Page 4 of Going Down Smooth: Part Two

“I’m sorry,” I said, as I closed the door and left my family home for the last time.

The elevator door dings loudly, taking me out of my thoughts. This place is just one big trigger for me, and I’ve managed to avoid it for years.

The hallway before me looks like it would be more suited to an exclusive penthouse suite than a hospital wing. There’s fancy ornate wallpaper, marble floors and freshly cut flowers in vases that could possibly pay the hospital bills of half the people we just left behind in the ER. It’s all an illusion afforded by the rich to make them feel as if their lives somehow are more important; that up here they are invincible because they are paying top dollar. Well, right now, I will give whatever I have left to make sure Mercy is okay.

Fuck how I feel about this pretentious bullshit. I have to protect what’s mine. I keep these thoughts in mind as I tell myself to pull it together. Someone tried to kill my little mouse today and I need to be what this pack expects me to be: their enforcer. The fact that I am not out there right now in search of Faith and her Alphas is like an itch I can’t scratch. Soon. I catch a glimpse of Knight turning the corner into a suite and I eat up the distance quickly, only to stop dead as I stand in the doorway.

“Fuck, Merce,” Nate whispers, dropping to his knees beside her bed, his hand hovering over her bandaged one, but he doesn’t touch her.

Mouse looks fragile in the middle of the bed. Her chest rising and falling puts me at ease. An oxygen mask covers her beautiful face as she lays unconscious before us.

Knight stands like a sentry at the foot of her bed while two nurses busy themselves with machines, tubes and monitors as they continue to set up around the room. Heath holds her chart, moving around the room, ignoring our presence for the time being as he softly gives orders to the nurses. Trey sits on the couch in front of the wide windows overlooking the night sky of Frankfort, his hat in his hands, glasses askew, jaw clenching and unclenching as he holds back his emotions. My packmate is barely holding it together. Now that I stand here, tapping into their emotions for the first time since we arrived, Nate and Knight are the same. Hell, I don’t have to dig deep to know I am a loaded gun, ready, eager to fire on those who dared to harm my mouse. Our bond is a mixture of relief and boiling rage just waiting to spill over. All of us are struggling and usually we look to Knight to rally the troops but with the amount of guilt radiating off him, he’s no good to us either.

I blow out a frustrated breath as all eyes glance my way. “Heath, can—”

“It’s Doctor Loxley, and if you don’t allow me to do my job, I will have to ask you all to stand outside until I am finished,” Heath snaps, his careful façade falling briefly as he turns sharply and addresses me directly. “Like I said before, Maxim, wait, excuse me, Lox, I know how important she is to you all and I want to give Miss Smooth the best care possible.” He turns his attention back to Mercy, giving me no time to respond. He’s right, of course, I’m just impatient. I am definitely not used to being put in my place by anyone other than my brothers and my little mouse, of course. This is his house, Lox, let your bio brother do his job. We watch them all work in silence until finally the nurses leave, pushing past me as they exit the room.

My brother turns, focusing his attention on Knight, then Nate and Trey, leaving me for last. “I take it you’re not bonded yet?” he asks, searching our faces for something I am not quite sure of before he continues. “She bears no mate marks—”

“Yet.” Knight cuts him off. “Not yet, but she will. We are her pack, and she is our Alpha, the head of our family, so please tell us what we need to know. There is no need to wait for her parents, Mercy is ours and we are hers.”

Heath’s eyes widen at Knight’s declaration, I am sure he didn’t miss the fact that Knight called Mercy our Alpha. “I understand. I am aware of your situation, news travels fast around here. I don’t know all the details of her father’s bequest, but it was all a bit unorthodox to say the least.”

“Oh, I am sure our parents had plenty to say about it all.” I laugh humorlessly. I am sure my mother took great pleasure in laughing at my so-called disgrace when Mercy ran the day of our mating ceremony. Now that she is back, and in our home, the rumors of Benjamin’s will and the stipulations behind Mercy’s takeover of Smooth Bourbon are probably the talk of the town, as well as in many social circles.

Heath clears his throat, clutching Mercy’s chart in his hands he ignores the jab at our parents and continues. “Miss Smooth has suffered a severe concussion, three broken ribs, second degree burns on her arms, along with a wrist fracture. Considering how long she was inside the burning distillery, she took in entirely too much smoke into her lungs, hence the oxygen machine.” He looks up from his paperwork and sighs. “She tried to speak during her assessment but on further examination it seems her vocal cords are damaged as well.”

Trey sucks in a sharp breath and stands in a rush. “How damaged? Will she need surgery? What about her hands? If my songbird can’t sing or play it will devastate her. On top of everything else this will only stress her more.”

“Trey,” Knight calls out, halting Trey’s growing panic.

“I can assure you that she will heal in time. There should be no lasting damage, she just needs time to recover. However, what alarmed me the most were her hormone levels. I give it maybe a few weeks before she goes into heat,” Heath says as he places her chart in the tray on her bed.

“She went through her first heat a week ago, Heath,” I explain. “Why so soon? Is that normal?” I ask, looking at Knight who has the same confused look on his face as I do.

“According to her medical records, Mercy suppressed her heat until recently. At her age, she should have already had several. Honestly, her body is trying to catch up and level out. My advice is to keep her calm, allow her to rest and heal, with minimal stress,” Heath says, but all I want to say is, it’s easier said than done considering the shit storm that is about to come our way.

“You understand that she is the owner of one of the major Bourbon companies in the region that just went up in smoke a few hours ago. The press and the pressure from her board to recover the business quickly will put a lot of strain on her,” Knight replies with a weary sigh. It’s been a long day. We’ve only scratched the surface of the things we need to deal with before any of us can close our eyes.

Heath nods in understanding as he begins to exit the room. “Well, that is what she has you for. You treat her as your equal, and I can respect that, but biologically, especially right now, she is at a disadvantage. She is an Omega. She will go into heat again.”

“Fuck,” Knight says under his breath. “Thanks, Heath, I mean, Dr. Loxley.”

I guess I am not the only one fumbling with proper names tonight.

“No problem, Knight. I will have security on the elevator leading up to this floor. I will make sure she has her privacy. I will be around if you need anything else from me.” He goes to leave then turns back. “She should be resting comfortably for a few hours. If she wakes in pain call for one of the nurses.”

I watch my brother leave and follow him.

“Heath,” I call out, he stills but doesn’t turn to look at me. I get it. I don’t deserve more than he has already given.

“Thank you,” I finally say, but he just hangs his head and sighs.

“I’m doing my job, Maxim. My duty. You know, the one you basically threw in my lap when you decided to walk away.” He turns slowly and looks me in the eye. The hurt on his face breaks my heart. I did this to him. “Not all of us get to live the life we want or choose. So—”

“I won’t apologize—”

“I expected that, Lox. In fact, I knew you wouldn’t. If you felt differently, you wouldn’t have ghosted your brother and sister all these years.” He bites out through clenched teeth, attempting to keep his voice down.

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