“That’s blackmail.”
“That’s making sure there are no impediments to this surgery taking place the second Dr.Patel is ready.Starting a criminal investigation runs the risk of at least a small delay.While I’m fully prepared to make good on my threat -- and will if you don’t keep your word -- I’d rather punish you myself and let Brynn get the kidney she needs without delay.”
Dr.Phillips sighed.“You have my word,” he muttered, defeat evident in every line of his body.“I’ll take a leave of absence effective immediately and until my son gets his transplant.”
“Goes without saying you can’t work anywhere else to do with organ transplant or donation.Yet I feel the need to say it.”Lana gave him an evil smile.
Dr.Winters looked like he wanted to object, but one glance at his colleague’s face silenced him.They both knew when they were beaten.
“We’ll inform Dr.Patel she can proceed with the transplant as scheduled,” Dr.Winters said, gathering the folders with shaking hands.“The committee meeting won’t be necessary.”
I sat frozen, hardly daring to believe what I was hearing.After weeks of testing, days of anxiety, and hours of rage, it had come down to this.Two corrupt doctors folding under the weight of their own schemes.
“You will also mail me a copy of your leave of absence paperwork and get it notarized.”Lana’s tone made it clear they did not want to fuck with her.“I will be keeping my eyes on you, doctors.Good day.”
We stepped into the hallway.The weight that had been crushing my chest since all this started lifted so suddenly, I felt lightheaded.My daughter would get my kidney.
Once the doctors were out of sight, I pulled Lana to me, engulfing her in a fierce embrace.She stiffened for a moment in surprise before returning the embrace with a soft laugh.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice rough with emotion I couldn’t suppress.“You may have just given her a chance at a normal life.”
“You’re the one giving her a kidney,” Lana replied, stepping back with a small smile.“I just cleared the path.”
Movement at the end of the corridor caught my eye.Lavender hurried from the waiting area, her face streaked with tears.She must have read the outcome on our faces because her hand flew to her mouth, a sob escaping her.
“It’s happening?”she asked, her voice breaking.“They’re going to let Knight donate?”
I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.Lavender broke into a run, closing the distance between us in seconds.She jumped into my arms, and I caught her against my chest, burying my face in her hair as her tears soaked my shirt.
“Dr.Patel texted me right while I was waiting,” she said, her voice slightly muffled.“She said they called her to schedule the surgery for first thing tomorrow morning.I couldn’t believe it.I thought --” She pulled back to look at me, her hazel eyes swimming.“What happened?How did you change their minds?”
“Lana happened,” I said, reaching out to include her in our circle.The three of us stood united in this crucial moment for Brynn’s future.“She knows the Chief of Surgery.Apparently, they tried to redirect my kidney to the Chief Surgeon’s son.”
Lavender’s eyes widened in shock.“His son?But that’s --”
“Criminal,” Lana supplied, her professional demeanor softening.“And now it’s over.Tomorrow, Brynn gets her father’s kidney.”
My eyes burned as I reached for Lavender’s hand, interlacing our fingers.“We’re going to be OK,” I said, the words a promise and a prayer.“All of us.”
For the first time since learning about my daughter’s condition, I fully believed it.Tomorrow would bring pain, risk, and uncertainty, but also hope.A chance for Brynn to live the life she deserved.A chance for us to be a family without the shadow of illness hanging over us.
A chance I’d fight heaven and hell to give her.
Chapter Thirteen
Lavender
I stared out the window of Brynn’s hospital room.My stomach twisted with a familiar anxiety.After all the fighting, all the tears, Knight would finally give our daughter his kidney and, hopefully, we could all get on the road to recovery.I pressed my forehead against the cool glass, letting it ground me as I tried to steady my breathing.
The distant rumble came first, a low thunder that vibrated through the glass against my skin.I squinted against the morning glare, making out a convoy of motorcycles turning into the hospital entrance, chrome flashing in the sunlight.Behind them rolled a line of trucks and SUVs, moving in perfect formation like some kind of leather-clad military unit.
“What the hell?”I whispered, counting at least twenty bikes before I gave up.
The riders parked with orderly precision, backing their motorcycles into spaces.I recognized the Kiss of Death MC logo emblazoned on their leather cuts, how it caught the sun as they dismounted and gathered at the backs of the trucks.They began unloading boxes, coolers, and what looked like… flower arrangements?
I hurried to Brynn’s bedside, where she still slept, exhausted from the pain medications they’d given her last night.Knight had been moved to his own pre-op room an hour earlier.I brushed a strand of blue hair from her forehead before heading into the hallway.
The elevator dinged down the corridor just as I stepped out.The doors slid open, revealing Knuckles.Behind him stood four other club members, their arms loaded with boxes of donuts, coffee urns, and stuffed animals.The antiseptic hospital air suddenly carried the rich scent of coffee.
