Page 20 of Hale's Pawn
I can’t thinkor see straight as my mind is filled with memories. Painful, bitter memories of losing my mother, the only woman that I’ve ever called family. I run my fingers through my hair for the umpteenth time. Can’t she drive any fucking faster? “Have you called the hospital?”
“Yeah. I called the Bishops’ hospital. That’s the only place that I can think of that the fucking idiot can take her.”
I run a hand over my face as my leg bounces up and down in Jagger’s Range. Me sitting cooped up in the backseat is driving me nuts. Fuck, what if she’s gone? What kind of fucking shit is this? What was wrong with her? Is it her heart?
Karissa barely parks and I’m out of the car. I run right to the lobby in the Emergency area. “There’s a woman here… wait no, my wife. She’s here. She just got, fuck.”
“What’s her name, sir?” the nurse asks without looking at me.
“Ainslee Hale.”
The nurse types it in. She looks up at me. “There’s no one by that name here.”
I should snatch her ass out of her fucking seat. I’m considering doing it when I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Can you look for Ainslee Bishops?” Jagger asks.
The nurse types away. “Yeah, she just got admitted here, but she’s being checked out by a doctor while her personal doctor is on his way. Please have a seat.”
I turn to Jagger, irritated as fuck. “Who the fuck forgets to update their last name?” I glare back at the nurse, “Update her file. Her last name is Hale. H-A-L-E. Hale. Don’t ask me any fucking thing. Just do it, and tell me, is she okay?” I ask.
“Sir, we’re not at liberty to share that.”
“What?” I ask. I look at Jagger. “Did she just say at liberty? At FUCKING liberty? My fucking wife is in here and she won’t tell me how she’s doing!”
Jagger nods his head at me. “Hey… Oran,” he moves closer. “Listen to me, I will call Mikonos and ask him to give us her doctor’s number. Chill. Not here, bro. Not here. Okay? I understand.”
“Here is Ainslee Bishops’ information that I just finished filling out,” I hear a voice from behind me say. I turn around and I growl the second I spot Eli.
My mind goes blank. I don’t think as I swing, knocking him out cold. Jagger grabs my arm and I pull away from him. “Motherfucker…” Jagger grits through his teeth. I face him and lift my hands.
“I warned him, and since he wanted to be here so bad, I helped him with it.”
Jagger fights a smirk. He clears his throat. “Go take a fucking seat in our private waiting area while I figure this shit out. Karessa, can you go with him?”
I look at her and I instantly feel bad. Fuck, even if it was an arrangement type of shit, it doesn’t mean I wanted to ruin it. I offer her a small smile as I make my way to the private waiting area. Walking down that corridor brings back memories of being here when my mother passed. I take a deep breath in and release another. When we get into the room, I sit down, but I can’t sit still. I stand and pace. “Do you need anything? A coffee or something? Do you want me to take those items for you?”
I stop and look down atmy hands. I still have her cell and little-ass purse. “No. Thank you though. I just...I need to get out of here,” I mumble the last part. I pace again and Karessa just watches me, not knowing what to do. I keep Ainslee’s stuff tight in my hands, just like I kept an item that belonged to my mother in my arms.
12
Ainslee
My doctor looksat me before we leave the hospital room. “There are people out there worried about you, you know. Don’t do that, Ainslee. Don’t forget to take your meds. I know you’ve been stressed, and it's been hard, but I don’t want to see you back here for this again. You’re only coming back in a couple of weeks to check if we need to continue on with a permanent pacemaker or to see if we’re going to keep going with the temporary. Your dad almost killed me when I said he couldn’t come in here because we needed to assist you and monitor you.”
I look up at Dr. Patterson. “My dad’s here?”
“Yeah.”
I pick up my heels and we walk out through the private corridor and into the private waiting area. When I walk in, I see my dad, Mikonos, and Markos standing. My dad is the first to see me. He marches over and I brace for his speech, but he pulls me into a hug. “Fuck, Ainslee, I thought I lost you.” My dad hugs me and I try not to cry. I drop my shoes as I hold on to him. I haven’t hugged him in ages.
My dad is a tall man and I do what I always did as a little girl. I stand on his shoes to get more leverage. “I’m sorry,” I apologize.
“Don’t scare me like that,” my dad says and kisses my temple.
My dad lets me go and he gives room for both Markos and Mikonos to hug me. Mikonos holds me the longest. “You ever forget to take that fucking medicine of yours and you’ll deal with me. I’m serious,” Mikonos says to me in Greek.
“Okay.” I let him go and I spot Karessa, Jagger, and Oran. I look at Oran but he’s not making eye contact with me. This is odd, because he doesn’t usually shy away from it at all.
“Glad you’re okay,” Karessa says. “Would it be weird if I hug you?” she asks.
