“They are! At least you’re with it enough to know that.” He grinned that smile that made him look more like Aspen and I was suddenly less irritated with him. “Too much more and I’d have made them take you to the ER. In the future, you might want to consider using a continuous glucose monitor with your pump.”
I scowled at him, but he only chuckled. My phone was on the coffee table nearby, and my pump was disconnected and beside it. He lifted my shirt, and I winced when I was stabbed in the belly in a spot I wouldn’t have picked to do it.
“Do you know how to adjust for—”
“I do have a whole medical degree.” He winked.
I squinted at him.
“Yes, I do know how to adjust your dosage. Sit tight, I hear you’ve been an asshole.”
I grunted, and he laughed.
About a half hour went by before my head stopped pounding, but I still felt like shit. Someone brought me a sandwich, and Vail sat beside me while I ate it, rubbing my knee. I felt so stupid—I’d hoped for extra cuddles, and I’d even planned to milk my black eye for them, but this wasn’t how I wanted them.
“You know, I don’t love the sound of your breathing,” Nick said when he came back to crouch down next to me again after a short conversation with Aspen. He had an earnest frown that made me groan. Vail was eating it up, I’d never get out of this. “Shirt off.”
Vail smiled at me, and I sighed as he took my plate full of crumbs away. I was stripped with a little help, and my ribs still ached so I didn’t hate that I wasn’t doing it all alone. I had a very high tolerance for pain, but some things still twinged way more than I liked. Nick squinted at my chest and the fucked-up spot that had started to look closer to normal. He sighed.
“You were out doing shit, weren’t you?”
I shrugged. “No one told me I should be at home with my feet up.”
He stared at me in that steady way Aspen had perfected that made me want to cross my arms and stick out my tongue. “No one told you to be out running around like a moron, either.”
My face heated.
“You’re not taking care of yourself.”
I stared at the floor, and he got to his feet, dragging Aspen aside to whisper with him again. I hated this. Sighing, I shook my head. I caught Sloan’s scowl from across the room and my heart stopped beating. Had I really shouted at him?
“I’m sorry, sir.”
He shrugged, waving a hand at me. My heart hammered like it wanted to escape my chest as he walked over to stand in front of me, staring down. “Mr. Maher, I trust my men to know their limits.”
My blood ran cold and I sat forward. “Sir, I was with Aspen today and did my part.”
He nodded, but I didn’t like the concern in his eyes. First of all, it didn’t look right when he was still wearing a bloody shirt, and secondly, people only looked like that when they were about to tell me something I didn’t like.
“I want to be in the Company,” I said quietly. “It’s in my blood. I’ll try harder.”
“Trying isn’t the issue,” he said, and the sad tone had sweat trickling down my spine. Or hell, maybe that was from my injuries. Who the fuck knew? “I’m making a decision here. Too much has happened to you. Your family has always been good to mine, so you will stay in the Company, but... I’m moving you for now.”
“He did good today, Boss,” Aspen said. He stared at me, and I flushed with pride.
Sloan nodded and patted my shoulder. “Conall could use another guard.” He wasn’t talking to me anymore, he’d turned to speak to Aspen, and anger welled up in me again.Fuck.He shifted to include Cillian in the conversation. “Until he’s healed, and this business is done with the Russians... or....” He shook his head and stared at the ceiling. “Hell, it might be Reyes. I’m waiting to hear back on that phone. Sidorov swears, in some very convincing ways, that he didn’t do it. Anyway, until I know what the fuck is going on in my city, and whose heart to cut out, Mr. Maher is staying here with Conall. He’s a good last line of defense. He did the same work for Vail, did he not?”
Cillian huffed. “Aye, but sir, I swear we’re training him up.”
“No more arguments. You’re a good team, but we’ve had two doctors here today—one for Conall and one for Fallon. He shouldn’t be out on the street until the doctor tells me personally he’s ready to work again. The last thing I fucking need is the Maher clan at my throat. Padraig is more than enough for my patience when he’s in a good mood. They’re already asking about him because someone told them he was with me today. News travels too fucking fast. I’m decided.” He glared around at everyone until we all nodded at him.
Sloan helped Conall up off the couch, and they went toward the door. I wanted to punch something at the sympathetic squint Conall gave me. It felt like being told I couldn’t be an MMA fighter all over again, all because of my fucking diabetes. I knew that wasn’t the only thing wrong with me right now, but it felt like the exact same shit.
Vail clutched my hand, and I hated the upset way his mouth twisted down and to the side.
“Mr. Killough, can I still stay with the guys?”
He slowed and turned to face me, already on the other side of the doorway. “That’s up to Cillian. It’s his house, and you don’t need to be there. My home has plenty of room, as you know. I’m taking my pet to rest.” With that, he left, and Conall gave me one last sad frown before he was gone.
