Page 106 of No Mistake

Everything was quiet, really quiet. Sophie appeared before him. So clear. Standing right there. He reached out to touch her, but she vanished. God dammit, Ryan, stop sinking! You have to get out of this. Whatever this is. Words. He could hear a man’s voice. It sounded close and clear. Moving his head, he tried to open his eyes. Fuck, it hurt. He squinted at the bright lights in the room.

“Ryan? Hey.”

A man’s voice. He knew that voice. He scanned the room. Hospital. He was in the hospital. As it all came flooding back, he closed his eyes. Sophie, Reborn, Perez. The fucker sliced him. That was the last he remembered. The ship. Sophie. Shit, did they get Sophie? He forced open his eyes again. A man in a white coat stood over him. Doctor. Not Sophie. Sophie was his doctor. Where was she?

“Mr. Baxter. My name is Dr. Wilder, can you hear me?”

Ryan nodded, focusing on the man in the white coat. His head hurt like a motherfucker but the brain fog was clearing.

“Good. You had us all worried there for a little bit. Do you know where you are?”

“Hospital,” he rasped.

“Good. Do you remember what happened?”

Ryan winced at the pain in his head. “Stabbed.”

“Yes, you were. Do you know who this is?” The doctor gestured to Dex who stepped up next to him. Ryan looked at him, then turned back to the doctor.

“No.” A deathly silence greeted him as the doctor looked at Dex with a frown. “But my guess is, he’s a stubborn son of a bitch who refused to leave the hospital.”

The doctor grinned. “That he is.”

“And he’s back.” Ryan heard the relief in Dex’s voice.

“Sophie?” he whispered.

“She’s good,” Dex assured him. “Don’t worry.”

“Alright, then. The knife hit your liver, but we saved it. You lost a lot of blood, so you’ll feel weak, a little disoriented maybe. Perfectly normal. The cut above your eyes is stitched, and the bruises will fade. No permanent damage. It was a close call, Mr. Baxter. How’s the pain?”

“Seven.”

“Mmm. So ten, then. I’ll come back and check on you in a while. If you need more pain medication, let me know.” The doctor glanced at Dex. “He needs to rest, limited visitors.”

“Got it.”

Dr. Wilder left and Dex moved closer, into Ryan’s view.

“You fucking scared the shit out of me, man.”

“Sorry, I’ll ask him nicely not to stab me next time.” Ryan swallowed, damn his throat hurt, too. Dex handed him a cup of water with a straw and he took a few sips.

“Seriously, how are you feeling?”

Ryan looked at him, seeing the worry etched on Dex’s face.

“Ain’t gonna lie. Hurts like hell.” Every movement was agony.

“The fucker got you good.”

No shit.

“Nothing that won’t heal. Don’t look so worried.” Fuck, he’d never seen Dex like this.

“It was close, Ryan. Too close. You coded in the medevac.”

He had?

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