Page 76 of Decoding Morse

That could’ve gone better.

If I could, I’d kick my own ass for being so stupid. I should have made her listen in Boise. But she’d been naked. I couldn’t be expected to reason with a bare-ass Amelia. Why the fuck would I even want that level of self-control? I loved that she fought me for the reins. Last night, she’d shredded my resolve, and that had been fuckin exhilarating. She was the first woman to make me lose control, and if I had my say about it, she’d be the last.

My stomach sank as I watched them round the corner and disappear. But Amelia would come around. She had to.

Of course, she’d have to return to her everyday life, eventually. I didn’t know what that meant for us. Now that I’d tasted her, there was no going back to watching her….

“Excuse me, sir,” the nurse said, interrupting my pity party. “You’re here for Mrs. Landry, right?”

“Yes.”

“She’s ready for visitors now.”

I thought about trying to stop Amelia, but she’d asked for time, and I could give her that. I only hoped Rabbit kept any other incriminating information to himself. “What’s her room number?”

The nurse smiled, leading me toward the patient doors. “Five-thirty-one.”

“The woman who was with me….”

“I’ll send her back as soon as she returns.”

The nurse swiped her badge, and the door buzzed open. As I headed down the hall, a tall man in a suit caught my attention. Eric Landry did a double-take when he saw me. He met my gaze and then glanced away. Since I was wearing my club colors, I didn’t take it personally. Rich, judgmental assholes had a problem with bikers. His fucking loss. I only hoped Amelia didn’t see him and lay into the bastard. I kept an eye on himuntil he left through the double doors, and then I slipped into Carol’s room. The patient was awake and propped up by a small mountain of pillows, with a nurse standing nearby, staring at a laptop screen. A multitude of machines beeped and hummed, their tubes running all over her body. She wore a scarf instead of a wig, and her eyes were dark and sunken.

When she saw me, the old woman sighed in disappointment. “You’re not my Amelia.” Her voice sounded funny through the oxygen mask.

“Good to see you, too, Mrs. Landry. She’s in the bathroom, but she’ll be along shortly.”

She harrumphed. “Color me surprised you let her come to see me at all.”

“Like I had a choice. You still think she’d choose her life over yours?”

“No, I don’t.” Carol frowned. “She’s still in danger, then?”

My foot went right in my mouth. The woman was dying. She didn’t need more worries, and I shouldn’t have said shit. Fuck, people were complicated.

“They got you in your own room, huh? How’d you pull that off?” I asked in a lame-ass attempt to change the subject.

She narrowed her eyes at me, which failed to intimidate me thanks to her current state. “By being a crotchety old biddy nobody wants to be around.” With less gusto, she added, “And I made a donation. I’ll make another when I get out of here.” She looked pointedly at the nurse, who was changing her IV bag. “Assuming the nurses are flexible with the visiting hours.”

“We’re more than happy to accommodate your guests.” The nurse stopped beside the bed. “Can I get you anything else before I head out?”

Carol scooped up the remote with the nurse call button. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

Once the nurse left, Carol waved me over. “I’m glad you’re here first. I need you to do something for me. My purse is in that cupboard with the mirror.” She pointed across the room. “Grab it for me.”

“You want me to grab your purse?”

“Do I look like I can get it myself?”

She didn’t even look like she could breathe without machines, so I did what I was told, but she barked out another order before I could carry the handbag back to her.

“Grab the envelope inside it.”

Retrieving this rich woman’s purse was at least a mile outside my comfort zone, and this was well beyond that.

“If you’re thinking about robbing me, I wouldn’t.”

“No. I’m thinking about reaching into your purse to do what you want me to, only to have you scream for the nurses. This feels like a setup.”

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