Page 95 of Marked for Obsession

“I know you do, brother.” Declan reached out and squeezed his good arm. “Which is all the more reason to stand by what I said. The danger…the near misses…they aren’t what matter. The real travesty in all of this would be if we just rolled over and gave in. And who wins then, huh?”

The man had a point, but Jax wasn’t sure he was in the right frame of mind to accept it.

“I don’t know about you,” his brother continued. “But I’ve never been one to walk away from a fight.”

Well, hell. Maybe he and Declan weren’t so different after all. Speaking of which…

“Thank you.” He brought his gaze back up to Dec’s. “I don’t think I said it before, but…if it hadn’t been for you and Grady…”

“Nothing you haven’t done for me. And Noah and Maggie…and Wade and Allie…” Despite the seriousness of the situation, the man’s lips twisted into a tiny smirk. “You know, if you’re not careful, people around this town are going to find out you’re not the super scary badass you want them to believe.”

“Yes, well…as long as you don’t go running that big mouth of yours, my hard-earned reputation should remain intact.”

Both men released soft chuckles, and Jax was suddenly very grateful that his brother was by his side.

“She’s gonna make it, man.” Declan squeezed that same arm again. “We’re all gonna make it.”

Just then, those doors opened, and the surgeon who’d been working on Poppy appeared. Jax rushed to him, Declan falling in line behind him.

“How is she?”

“I saw you in the E.R. with Miss Campbell when they brought her in.” The man eyed him closely. “Are you family?”

“Fiancé.”

Jax didn’t feel bad in the slightest for the lie. If he had his way about it, it wouldn’t be a lie for long.

Accepting his response as fact, the doctor moved forward with his summary of Poppy’s condition.

“Miss Campbell is stable. And extremely lucky.” The silver-haired man looked about as tired and worn down as Jax felt. “The bullet missed the major vessels and most of her vital organs. We did have to remove a tiny portion of her liver, as well as a section of her small intestine. But we were able to reattach the remaining tissue, and with time and a lot of rest, I see no reason for her not to make a full recovery.”

Hearing those words, knowing his Poppy was going to make it…

The relief damn near brought him to his knees.

“Can I see her?”

“She’s still in recovery, but they’re preparing a private room for her now. You can check with the nurse’s station near the waiting area at the end of that hall.” The surgeon pointed to Jax’s right. “They’ll be able to tell you Miss Campbell’s room number.”

“Thank you.” Jax shook the other man’s hand.

It was a small gesture for having saved the woman who owned him.

And Poppy did own him. Forever and always.

The doctor disappeared back the way he came while Jax and Declan headed toward the aforementioned nurse’s station. He was surprised to find the entire waiting area filled with people he knew.

Noah and Maggie sat next to one another, their hands linked together lovingly as they carried on a whispered conversation.

Standing by the complementary coffee stand on the other side of the sectioned-off area were Wade and his wife, Allie. Wade’s arms were filled with their infant daughter, born not long ago.

Skye, Declan’s fiancée, was standing with them.

Even Grady had stuck around. The bald and burley, dimpled detective was starting to grow on Jax, though he refused to admit that shit out loud.

His rep was already going to take a massive hit once word got out that he was a taken man. Not that he minded. No, no.

That was one bit of news he couldn’t wait to get spread.

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