Page 68 of Devoured By You

“Your dad will explain when he gets here. Nolen, Marlowe, and Kadon are outside. Aspen, too.” She took my hand again. “And Jill. I do like her, Blaize. You chose well.” A hint of a teasing smile lifted her lips. “Took you long enough.”

“Jill’s here?” I croaked.

“She’s stayed by your bed most of the time, but they only allow two of us in here at once. We often have to crowbar her out of here.”

I swallowed. My throat was so damn raw. “I want to see her.”

The door opened, and my heart rate spiraled, but instead of my girl walking through the door, a doctor entered instead.

“Mr. Kingcaid. How are you feeling?” He shined a light into my eyes. “Welcome back.”

“I’d feel better if you didn’t burn my retinas with that thing.”

The doctor chuckled. “Good spirits. That’s helpful.” He beckoned to the nurse. “Can you take his vitals?” He looked at Mom, then at me. “And then we can have a chat.”

Mom nibbled on her bottom lip. “My husband isn’t here yet. And I’d like the rest of my family to be here if that’s okay?”

I frowned. Why am I getting a bad feeling?

“Of course.”

Mom rose to her feet. “I’ll be right back, sweetheart.”

“Mom, wait.”

She paused midstep, then pivoted. “Yes, darling?”

“What’s going on?” I tried to sit up, almost passing out as pain ripped through my shoulder. “Shit, that fucking hurts.”

“Blaize, lie down. I’ll be two minutes.”

I let her go, mainly because I didn’t have the energy to fight her. I felt weak, helpless, and I didn’t fucking like it. Who was the guy who’d shot me? Was Scarlett okay? I fucking needed answers. Not knowing was driving me crazy. A cage was over my leg, the covers draped on top. I guessed the bullet had shattered a bone. Damn. I hoped they’d managed to pin it back together again. Fuck only knew how long that’d take to heal. Six weeks, two months, longer?

The door opened again, and my stomach did several backflips.

“Jill.” I held out my right hand, gesturing to her. “There’s my girl.”

Her eyes glistened. “Your mum said to come in. She’s gathering everyone else together.” Sitting in the chair my mom had vacated, Jill rested her forehead against my hand. “I thought you were dead.”

Pain was etched in every word. I wanted nothing more than to take it away. “Tilly. Look at me.”

She sat up. Fat tears clung to her eyelashes, a couple falling as she blinked.

“It’d take more than a bullet to tear me away from you.”

More tears fell. She dashed them away with the back of her hand, almost as if she was embarrassed to let me see her cry. Before I could reassure her, the rest of my family filed in. Mom, Dad, Nolen, Marlowe, Kadon, and Aspen. Goddamn, it had to be bad because they all looked as if they were attending a wake. Their worry couldn’t be about me. I was fine. Sure, my shoulder hurt like a motherfucker, and my leg was killing me, too. At least I wasn’t dead.

My business, on the other hand… Christ, I hoped and fucking prayed it wasn’t irrecoverable, that my worst fears hadn’t come to fruition.

“Mr. Kingcaid, I wanted to talk to you about your injuries and your prognosis.” My family parted to allow the doctor to stand closer to me. “Are you in any pain?”

“Yeah, my shoulder hurts like a bitch, and my leg feels as if someone’s run over it with an eighteen-wheeler.”

Mom averted her gaze, and I couldn’t help but notice she felt for Dad’s hand. I cast a glance around the rest of my family. Nolen had his poker face on, as did Kadon. Marlowe smiled kindly, and Aspen looked worried. As for Jill, she kept her eyes trained on me, her fingers entwined with mine.

“Which leg is that?” the doctor asked.

Odd question. “Which do you think? The one the bullet hit. The right one. Jeez. Are you okay, Doc?”

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