Page 9 of Crucified By the Dark
“It’s up to you,” she said, and his heart sank. Why couldn’t she just say yes? Yes, Jeremy, I would like you there. It wasn’t in her DNA, though. He knew she would never ask for help or anything else, and it drove him crazy.
He decided to change tactics. “I want to come, Morry, but only if you want me there. So the choice is yours, not mine.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she looked him up and down like she was figuring out a puzzle. She bobbed her head slowly.
“Alright. Yes, I want you there,” Morry said like she was expecting him to yell, “gotcha.”
He was extremely tempted, but he kept that little celebration inside his head.
As she turned around, his lip curled up. Morry was like trying to navigate a minefield, but he may have just found a new path to what he wanted on the other side.
Morry walked down the hall and felt Jeremy following like a hand pressed on her back. What had she just done? She asked him to come in after waking up, holding his hand. That was not the way you kept your distance. She was wise enough to know better, yet her mouth had a mind of its own.
She looked in the windows of each door they passed. Some were empty, and some had a nurse or other staff member inside. There was a time that this place was nothing more than a dream. Now Morry had multiple locations and wondered how she managed it all. This spot was an old school sitting empty, and she converted it into a safe house with multiple rooms and one whole section set up for anything Doc Henry needed.
Henry paused and pointed to one of the rooms. “Duke is in there, and Wolf is next door in recovery. I’m going to get a coffee and something to eat. I’ll be back.”
She stopped outside the door where Duke was and laughed as she saw the nurse trying to keep Duke from moving around inside the room. She was obviously not used to animals, and they looked like they were dancing as she stepped in Duke’s way. The dog looked as annoyed as a rattler.
“I’ve got this,” she said to the nurse as she pushed through the door.
As soon as Duke heard her voice, he whined loudly and made to come over, his tail wagging.
“No. Wait,” she commanded, and he sat, holding his right leg in the air.
The nurse seemed relieved and went to step around Morry but froze in place.
She knew exactly what the nurse was staring at or who. Jeremy could’ve easily been on the cover of any magazine. He was more than simply good-looking. He was downright take-your-breath-away sexy. And, just like every other time he was ogled, she pushed the annoyance aside and bent down to pick Duke up. There was no point in being jealous. They were never going to be a thing. Just becauseshe wanted her cake and could probably eat it toodidn’t mean she should. She would only end up with a toothache.
“Hey, boy, it’s been a while since I’ve done this, so you’re going to have to bear with me,” she said as Duke licked her face. “Yeah, I missed you too. I know I should visit more.” She stroked his soft fur while she spoke.
This dog was more than a soldier. He was their friend. Duke was not only the last link they had to Jimmy, but he saved their asses more than once and deserved a fucking parade when they got back. Instead, like the rest of them, Duke was cast aside and forgotten about, but the group never forgot what he’d done to get them home alive.
“Ready.”
He stood, knowing what she would do as she gave the command. Tucking her head under his belly, he helped as he shimmied his way over enough that she could wrap her arms around his legs.
“Damn, boy. I think you put on weight,” Morry mumbled. “Or maybe I’m just getting too old for this.” With a groan, she lifted Duke, who was easily over a hundred pounds, like she was squatting with weights and stood.
Turning, she spotted the cute nurse, who was trying hard for some small talk with Jeremy, but he was staring at her. She hated it when he looked at her like that. It gave her teenage butterflies. She hadn’t had those for anything in years, and he fucking tried to give her hope for something that could never be.
“Can you grab the door,” she asked.
There was a little thrill when he didn’t even acknowledge the nurse, who was still trying to speak to him. Yanking open the door, he held it wide for her to walk through, and she turned to head toward Wolf’s room.
“Where are you taking him,” Jeremy asked as he walked out behind her.
“To Wolf. He wants to be with him,” she said, then waited for Jeremy to open the door to the room where Wolf was.
She hated to see her friend like that. Monitors attached to him, tubes and things dripping. It reminded her that any day could be her day to end up in one of these beds or worse, but it also reminded her of her son she hadn’t seen in over a month because Andrew was being a dick. Kyle was her whole heart, and she would kill to protect him, but how do you protect him from his own body? It was gut-wrenching.
Because this was one of her private facilities, the bed was twice the width of a normal hospital bed, and she slowly squatted until Duke stepped onto the mattress. As she figured, he wedged himself beside Wolf and laid his head on Wolf’s chest.
Fuck, this shit was going to bring a tear to her eye. She turned away as emotions flooded her system. She stared at the ground, hating for anyone to see her cry, especially Jeremy. Their relationship was the other way around. She was his support system when he needed it.
“Hey, he’s going to be okay.” Jeremy’s boots came into her line of sight a moment before he pulled her into his body for a hug.
She selfishly took comfort for a moment, then stepped back and walked past Jeremy out the door. The hallway was empty, and she marched along the bright white hall when Jeremy’s voice growled behind her.
