Page 14 of Graveyard Dog

Izzy rolled her eyes, but the little miscreant in the bed just giggled. Then coughed. Her chest sounded like gravel, and she struggled to take a deep breath.

They both pulled her into a sitting position, and Michael rubbed her back while Izzy poured her a cup of water. After a quick sip, Emma calmed down and lay back in the bed.

“Is this normal?” he asked Izzy. “Should we call the nurse?”

Emma shook her head and said between coughs, “It’s okay. They’re very busy.”

“Hey.” He took her chin between his thumb and index finger and turned her face toward him. “Not too busy for you, kiddo. Never too busy for you.”

His words surprised Izzy yet again. How could he be so caring toward a girl he’d only known a couple of hours? Her brain could not reconcile the man who’d once been a biker in a notoriously violent motorcycle club with the gentle giant sitting across from her now. It just didn’t compute.

The young nurse came into the room, pushing a wheelchair. “Looks like I’m just in time,” she said, her gaze darting from Emma to Michael.

He didn’t seem to notice.

Izzy rose to her feet. “Where are you taking her?”

“The doctor would like an X-ray of her chest for precautionary measures,” she said. To Michael, completely ignoring the woman who’d been in labor for twenty-four hours just to bring the patient into the world.

Izzy convinced her eyes not to roll back too far lest she look possessed. “Okay.” She nodded her approval and lifted Emma out of the bed. “She’s been coughing.”

“We’ll get another breathing treatment ready.”

“Thank you.” Michael helped her put Emma in the wheelchair before folding a blanket and draping it over her bare legs.

“You good, Squirt?”

She nodded and gave him a thumbs-up before coughing into her hand again.

“I should go with her, don’t you think?” Izzy said.

“This’ll just take a minute. I’ll have her back in a jiff.”

The nurse smiled sweetly at Michael and started to leave, but Izzy didn’t like the girl’s answer, even though she had no reason to argue. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to their already precarious situation, but her anxiety took hold, so she made a decision. One that might look strange to the unindoctrinated, but better safe than sorry.

She hurried to hold the door as the nurse pushed the chair over the threshold, but before they got far, Izzy put a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

The nurse turned to her, confused.

Just the opening she needed. She locked gazes with her, lowered her voice, and said, “Be still.”

The nurse stilled instantly, her face going slack.

“You will not take your eyes off my daughter, even for a second, until you have brought her back to me safe and sound. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” the girl said, her eyes watering due to her inability to blink. “Completely.”

“That will be all,” Izzy said.

The nurse blinked back to reality, nodded hesitantly, then pushed the wheelchair toward the elevators, offering one last glance over her shoulder before pressing the button.

“That was interesting.”

Izzy jumped two feet into the air. The Neanderthal had walked up behind her and had seen the whole exchange.

“What?” she asked as nonchalantly as she could manage.

“You do that a lot. Give people strange orders and expect them to follow them.”

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