Another of those grim not-smiles flickered over Knox’s face. “And, all that aside, I kind of like her. As a person, I mean—now that I’ve seen the parts of herself that she tries to keep hidden.” A sigh gusted out of him. “Which is probably fodder for six months of therapy, at a minimum.”
“It’s better than hating her, surely?” I suggested.
“I suppose it is, yes.” He lifted an eyebrow, the barest hint of a twinkle entering his dark eyes. “And don’t call me Shirley.”
That startled a laugh out of me, which I immediately regretted when my skull throbbed. “Holy crap. You’ve seen that movie?”
“Tony,everyonehas seen that movie.” He ran a critical gaze over me. “Now get some rest.”
Still hiding a smile, I settled down on the soft mattress and rearranged the blankets around me. I was starting to think that a person could get used to having an overprotective alpha guarding them while they slept.
The sound of the door opening woke me from a dream about going for ice cream with the pack, and not being able to read any of the labels showing the different flavors. I craned around, my bleary gaze settling on Jez. She closed the door gently behind her.
“Everything all right?” Knox asked.
“How’s Gage?” I added.
“The doctor finally showed up with a report,” she said, crossing to one of the room’s other chairs and dropping into it. “He’s asleep right now. They say he has a fractured femur, three broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and whiplash.”
Knox’s face got that hard-edged look again. I decided I wouldn’t want to be in Lorenzo Vozzina’s shoes anytime soon.
“Thank you for letting us know, Jez,” he said. “I assume Heath is staying with him?”
“Yes,” Jez said. “The doctor said he’d probably be out for a while, with all the painkillers and the anesthesia. Heath sent me back here to rest.” Her tone turned dry on the last sentence.
“And so you should,” Knox told her firmly. “You’ll be able to tell if Gage wakes up and needs anything, whether you’re in the room with him or not. How are your hands and feet doing?”
Jez instinctively stuck her bandaged hands beneath her arms, as though hiding them. “Fine. What about you? Are you going to let a doctor look at you?”
I frowned and sat up abruptly, ignoring the way it made my head pound. “What? You haven’t been seen by a doctor yet? What thehell, Knox?”
“There’s nothing serious enough to warrant taking doctors away from the other victims,” Knox said. “I’ll get my knee looked at eventually, but I’m already the rich alpha who demanded high-end pack accommodations during the middle of a mass casualty event. I don’t intend to also be the rich alpha who dragged a doctor away from emergency surgery to look at a twisted knee and some bruises.”
Jez glared at him. “You singlehandedly held up a huge concrete slab for how long? I’m surprised you didn’t break your goddamnedback.”
Knox shot her a wan smile. “Nice to know you care.”
“Of course I care!” Jez flared—but I was too busy making mental connections.
“Wait,” I said. “You told me there was a concrete slab about to fall on me and Gage!”
Jez scoffed. “Aboutto fall? Itdidfall. That was probably what snapped Gage’s leg. We found Knox using a broken table as a lever to keep the other end from dropping and crushing you both! Or did he forget to mention that part?”
My eyes flew back to Knox.
“Of course I did what I could,” he said evenly. “It’s my duty to keep all of you safe, Tony. I didn’t do a very good job of it yesterday, but thanks to Jez and Heath showing up when they did, everyone’s still alive. I intend to do better in the future.”
I stared at him so hard that my eyes began to burn. Except... fuck.Fuck. Those were tears. I was going to break down crying in front of the guy who’d been my boss for the last year-and-change. And who was now my, what? My pack leader?
I pressed my lips together in a hard line.
Jez sighed and flopped down next to me on the bed. “It’s okay, Tony. From what I can tell, that’s just how these guys are. I swear, it’s like something out of those romantic movies you used to drag me to.”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever cast me in the role of leading man before,” Knox said dryly. “Thanks, I think.”
Fortunately for my self-esteem, Knox’s phone rang before I could genuinely start bawling.
He dragged it out of his pocket and answered. “Yes?”
