Down to my Bones by Bijou Hunter

Author:Bijou Hunter [Hunter, Bijou]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-13T16:00:00+00:00

THE OUTSIDER

For nearly twenty-four hours, MJ reacted way too fucking casually about a man trying to kill her. A sneaky suspicion told me that her smiles and jokes would eventually fall away, leaving her with only the panic and fear of nearly dying.

As she cries with her face pressed against her father’s chest, I hold her gaze. She might cling to him, but she only sees me. We stare at each other for so long that I nearly forget other people are in the room. Then I overhear the doctor bitching how he warned the patient about lowering her pain medication.

“Some people just need to learn the hard way,” he whispers so loudly I assume he wants to be heard.

Cooper doesn’t react to the man’s words, likely unable to hear them over MJ’s quiet crying and his wife’s soothing humming on the phone. Before I can make a move, Cap steps closer to the doctor and nurse. His size startles them, and they both step back instinctively.

“Sorry. I didn’t catch that,” he says as his six-foot-five-plus size shadows them. “Did you say something?”

The smug doctor nearly pisses himself in horror when gawking at the giant. I imagine Cap using his massive fists to pound the doctor through the floor. Of course, that doesn’t happen. The arrogant son of a bitch—who works in a small Kentucky hospital, so I’m guessing he wasn’t at the head of his class—sputters something about having rounds, and then he hurries out of the room. The nurse hightails it too.

Audrey gives her man an appreciative smile, but her dark eyes—so similar to her mother’s and sisters’—remain worried.

“Did I do something wrong?” Audrey finally asks.

“No,” I answer when no one else does. “The pain triggered it, not you. After a traumatic event, a person is bound to have flashbacks and panic attacks.”

“So she needs therapy?”

I cock an eyebrow, curious by their shock at her reaction. Like MJ, they viewed the shooting as an annoyance rather than a long-term injury.

“She’ll feel better when she’s home,” I lie, having no idea how she’ll react when she’s back at home. Will she spiral again when her body doesn’t do what she expects?

Sitting up, MJ exhales in a loud, dramatic, and slightly animalistic manner. “I don’t want everyone staring at me. Go away and don’t come back.”

“I’m not leaving you alone,” her father says instantly.

“Pop, go home and take care of Mom. Lily go home and take care of Pop. Audrey, go to Mom and Pop’s home and take care of your belly. Giant man, go somewhere and do something. Quaid, stay with me.”

“No,” Cooper says instantly.

MJ’s blank expression never wavers. “Tomorrow, I need Pop and Mom to come here and get me. If they’re not here, I will use my fork from breakfast to take hostages. Probably two of them. Possibly more. If there’s a problem, Quaid will help me grab a few more.”

Clearly losing track of what her point might be, MJ just stops talking and wiggles free from her father’s embrace.

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