“But… no Olympics?”
“I can’t answer th—”
“Carina.”
My eyes dart to his. It’s his tone, suddenly sober, but more than that, the use of my first name. So casual, as though he expects more from me. Expects me to be honest.
And it suddenly dawns on me that maybe I’m the only one being honest with him right now.
I lick my lips and shake my head once. “No. I doubt it.”
“It was probably my last chance.” His voice is calm, but I can feel the weight of it anyway.
I close the chart and set it down.
“I know.”
There’s another pause, and he shifts slightly in the bed. “I told Dr. Moreno I need my piercings back ASAP, by the way.”
My brows lift.
“He came in when I was in the recovery room. Told me he’d get them to me once I could use my fingers,” he adds, waggling them at me like a deranged version of jazz hands. “I told him he’s a very smart man.”
I press my lips together to conceal my grin. “I’m sure he appreciated that.”
There’s a pause, and Reid tries to smile, but it’s more of a dazed smirk. “I was right, you know.”
“About what?”
“You. You weren’t scared of cutting me open.”
I don’t know how to tell him I was. Not of the surgery, but of the stakes. Of what it meant for him if we got it wrong.
Before I can reply, my pager buzzes, and I glance down.
??Four visitors for your dick patient. Loud and coming your way - E
“You’re about to have company.”
Reid groans. “Tell them I’m dead.”
Too late. The door swings open, and the same four oversized athletes from earlier saunter through. They’re led by the loudestone, who’s carrying a wilting bouquet of gas station flowers and, inexplicably, a helium balloon shaped like a smiling turtle.
“There he is! High as a kite and freshly shaved!”
Reid blinks once.
“What the fuck is that?”
“A gift,” the loud one says brightly. “For your trauma.”
“Get it out.”
“C’mon, Hutch, it’ssmiling! Look at his little face.”
“Chase,” Reid says, voice low and deadly despite the drugs. “I’ll lace your skates with figure-eight knots and let you eat shit at warm-up.”
Chase just grins and lets the balloon bob threateningly closer to Reid’s face. “You hear that, boys? Still got fight in him.”
