Page 103 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

John nodded. “Well, I suppose it’s a good thing we’re his sons, then.”

I licked my lips. “Don’t know if that’s really a good thing. But that’s enough of a family bond, right?”

The guard nodded his head. “I’d ask you for I.D.s, but I have to admit you two look like him.”

My face fell flat. “I’ll ignore the insult if you just tell us where to go.”

The security guard pointed to the elevator. “Top floor, take a left. All the way down the hall until you come to a door with guards outside.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

We followed the directions to the letter and were soon standing outside our father’s hospital room. And the man downstairs wasn’t joking. There were three men stationed outside the room, and none of them would let us through. Every time we tried to get past them, they simply shook their heads and shoved us back. I wasn’t in the mood to be trifled with. Not only had I just spent three hours hauling furniture and picking out new shit, I had to deal with Dani’s unreasonable parents tonight.

Then John talked some sense into the guys. “Here. Just take our licenses. We’re his sons, and we need to see him. Now.”

John held out his hand for me, waiting for my license to drop into his palm. I fished around in my pockets before I pulled out my wallet, and I slapped it into his hand. He handed both of our identifications to the men, who did everything they could to prove they were fake. They shined flashlights on them. Blacklights, too. They held them up to the ceiling and turned them around in their hands. They bent them to see if they’d snap. They looked at us over and over in order to check our pictures.

I was losing patience with these assholes.

Until they finally gave our I.D.s back.

“State your business,” the lanky guard said.

I blinked. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He shrugged. “Just because you’re family doesn’t me

an you can just see him. He’s a fugitive under investigation. And right now, I have strict orders to only let in investigative officers and lawyers.”

I took a step toward him. “Well, you tell your boss that the captain of the S.W.A.T. team we all worked with last night has given me permission to make this visit. Got it?”

John put his hand on my back. “Max, take a breath.”

I didn’t back down, though. “You can even call, if you have questions about it.”

The guard shook his head. “No, no. Won’t be necessary. The men stationed here an hour ago relayed that information to me. Just wanted to make sure you could reiterate it back to me. The two of you are free to go in.”

Fucking finally.

They stepped away from the door and the lanky guard opened it for us. I looked over at John, watching his eyes widen as the hospital room came into view. It didn't shock me one bit that he was in a massive, luxurious room all to himself. All the way at the top floor, like that somehow distinguished him from everyone else. It made me sick to look at. But I made myself step into the room anyway.

And even though Dad didn’t turn his head to look at us, he knew we were there.

“Sit,” he said.

I looked over at John and he shrugged.

“Or don’t. The choice is yours,” Dad said.

I quirked an eyebrow and turned my eyes back to the scene in front of me. Dad had his gut wrapped in a mound of gauze with a soft red dot slowly protruding through. There were beeping machines and plastic lines flowing in and out of all sorts of places on his body. They had him on oxygen. There were two I.V.s. I saw the piss bag hanging off the edge of the bed, signaling to me that he also had a catheter in. And when he finally turned his head to face us, I saw how gaunt his cheeks were.

The man looked rough.

“Are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to make yourselves comfortable?”

I shook my head. “We have no intention of staying long.”

He nodded. “Well, the least you can do is come in far enough to close the door. You’re letting all the damn heat out.”

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