I gave him a nod of understanding and fought back the tears that threatened to fall. I didn’t want to leave things like this, but he was giving me no choice.
“Bye, Machine.” I gave a brief nod and walked out the door.
THIRTY-FIVE
MACHINE
I was discharged from the hospital three days later, and as predicted, came home to find Badger gone. It hurt more than I could express.
Lucy bounded over to me with her butt wiggling as soon as I opened the penthouse door. With a groan, I leaned down and gave her some much-needed pets.
“Did you miss daddy?” I cooed. She responded with kisses on my cheeks. “Daddy missed you too, Lucy-goosey.”
With a wince, I stood up and walked toward the bedrooms. Badger’s scent still lingered, making me yearn for her. The house felt empty without her.
My phone pinged with a notification from Kade, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Boss:
Lennie is okay. I had Zombie check her over before sending her home.
Me:
What happened?
Boss:
She won’t talk about it. Physically, just some bruising
My anger spiked knowing that my Len was hurt and I hadn’t been there to save her. Fucking Bohdi had to do my job while I’d been in the hospital.
Me:
We need to make sure she isn’t alone.
Boss:
I know. I’m heading over to see her.
Me:
I’ll head that way too.
Boss:
No, you need to stay put. You just got out of the hospital. FaceTime her. That’s an order.
I let out a growl of frustration and threw my phone on my couch. I hated being put on the sidelines. I was Kade’s right fucking hand. I wasn’t some pussy who just sat back and let everyone do the work for me. As if on cue, my stomach incision started to burn.
“Fucking perfect,” I grumbled to myself. I sat down on the couch and ran my hands through my overgrown hair before picking up my phone and FaceTiming Lennie.
She picked up on the second ring. I let out a curse at the sight of her. One black eye, a bruised lip, and a pale, lifeless complexion.
“Len,” I started before she cut me off.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she bit out.
I heaved a sigh. “I’m here whenever you want to talk or just hang out.”
