Pursing his lips, he nodded slowly. “Alright. I get that. And I don’t make premature judgments. I’d like to meet him if he’s willing, maybe talk about what’s been going on lately. Seems like a lot of fingers are being pointed at you guys for the precinct’s issues, and I’m having trouble connecting the two. Think you could give him my number, ask him to speak with me? Off the record, I promise. I’m just trying to understand.”
He seemed more open to communication than another of the other officers I’d met, aside from Hernandez. And if he thought he’d get one over on Prez, he had another thing coming. I wasn’t going to tell him in advance that he was meeting the best lawyer in the state. I exchanged numbers with him and let him know Prez would call him as soon as he was able.
“No rush. It’s the middle of the night, and you’re busy.” He gestured toward the trauma bay, where Jasper was sticking his head out, a deep frown on his face. “That your boy?”
I snorted, shaking my head. “He’s my cousin. I’m his legal guardian. Call me his dad and you’re asking for trouble.”
Gillespie’s mouth twisted to hide his smirk. “Lemme guess. Teenager?”
I nodded. “Got any yourself?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Nope. No kids yet. But my parents had my sister late. She’s fifteen and knows how to cut a man down to size if I piss her off. Good luck, man. And thanks for talking to me. Have a nice night.”
“You too,” I murmured, frowning at his back. It was the calmest conversation with a cop I’d ever had. Shit was fucking weird.
When I headed back to Isla’s room, Jasper raised an eyebrow at me. “What’d the police want with you?”
Shaking my head, I led him back inside where Isla was finally asleep, still hooked up to monitors but looking better. She wasn’t sweating anymore and her breathing was deep and even. Shewasn’t going to be happy when I moved her to bring her home, but I’d take the tantrum knowing she was feeling better.
“Nothing. Just wanted to introduce himself. Apparently he’s new. How’d you get her to sleep?”
“Lullaby,” Jasper muttered, dropping into the chair next to the crib. “Mama used to sing to Isla all the time.”
Sitting down next to him, I sighed. “Pretty sure if I tried that, I’d make things worse. I can’t hold a tune to save my life.”
He snorted, sinking lower in his seat. He looked beat, and I felt bad for him. Shit was rough enough on him right now without dealing with all of this. Without thinking about it, I threw my arm around his shoulders, giving him a friendly squeeze. “We’ll head home soon and you can get some rest. Sounds good?”
He stiffened, and for a minute, I thought I fucked up, but he relaxed after a minute, nodding lightly. “Sounds good. Where’d Ms. Brooks go?”
“To talk to the cops. Not sure why. She didn’t say. She say anything to you?”
He shook his head, and we both sat quietly for a moment, watching Isla sleep. The conversation with Gillespie sidetracked me earlier. I almost forgot what Simone had left to do. She’d been gone a while. Did I need to be worried?
Before I could get too worked up and go looking for her, Simone slipped back into the room. I’d been too frantic before, then messed up hearing Jasper cry, so I hadn’t taken in her appearance before now. I felt my lips twitch as I took in her outfit, twisting my mouth when she raised an eyebrow at me.
“You look cute.”
Her brows snapped together in confusion before she realized what I was referring to. She pointed a finger at me with a mock scowl. “No judgment from either of you. I didn’t stop to get ready after getting your message. You’re lucky I’m wearing shoes.”
Huffing a laugh, I barely stopped myself from getting up to hold her. I wanted to, but not with an audience. I wasn’t lying though. The silky bonnet and glasses were definitely not what I expected when she showed up here, but it proved just how much she cared that she didn’t wait to get moving. I appreciated her a little more seeing her like that. Besides, she looked cozy. Kinda made me want to crawl in bed for a cuddle. I could use one after a night like tonight.
I cast a glance at Jasper, trying to see what he thought about his teacher looking so rumpled. He just shrugged. “Mom wore bonnets too. She tried to get Isla to wear one, but she pulls it off. It’s good for curls or whatever.”
The conversation stayed easy for the rest of the time we were at the ER. I wanted to ask what happened with the cops, but I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Jasper. The more I sat on it, the more I was starting to think I wouldn’t like whatever reason she had for speaking with them. It took her a little longer than I expected to get to the hospital. I was almost afraid to ask why.
We were discharged with a bunch of new meds and a stern dressing down from Mel about having a thermometer at the house. I promised I’d pick one up in the morning and tried offering her a ride home, but Wraith was already waiting for her when we headed outside. Mel promised to check in on Isla once everyone had gotten some sleep and waved goodbye before climbing onto the back of Wraith’s bike and heading home for the night.
Simone followed us back to the house, helping get Isla back to sleep. I was trying to figure out a way to convince her to stay the night when she headed for the doorway.
“You should stay. It’s late. I’ll sleep on the couch,” I offered.
She was shaking her head when Jasper spoke up. I hadn’t noticed him follow us downstairs and he stood at the landing, a dark look on his face. “It’s dangerous to drive this late. Theonly people driving right now are drunks and tired people. You should stay.”
Simone hesitated, we both heard the emotion in his voice, and the worry in his eyes seemed to be enough to sway her. She nodded once. “Okay. I’ll stay. Thank you, Jasper, for worrying about me.”
I expected him to brush it off, maybe say something snarky. Instead, his eyes drifted toward the door and he murmured, “They might not have gotten hurt if they hadn’t been out so late.”
He didn’t stick around to explain, and I didn’t ask him to. I knew what he was talking about. I followed him back up the stairs, leading Simone into my room and picking the blankets up off the floor.
