"Is everything ok? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
"Well hello to you too, sunshine." His voice was light, amused, completely at odds with my current state.
“Pip, now isn’t the time for you to be cute.”
“Awww. But Daddy, I love being cute for you.”
I growled. “Dammit, boy.”
“Ok, fine. I’ll get to the meat of it. Ricardo's in surgery. No complications reported. Rel's with the doctor now."
"Why am I only hearing this now." It wasn't a question. "It has been hours, and I have heard nothing from either of you. I've been managing this entire operation with no information about what's happening over there, which means I’ve been making decisions without?—"
"Henny."
"—without knowing anyone’s condition, because apparently nobody thought it was relevant to?—"
"Henri."
I stopped.
The silence on the line was heavier than normal. I felt how tight my jaw was, how stiffly I was holding my shoulders. My body ached with the need to let go. It didn’t feel safe enough to do so yet.
"Ricardo is in surgery," Pip said again, slower. "Stable. The doctor said stable. They got to him fast enough." A pause. "Relhasn't moved from the waiting room. He's not going anywhere. I've got eyes on both of them. This was a freak situation because some fucker with a knife thought they could take down an empire."
"The knife?—"
"Didn't hit anything critical. He's going to be fine. I wouldn't tell you that if it wasn't true."
I was quiet for a moment.
People around me kept moving, their lives changed after today’s events. Some would treat it as a war story. Like they’d gone to battle and come out the winner. While others would wear the aftermath of it like a wound, the trauma festering inside them.
I had a feeling I would be with the latter group.
"You should have called earlier," I said, my mind still reeling with unwanted thoughts.
"I know. I was managing things on this end. It's not an excuse.”
Something about the absence of argument made it difficult to continue being angry. I pressed two fingers to the bridge of my nose.
"Is Pharrell?—"
"He's holding it together. Barely, but yes." Pip's voice shifted again, going softer. "He's going to need to work when this is done. You know how he is. Give him a target and he'll be fine. Right now, he's just sitting with everything. I’m ready for him to shift into bloody revenge mode."
"And you're staying with him until then?"
Pip didn't answer immediately. When he did, his voice let me know he'd heard the real question underneath the stated one. "Yeah. I'm staying. Someone has to keep an eye on him until Ricardo wakes up."
I pulled the tablet back toward me. "Okay. Call me when he does. Wake up, I mean. Or if anything changes, even if you think it's minor."
"You'll have it." A pause. "You okay? You sound weird."
"I'm fine." The lie was automatic.
"Uh huh." I could hear the skepticism. "And I'm a ballet dancer. Try again."
"I said I'm fine."
