Page 65 of Running Scared
REG, ANTHONY,and Val came in after a bit and relieved Bailey and Chance, who had been there to make sure none of the patients awoke without a familiar face.Val apparently knew Birdie, so that was nice.Both Birdie and Marcus had declined to alert family that they were injured, which made Bailey curious, but not so curious that he refused Rory’s lift to one of two hotel rooms they’d rented.Their pilots had taken off, with a promise to return in three days when the patients might be mobile, and all Bailey had to do was eat from the takeout order that Rory had brought with him, shower, change into the clothes from his knapsack, and sleep for a solid eight hours.
When he returned to the hospital with Chance, they were both surprised to see two men—in their fifties, wearing suits and Fed haircuts—in the room with Marcus and Dean, both of them shouting at the top of their lungs while the injured miscreants winced greenly and tried not to throw up.
Bailey was striding into the room to aid the two nurses, who were begging the men to quiet down, when the more senior looking of the men shouted, “And if you two want to move to fucking Bakersfield, you go the fuck ahead.Take it as the demotion it is, you insubordinate brats, becauseneitherof you are moving up afterthisfiasco.”
Dean scowled up at the man—obviously his superior in some way—and said, “But is itreallya fiasco, sir?We put an end to Bratva’s merger with the cartel, helped eliminate two assassins without actually killing them ourselves, and took out a paramilitary installation with zero casualties.I mean… nobody’s government is complaining, am I right?”
His boss turned purple, and the other man had to guide him out by his elbow, talking soothingly to him about his blood pressure and how maybe he should stop by the blood-pressure station and have it monitored because this level of stresscouldn’tbe good for him, and how Bakersfield might be the best thing that ever happened to the Bureau regarding Cabrillo and Royal, so maybe they could call this a win.
Chance and Bailey exchanged glances and then walked quietly into the room, where the nurses fussed and lowered the lights again and pumped all three patients full of more painkillers.
“I don’t know whyIhad to endure that,” muttered their tiny pilot.“I’m not even part of your stupid organization.”
“Sorry, Bird,” Dean said, sounding drained.“He did offer you reimbursement for the plane, though.”
“Yeah.Thanks, Dean.You came through like a champ.”And with that Birdie grunted and fell asleep, leaving a groggy Marcus.
“You know what I hate about Bakersfield?”he asked, sounding stoned.
“Your parents,” Dean said promptly.
“You know what Iloveabout Bakersfield?”Marcus persevered.
“Myparents,” Dean said, a dry smile on his face.
“Think they’ll let me live there secretly?”
“Sure, Marcus.But first I need an apartment so Bailey can move out.”
“Good,” Marcus said, sounding surly.“You’d better move in together after this last fucking week.Goddammit, that was close.”
And then he saw Chance, his eyes widened, and hepretendedto sleep, while Chance sat next to his bed and opened his phone, a cat-and-canary smile on his face.
Bailey sank into a chair next to Dean’s bed, shaking his head.
“Whatcha thinking?”Dean asked, sounding not quite as stoned as Marcus.“And, uhm, no yelling.”He winced.“’Bout done with that today.”
“You did it,” Bailey said, still stunned.“You’re flat on your back, and you asked to be transferred home.”
“It was your only stipulation, right?”Dean asked, narrowing his eyes on Bailey’s face.“I mean, your dad, his dog, your cat, and my family—that’s all you need, right?I know you can find another job easy, but you don’t need anything else, right?”
Bailey laughed softly, restored almost completely by his sleep, by hearing Dean keep yet one more promise to him, by realizing how deeply enmeshed he really was into the lives of all the people Dean loved best.
Four years ago he’d lost a lover, and he’d been alone in a desert of grief.A week ago his lover had gotten lost in an actual desert—and had given Bailey an entire cavalry with which to retrieve him.
Dean wasn’t going to stop being brave and crazy anytime soon, but Bailey was pretty sure he’d never be alone again.
“You’re okay,” he said.“That’s all I need.Now get some sleep, and we can transport you guys to Bakersfield in a couple of days.”
Dean grunted, sounding happy.“You know what soundsgreat?My mother’s curry salad sandwiches.I amdyingfor one of those.She makes them in the summer, you know?”
Bailey felt tears starting in his eyes, the joyful kind that came when a person’s heart was amazingly full.“They’redelicious,” he said.“And she makes a mean iced tea and lemonade.”
Dean sighed.“Marcus has his own place in the basement.Think my dad could build a ramp for him?”
“With my dad to help?They’ll probably have it done before we get there.”
“Still afraid I’m holding back?”Dean asked, and Bailey realized he was using the last of his energy to search Bailey’s face for signs of remorse, or dissembling, or fear.
