Page 127 of Manny

“Doc, is he gonna be okay?” Bandit sounds frantic.

“I’ll give you the same answer I gave you a few minutes ago, he needs to rest and recover. Y’all have five minutes, then I’m kicking every one of you out. I don’t care if you’re the NOLA Rebels MC.” Everyone goes quiet, and I hear the door close. A few murmurs sound around the room, and I wonder just how many of them are in here.

Lace comes into focus. “Baby girl?” I whisper.

“Oh God, Manny!” She folds herself into my arms. “You scared us!”

“Careful!” Riot scolds. “He’s got a million tubes comin’ out of him. Don’t go pullin’ one out or squashin’ his chest.”

“I’m not squashing him!” Lace retorts, then her tone softens as she sits on the bed next to me. “How do you feel?”

“Like an elephant sat on my chest.”

Tears roll down her face and I want to wipe them away, but I can’t. “I told you I was gonna do everything to protect you. Where’s Bandit?”

“I’m right here.”

I turn, and Bandit’s hand is slipping into mine. “We’re all here, couldn’t keep anyone out, even Tag.”

I chuckle, but then cough, and that hurts even more.

“The doc says you have to rest. We lost you for a few minutes on the operating table,” Lace whispers. “There weresome complications. The bullet missed major arteries, but there was internal bleeding. Your heart stopped…”

I feel Bandit reach across to hold her hand in his. “It’s okay, Lacey. We always knew he’d come back to us. Nobody’s keepin’ him down.”

“Got that right.”

“Shep?” I cough. “Is that you?”

Shep’s towering figure looms over the foot of the bed as he smiles softly. “You don’t have to resort to these measures just to get my attention, buddy.”

“I’ll remember that next time,” I say.

He palms the back of his head, his smile fading. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“I didn’t mean to,” I start.

“The sniper was after me,” Lace says. “Manny saved my life.”

I know Shep’s going to need answers, but that isn’t today. And none of this is anybody’s fault, even Riot’s. Shade is psychotic. Nobody could’ve predicted what her next move would be. To come back to New Orleans and take a shot in the middle of the day was brazen, to say the least.

“I’d do it again, in a heartbeat,” I say.

She kisses me on the lips and rests her head in the crook of my shoulder. “I love you, Manny. Please don’t leave us again.”

I like how she keeps sayingus.

“Yeah, about that?” Shep begins, and I know where this is going. “You never told me you were datin’ two people at once, asshole.”

I smile. “Who said anything about dating?” I’m sure it’s Riot who groans, but it’s not like I’m gonna get punched in the face while I’m half dead in a hospital bed. I still feel the need to add, “Sorry, Riot.”

“Just get better so I can kick your ass,” he says.

Cash is next, moving to stand next to Lace. “Gave us quite a scare,” he says. “Proud of you for what you did. I’m sorry we weren’t better informed to prevent this from happenin’. Shade lived up to her name and lived in the shadows.”

“It’s okay,” I say. “Nobody is responsible for this aside from her. She made her bed… speaking of which, is she…”

“She’s dead,” Cash says. “We won’t have to worry about her anymore, and the doc’s right, you need to rest. We can come back in the morning.”

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