* * *
“You’re really killing my mood.” Amelia walks behind the reception desk and hands me a coffee cup from the little coffee shop down the street. “It’s decaf with three pumps of pumpkin and two pumps of white chocolate.” My friend is the freaking bestest. Ever.
“Thank you,” I mumble and give her a weak smile. It’s been two weeks since Ryker left for Washington DC, and I’m missing him like crazy. Not much will cheer me up until he comes back. Permanently.
“Have you heard from Mr. Smitten today?” Amelia has been a lifesaver. My best friend makes sure I don’t waste away missing MHM.
“He called me last night.” And he sounded distracted. All day long, I’ve had a bad feeling that I can’t shake. Between tossing my cookies frequently and worrying about Ryker, I’m a nervous wreck. I keep telling myself stress is causing the nausea, but I’m pretty sure it’s something else. Something that’s going to keep us up at night and expect college tuition one day. “Only two more weeks to go.”
Amelia pats my back and smiles. “Two weeks is nothing. He’ll be back before you know it.” I wish.
At lunchtime, I run out to The Apothecary, the local pharmacy, and grab a little test that will tell me if we’re about to have a ton of sleepless nights in our future.
After taking the test, I wrap it in toilet paper and stick it in my bag while I debate how I’m going to tell Ryker the news. Maybe, I’ll video call him and hold up the little stick.
A few hours later, I’m about to leave for the day when my cell phone buzzes in my pocket. I don’t usually keep it on me during work hours, but I want to make sure MHM can get in touch with me at all times. I don’t recognize the number, so I step into the back room and answer. “Hello.”
“Francesca, I don’t want to worry you.” Hearing Razor’s voice sends terror coursing through my soul. “But there’s been an incident.”
“Incident?” I practically scream in his ear. “Is he okay?” I have to know Ryker is okay. I can deal with anything except losing him.
“As far as I know, he’s going to be okay.” Razor’s words don’t exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. “I’m on my way to get you. I’ve arranged for a private plane to fly us to DC.”
I nod my head vigorously, forgetting he can’t see me through the phone. After hanging up, I manage to stumble out to Amelia. She takes one look at my pale face and horror-filled eyes and rushes to me. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s been an incident,” I repeat on a continuous loop. My mind refuses to function in the face of the terror cutting through me. Amelia manages to keep me calm until Razor storms into the hotel.
“I’ve got her,” he promises my best friend before leading me to the car waiting outside.
Adalynn gives me a reassuring smile as I slide in next to her. “Don’t worry. Montgomery men are notoriously resilient.” God, I hope she’s right. The next two hours are a blur as Razor gets us settled on the small corporate jet. So many thoughts swirl through my mind that I have trouble holding on to any of them.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Razor talking on the phone and wonder how he's doing it. “We’re going to head straight to the hospital when we land.” He pats my arm, but I barely notice. My entire body is numb. I won’t be able to take a full breath until I know Ryker is alive.
The plane tires have barely stopped moving when Razor orders the flight attendant to open the door. “Hurry the fuck up.” His freaking calm manner is a façade.
Adalynn keeps up a steady stream of inconsequential conversation the entire drive through Washington DC. While I appreciate her efforts to keep me calm, I’m a nervous wreck. That’s an understatement. I’m about to crawl out of my skin.
A security guard is waiting for us at the hospital’s side entrance. After Razor shows the guard his identification, the middle-aged man steps back. “Please, come with me.” He leads us into a single elevator and places his keycard against the plate on the wall. As we quickly ascend, I clench my hands in my jacket pockets, attempting to appear calm when I’m anything but.
We step through an automatic door and stop at a room with two policemen standing on either side of the door. One of them holds out his hand. “IDs?” After we hand him our identifications, he pulls out a tablet and types on it for a few moments. I glance around the sterile hospital floor, praying for good news. “Two of you can go in at a time.” The guard kinda reminds me of a robot.
“Come in with me, Francesca.” Razor places his hand on my lower back and reaches for the doorknob.
“Wait.” I feel horrible leaving Adalynn to her own devices. “Shouldn’t you and Adalynn go in first?”
Razor shakes his head, giving me a slight smile. “My brother would have my ass if I didn’t show up with you.”
A tiny spark of relief courses through me. If Razor is worried about how Ryker will react, he has to think his twin is okay. “I have twin spidey sense.” He gives me a little push in the door. “I’d know if the fucker had gotten his ass killed.”
“Nice,” Ryker growls from the hospital bed, and I almost melt into a puddle of relief. MHM is alive and well. My eyes roam over his body, looking for injuries, but I’m unable to see anything. “I got shot and you’re still badmouthing me to my woman.”
“Are you okay?” I ignore Razor and stumble over to the bed. “What happened?” Without giving him a chance to answer, I place small kisses all over his face before stepping back to punch him in the shoulder. “How dare you scare me like that.”
I pull back, ready to punch him in the other shoulder when Ryker grabs my hand. “Hold up there, slugger.” He wraps his hand in my hair and pulls me down for a real kiss. As his lips move against mine, my knees nearly buckle. The relief flowing through me morphs into pleasure, and I almost forget where we are. “I got shot in that shoulder.”
Oh my God. I take a shot right to the chest, realizing he could’ve easily died. “What the fuck happened? Those assholes at the agency wouldn’t tell me shit,” Razor growls behind me.
I don’t resist when Ryker drags me down on the edge of his hospital bed. “Stay,” he orders me, and I’m too relieved to care that it sounds like he’s giving a dog commands. “On my way to work, I saw some asshole trying to carjack a woman, so I stopped and intervened. Just my luck, the chick was packing and decided to shoot her rescuer. At least she was a horrible shot.” A wince crosses Ryker’s face as he shrugs with his good shoulder.