Grayson sat up with a muffled grunt and scooted over. “What are you doing?” I demanded, grabbing his good arm. “Stop moving around somuch.”
“I want you up here with me,” he said. “Just getin.”
“What?” I blinked at him and then shook my head. “No, I don’t want to hurtyou.”
“Just get in here, Babydoll. Don’t make me spankyou.”
I pursed my lips and lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t know if you could even if you wanted to right now,” I pointedout.
“Please?”
I rolled my eyes and gently eased onto the bed at his side. Grayson tucked an arm around me and held me close to him. I leaned forward and pressed my face against his shoulder, breathing him in. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I ordered. Tears pricked at myeyes.
“I won’t,” hepromised.
I lifted my hand, pinky out and curled. “Pinkypromise?”
He groaned, but withdrew his arm from around my back and hooked his pinky with mine. “Pinky promise,” he assuredme.
“Awww. Isn’t thatsweet?”
I jerked my head up at the same time as Grayson. Teddi limped in through the curtain, sliding it closed behind her. I stared in shock. When Grayson had said she looked disheveled, I hadn't pictured it being...well, she didn't look merely disheveled—she looked downrightwild.
Her eyes were unfocused. There were bruises up and down one bare arm. Her hair was a mess, all over the place. I got up from the bed, but Grayson's hand locked on my wrist before I could moveaway.
"What are you doing in here?" Idemanded.
"He's my son, you little bitch. I'm allowed to be in here," she snappedback.
"You're the one who did this tohim."
"No, no no, Harlow,dear," she sneered, the lower half of her face twitched as she attempted to curl her lips at me. Too much Botox, though, made it difficult. "Youdid this to him. Tome!"
Grayson struggled to sit up. "No, she didn't," he said sharply, his sharp eyes focused on the unstable woman across theroom.
"If it wasn't for her, we would've been fine!" Teddi shrieked. "I had everything planned out! But thenshecame along—" Teddi broke off to shove one finger at me, and I realized that she was still hiding her other hand behind her back. "—and ruinedeverything."
“It’s over, Mom,” Grayson said as he discreetly swung his legs over the side of the bed. I moved to stop him. I didn’t know if he was allowed to stand just yet, but he just waved me away as his bare feet touched the cool tiled hospitalfloors.
“Oh, no,” Teddi said with a smile. I looked at her, not liking the glee in her tone. My eyes widened when she brought her other hand around her side. “I’m going to take care of the problem, sweetheart,” she said. “Don’t you worry. Mommy’s going to be alright. Everything’s going to be alright. As soon as we get rid of her then your daddy will come back and Mommy won’t be in debt anymore and everything will be justfine.”
“Fucking Christ!” Grayson jerked me back. “You’ve lostit!”
I stared at the needle in her hand. It wasn’t all that large and she didn’t hold it as though she knew how to hurt someone with it, but the point was sharp and I didn’t want it anywhere near me. I also didn’t want it anywhere near Grayson. I latched onto his arms—both of them—causing him to grunt in discomfort as I banged against his wrappedarm.
Teddi chose that moment to dive for me. “Just get out of the way, Grayson!” she shrieked. “And let Mommy helpyou!”
I dragged Grayson back, a wondering feat considering how much larger he was. He grunted and slipped, going down. We crashed to the floor, him on top of me as she darted forward. The curtain jerked behind Teddi as Marv came barreling through, followed by Bellamy. Relief poured through my system as Bellamy latched onto one of her arms and Marv onto the other. The needle fell from her grasp and I scrambled out from under Grayson, kicking it as far away from Teddi’s struggling form as possible before returning to help Graysonup.
“What the hell is going on in here?!” a booming voice yelled. All eyes turned towards a tall, dark skinned man—broad shouldered and serious faced—in a long white doctor’scoat.
“They tried to kill my baby!” Teddi screamed. She shrieked and struggled against Bellamy’s and Marv’sgrip.
The man took a look at me and Grayson as I tried to help him sit on the side of the bed while he grasped at his side, wheezing and grimacing in pain and then at Bellamy and Marv as they fought to contain Teddi’s feeble attempts toescape.
“I can explain,” Knix said as he stepped up next to the man. Alongside him stood Texas, holding a tray of drinks and lifting a brow at Teddi’s wilddisplay.
The doctor looked down at Knix—yes, he wasthatbig—and nodded. “I think you better,” he said. “But first, let me help this young man back intobed.”