Page 133 of I Promise You
Grim’s jaw ticks as Rooker reminds him of protocols.
“If this was Noel…” I start and Rooker breaks away from Grim at the mention of his wife’s name, but he needs to understand what Ari’s disappearance is doing to Grim…to me. I’ve got his full attention now, and he just might beat the shit out of me for saying it.
“Look, all I’m saying is, we don’t know that, Rooker. They might use her to lure us all,” I argue. “And they’ll leave her aliveuntil they can draw Grim in. Isn’t that what they want? So this makes everything more complicated and rules will be broken. Admiral Ravenmore will want us in on this, and the police will, too.”
“Sir, please sit down.” A nurse enters the room quickly and pleads with Grim. She points to the hospital bed, scolding him like a child.
She’s scared and hesitant to come closer to a man whose entire world has been taken away from him. The heartache Danny is feeling is evident and crystal clear through wrath.
Her shoulders tense as she arches her brows, signaling him back to the hospital bed.
“Lori, I know you remember me,” he says.
The nurse bites the inside of her cheek nervously.
“You have to discharge me. I have to find Ari.” He walks toward her, and it looks like Lori wants to shrink away, but then quickly changes her demeanor.
“What the fuck do you mean? Where is she?! Wasn’t she at the ball with Violet?” She raises her voice, her chest rising and falling.
“I can’t disclose anything,” Grim mumbles.
“The hell you can’t!” Lori screeches at him, stomping her foot on the ground.
“Senorita hermosa, you don’t understand,” Lopez chimes in. His southern accent clips through the tension in the room and slightly switches the mood.
I roll my eyes. Is he trying to flirt in a situation like this?
Asshole.
“We have a job to do just like you do,” he finishes, flashing her a dimpled smile, crossing his arms across his chest.
Lori glares at him, narrowing her eyes with annoyance at Lopez’s flirtatious smile. “I’m gay.” She scoffs before turning back to Grim.
Then she shifts to Creature, who stands in the corner of the room, flipping the same heavy bullet in his fingers.
“And who the fuck are you?” Lori snaps. She’s unleashing hell at every single one of us, and it’s justifiable.
Creature stops twirling the bullet in his fingers. He goes frozen for a couple of seconds. His gray eyes look at Lori through his black mask, a snicker of a laugh follows.
“No one. Just a ghost on the wall. Carry on.”
What the hell. “Ignore him,” Grim snarls. “Lori, you know damn well nothing will stop me from walking out of that room in the next five minutes. She’s out there, and I can find her. I’m being courteous.”
Lori sighs in defeat.
“You lost a lot of blood, Mr. Rider.”
“And you gave me a blood transfusion, right? I’m good. I’m solid, Lori.”
She purses her lips and looks at his arms that are covered in blood from him yanking out his own IV.
“I’ll do what I can, but Doctor Reese is on shift tonight, and he’s a bit of an asshole.”
Grim eyes light up, and his eyebrows arch.
“Perfect.”
40
