Page 55 of Sinful Seduction
“A lecture.” I rub my jaw, hiding my smirk before the mirror-like steel door gets me in trouble. “I’m certain he needs one of those. That’ll make this better.”
“Shut up.” She shoves forward, perfectly timing her exit with our arrival on the ICU floor. “If he listened to me any other day, he wouldn’t be in this position. Besides, why the hell would he make me his healthcare proxy if not because he knows I’m right?”
“You got me.” Chuckling, I follow her out and snag her hand before she can run off ahead of me. “I’m positive the tired old man did all this just to annoy you. He suffered in clothes too hot for him, stayed awake when he’d preferred to sleep, and ate food high in bad fats, all in his plan to piss you off.”
“You’repissing me off right now.” She slows her pace to a kinder—to her knee—stride. “Obviously, he didn’t have a heart attack on purpose. But there are warning signs, and he ignored them.”
There are warning signsshenoticed, butsheignored them.
That’s what she means. That’s what hurts most of all.
She doesn’t slow at the nurse’s station or ask for directions to Steve’s room. She knows the way.
“How much does your knee hurt, Minnnka?” I pull her back, tucking her under my arm and taking her weight. “On a scale of one to ten. One means it doesn’t hurt at all, ten is?—”
“I’m at a three.” She slows by Steve’s door, blinking and gulping her nerves down. “Three is manageable. Three means it’s annoying, because the bandage makes it hard to walk without looking like an idiot, but taking the bandage off removes the pressure I need to stop the bleeding.” She stops and nods. “It’s a three. You ready?”
“Me?” I study Steve’s door,knowingshe’s asking herself: is she ready? But I inch forward and push the door open, gently sweeping the curtain aside to reveal the old man all alone in his room. Machines beep, and his rhythmic breathing creates a beat in the air. The lights are out, shadowing the space and creating an almost nighttime essence. “I’m ready,” I whisper and gesture forward. “After you, Chief.”
Her fiery attitude falls away, and her prepared lecture dissipates, replaced by glittering eyes and hands that fuss over the man’s blankets.
He’s not on a ventilator. That much, I know. And the machine tracking his pulse remains steady and strong. My medical education doesn’t stretch far, but the fact that he’s breathing and his heart is beating bodes well.
“He’s all alone.” She inches forward, licking her lips and eyeing the monitors. She reads the same numbers I do, but the way her brain processes them is entirely different. “How’s it possible no one else is here to see him?”
Not married. Never had children.
She begrudges the man his desire to guard our stairs and keep watch over his residents. But she doesn’t understand that that’s how he creates family. Those are his children.
Sheis his child.
“Others will have been by today.” I meander to the end of his bed, resting my hand on the steel bar. “I know for sure Cato was here. He texted me a selfie.”
Mildly amused, she glances back and hits me with eyes that sparkle.She hurts. So fucking much. “He sent you a selfie of an unconscious man?”
“I told him it was a little tacky to do so.” I force a soft chuckle. Something to give her a reason to smile. “He sat here with Steve for hours.” I come around the bed and press my chest to her back, my chin on top of her head. “He’s not alone. We’ll make sure of it.”
“He can’t go back to his apartment after this.” She sniffles, though she turns the sound to a huff. “Not for a while, anyway. It’s not safe unless he has live-in help and a nurse to watch over him.”
“So we’ll get him a nurse. Or we’ll find him a room at a care facility. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll get it done.”
Steve’s hand twitches. Such a slight movement, but it may as well be a cannon blast with how Minka’s breath catches.
“Hey, Steve.” Sniffling again, she leans closer. “Hey. It’s me.”
“Minka.” He says her name in a quiet, dry rasp. Achy and crackling. His eyes remain closed, but his fingers move a second time. “Min…”
“Yeah, it’s me.” She drops the side rail of his bed with an easy flick of her wrist, then she rests her elbows on the mattress, her face just inches from his. “I’m here and you’re safe.”
“Min…”
“Shh.” She pats his hand, coughing and clearing her throat. God forbid the man hear the emotion in her voice. “You need to rest. You don’t have to talk.”
“Sleepy…”
“I know you are.” She twines her fingers with his, careful not to disrupt the wires coming from the top of his hand. “You’ll be tired for a while. Your body has worked extra hard over the last twenty-four hours. You nearly checked out on me, you big jerk.” She tilts her head and swipes her cheek on the shoulder of her shirt. “You insisted on being everyone else’s watch commander, but you forgot to look out for yourself. I’m pretty mad at you about this whole mess, but seeing as how you’re tired right now, I’ll save the lecture and deliver it when you’re more able to listen.”
I rest my hand on her hip and snicker. “Magnanimous of you, Chief. Your restraint is amazing.”
