“Will do. And don’t be a stranger, okay?”
His eyes, as always, are sincere and kind, and I wonder if we might be friends one of these days.
Once they leave, I go back to sitting alone, trying to summon the belief that somehow this’ll all work out.
After the length of a dog year, Anders walks into the otherwise empty space, looking exhausted.He finds a half-finished box of pizza and grabs a slice for himself.
“He’s stable and in recovery. I was able to do a primary repair, which means I sewed up the hole and was able to leave his guts intact. The bullet managed to miss all of the other important stuff, and his recovery should be a quick one if we can make sure he doesn’t become septic.”
“How would we prevent…that?” I ask, biting my lip.
I’m used to Anders being a goofball, but I appreciate his kind, steady answer, even if it comes through a mouthful of pizza. “We’d normally keep him here several days to monitor him, but he is going to be released into my care today. DB, I’m assuming you won’t mind if we have him hang out at the property for a few days before sending him home.”
I cock my head to the side. “Um, don’t the bad guys already know about the vineyard? Shouldn’t we go somewhere else? And shit…we gotta getWindsor.”
Omar shakes his head. “I think he was the last of them.”
Thane adds, “Besides, it would be a very, very bad idea for anyone to show up there. We’re getting some help from Wimberley, so they definitely don’t want to fuck with us.”
DB’s jaw sharpens. “You’re goddamn right. We’re going to talk through some new regulations after all of this is over. Also, Hedy picked up Windsor about an hour ago—she’ll watch him for a few nights. Speaking of which, are we ready for Jake yet?”
I vaguely remember Hedy from the phone call two days ago. She seemed nice.
Anders responds, “Just about. They were asking about filing a police report for the bullet wound, and I told them I’d take care of it.”
Jake, still focused on his cards, nods. “I’ve already intercepted a call to the police, and we should move him as soon as possible.”
DB nods in agreement. “That should give us enough time to pick up the trash on the property,” he says, eyeballing Odd, Thane, and Omar. The three of them take the hint, stand up, pat my shoulder, and leave.
Anders pauses at the door, addressing me. “I need to finish up a few things, but as soon as you’re able to see Everett, I’ll have a nurse come over and get you. Deal?”
Everything is surreal and upside-down and twisted wrong. I had to stop the bad guy, Anders is a surgeon, and Everett is the one who got hurt. “Deal, I guess. I gotta ask—how risky is it to move him so soon after surgery?”
He puts his hands in his pockets and nods, more to himself than anyone. “It’s…risky. I have a few tricks up my sleeve courtesy of Wimberley that will mitigate a lot of the risk, which is the only reason I’m willing to do it.”
I decide against asking him to explain Wimberley or the tricks that reside up his sleeve. I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I just want Everett to be okay.
Now that it’s down to Jake, Parker, and me, I walk up to my buddy and cross my arms.
“What?” she asks, her eyes drifting to the patch-up job on my forehead.
“Expand your horizons,it’ll be fun.”
She has the gall to look sheepish.
“These are your words, are they not?”
She risks my wrath and opens her arms. Exhausted, I lean into her warm hug. “In my defense, I didn’t know we were dealing with the Lavender Panthers meets Pretorian Guard. But you have to admit, aside from the whole Everett-getting-shot thing, this has been a pretty cool adventure.”
“Except for the fact that we definitely have to quit our jobs now.”
She shrugs, not seeming too upset about it. “DB said he’d pay us more. Like, a lot more.”
I rest my head on her shoulder. “That’s nice. I mean, Idohave a boyfriend now, and this one will probably survive.”
She loops her arms around my shoulders. “Well, that’s progress, right? And at least you’re no longer wearing something with blood and spaghetti on it, so we’re getting somewhere.”
“Not funny.”
