“Oh, are you making pirozhki?” Ruby asked. “I’ll help.”
“You pronounce that much better than I do,” I called as I left the kitchen.
“I want answers later,” I heard Araneae say as I passed the large staircase and headed toward the elevator.
Reid
Dr. Dixon’s arms crossed over her chest as I settled onto the couch in my apartment. “Reid, this is not up for debate. You need to listen to me. You need rest, and I expect you to get it.”
Maybe the reason I hesitated to answer was my admiration for all that the woman before me had accomplished, her position at the hospital, and her status within the Sparrow world. I supposed my lack of response boiled down to one common denominator: respect. I had it in spades for Renita Dixon. I knew her history and how she’d become part of the Sparrow world and the devotion she had to Sterling Sparrow and his undertakings. Her life, like so many others, had been touched by the atrocities of Allister Sparrow and Rubio McFadden. She’d lost a sister to a world she never knew existed.
With her determination and Sparrow’s financial help, she worked her ass off to get to a place where she could also help people. Now, I was her patient.
Renita’s eyebrows arched and her eyes widened.
It was a look I knew well. I’d received it over the years from both my grandmother and mother, and more recently from Lorna. That expression was a secret weapon that women possessed. Maybe they shared it with one another, but honestly, it baffled the entire male population. It was that ability to speak volumes without moving their lips.
“I could lie to you,” I replied a bit sheepishly.
“You could, but you won’t.”
She was right. I answered as honestly as I could, knowing I would be back on 2 the first chance I had. “I’ll try to rest.”
Dr. Dixon shook her head, her lips drawing together. “Listen, I never hesitate to help when anyone from Sparrow calls. I would much rather deal with issues that aren’t in my specialty.” She was a cardiologist by specialty. “For example, your arm will be fine. There will be a scar, but it should heal fine. The bandage will need to be changed twice a day and along with updating some shots, take all the antibiotics until gone. The fact remains that the EKG shows a small area of damage to your heart. Once the heart muscle is damaged, it stays that way.”
“So you’re saying it doesn’t matter if I rest or not?”
“She’s saying to rest.”
Renita and I both turned to Mason, my self-appointed bodyguard, the man standing near the windows with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his lips.
“I’m saying,” she went on, “if you were my son, I’d ground you to where you are right now.”
“How will sitting at a computer cause more damage?” I asked.
“How is your headache?” Renita asked.
“As far as headaches go, it’s a fine one.”
Mason shook his head as Renita took on the scowl.
“Take breaks,” she said. Turning to Mason, she added, “Encourage breaks. No long stints at the computer or even watching any kind of screen.”
Before I could answer, the door to the apartment opened. Standing with her hand on the doorknob, Lorna stilled, her green gaze going around the room.
“Fuck,” Mason muttered. “I forgot about your hair.”
Lorna’s gaze narrowed as she ignored her brother and concentrated on Dr. Dixon. “Why are you here?”
When the doctor didn’t respond, Lorna voiced her question less directly. “What is going on?”
Uncrossing his arms, Mason let out a sigh as he walked toward Lorna. Reaching for the ends of her hair, he flipped one side before laying a kiss on the top of her head. “I guess if you could welcome me back with a new face, I can call you sis with whatever hairstyle you want.”
As she gazed up at him, I saw what I’ve known for as long as I’ve known my wife. Lorna’s capacity to love unconditionally didn’t make her an island unto herself. It made her a fountain where everyone around her drank, whether we knew it or not. Even a man who had worked the dark web as Kader softened in her presence.
Slowly, her smile faded as she turned back to me, still lying upon our sofa. “Should I be frightened?”
Renita shook her head. “Grateful is a better sentiment.”
Lorna came to me, sitting her fine ass on the cushion at my side.
Though I tried to hide my pain behind my complete admiration for my wife, my face contorted and a small wince escaped. Her hands immediately came to my bandaged arm and then to my chest, now covered with a clean gray t-shirt. She moved her hands over me, no doubt feeling the bandages beneath. According to the x-rays, I had two cracked ribs, none fully broken, and an ultrasound determined damaged cartilage in between.
“Oh my God, Reid, what happened?” Her frightened stare circled the room before returning to me as her body began to tremble at my side.
The clicking of the handle had us turning toward the door. Lifting his hand, Mason waved. “Keep him here until morning, sis. Dr. Dixon wants him to rest, and I’d babysit his candy-ass, but I’m pretty sure you have this covered.”
Lorna nodded as she tried to make sense of what was happening. “Mace,” she called before he disappeared.
Craning his neck, he looked back.
“Thank you for bringing him back to me.”
Mason shrugged. “It’s not exactly like that. Let him fill in the blanks.” Shutting the door behind him, Mason left the three of us alone.
Swallowing, Lorna turned back to me, her green eyes glistening. “Will you? Fill in the blanks?”
Closing my eyes, I nodded. When I opened them, Dr. Dixon had moved near the breakfast bar and was talking about my care.
“Lorna, I have written instructions. Reid will need his bandages on his arm changed every twelve hours. The ones on his ribs are there for support. He should avoid getting them wet, and they can come off in a few days. His ribs will still be tender. I have some pain medicine.” She lifted a pill bottle and shook it. “He’s already said he won’t take it, and I’m not pushing. Just know it’s here and should help with sleep. He must take all of the antibiotics. With the combination of the IV antibiotics and oral, there’s a chance they’ll make him nauseous.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’ll do whatever I need to do.” Her beautiful emerald stare came back to me. “What happened?”
I reached for her hand, slowly entwining our fingers as hers still trembled. “I’m here with you. That’s what happened.”
She looked at Renita. As she did, I nodded. Maybe it was the coward’s way out. Maybe it was that I never wanted to cause my wife pain or sorrow. No matter, I didn’t want to be the one who said the words.
“Lorna, Reid was shot today.”
“What?” Her entire body startled with the news.
“I’m here.”
“How? Where?”
Renita came closer and sat in a nearby chair. “He was wearing a vest which no doubt saved his life. One shot hit his arm, grazed it. That’s why he needs the antibiotics. The other shot hit him in the chest...”
Lorna continued to nod as Renita went through what had happened as well as the effects the shooting had on my body, including my heart. “...we’ll need to continually check his heart for arrhythmia. The damage that occurred could result in an array of arrhythmias from slow to fast or irregular.”