“Okay, we’ll go see about him, but only for a few minutes.”
“Understood.”
I wheeled her out of the room and over to the nurses’ station to get Long’s room number. Once they’d looked it up, I let them know we’d be going to see him and wouldn’t need any further assistance. As soon as we were in the elevator, Remington stood and pushed the wheelchair aside. “I’ve had enough of this thing.”
“That’s too bad. I kinda liked the idea of wheeling you around.”
“Yeah, sure you did.” She stepped over to me and wound her arm around me, waiting patiently for us to reach Long’s floor. When the doors finally opened, she followed me down the hall and into Long’s room. I stood back and watched as she crept over to his bedside. While he looked better than he had the day before, he was still a fucking mess. His forehead was wrapped in gauze, his hand was in a cast, and there were various bruises and bandages all over his arms and legs. His face was still swollen beyond recognition and his eyes were closed, but that didn’t stop Remington from whispering, “Thomas? It’s Remington.”
“Hey.” He kept his eyes closed as he muttered, “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I couldn’t leave without checking in. I wanted to see how you were.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, I’m here just the same.” Her eyes skirted over his broken body, and she winced when her eyes landed on the cast that extended from his knuckles to his elbow. “So, how are you doing?”
“Better than I look.” He chuckled, then eased his head to the side so he could look at Remington. “I’m really sorry about all this, Remington. I never would’ve asked you on that date if I had known what was going to happen.”
“None of this was your fault, Thomas.”
“Still feel bad about it.” He glanced over at me and said, “I owe you one for getting me out of there like you did.”
“You just hold up your end of the bargain, and we’ll consider ourselves even.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” he assured me. “I’ve already made it clear to the chief that Remington isn’t to be pulled into this any more than she already has.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You know, I’ve heard a lot about you Sinner boys. Always thought you were just like all the rest, but you proved me wrong yesterday.” He did his best to look me in the eye as he told me, “You’re one of the good ones.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the door flew open and a young woman with dark auburn hair came barreling into the room. She had at least twenty bracelets wrapped around her wrists, and she wore thick, dark eyeliner around her wide, green eyes. Without giving me a second glance, she walked right by me and straight over to Remington, who was still facing Thomas. The woman rushed up behind her and wrapped both arms around her waist, giving her a tight squeeze as she shouted, “Oh, my God, Remington! I can’t believe it! Is it really you?”
Even though her back was to the girl, Remington had no problem identifying the sound of her friend’s voice. “Yes, Madeline. It’s really me.”
“I thought for sure I’d lost you.” Madeline held on to her for several moments before finally releasing her. It wasn’t until then the feisty young woman noticed Thomas lying in the bed looking like he’d been hit by a fucking hand grenade. “Oh, Thomas! What did they do to you?”
Remington was quickly put on the side burner as Madeline turned all her attention to Thomas. The way they looked at one another, I would’ve thought they were more than just friends, which made me wonder why Madeline would’ve set Remington up on a date with him. They carried on for a good while before Madeline finally turned her attention back to Remington. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you both are okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost either of you.”
“There’s no reason to worry about that now. We’re both going to be fine.”
They hugged once more, and when they started yammering back and forth, I had a hard time keeping up. They were talking a mile a minute like they couldn’t get it all in fast enough. One minute they were gabbing about work, and then the next, they were going on about Remington’s folks and the reports. And in between all that, there were a few whispers about Thomas. Hell, I don’t know how they got a breath in, but it did me good to see Remington with that bright smile on her face. She was clearly happy about seeing her friend again. I don’t know how long they’d been talking when Madeline motioned her hand in my direction. “So, I’m guessing the hot guy in the corner is yours?”