CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

STEELE

 

Token enters the room. The nurse who’s about to stick my arm with a needle does a double take. I’m used to it. Women tend to do that with him. He’s⸻how can I say it? Impressive? I think it’s all the tatts, the 17-inch biceps, and the beard. Not to mention, the piercing green eyes that transport him from intimidating to enticing. At least for the ladies. The guys, generally, not so much. The smart ones know when to back off. He’s a retired boxer, and when I say retired, I mean he doesn’t fight for fame or fortune anymore. But he practices daily, and it shows.

Token scans the room, barely taking notice of the attractive nurse holding a very sharp object over my arm. Since meeting Harley, he’s lost all interest in other women, and I can’t say I blame him. Harley is a great girl. I liked her from the get-go.

His casual eye stroll halts at Crash. “What’s up with him?”

I glance over at my little bro scowling with his arms crossed over a blood-soaked shirt. “Shit, Crash. I told you. It ain’t your fault.”

“I know,” he grumbles. He’s been a fucking mess ever since the NASCAR shit and Josh’s death. Poor guy. I miss the old Crash—the funny, wise-ass who gave a shit about himself. This new one sucks, but we all got our issues. I’ll be there no matter what any of my bros are going through. They’re blood.

“Oh-ho, I get it.” Token chuckles, thumbing at him. “Crash Gordan here was driving?”

“Yeah. Some fuckin’ dickhead⸻”

“Hey,” Token cuts Crash off, jabbing his chin toward the young nurse who just broke skin.

I clench my fist harder. Got no problem jumping out of a moving vehicle or soaring out of a window from a five-story building, but I’m a big baby when it comes to needles.

“Some jerk,” Crash corrects with a quick smirk, “pulled out in front of me. I swerved to get out of the way and hit a guardrail. The car jolted back onto the street, and a truck struck us on Steele’s side.”

“Hit your head, huh?” Token goes in for a closer look at the sutures on Crash’s forehead.

“It ain’t nothin’,” he says, trying to brush it off.

“Ya don’t say? It sure did bleed a lot,” Token points at Crash’s bloodied shirt.

“Stone’s bringing me a clean one.”

“Good,” Token says, taking a more thorough look at me. “And you, you’re all right?”

I nod. “Just a cracked rib and bruised chest. Doc says nothing serious. I’m waitin’ to go down for a CT scan to check out my noggin’.” I tap the side of my head with my knuckles.

“Oh, boy.” Nix comes strolling in, shaking his head and taking a long pause to appreciate the nurse. “Don’t do it, man. They’ll find out what’s really going on in that head of yours.”

“And what’s that?” The nurse smiles, batting her eyes at Nix as she finishes taping up my IV thing. She must be one of those chicks who goes for the nerdy type. Not that Nix has any problem getting women. The single dad gig works for him, and like the rest of us, he stays in shape.

“Whole lot of nothin’.” He smiles back at the blushing nurse. “I’m Nix, and you are?”

“Just leaving,” she says, her voice a hint higher.

“Ohhh,” we all tease as the chick leaves Nix in the dust.

“Don’t fret, brothers of mine, I’ll get her number before I leave.”

“Yeah, sure, okay ...” we all comment in accord.

“Really, I will. You dogs didn’t see the little wink she gave me before she left the room. She wants me.” He turns his attention to me. “You okay?”

“I’m good.” I nod.

“Ya better be,” Stone says as he enters the room, tossing a shirt at Crash. “Ma’s on her way here.”

“Fuck.” I push up in bed, proving my well-being to Stone while he does a thorough inspection of me.

Stone pats Crash on the back as he passes by him. “So you assholes got in a car accident?”

“Nothin’ serious, but we busted up Crash’s client’s corvette.” I look at Crash, waiting for him to pull the clean shirt on, so he can correct me. He’s anal about cars.

“A 2008 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Limited Edition Z06 Coupe,” he says as his head pops through the shirt hole. “What the fuck?” His eyes dart from the shirt to Stone.

“Thought you’d like that.” Stone rubs a finger over his lips as if trying to swipe away a grin. “Becca sent it to me last year. What?” His finger shoots out. “Didn’t you assholes get one?”

“No.” Nix laughs. “She thought since you were in a band, you’d like it best.”

“What’s wrong, Crash? Not a Bieber fan?” Stone struggles to keep a straight face as he looks at an irate Crash garbed in an I Love Justin Bieber T-shirt.

“Fuck you,” Crash says, turning to go for his bloody shirt on the window ledge, but Nix is quicker. He snatches it and tosses it in the infectious waste garbage bin. “Fucker.” Crash pushes Nix against the wall.

Nix’s response? Laughter.

