Page 61 of Deacon

I was grateful for that. If he had pushed, something inside me might have broken open right there beside his hospital bed before my shift even began.

Instead, I picked up my coffee and walked out before Jackson could say anything else that might follow me for the rest of the day.

16

Lila

The ER had settled into that strange middle stretch where the chaos remained constant, but everybody had learned how to move inside it without wasting energy pretending it would calm down anytime soon. Evan stood beside me at the nurses’ station, half-finished charting and half-finished complaining about a man in room six who had called him sweetheart twice and somehow made it sound insulting both times, when Blue appeared at the desk wearing the look of someone holding herself together by force.

“Hey,” she said, glancing between us. “I need a break. Can we have a minor chaos unpacking session?”

Evan straightened immediately. “Emergency caffeine and gossip? Finally, a medical intervention I support.”

Blue snorted. “Hot chocolate for me.”

I pushed back from the desk. “You’re buying if this is your emotional emergency.”

“Fine.”

Evan gasped. “Blessed be.”

We escaped to the cafeteria while we could. Evan spent most of the walk talking about frosting while Blue wrapped both hands around her hot chocolate once we settled at a small table, staring into it long enough for me to know the drink had very little to do with why she needed this break.

“So,” she said finally, “Priest came over last night.”

Evan’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, Priest? At your door again? Was he delivering a pizza or just serving up drama?”

Blue huffed a laugh. “Neither. We talked. Actually talked. He told me about his past, why he’s got all those walls.”

Evan leaned forward, mouth open in mock shock. “Hang on, are you saying the big, scary MC president actually unlocked the vault? Girl, did you have to bribe him with cookies or just threaten him with a stethoscope?”

Blue shook her head, though she was smiling. “No bribery needed. It was a lot, but… then things got heated.”

Evan’s hands shot up. “Oh, thank god! Time to call the Vatican and report a miracle. So, was it like a fireworks show? Did he pick you up and toss you on the bed? Details, Blue! Was it all slow burn or straight-up inferno?”

“Evan,” I warned, fighting my own smile.

“What? I am asking important follow-up questions.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Don’t you dare make me beg. Spill the hot chocolate, or I’ll start making up my own version!”

Blue covered her face for a second, laughing, and I rolled my eyes. “Ignore him. How do you actually feel, Blue?”

She sagged back in her chair, some of the humor leaving her. “Honestly? I don’t know. Am I insane for even thinking about forgiving him? For opening my heart up again?”

Evan pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m not answering until Lila does. I want the responsible adult opinion first. Then I’ll give you the Evan Experience: unfiltered and probably illegal in seven states.”

I reached for my coffee and gave myself a second before answering. “He didn’t cheat, right?”

Blue shook her head. “No, he didn’t.”

I nodded. “So really, he just kept you out with those walls. But before Sadie started her crap, those walls were coming down on their own, weren’t they?”

“He said so. I think I just forced the issue by running away.”

“I think you protected yourself,” I said quietly. “That matters too.”

Something shifted in Blue’s expression, but Evan had already reached the limit of his restraint. “Baby, let me translate: that giant, broody man is pining. He may not be able to admit it yet, but trust, he’s got it bad. This is full-on romance novel territory. Possessive MC man, hunting you down to prove how much he wants you? Girl, you need to hop on that bike and ride it straight to the happily ever after! For me, at least. Let me live vicariously!”

Blue and I gaped at him, then both cracked hard enough that she nearly choked on her drink.