“Can you please get me the hell out of here?” she pleaded, glaring at the doctor. “I swear they’re trying to kill me.”
Removing the stethoscope with a sigh, he removed the cuff from her arm.
“I assure you, we are not.”
“Is she stable enough to be moved?” Kong queried.
His father insisted that he bring Nay to the house to stay and even had Yasmine make up a room for her. Initially, Kong was against it, but given how things were going with Ayla, he thought Nay could be a good distraction. He’d fucked up, and if Ayla hated him, he couldn’t be mad at that. Sleeping with her was not the right thing to do, no matter how good it felt in the moment. Nayelli had already been hurt because of a call he made, and the last thing he wanted was for Ayla to become a victim.Having her too close meant she became another liability he couldn’t afford on top of everything else going on.
“I can sign off on it. I just want to make sure she’s going to have someone there to take care of her,” Dr. Hampton declared.
“We have a doctor on staff at my estate. I can hire an additional nurse if that’s required.”
“I’ll go work on her discharge paperwork.” Grabbing his tablet from her bed, the doctor moved toward the door.
“Thank you so much!” Nay steepled her hands together like she was praying. “I can’t wait to get out of here and sleep on realsheets without that antiseptic smell in my lungs and pores.” She turned her nose up and Kong chuckled.
“What’s wrong?” Nay pried, watching him shake his head and slip his hands into the pockets of his slacks.
“Nothing. The staff is already preparing things for your arrival. Is there anything in particular you would like to eat? I can let our chef know.”
“Ugh, anything has to be better than the broth and salad they’ve been serving me.” Nayelli groaned. “Ma’s out there dealing with the insurance, but do you think you can help me get dressed? She brought me some clothes in that duffel over there.”
Kong went to scoop the Louis Vuitton oversized bag and brought it over to the bed. Nay slung her legs over the side and immediately unzipped it so she could retrieve the two-piece jogger set and t-shirt to change into.
“So, how old are your kids?”
“Kara is four and Kyro is seven,” Kong answered, bowing his head when she removed her gown, leaving her breasts exposed.
“Wow, so you and Twyla ended up together after all. How did that happen after everything?” Nay questioned, grabbing her t-shirt and pulling it over her arms. “Could you help me?”
Stepping forward, Kong aided her in pulling it gently over her head, so she didn’t disrupt her bandage. When he finished, he grabbed her pants and assisted her one leg at a time with those too. Bringing his eyes up, he found Nay fixated on him, lips curled into a cute half smile.
“I managed to get past all the shit with Twyla, and we got married, had two kids, and she died a few years ago,” he expressed, watching her expression fall and somberness fill her eyes.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I had no idea,” she murmured.
“So, I moved back in with my pops at the estate. Just seemed like the right thing since there’s staff there and everything. It’s been a challenge?—”
“I can only imagine. I’m so sorry, Kong.”
“You might not remember a lot, but in the last couple of years, we’ve gotten closer. You’ve been a good friend to me.”
“I wish I could remember that. You might not recall this, but… I always had a crush on you. I used to sit around daydreaming that one day we would get married, have kids, all that white picket fence shit.” She snickered. “Exactly how close are we?”
Pausing in front of her, Kong reached out and stroked her cheek while staring down into her eyes. Instead of responding verbally, he leaned forward to kiss her. Nayelli was taken back, but she smiled when they parted.
“That’s pretty close,” she whispered, searching his hooded eyes.
“I got all that insurance bullshit handled.” Phoebe burst into the hospital room as Kong backed away from Nayelli.
She picked up on some tension in the room and noticed how flustered her daughter seemed. A slow grin crept over her matte red lips. She was hoping that this turn of events would bring Nay and Kong closer. She hated that her child had to be hurt for it to happen, but she was grateful that she had survived the accident.
“The doctor is getting her discharge paperwork together. I’m gonna go downstairs and bring the car around. Call me when y’all are on the way down.” He ambled to the door.
“Okay, and Kong… thank you so much for everything,” Phoebe told him.
With a nod, he exited the room and took the first elevator to the ground floor. Stepping outside the main entrance to the hospital, the warm sun blazed down on him. It was a perfect summer day. Trekking through the parking lot, he located theDenali he’d been driven here in with his driver waiting inside the car. When his phone vibrated with a notification, he fished it from his pocket and frowned at the unknown name on the screen. Someone had sent him a photo. He tapped on the screen to pull it up and the blood in his veins turned to ice. It was a photo of Ayla at the park on a bench with his kids in the background at the playground.
