“And if these fuckers know where she lives?” Baz growled. “Magnet’s dead. This is different now.”
Silence settled heavily over them. Murder changed things. They all knew it. Indie rubbed a hand slowly across his jaw before glancing up and spotting me standing there. The conversation stopped instantly. Not hostile. Just careful.
“Suzy needs to be in her house tonight,” Emmie pressed again, looking at Indie.
“Emmie’s right. We take Suzy home. We’ll stay with her. No bikes though. Just cars. Let’s not draw any further attention to their house.”
The mutters almost vibrated around us, but it seemed everyone was agreeing.
“You finished shift, Doc?” Indie asked gently, looking at me from the middle of the Kings.
I blinked slightly at the sudden change of focus. “Yeah. I finished a while ago, actually.”
“Come back with us. Tonight, we’ll toast Magnet’s life. You’re very welcome to be a part of that.”
“Thank you, but I haven’t got my car. Ryan dropped me off.”
“We’ll give you a lift. I’ll send a brother to bring your car over.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“We know,” he answered simply. “Still gonna.”
Behind him, one twin nudged the other. “Dibs not driving the doctor’s car. Bet she’s got crumbs and murder podcasts in there.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Baz muttered.
And somehow, despite the grief still hanging over all of us thick as smoke, the corner of my mouth twitched. Just slightly.
Then, further down the corridor, double doors opened, and two uniformed police officers stepped onto the ward. The entire atmosphere changed instantly. It rolled through the Kings like a shockwave. Fury straightened. Baz’s expression darkened violently. One of the twins muttered, “For fuck’s sake,” under his breath while the other took a slow step sideways like instinct alone had him repositioning.
“What the fuck are these cunts doing here?” Baz growled loudly enough that one of the officers immediately locked eyes with him.
I felt the shift in the men. Not fear exactly. It was worse than that. Tension. Old instinct. Walls going up. Even grieving, their bodies reacted to police presence like something hard-wired deep inside them. The younger officer started towards us cautiously.
“We’re here regarding…”
“I know why you’re here,” I cut in smoothly before anyone else could speak.
Every head turned towards me. Police included.
The older officer recognised me immediately. “Dr Mercer?”
I nodded once, stepping slightly in front of the group without really thinking about it.
“This isn’t the right time.”
Behind me, surprise rippled through the Kings like I’d thrown a rock in a very still pond. The older officer glanced over my shoulder towards the cuts and leather filling the corridor before lowering his voice slightly.
“Doctor, this is now a murder investigation. We need names and statements from…”
“And you’ll get them,” I interrupted calmly. “But not while his wife is saying goodbye twenty feet away.”
The silence stretched, a moment too long. He stared at me. I knew that look. Shock at the challenge, digging deep to find some way to take back control. I knew what it was now. I held his gaze steadily. Not confrontational. Just certain.
“You can either force this right now and turn an intensive care corridor into a scene,” I continued quietly, “or you can give them an hour to breathe before you start treating grieving relatives like suspects.”
The younger officer shifted awkwardly beside his colleague. The older one studied me carefully then sighed through his nose.
