Page 99 of Outside The Wire

I shrugged. “He swung at me.”

“That’s good enough for me. Did he hurt her?”

I nodded.

“Then I hope he dies.”

I felt the same way. I hadn’t expected this side of Nicholas, but I couldn’t say I blamed him for being so blunt with his opinions. If it was my daughter, I’d feel the same way.

And now I was thinking about my children with Holly and what I would do to protect them. I slid my fingers through my hair as I blew out a breath. Hell, having kids was gonna be hard as fuck.

“It never gets easier, son.”

“What’s that?”

He shot me a knowing look. “You know what. Come on. Let’s go check on our girl.”

I nodded and followed him inside. I really didn’t want to see Holly for the first time with her parents, but I was desperate to lay eyes on her just to know she was okay.

“I’m her mother and I’m not waiting any longer to see my daughter!” Carol argued with the nurse.

“Ma’am, we’ll let you know as soon as the doctor clears her to see visitors.”

“Well, it had better be in the next five minutes or I’ll be marching down that hall with or without you to guide me. Am I making myself clear?”

Wyatt walked over, giving me a chin lift. “I have to head back to the shop. I left Grady in charge.”

I winced at that. “Yeah, I hope everything’s still running when you get there.”

“Me too. Take your time and let me know how she’s doing.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“You got it.”

He held out his hand for me to shake. It was the strangest sensation, having a friend to rely on like this. I hadn’t realizedhow much I had missed that or even wanted it. I was so sure I needed to push everyone from my life to avoid reminders of the past that I forgot what it was like to have a friend around.

“Hey,” I said, stopping him as he headed for the doors. “I mean it. Thank you.”

He shook his head as he smiled as if to sayIt’s about time you figured it out.

Maybe I didn’t need to shut everyone out. But I’d think about that another time. Right now, I had other things to worry about.

24

HOLLY

The pain medswere really taking the edge off, but not enough to make me forget what I saw out there. It wasn’t that I was scared of Asher now, but there was definitely something he was hiding from me. I saw it in his eyes, and I needed to know before we got any more involved.

My eyes drifted closed as the drugs worked through my system, leaving me floating in a dreamland instead of under the bright lights of the hospital room. I was cozy and warm in Asher’s arms instead of cold in this hospital gown, surrounded by itchy blankets. I hated being in hospitals. They reminded me of nursing homes with their ugly walls and antiseptic smells.

But right now… Right now, I smelled lavender and some kind of oil. It was a weird combination, but it comforted me. I hummed, smiling to myself as I snuggled into the pillow.

“Baby.”

“Hmm.”

“Baby, let’s get you out of these clothes.”

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