss acutely.

“Let’s see what we can find.”

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