Page 83 of The Prez

Omari told me Shane told him about what happened with Kirk and how Shane got his scars. Omari was not happy to hear the story, feeling sad for Shane for hours after he came home from their visit.

Now he looks at Zeke with new eyes. “Well, that’s sweet in and of itself, Zeke. I’m not sure you’ve convinced me.”

Zeke laughs, shaking his head. “You’re terrible.”

At that moment, Hazel peeks into the room, smiling at her brother. “Is there room for one more?”

“Of course,” Omari says, holding up his arms a few inches from the bed. Earlier, he said his body hurts too badly to do more. His meds must be kicking in. They have him on a constant drip to combat the pain, though not enough to make him loopy. “Come on in.”

Hazel rushes over, hugging her brother gently. “The kids wanted to come, but I told them you needed rest. They’re with my neighbor since they have school tomorrow.”

“I hate they have to see me like this.”

“Hush, now.” She leans down to kiss Omari on the head. “They’re just glad you’re okay.” Hazel looks at Zeke. “Who are you, might I ask?”

Zeke smiles, stands, and holds out his hand. “I’m Zeke. The enforcer.”

“The lawyer’s boyfriend?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s me,” Zeke says proudly. He looks at Omari with a smirk. “You told your sister about us?”

Omari nods. “Yep. She knows about all of you heathens.”

Zeke laughs and sits back down. “You just called me sweet. You can’t have it both ways, First Gentleman.” Omari smiles and shakes his head.

Walking over to me, Hazel holds out her arms for Little Raf. “Can I?”

“Sure.” I hand her the baby.

“Hey, handsome.” She nuzzles against his cheek, smiling softly. She looks up at me and tilts her head. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

I shrug and, as if on demand, yawn widely. “An hour or two. I was making sure Omari was okay.”

“I told you I was fine hours ago. Stop hovering,” Omari grumbles, closing his eyes from fatigue. “No one can get in here without passing the desk and signing in. Or getting past these two that are also hovering.” He inclines his head to Jace and Zeke, who don’t look the least bit ashamed.

Before I can respond to Omari, Hazel speaks up. “I’ll stay with him. And I’ll keep the baby too, so you can get some rest. You look like you can use an hour or two of shuteye.”

Jace says, “Call the prospect and have him stand guard.” Zeke nods in agreement.

Grumbling, I say, “Fine. Get Don on the phone and have him head over. You two,” I point to Jace and Zeke in turn, “don’t leave until he shows up.”

Jace nods and pulls out his phone. I bend to kiss Omari gently. “I’ll be right back.”

“I know you will. You’re obsessed with me,” he jokes, closing his eyes again.

Chuckling, I kiss him again. “I am. Got a problem with that?”

“Not at all.”

“I love you,” I whisper, the words coming easier now that they’ve spilled from my lips the first time.

“Love you too, baby.” With one more kiss to his lips and a kiss on the top of Little Raf’s head, I force myself to leave the room.

I’m surprised when Jace calls after me just as I reach the elevator, cell phone in his outstretched hand. “You need to hear this, Prez,” he says, eyes brimming with anger.

He doesn’t say more than that, so I take the phone from him and look at the caller ID, seeing it’s the prospect. Putting it to my ear, I say, “What is it?”

“Prez, I found him. I wasn’t looking, I was heading to the hospital like Jace said, to watch over your family and protect them, but I saw him. I took a shortcut because I didn’t want to be caught in traffic and I saw him go in the house where I picked up Kit.” Something in my brain ticks that he remembers Kit’s name, but I put it out of my mind.

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