"So," I said as casually as I could, "are you still trying to say that things between the two of you are just casual?"
"Casual or not," Cessily said, "Darnell is still a part of the rainbow, which means a part of my family. Might be news to you, but I really don't like it when people I care about get hurt. I have already changed my flight, and I really don't care if my clients get pissed off at me. It's not like they can get a better goddamned attorney, so if they want to complain, they can just do it to themselves, because I don't want to hear it."
"Right…" I said, dragging out the word. "Cess, when are you just going to admit that you actually like the guy?"
"In case you missed it," she said, "I just did. Yes, I like the guy. I'm also not stupid, Cy. This thing we have? It works because it's not a thing. The moment I become his girlfriend, he starts having expectations that I can't meet. He's going to want me to be available when he's lonely, and I don't have time for that. Believe it or not, I actually do love my job. I worked long and hard to get where I am in this career, and that's not exactly an easy thing to do."
"Yeah, I do know that," I assured her. "I also think you're wrong about him. I think that of all the people in the world who would understand what your job means to you, Darnell is the one. In case you missed it, his job means just as much to him. The reason that man is still single is because he sometimes gets a call and takes off to go do a job. He could be gone for a week, a month, or longer. You two are made for each other, and one of these days, you will finally stop pushing him away and realize it."
It took her far too long to answer. Fence posts passed outside my window, and the sound of the wheels rumbling over the blacktop felt almost like a drum roll. Finally, she began to nod her head slowly.
"Okay, I do like him, Cy. I like that man too much. I love how he tries to pretend like he's just an ordinary, average guy - but he's not. Darnell is brilliant, driven, and a complete professional. He's sexy, kind, good in bed, and everything I want. There is just one single problem." She dared to glance over for just a second before returning her eyes to the road. "I don't want to ruin what we have, and this works."
"Does it?" I asked. "Does it really work, Cess, or are you just trying to convince yourself that it does?"
"I honestly don't know," she admitted, "but I know that this works a lot better than losing him."
I didn't say anything else, letting her think about that as we continued on to the hospital. Finding it was actually easy. Finding a parking spot was a little harder. Then, once we headed inside the hospital, figuring out what room Darnell was in became even more challenging. It was after hours, so we had to enter through the ER, go up an elevator, and try to track down the floor where he'd been admitted. Eventually, I spotted a sign pointing us in the direction of room numbers that matched his.
When we found it, Cessily tapped on the door and then stepped in. I followed, and what I saw was not at all what I expected. Darnell said that he had broken his arm. What he'd forgotten to mention was the black eye, the cut across his temple, the split lip, and whatever had happened that ended up with bruises up the length of his rib cage.
"Are you going to tell me a real diagnosis this time," I asked, "or do I need to go ask your nurse if I can look at your chart?"
Darnell flashed me that same devious smile he always had. "Couple of lacerations, couple of bruises, and surprisingly there's no concussion, but my ribs - doctors don't know if they want to stabilize them." Then he lifted his arm, wrapped in a bright red cast. "Also broke both bones in my forearm, right across the middle. I figure you know all the fancy words for that, but I'm currently high on morphine."
"And he's a little fun on morphine," Zeke fake-whispered.
Emily just made a soft little murmur, then scrubbed at her face. "Please tell me that everything is okay at home?" she asked.
"We called in another color," I assured her, "and now all of us are back. Ash, Violet, Luke, and Faith will deal with everything there. I'll have Scott look at the windows tomorrow, but you and Zeke can go home and get some rest."
"How did New York go?" Zeke asked.
I chuckled. "We didn't actually get a chance to check the headlines. I have a feeling that Ash's announcement is going to be the talk of the fashion world for a little bit. He also won something for his lingerie, but he wasn't as excited about that as Leslie."
"Cool," Zeke said. "Okay, Mom, let's go home. This place is boring and Darnell keeps falling asleep."
"Hey, screw you, kid," Darnell joked. "And thanks, you two."
I walked out of the room with the pair of them, giving Cessily and Darnell a moment to talk in private. I had a feeling she would end up chewing him out for being stupid and brave, but I also got the impression that he loved it. So, once we were in the hall and the door was closed, I pulled out my phone and sent off a text to Ash, letting him know that Emily and Zeke were on their way back.
"We didn't even look at the cabins," I admitted. "I have no clue how much damage there is, and in all honesty, I don't really care. I would much rather have buildings destroyed than anyone get hurt."
"It's just frustrating, because we couldn't even call the cops," Emily said. "They're supposed to be the ones we rely on, but as soon as we say Southwind, it's like they pretend that we don't exist."
"I know." I patted Zeke's shoulder, then made sure they knew how to find their way out.
Once they were gone, I finally headed back in. Not surprisingly, Cess had pulled a chair over beside the bed and was holding Darnell's hand. I didn't say a single thing about it, but that didn't mean I didn't notice. Darnell was in the process of trying to convince her that she should sign his cast like they were back in school.
"What, just so you can prove you know her?" I teased as I headed over to the other chair and dropped into it. "When you're released, she's taking you back home to Fort Worth," I told him.
"Like hell she is," he shot back.
I just lifted a hand, begging him to let me explain. "Your arm is broken. That means you can't shoot. It also means you can't fight. In other words, all you're going to do is convince them that whatever they did worked. So go home, let your arm heal, and see if you can help Cobalt do something about these fucking corrupt cops. That will help us more than anything."
He slowly nodded his head. "Okay. I'm only saying that because I know you're right, and I know that I can be more useful there doing that then lying around on Violet's couch trying to suck up more sympathy from beautiful women."
"And I've already canceled my flight, so I'm staying with you for at least another week," Cessily told him. "Fuck, Darnell. Don't ever scare me like that again."
