Draw (Gentry Boys #1)(67)

I decided to tease her. “Hey, don’t go crushing on my brother. It’s gross.”

“Come on,” she shoved me. “Don’t be a sicko. I just wanted to let you know that I care about them, both of them.”

I couldn’t help but be touched. I knew she meant it and to hear it out loud made my heart a little sore. How could I think about doing anything to jeopardize what I’d found in her?

“Go to sleep, Say,” I said, my voice a little hoarse, and kissed her gently.

She did it again, where she fell into unconsciousness within five minutes. Before she did, though, she hugged me hard and murmured, “Don’t dream.”

I didn’t dream. But when I woke up my head was pounding as if I’d spent the night banging it against the wall. I swallowed a handful of Advil before heading over to the hospital.

Creed was never a morning person and he seemed to be in a special kind of funk when he wandered out for a cup of coffee. I jingled the keys to the truck. “You gonna be ready soon?”

He shrugged. “Soon as I can get my legs under me and wipe the shit out of my eyes.” Creed stared at me a moment as the coffee pot finished sputtering. “Just give me ten minutes. And then later, we can talk again.”

“Great,” I muttered, holding my aching head.

As I got behind the wheel I chased the pills with a sizeable portion of caffeine. By the time we got up to Chase’s room I was starting to feel normal again. Creed saw the doctor over by the nurses’ station and went to go have a few words with him.

Chase had gained a roommate during the night; an old man who thought there were cats all over his bed and kept shouting about it.

My brother threw me an irked look as I walked in the room. “I don’t like this hotel,” he complained.

When I called the hospital first thing this morning I’d been told Chase’s fever had returned again. I could see it in his face; his eyes were too bright and his face was flushed underneath the bruises and swelling. They had upped his dose of antibiotics in the hopes that would do the trick.

I patted him lightly on the shoulder, just feeling glad to be in the same room with him. “How are you feeling?”

Chase’s right eye was still swelled nearly shut. He closed the other one and leaned back into the pillows. “I don’t want to answer that. I’ve been asked that question seventy five hundred times in the last twenty four hours. I just want to get the f*ck out of here.”

“Soon,” I sighed, although I really had no idea.

He opened his eye and glared. “How soon? Can you slip the doc a twenty to speed up the discharge? Hey look, there’s a pretty girl hanging around behind the curtain. Saylor! Get the hell in here so I can have something nice to look at.”

Saylor peered around the corner, smiling shyly. “Hi, Chase.”

He held a hand out to her. “Come here, baby. I’m all worn out at the moment so my usual gallantry is falling by the wayside. God, you look hot.”

Saylor grabbed his hand and giggled a little. “I brought you a present.”

“Good. Can I stick my dick in it?”

“Jesus, Chase,” I laughed. “What have they got you doped up on?”

“At the moment, nothing. But lying in a hospital bed treats you to all kinds of tolerance. I asked a hot nurse to sponge bathe me and show me her boobs. She’ll be back in an hour so you guys will need to leave before that comes up.”

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. “You’re full of shit.”

Saylor fished around in her purse and withdrew a large plastic bag. “Here,” she tossed it to him. “That’s your present. I wouldn’t recommend sticking your dick in it. You’ll ruin the marshmallows.”

“Aw,” he smiled, grabbing a handful of his cereal. “Thanks, princess. I knew you cared.”

I looked at the IV still attached to his arm and the bandages on his abdomen. “Are you supposed to be eating that?”

“Probably not, but I’m starving. Cord, can you be a real brother and run down to the cafeteria for a steak?”

“It’s eight am,” I argued. “They’re not likely serving steak right now.”

“Whatever. Eggs then. Get me eggs. Or a bagel.”

I shook my head and glanced at Saylor. “You want to come?”

“No,” Chase objected, pulling Saylor down on the bed. “She’s gonna stay here and spoon feed me.”

“Hey,” I growled, “just because you’re flat on your back doesn’t give you license to feel up my girl.”

“Sure it does. Take your time, Cordero.”

I left with a smile, although it disappeared when I left the room, thinking about the bandage surrounding Chase’s abdominal incision. What I wanted more than anything was to take my brother home. I’d happily absorb his wisecracks all goddamn day if he could only come home. Sons of bitches, the ones who did this to him.

The tension in my muscles was nearly unbearable. If I hadn’t been walking through a public place I would have given in and punched the nearest wall.





CHAPTER TWENTY THREE


SAYLOR



Chase dropped the act as soon as Cord was out of sight. He stopped smiling and pointed to the chair next to the bed.