How's Imani?
Difficult. Stubborn. Perfect.
So exactly your type.
Shut up.
Make her rest. Doctor's orders.
Working on it.
I pocketed my phone and smiled. Yeah. I was definitely in trouble with this woman. But the best kind of trouble there was. And I was exactly where I wanted to be.
When I returned to her room, I knocked before I walked in, but didn’t hesitate. Inside, a man was sitting next to the bed with a concerned expression on his face. Imani was saying something to him before she looked up at me and froze.
“Marco…” she cleared her throat and tried to sit up.
I moved over to her, but the guy beat me to it. He fluffed her pillow and helped her to get comfortable. The entire time her eyes never left mine.
“You were saying…”
“Yes, Marco, this is my ex-husband Eugene. Eugene, this is Marco.” she introduced us.
“Hi. Are you a friend or something like that?” Eugene asked.
“Something like that.” I raised my eyebrow at Imani. “Has the nurse been back?”
“No,” she shifted again. “I declined the pain meds.”
“Why?” I asked as I went to her otherside.
“Because,” she swallowed, “I don’t like how they make me feel.”
“How about Tylenol?” I asked.
“We can try that.”
“You need something before moving around to take a shower.”
“I’m taking her home anyway, I’ll help her when we get there.” Eugene said.
“Eugene, don’t.” Imani said.
“Yeah, Eugene. Don’t.” I looked at him. “I’m not sure where you think home is, but she’s not going anywhere with you. In fact, why are you even here?”
“Marco…” Imani put her hand up just as Eugene opened his mouth to speak. “I’ve got this.” She turned toward Eugene. “I’m here for the next three days. I’ll be fine. I appreciate you coming, but you didn’t need to. I’ve got it covered. Thank you, but if you could leave, I’d appreciate it. I need to shower.”
“I’m not leaving you here with this muthafucka or in this shitty hospital that lets people get kidnapped. You’re going home.”
I tilted my head, feeling that vein on the side of my neck raise.
“Leave now or be escorted out. End of story.”
The door opened and one of the guards from the hall stepped inside. “Is there a problem, sir?”
Eugene spoke up. “As a matter of fact–”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he turned toward me.
