Page 29 of Rough Patch

“She’s probably not kidding. Eli wanted me dead by the time the baby came.”

Of all the people to be sharing this ride, how had Kye ended up in her car? “Why’s he here?”

Kye dropped a hand on her shoulder. “Moral support.”

“I don’t need your moral anything.” She bit the words from behind clenched teeth. No way did she want him there, and as she was about to threaten him with Hamilton if he didn’t jump out the back door, the world dimmed to black.

* * *

Three hours. And Grier had counted every tick of the clock since they’d whisked Fiona into surgery, since he’d been banished, along with every other Demon and Kye to the waiting room.

“Fuck. What’s taking so long?”

“Mass Gen is a good hospital. And they’re taking care of her, Grier.” Kye squeezed his shoulder, apparently unworried about the scowls coming his way from almost everyone in the room.

“They better be,” Hamilton muttered.

He waited another hour before a doctor, not Fiona’s doctor, came out. “Mr. Owen?” Grier stood and a line of friends dropped in behind him. “Your daughter is healthy and strong. They’re getting her cleaned up and ready right now. Your wife suffered some complications, but she’s in recovery, and we’ll take you to her as soon as she’s awake.”

“What happened? She was fine this morning.” He didn’t miss the glare Hamilton shot Kye, but he tried to concentrate on the complicated medical jargon spewing forth from the doctor until his need to see Fiona took over. “Can I please see my wife? I just… I need to see her.”

And goddammit, he didn’t want to break down here, not in front of all these guys.

The doctor nodded. “I’ll have a nurse come and get you. But just you for today, okay? She can have other visitors when she’s… better.”

“Okay.” He didn’t give a damn if anyone else got to see her. But he couldn’t very well leave Kye sitting in a waiting room with twenty motorcycle thugs who wanted him dead. He glanced at Hamilton. “Don’t kill him. And don’t let him get killed. Fiona might still want to talk to him.”

Hamilton respecting authority, even Grier’s authority, was a sight to behold. The single nod, the placid expression. “Want me to watch him?”

“Just take him to my house. You can wait with him if you want. Just leave him in one piece until I get there.”

Worry etched Hamilton’s face. “Let me know how Fiona’s doing, okay?” He looked down at his shoes. “And the kid.”

Grier squeezed the big guy’s biceps. “Yeah. I will.” He turned to Kye. “Ham is going to take you back to my place.” His place with Fiona was more her place than his, but he loved it there. The little touches she put on everything. Hell, he even loved the lacy curtains she had hanging in the bedroom and the soaps shaped like pointy little hummingbirds that were not to be used, the guest towels that were only for guests and not him…

“Is he going to kill me?” The only indication Kye was serious was a little flicker of worry in his eyes.

“Might rough you up a little. You’re scrappy. You can handle him.” Grier tried to joke, forced a smile, then turned to hide his tears.

He followed the nurse down a hallway, through a set of double doors, into another hallway and finally to a room at the end. He stood outside the door, took a deep breath to prepare for whatever awaited him behind the door, then walked in.

Fiona, so lively, so larger than life, looked small and frail with the white blanket tucked around her and the bed so much bigger than her small frame. Her red hair made flames on the pillow. Her left foot poked out of the blanket at the opposite edge of the bed.

She didn’t stir, even when the legs of the chair ground against the white tiled floor when he pulled it closer to the bed. When he sat, he took her hand and held it through the rail. Warm. Small. He kissed the knuckles and gave a squeeze, then brought it to rest against his cheek as tears leaked out of his eyes.

“Hey.” Her voice, small and quiet, brought him to his feet. “What’s wrong? Did I die?”

He laughed. “No. Thank God.”

“Good. Because I did not want to have to tell God he needed a new decorator.” She smiled. “Have you seen her yet?”

“No. I came to see you. They were doing something with her. I don’t know.” All he cared about was Fiona, was letting her know he never wanted to lose her. His throat tightened with emotion and tears he couldn’t seem to control today filled his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to blubber like some damned baby. He sniffed and shook his head. “You look good.”

He’d seen her made up for a night out. He’d seen her in clothes that cost more than his bike. But never before had she been as beautiful as she was now.

She chuckled and laid a hand low on her stomach. “Oh, such a sweet lie.”

“It’s true. You are beautiful.”