“How is he?” I burst out before they finished their greetings.
“He’ll be just fine,” the surgeon replied. “The bullet didn’t penetrate, but it skimmed along his outer arm in a rather deep cut. The blood loss appeared worse than it was. We’ve stitched the wound, and I’d like to see him stay the night. Just for observation.”
I thought my knees planned to buckle and pitch me headlong to the floor. “Can we see him?”
“Sure. He’s lightly sedated, but he will be happy to see you. He’s down there. Ask the nurses at the station which room he’s in.”
With a friendly nod, the doctor left us.
“Oh, God.”
Sobbing, Jacy lunged into my arms. Near tears myself, I held her against my chest while Jenkins grinned and thumped my shoulder.
“Told you he’s a tough little bugger. Come on, quit crying, you two. Let’s go see him.”
I didn’t mind that he tagged along as Jacy and I found his room and went in. I ignored his presence upon my first sight of Declan. Lying on a hospital bed far too big for him, he was covered by a sheet with his right arm bandaged to his wrist. He opened his eyes as we loomed over his bed.
“Hi,” he said, and I thought I’d break into sobs right then and there.
“Hi.” Jacy bent to kiss him. “Good grief, did you do all this for the attention?”
Declan giggled. “Yeah.”
I, too, kissed him, forcing a smile onto my face. “I told you you’re a brave little man. Does your arm hurt?”
“Only a little. Can we go home now?”
“Not yet, baby,” Jacy replied, sitting beside him. “The doctors want you here until tomorrow. Just to make sure you’re okay.”
His small face wrinkled into a pout until he asked, “Can I have ice cream?”
“You know it.”
After that, Declan didn’t mind staying in the hospital at all.
***
“Carter?”
Jenkins pulled Jacy and me from Declan’s room once we’d calmed ourselves. We stood in the hallway as nurses and patients walked back and forth past us. Through the open door, I watched Declan play with the TV’s remote, channel surfing, then nodded. “Yeah.”
“I visited your house,” he went on. “A mess. Can you tell me what happened?”
Between us, Jacy and I told him everything, including Max chewing on Carter’s face and me getting a knee to my nuts. Jenkins nodded, smiling.
“Good dog. We went inside to start the investigation. He thought we were the best thing since Alpo dog treats were invented.”
Jacy chuckled. “He knows the bad guys from the good guys.”
Jenkins met my gaze, his smile gone. “Now you’re not planning a wee bit of revenge, are you? Going on a rampage to slay your future brother-in-law?”
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
“Oh, yeah. The laws of this county, state, and country say you can’t.”
“He put my son in the hospital,” I growled. “He could easily have killed him.”
“But he didn’t.” Jenkins wagged his index finger in my face. “Obviously, Max tore him up, bigly. Carter may seek medical treatment, and when he does, we’ll nail his ass. Without you,eitherof you, landing in a jail cell. Got that? You take Declan home, clean the house, fix the door, andstay put. If I find you roaming the country with intent to kill Jacy’s brother, I’ll sling you into a cell so fast you won’t have time to blink.”