“Hey.” Token grabs Crash, yanking him from Nix. “We’re in a hospital, dude.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Stone shrugs. “You can pull off the look with that gash on your head. It makes you look badass,” he says with a curled lip and pumped fist. “You look like a tough Bieber lover.” He chuckles.

Crash draws his arm back, but Token’s got a good hold of him. He leans down and whispers something into his ear, and Crash’s shoulders start to relax.

“Here.” Nix pulls his light blue yuppie golfer shirt off. “I like the Bieber.” He hands Crash his shirt just as my pretty nurse enters the room. Naked from his khakis up, Nix smiles at her. “Well, hello again.”

“Hi.” She laughs. “I like the Bieber too.”

“You do?” Nix balls his shirt up in his hands. Pecs flexing, he takes a step toward her. “Maybe we could compare playlists sometime?”
“Maybe.” Her eyes move to his chest. “But you need to put your shirt back on, or I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He shakes out his shirt.

“No.” Crash walks over. “This one.” He strips the Bieber shirt off and hands it to Nix.

The nurse’s attention moves from one half-naked brother to the next. Can’t blame her, the tatt on Crash’s back is enough to catch anyone’s eyes, especially if you don’t know him. Crash turns, and the nurse looks up at him, her eyes softening. His angelic face always seems to weaken the demon on his back.

“No problem.” Nix grabs the Bieber shirt and yanks it over his head.

“They’ll be up here in about ten minutes to take you for your scan, Mr. Kane,” the nurse says, her eyes temporarily meeting mine.

“Thanks.” I smile.

“So …” Nix says, following the nurse as she leaves the room.

“Hey.” Harley comes charging in the room, eyes snapping from me to Token. “What happened?” She stops in front of Token.

“Hey, I can talk for myself, and I’m⸻” Jay walks into the room and like my voice, everyone in the room comes to a complete halt.

Stark fear, bold and fierce, stretches the lines in her beautiful face. What is she doing here? Shit, that’s right. Harley had been asking about her earlier, something about a girl’s day or some shit.

Jay moves toward me as though oblivious to everything else in the room besides me. I hold my breath, and I think everyone else is too. The silence of her presence as she walks up to my bed, her eyes touching every exposed part of my body, speaks volumes as to what’s really going on between us. She’s not some chick, some Chicago passerby I’m sleeping with. She’s not the woman who controls my stunts, and she’s not a random girl my family got to meet a few weeks ago at a bar. She means more to me, and by the quietness of the room, everyone knows it.

She reaches a shaky hand to my face and palms my cheek. Her eyes still searching me. “You’re okay?”

I swallow hard, fearful if I don’t, I won’t get the words out. So this is what it feels like to have someone you care about, care about you. To have that person worry about you. It’s my ma’s job, but Jay … the fear alone in her eyes is enough to make me want to stop. Shit! Oh, hell no. That’s why I’m single. “Yes. I’m okay.”

“Good.” She blinks a couple of time. Pulling her hand from me, she steps back.

The uncertainty in her eyes stops me from dragging her back to me.

“Oh, shit!” Token looks back from the window, breaking the awkwardness. “Ma’s here.”

Stone peeks out the window and comes back around with a whistle. “Yep, she’s got a huge bottle of water.”

“Come on, you’re shittin’ me.” I glance at Stone.

“Nope.” He grimaces.

I click the call light, and a female voice responds. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need some clean sheets and a new gown, please.”

“Okay, I’ll have someone bring them in shortly, Mr. Kane.”

“Thanks.”

“You guys are assholes.” Crash walks over and leans into the window. “I don’t see her.” He turns to me. “She’s not going to do it, not here at the hospital.”

Harley looks at Token. “Do what?”

He laughs, rubbing his tatted arm. I drop my head back and stare at Jay, who’s waiting for Token’s response, and, of course, he doesn’t disappoint his girl or mine. “Once, when the daredevil here came home all banged up from one of his crazy stunts, he tried to convince Ma that he was okay before he dragged his sorry ass up to bed. You could tell by the way he looked, he was a hurtin’ puppy. So Ma got a huge glass of ice water, marched up to his room, and dumped it on him while he was in the bed, and said, “Prove it.” She made him get up, change the sheets on his bed and his clothes, and when he couldn’t do it because he was in so much pain, she brought him to the hospital.” He nods. “And, sure as shit, he had a broken wrist. From then on, when he was still living at home, Ma continued to use the glass of water test.”

“Really?” Harley laughs. “How many times?”

“Hmm.” Token squints at Stone. “At least ten?”

“At the very least.” Stone grins.

“I got it!” Nix comes walking into the room adorning the I love Justin Beiber shirt with a big-ass grin on his face while waving his cell in the air. “I got her number!”

I laugh and look at Jay, our brief eye connection convincing me that, for some reason, she’s not happy.

Fuck! I’m okay. What more could she want?