Page 87 of The Devil's Reward
“Thank you,” she says, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to my lips.
I kiss her slowly, savoring her taste. I pull back when my phone goes off. I quickly grab it from the nightstand and check the message.
Viper: Rose is awake.
Me: I’m on my way.
I look at Quinn. “I need to go. Rose is awake,” I tell her as I jump out of bed.
“Yes, of course, go,” Quinn says nodding, jumping out of bed herself and pulling on her clothes. “Will you let me know how she is?” she asks.
“I will,” I promise, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling on my boots. “I’m sorry to run out on you, Quinn, it’s just—”
“No,” she interrupts quickly. “You need to go, Shadow. I know you’re not trying to run out on me after an intense conversation. Rose is family, and I know how important it is for you to see her awake with your own eyes. Are you going to come back?”
“Depending on what time I get out of there,” I hedge. “It could be a few hours and I don’t want you to wait up too late, gorgeous. Sleep and I’ll come back in the morning. If things aren’t too hectic at the club, I might be able to take you both out to breakfast too.”
“Don’t rush back if you can’t,” she insists with a shake of her head. “Just text me and let me know you’re alright, okay?”
“I will,” I promise. I grab my keys and wallet off the nightstand and put them in my back pocket. I look at Quinn, and quickly wrap my arm around her waist to haul her up and kiss her again before I set her back on her feet.
“That mouth,” she mutters, looking up at me with a smug smile. “It should be outlawed.”
I grin down at her. “You want to limit what this mouth can do, gorgeous?” I ask her.
She purses her lips. “No, definitely no,” she amends quickly. I chuckle and lightly slap her on the ass for her sass. She jumps and glares up at me, but I just give her a satisfied smile and head out of the room. She follows me out as we move quietly down the hallway and the stairs.
When we reach the door, I whisper, “Make sure you lock up behind me, alright?”
“I will,” she assures me. “Now go, and tell Rose I’m thinking of her and I’ll come to see her as soon as she’s up to it.”
“She’ll love it. I’ll text you.” Then, just because I can’t get enough of her, I lean down and give her another quick kiss before I pull away and walk out the door. I wait on the porch until I hear the lock slide into place before I head down to my bike and turn it on. I’m probably pissing off her neighbors with the noise, but I don’t give a shit. They’ll just have to get used to it.
When I reach the hospital room, Crypt is the only one guarding it, and he nods when he sees me. “King, Stone, Torque, Viper, and Sniper are all in there,” he tells me before I can ask.
“Where’s Hulk?” I ask, looking around for the giant of a man.
“Went to grab something to eat,” Crypt says.
“You take a break yet?”
“Eventually,” is all he says. I nod because I know he’ll stand there for days with no breaks if we ask him. We both did it when we were in the Forces so it’s not anything we’re not used to.
“Anyone else been in to see them?” I ask quietly.
“Hammer was here earlier,” he answers softly. “No one else.”
I nod. I’m not surprised that Hammer was here, but I do worry about him getting that close to Bullet, Rose, and Sage. We haven’t ruled him out as a suspect, but since everyone is in there, it’s a pretty good sign that he didn’t try anything if he is. I head into the room and everyone turns to look at me, opening the circle so I can step up into the center between Rose and Bullet’s beds.
Rose looks at me, eyes tired and one swollen. She doesn’t say anything to me, just opens her good arm, and I step up and carefully fold her into my chest. She quietly cries, and my throat tightens with emotion. “Thank you,” she whispers, voice raspy. “Thank you for getting me out of there, Shadow. For saving me.”
“No thanks needed,” I say gruffly, pulling back slightly. I give her a teasing smile. “I still have that bail fund, and just for that scare, I’m going to triple your rates for the guys,” I joke.
She laughs sharply, and the tightness in my chest eases. “Deal,” she agrees. I kiss her forehead gently, then pull away and step back. I glance over at Bullet, and he gives me a knowing nod. Few men would get away with that kind of shit, but Bullet understands how important Rose is to me so I guess I get a pass this time.
“Are you tripling my rates too?” Sage asks me from the other end.
I look over at her and smile. “Just double for you,” I say with a wink. She laughs softly and snuggles into King, laying her head on his chest since he’s laying in the bed with her. I quickly realize that now that they’re all awake, some of the equipment has been removed, and the beds have been moved closer to each other. That’s probably not hospital policy, so I imagine that was Bullet’s orders, and no one’s dared to oppose him.
