Rev It Up (Black Knights Inc. #3)(59)

The next words out of Boss’s mouth had him cursing and scrambling into his jeans as he yelled for Shell to get her sweet ass out of the shower, double-time.





Chapter Twelve


“That was Becky,” Frank said, pocketing his cell phone as he turned away from the gurgling water cooler plunked in the corner of the tidy waiting room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “She says she’s sorry she’s not here now, but Steady and Zoelner caught one of Johnny’s goons climbing to the roof of the bagel shop, and Ozzie had to maintain his post until after Rock arrived to question the guy. But Ozzie has finally schlepped his sorry ass—her words, not mine—back to the shop in order to act as her escort, and they should be arriving within the next half hour. In the meantime, she wants me to tell you she’s thinking of you and saying a prayer for Franklin.”

Michelle was glad the waiting room was empty save for her, Frank, and Jake, or else the occupants would’ve gotten an earful. Of course, they wouldn’t have understood the half of it.

“I know how much danger you guys are in,” she said, trying to hold back the tears burning behind her eyes. She didn’t want to add a hysterically sobbing woman to the list of things her brother was dealing with right now. “None of you should be here. You should be back at the shop taking care of business. Back at the shop where it’s safe.”

And they would be if she hadn’t taken it into her head to go on that stupid date. Which had led to Jake’s hotel room. Which had led to them making love. Which had led to her not being home when her son—

“A hospital is one of the safest places around, Shell,” her brother told her. “And the only business I want to be taking care of right now is my family’s business.”

Okay, and that did it.

“I’m never going to forgive myself,” she sobbed, shoving her fingers back through her hair before she remembered she hadn’t washed out the shampoo she’d applied right before Jake dragged her from the shower. Her head was beginning to dry into a crunchy, pasty mess.

Of course, that was the least of her worries.

Because her son, her life, her whole reason for living, was having emergency surgery.

Emergency surgery!

And she hadn’t been there to say good-bye before he was rushed in. She hadn’t been there to hold his little hand, or kiss his sweet face, or tell him everything would be okay because mommy was here. She hadn’t been there to comfort and console him when he was terrified and in pain.

And why hadn’t she been?

Oh, right, because she’d been screwing Jake Sommers blind, that’s why.

She’d been blissfully and willfully forgetting about everything except her need to finally assuage her own desire. In fact, she’d probably been in the middle of orgasm number two or three while Frank was rushing her boy to the hospital.

Selfish, selfish, selfish!

What had she been thinking?

Or maybe, the better question would be, what had she been thinking with?

Certainly not her head.

“I shouldn’t have gone out on that date. I should’ve been there when he—” she hiccupped, a wash of fresh tears running into her hands when she pressed them over her eyes. It turned the pasty shampoo on her fingers into a sudsy mess which she wiped off on the hem of her skirt.

“Shell,” Frank whispered, coming to sit beside her on the stiff, blue sofa, squeezing her knee. “It’s not your fault. You haven’t been on a date in years. You were due. No one could’ve guessed Franklin would suddenly be struck with appendicitis.”

Appendicitis. The word sent horror streaking through her heart.

“Yeah, Shell,” Jake said from her other side, mirroring her brother’s movement and patting her opposite knee. “You couldn’t have foreseen this. These things happen and—”

She turned on him then. Grabbing his hand and nearly crushing his fingers. “These things happen?” she screeched. “Is that your answer for everything tonight!”

“I don’t…” he shook his head. “I mean—”

“Forget it,” she howled, once more burying her face in her hands.

And yes, she knew she was being unfair, taking out her rage and guilt and frustration on him when the blame rested solely on her shoulders. But she couldn’t help herself. If it weren’t for him, she’d have never gone out on that date in the first place. She’d have been home with her son. Where she belonged…

“Hey, Shell, it’s not Snake’s fault any more than it is yours.” Frank ran a hand over her head and grimaced, glancing at her more closely. “What have you got in your hair?”

She turned to ask what the heck that had to do with anything when a red-haired nurse in baby blue scrubs came to the door. “Michelle Carter?”

“That’s me,” she jumped up, her stomach sitting in her throat, disgorging all its acid until she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever be able to swallow correctly again.

“My name is Susan. I’m a nurse on Franklin’s surgical team and—”

“Well, then what are you doing out here?” she demanded, completely mortified, envisioning Franklin’s surgeon going, scalpel…scalpel…scalpel? And then looking around and finding Nurse Susan missing.