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Riser Mallon strode away from the desperate woman and her sick child with a clenched jaw, ignoring the stabbing pain in his side. He’d overheard the whole conversation. The doctor had dismissed her as a no -insurance, no-pay patient who needed to evac his hospital ASAP, but that wasn’t what had made him intercede.
It was the thread of desperation in her voice, paired with an iron will that refused to be broken.
She could have made a scene, broken down into tears, yelled…but she didn’t. Her plea was quiet, serious, and intent, and it had tapped on a heart he didn’t realize he still possessed, waking it up with a jolt.
Surprising to think that this intense mother, was the same quiet, almost shy, bartender from his town. Someone he’d spoken with on and off for the last year.
Her sweetness and strength screamed she was a forever girl and not the type for a one night stand. That’s all he’d ever had to offer and so he’d forced himself to stay away, flirting with her outgoing friend instead.
All that changed as soon as he’d heard her tonight. He had no choice but to get involved. Never given much thought to what her story was outside of the bar. Helping her and her kid though? That was a no-brainer.
The stab wound in his side would hold until Laney’s little girl got treatment. Hell, he’d gone three days in the desert with a wound worse than this. He marched back to the waiting room and collapsed into the too-small plastic chair next to his best friend and teammate, Ethan.
“You don’t seem any better,” Ethan said.
“Because I’m not.”
“The ER starting a new non-treatment policy?”
“Apparently just for single mothers with sick children.” Riser nodded toward the retreating figure of the woman. Her shoulders were squared, telegraphing her fierce resolve. She held her daughter’s hand while a nurse rolled the girl down the hall on a fresh bed.
“Shit, this whole place is bass-ackwards.”
“Yep,” Riser said.
“So, we’re gonna be here all night then?”
“Yep.”
“At least the chairs are comfortable.” Ethan leaned back in his, the plastic creaking in full protest under his two hundred and ten pounds of pure muscle.
“Better than the last hospital.” Half their team had suffered either bullet wounds or shrapnel injuries on their last mission in the Congo. Their mission had gone unreported, as if it had never existed, as was normal in the Special Forces.
“True, brother,” Ethan said. “I haven’t seen a rat or camel spider crawl across the floor yet.”
“You must have missed the doctor.” The man had been so ready to dismiss the woman; Riser had to pull on the reserves in his control not to knock the doctor to the ground.
“Sounds like a real winner.”
“More like a real asshole.” Riser would have leaned back in his chair, just like Ethan, except for the deep cut in his side. He chose to hunch forward, elbows propped on his knees, acting like he preferred that position; truth was, he could no longer sit up straight.
“Well, that’ll be the last time I let you get into a bar fight in this place,” Ethan said. “I can’t believe you let Duke talk us into going to that place anyway. That guy has always been a wild card.”
Riser had been trying to find a way to blow off steam after his last mission in the Congo, where his team had finally killed their biggest enemy, Jack Mankel, but they’d failed to find Caroline, the senator’s daughter Riser had failed to protect.
Riser had been cagey and crawling the walls of his little one bedroom apartment back home when Duke had shown up at his door, six-pack in hand. “I haven’t seen him since Delta Force. He’s just as much fun as he was back then.”
“As much fun as a fox in a chicken coop. He’s the one who threw the first punch.”
“After that guy started talking trash,” Riser reminded him.
“After you started flirting with his girlfriend,” Ethan said.
Riser shrugged, “How was I supposed to know she had a man?”
Ethan snorted and leaned back, threading his fingers together behind his neck. “Shoulda let me introduce you to Kate’s friend.”
“The one from the FBI?” Riser asked incredulously. “I prefer my women soft and sweet. That chick would rip my balls off and eat ‘em for breakfast.”
Ethan cringed. “She’s a little rough around the edges.”
“A little?” Riser was pretty sure the woman was growing a mustache. “Look, man, go home. I’ll be fine here.” Besides, he wanted to stay until he was sure Laney received the care she needed and deserved.
Ethan’s jet black brows hit his hair line. “And let Kate order me around all night, moving furniture and pictures and stuff?”
“Don’t act like you don’t like it.” Riser had seen Ethan painting more than one room in his house pale blue. Kate had his teammate wrapped around her tough little pinky.
Ethan shurugged and a grin tugged at his lips. “She is kinda sexy when she orders me around like that.”
“You’re whipped bro, admit it.”
“Hell yeah I am. One day you’ll understand.” Ethan stood and pulled the keys out of his pocket. “And I’m going to enjoy every second of watching you squirm.”
Riser rolled his eyes. He had absolutely no intention of ever settling down. Ever. “When hell freezes over.”
Riser waved Ethan off and sat there holding his side, his mind going right back to Laney and her determined doe-brown eyes and full mouth.
How could he have gone so long without noticing her?
And what the hell was he doing, just sitting here instead of ensuring the hospital took care of her kid?