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“Barely,” Blade snickered. “He’ll need to take it easy for a couple of weeks.”
“Weeks?” I groaned.
“You heard me.” His voice grew stern as he said, “I worked too hard to save your ass for you to go and fuck it up.”
“He will rest,” Emery replied, eyes still locked on mine. “I’ll make him behave.”
“Good luck with that.” Blade gave me a slight smirk before turning for the door. “I’ll leave you two to it.”
“Get me those meds… and that beer.”
“You are not getting a beer,” Emery fussed.
“Bossy already.” I gave her a grin. “I like it.”
“Stop.” She stood and stepped closer. “You scared me.”
“I know… I’m sorry about that.”
She wiped the tears from her cheek and sat on the edge of the gurney. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“You been here the whole time?”
“I couldn’t leave you.”
“You could have, and you should have… You need rest, too.”
“You wouldn’t have left me if I was the one lying here.”
“You got me there.”
The words had barely left my mouth when the door opened, and Knox stepped inside. He walked over to the foot of the gurney and said, “Blade said you were awake.”
“I’m coming around.”
“Good.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’ve gotten through worse.”
“No, you haven’t.” His eyes met mine. “It was bad, Cole. Real bad.”
I knew when he used my given name that he was rattled, and Knox didn’t get rattled. Not about anything. I hated that I’d caused him even more hurt than I already had. “I’m still here.”
“You need to be thanking your lucky stars for that, because you lost a shit-ton of blood… We didn’t think you were going to make it.”
“Appreciate you being there.”
“Always.”
The matter-of-factness in his tone hit me square in the gut. He might’ve been pissed at me. He might’ve wanted to kill me, but that wouldn’t stop him from being there when I needed him. He was the reason I was still here, and it wasn’t the first time. And I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last.
“I’m still pissed at you.”
“I know.”
His eyes skirted over to Emery. “Still pissed at you, too.”
“I know.” Her voice trembled as she said, “And I’m really sorry… I love you. I never meant to hurt you.”
