“Which case would that be?” He’s going to make me say it.
“A case against you guys.”
“You need to leave. Don’t come back here, Fabiola. You won’t like what happens if you do.”
“I just need to talk to him, Gauge. Let me have the chance to explain this!” I nearly beg him. I have to tell him, warn him…something.
“He isn’t here,” he tells me, his voice changing, softening. I look around him, seeing Dez curled into Temple’s arms. She’s crying.
“What’s happening?” Dragging my gaze back to Gauge, I see something is off.
“It doesn’t concern you.”
“Is he okay?”
“I said it doesn’t concern you,” Gauge says, his voice hardening once more. I can see it in his eyes, whatever is happening, it isn’t good. I nod my head slowly before taking a step back while he watches me the whole time.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“Do you think I care about that right now? You were workin’ with the cops to bring this club down and for what?”
“For my brother! Everything I did was for him.”
“Do you wanna know somethin’ about your brother?” he snarls as he steps out the door and closer to me. “Your brother was one hell of a man.”
“You knew him?” I’m confused. Gauge nods.
“Not as personally as Sly did but yeah. We all knew him.”
“How? How did you know him? He was a cop,” I say as confusion washes over me.
“Not my story to tell.”
“Gauge? Come on! Let me talk to Sly. Sly!” I yell his name, but Gauge reaches behind him, pulling the door closed.
“I said he isn’t here, and you shouldn’t be either! You’ve done enough damage. Now we gotta clean up your goddamn mess! Get the hell out of here before you regret steppin’ foot on this property.”
Chapter Eighteen
My head is pounding. I can’t feel my legs. I ache everywhere. I hate feeling like this. I pry my eyes open and thank God for the darkness that still blankets my room.
“Fuckin’ hell,” I grumble when I hear a chuckle. I try to look toward it, but I figure it’s just the goddamn devil mocking me again.
“Hell might not be so bad.”
“Wolf?”
“The one and only. Did you miss me while you were nappin’?” he asks, and if I could roll my eyes I would, but it all hurts too much.
“The fuck you doin’ here?”
“It’s visitin’ hours, brother, and guess who got put on Sly watch today?” What the hell is he talking about?
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about?”
“You’re in the hospital. Did you forget?” I blink to clear the fog from my eyes and glance around. I am indeed still in the hospital. Huh, figured I’d wake up in a pile of ash.
“This ain’t hell?” I grumble under my breath.
“Nope. You’re still in the land of the livin’, brother.”
“What the hell happened?” I ask, before trying to shift. The groan that escapes me has Wolf moving to his feet. In seconds, he’s by my side, passing me a button.
“Doc said when you woke up, you could use this for pain. I been pushin’ it for the hell of it though,” he adds with a smirk. I take the button and give it a good push.
“The fuck happened, Wolf?”
“Some shithead was in the bank with a gun. He was about to rob it himself, or so I hear, when we stormed in. What a damn coincidence, huh?”
You have got to be kidding me. Of all the shit.
“You’re jokin’?” I ask finally looking up at him.
“Not a chance in hell, brother. I heard he got arrested too.”
“How are they not showin’ up here?” Wolf smirks.
“Because Walter Sanford ran in front of a drunken asshole that was shootin’ at targets. He got himself shot four times.”
“Who the hell is Walter?” God, this man is making my head hurt worse.
“You are for now.”
“You kiddin’ me?” He chuckles.
“No. There ain’t no cops lookin’ for Walter. At least that’s the story we gave the doc. Mike took care of the rest.” Mike is one of the docs we have on payroll. We pay him good money to ignore the bad shit we bring his way.
“Damn. I got hit four times?”
“Yeah. Not good, brother. Not good. You got a brain bleed too. That’s why they are keepin’ you here.”
“Like fuck they are!” I start to shove myself up when the vomit stings the back of my throat. I lean to the side and let it go as Wolf laughs.
“Told you. Now I gotta get that cute nurse back in here,” he adds. I watch him leave the room only to come back with Temple of all people.
“Oh, just kill me now,” I grumble under my breath.
“Now what fun would that be?”
“I thought you didn’t work here anymore.”
“Some people like me, Sly. The doc is one of them. Besides, Shaft made it clear that no one else was supposed to be giving you medicine but me. He doesn’t trust the other nurses,” she says as she pulls the vomit covered blanket off me. She tosses it into a can before leaving and coming back with a clean one. Once she has me covered and taken care of, she sits on the bed next to me.
“You scared us all. Gauge is… He’s shaken up pretty good. Dez is a mess.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know. They will be happy you’re awake and talking though,” she adds with a smile.
“Heard that. You go on and let them know, would you? I need to talk to Wolf.” Temple leans in and presses a kiss to my head before turning and walking out. I don’t think I’ve had that kind of interaction with her before.
“If I tell Shaft about that, he is gonna beat your ass,” Wolf adds.
“Do it, asshole, and I’m tellin’ Krista you fucked a nurse while you were here.” Wolf chuckles and moves to sit back in his chair.
“What do you wanna talk about? How they stripped you naked and your balls were hangin’ out for the world to see?”
“You were lookin’ too.”
“I know. I have never seen somethin’ so wrinkled up in my life,” he laughs. I lift my hand and flip him off as the medicine slowly begins to work its way through me.
“I fucked up, Wolf,” I tell him as my eyes grow heavy. “I fucked up big time.”
Chapter Nineteen
I just left the craft store after grabbing a few new supplies that I needed, and I can’t shake the feeling of someone being behind me. I keep looking over my shoulder but no one’s there. I still feel it though. Regardless, I climb in the car and start it up before pulling out of the parking lot and out onto the street. Reaching over, I turn the radio on and try to get myself out of this funk that I feel. The last week has been hell on me. If I’m being honest, I miss Sly. I miss his smile, his laugh. The way he used to look at me even when he thought I didn’t notice. I did notice and I want it back.