When you wake up after surgery that follows saving your girlfriend from a sociopath, the last thing you want to see is your mother. Especially if said mother is assessing you like you’re a used car some smarmy dealer is trying to unload on her.
“Where’s Bobbi?” My voice is hoarse. I gingerly reach for the bottle of water next to my bed. Mom isn’t the type to hand it to me. Nurturing isn’t her forte.
Sure enough, she doesn’t offer to help or ask if I need anything else. “Not here.”
“Did she go home?” I hope she got treated for her injuries and went home to rest.
“Yes, I made sure of it. She doesn’t know you’re awake yet.”
“Has she seen someone?” Nothing looked broken when I checked her out, but I don’t have X-ray vision. She could’ve been hurt quite seriously fighting Trey, and given the circumstances, she wouldn’t have said anything because she was too upset about the damn gunshot wound.
Mom cocks an eyebrow. “She’s doing better than you, so worry about yourself.”
“Wait, what? Was that actually some maternal concern? It’s terrifying. You should see an oncologist. In case you have cancer.”
She blows air out between slack lips. “Always the comedian.”
“Everyone loves me for my sense of humor. Anyway, you can go. You’re my last choice for a nurse.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very amusing. You aren’t hurt enough to rate a nurse. The wound just looks impressive from the outside.” Her eyes drift toward the ceiling. “Rather like your father, come to think of it.”
“Oooo, nice one.”
“Your surgeon was shocked the bullet went through without tearing up anything important. He said it was a miracle.”
More like Bobbi’s miracle.I smile to myself.
Mom’s eyes come back to me, and a chill enters them. “I saw Bobbi. How much does she know?”
Shit.Bobbi can’t lie like Mom and I can. “Didn’t you ask?”
“Couldn’t very well do that and tip her off, now could I?”
“She knows her father was a no-good traitor.”
“You sure she doesn’t know what you really are? You shot a man in front of her, and it was an impressive shot.”
“Don’t have to remind me. I know I’m good.” I blow on my fingertips.
“Spare me the self-aggrandizement.”
“But self-aggrandizement is one of my most endearing traits.” I give her a thin smile. Time to switch her focus. “But even if she noticed my amazing shot, so what? I’m retiring.”
Exasperation simmers in Mom’s eyes. “You keep saying that. Why?”
“I want a normal life.”
“Know thyself, Noah Lasker. You’ll get bored. Grow restless.”
“Funny, I’ve never once thought that while I was with Bobbi.” My words come out measured and steady.
Sighing, Mom scrutinizes me. Her eyes never warm up, and she doesn’t smile. She isn’t showing it, but she’s beyond frustrated and irate. “I can’t let you retire permanently,” she says finally. “The world needs people like us, even if we do our work in the dark. Think of all the bad actors you’ve taken out. They would’ve bombed our country—and worse—simply because they could. Your acts might’ve saved thousands of innocent lives. More, perhaps. You might’ve even saved Bobbi, for all we know.”
That’s about as much of a concession I’m going to get out of her. But then I wasn’t one hundred percent sure they’d let me go without forcing some sort of compromise. “There are others who can do that work.”
“Noah.” Her eyes flash.
Time to give in a little. “Fine. But no more than once a year.”
