I flopped back on the ground, wincing when my shoulder bounced. “Fuck, just give me another shot.”
“Just to be clear,” Lock said, “you’re talking about medication and not like…a bullet, right?”
I glared at him and he looked around. “What? It’s a valid question.”
36
RAE
“He didn’t really take that as well as I thought he would,” Cash said after we loaded Duke up in the truck.
I slammed the tailgate after loading in our gear. “Yeah, I thought he would have handled it better too.”
“Do you think he’s going to stick around?”
I smirked at him. “Of course he is.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I turned to him, not at all worried about this. “First, I’m excellent in bed. Second, he’s been hounding me for two years. He’s not going to walk away after putting in all that work. And third, he’s only got one working leg. He needs me, and I will milk that as long as it takes to make sure he doesn’t freak out and run.”
Cash chuckled, shaking his head at me. “Rae, you’re a little manipulative.”
“A little? Cash, come on.”
“Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “Let’s get him back. I know Jenna is eager to see him. She asked that we stop by the salon.”
“The salon? That’s weird. Why would she ask us to meet her there?”
He shrugged. “No idea. But the sooner we take him there, the sooner you can take him home.”
I still thought it was funny, but got into the truck and we rolled out. Even with all of Duke’s requests for pain medication, Lock refused to give it to him, saying it would be easier to get him settled in if he was awake. I had to agree. And we really didn’t need him to freak out again.
“Why aren’t we going to the house?” Duke grumbled from the back seat.
“Jenna wants to see you.”
He sighed dramatically. “Tell her to come see me at the house. I’ve got a bum leg.”
I spun around and glared at him. “That woman has been through hell.”
“So have I,” he argued.
“Yes, but your heart isn’t likely to give out at any minute,” I said, just to make him feel bad. “She’s old and needs to see that you’re okay.”
“Fine,” he mumbled.
Cash parked in front of the salon and I got down, opening the back door for Duke. He didn’t look too thrilled about getting out, and even less so at the idea of needing Cash to help him out. But he didn’t complain as Cash brought the wheelchair around and locked it into place before helping him down.
Jenna came running out of the salon with her arms spread wide. When she saw Duke, tears filled her eyes and she started sobbing. The woman got down on her knees and rested her head in Duke’s lap. He looked uncomfortable as hell, but did everything he could to comfort her.
“I’m so sorry you went through that,” she cried.
“Hey, we got Theo back. That was the point.”
“But look at you,” she cried. “I never wanted this.”
He sighed and forced her to look up at him. “I’m fine. I’ll recover.”