The nurse came in, and with one look from Ember, he kept his mouth shut, asking her what she needed. She motioned for him to come over, grabbing the front of his scrubs, making him bend down so she could whisper in his ear. Whatever she said to him, his eyes closed, but when he stood back up, he was all business, smiling.
She said, “Don’t forget. Seven of them. It shouldn’t take that long to find.”
Abruptly, the mayor and his wife were in the room, wearing pajamas. Extremely expensive, nice ones, but still pajamas all the same. I cocked my head. At least, they were pants and a button down shirt for both of them. Also, in black, so it wasn’t so noticeable.
The mayor rushed to Ember. “Dr. Benedict called. What happened?”
Ember smiled a little, putting a fist up in the air, her head listing to the side. “I killed a zillion mofos tonight that invaded my home.” She shook her fist at the mayor, his expression stunned. Her eyebrows came back together. “Well, it wasn’t a zillion. Closer to like forty-five.” She shook her fist again. “Come on!”
The mayor closed his mouth gently. And fist bumped her.
His wife started talking with Ember as the mayor came over in front of Zane, nodding to Grigori first, and staring oddly at Stash—guess he didn’t recognize him—asking in a whisper, “She’s obviously drugged. What really happened tonight?”
Zane stared him in the eye, and only said, “Yes. She’s on pain meds.”
The mayor stared back as the silence extended, Zane not giving any more details, offering the mayor the chance of deniability if ever questioned. The mayor blinked. Blinked again. And slowly, his eyes widened. Right before they shut down, frosting over, and he muttered, “Good Christ.” Running a hand through his hair, he turned and went back over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and hold her hand, his gaze covertly on Daniil, who was watching him just the same even as he moved over to the side of the room to speak privately on his phone.
Mrs. Donovan pulled a large Ziploc bag from her purse that held what looked like chocolate chip cookies, which Ember scowled at. I wasn’t sure what the issue was because they appeared to be perfectly baked.
Daniil came to stand next to me again.
I leaned against him, into his warmth. He shifted behind me, holding me around my enlarged stomach. It was perfect—even if I did just want to go home now and rest.
The nurse walked back into the room, looking positively flustered, handing Ember sheets of paper, stating sternly—and a little rudely for being such a kiss ass, “They really can’t be in here that long, Ms. Lerrus.”
Grigori wove his way through the crowd, standing next to her bed. He stared the nurse down, saying something quietly that I couldn’t hear when Ember looked a little flummoxed in the face of the nurse's hostility. She wasn’t the type to disregard rules and use the fact that she was filthy rich to her advantage, so she wasn’t very good at doing what she wanted no matter the cost.
The nurse’s face paled at whatever Grigori said, and he turned to Ember. “Sorry, Ms. Lerrus. They can stay however long you need them to.” He paused, his eyes darting to Grigori before returning to her. He cleared his throat. “As long as you’re doing well.” He sniffed at Grigori before turning tale and dodging through people to exit as fast as possible.
Daniil’s shoulders started shaking behind mine, laughing at the nurse’s attempt at sticking up for himself. He asked Grigori, “What did you say to him?”
Grigori lips twitched, and he started to speak, but Ember cleared her throat, saying loudly—even over those talking to her, trying to thank her for her heroics, “Excuse me! Can I have everybody’s attention?” She waved her arms wildly, still very much doped up.
Grigori chuckled, watching her, most definitely amused.
The room quieted, but Ember kept shouting, “I know you all think I’m a badass.” She shrugged, her face pinking. “I guess, I kind of am.” Grigori’s face dropped to the floor as his shoulders shook behind her field of vision. She stuck a tiny finger in the air. “But I don’t want you to say thank you for slaughtering those idiots. What I want from all of you is this.” She waved the papers in the air. “Here, pass these around. There’s not enough for everyone, so you guys will have to share, but this is the favor that I’m calling in everyone seems so willing to give me.” She grinned, handing the papers to the closest person to her—me.
I passed the rest on.
I watched Grigori’s face as he looked down at his sheet, his confusion obvious like everyone else’s that stared down at a paper they took. Until very slowly he and the others started grinning.
I didn’t glance down at my sheet yet. “What is it?”
She turned her head, her eyes extremely dilated. “A song.” She fluttered her hands. “To celebrate tonight’s event, instead of everyone worrying about what might come later.” She smiled evilly, stating loudly, so everyone heard. “Everybody’s going to sing it. Together.” There were groans around the room, and she turned her head to the masses. “This is my favor. It’ll be fun! And besides, I’ll sing the part by myself that’s in the parenthesis.” She cringed. “But no one laugh ‘cause I suck.”
“A song?” Grigori asked her, outright laughing now, bending over, so their faces were close. “You want my family to sing a song to you?”
“Yep.” She glanced around the room. “And the mayor and his wife.” She pumped a fist in the air. “Woot! Woot!”
I started chuckling, watching Grigori pull her ‘drug dispenser’ away from her covertly after she pressed the button again. His eyes turned toward Zane, his gaze filled with wide-eyed hilarity. He leaned over, whispering, “Do you have a phone on you? I want this recorded.”
Zane dug for his.
“What song did she pick?” Hell, I would sing anything to her if that was what she wanted after saving my ass.
Grigori blinked at his father, and his lips trembled.
Daniil kept his gaze down, over my shoulder, to the paper I held. “I don’t know this song. Hold the paper right. I need this to sing it properly.” He shook his head, his gaze landing on Ember. “I offer her anything she wants, and she picks this as her favor.” He chuckled. “Amazing.”
