Devil May Care: Boxed Set (19 page)

Not like when he was a kid. How badly had his father’s abuse messed him up? Maybe worse than he thought. But that had gone on for years. And he hadn’t just watched his mother get hit and ordered around. His dad hit him and his brother for years before anyone did anything about it. Most of his life. And he’d turned out okay, hadn’t he? Maybe. Maybe not.

But Sophia would be okay. He’d make sure of it. If Fiona let him, he’d be the best father to her that anyone could be. He’d make sure she always was safe and always felt safe. He’d slay monsters under the bed and in the closet if he had to. Whatever it took to make sure she felt safe, he would do.

And the same thing for Fiona. He’d teach her to shoot, get her a gun. Make sure she knew without a doubt that he’d always come for her and Sophia. He’d give his life to protect them. He’d do anything for them. He didn’t want her to have any reason to be afraid, ever.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jasper said.

He didn’t want to worry her, but the sooner they left the better. All of his guys who came on bikes had left. But Aaron sat in his car, making sure they were okay.

“You’re right.” Fiona straightened up and wiped her eyes. “Getting her back to something normal is the best thing. We’ll go to the hospital, make sure your hand is okay, then get her home.”

“We can skip the hospital. Let’s just get her home.”

Fiona walked around to the driver’s side and they both got in the car. She looked back at Sophia. “All set?”

In his mirror, Jasper saw Sophia nod and squeeze Cuddles tight. Fiona started the car and drove off, Aaron following behind them.

***

Fiona didn’t care what Jasper said. He was going to the hospital. With all they’d been through, the last thing anyone needed was for his hand to get infected or something. It wouldn’t take long. She couldn’t wait to get home, to stand in the hot shower and let the water burn away the stress and dirt of the day.

What a long day it’d been. No wonder she was so tired. It was hours after the time she normally went to sleep. She yawned and glanced back at Sophia. Fast asleep. She looked over at Jasper and smiled.

He took her right hand and kissed it, then held it in his. It felt so good to have him touching her. Even if it only was her hand. Any contact with him was like heaven. She fast forwarded through the next hours in her mind. They’d go to the hospital, get him fixed up. Then they’d go home and get cleaned up. Maybe they’d even shower together. And then, they’d climb into her bed together, naked and clean.

Her body started to tingle all over at the thought. When they’d slept together before it’d been the best sex of her life. And she wouldn’t mind having it again. And again. And again. Maybe even for the rest of her life. Hopefully it would take a long time for him to get another house or fix his, which meant he’d have to stay with them for a good long while.

She couldn’t believe Leo had burned his place down. Who did something like that? Was it bad? Jasper had said someone had been trapped inside. That meant it had to be pretty bad, right? You didn’t get smoke inhalation and get trapped inside the building and burn your hand if it was just a little kitchen fire. He’d said his car was ash. So that meant it had to be really bad. Was there anything left? Had he lost everything?

She considered that for a moment. She had left behind most things when she left Sam. Some things were just too big or impractical. Important things like baby photos were easy to carry because they were all digital. They were saved online anyway. Important papers were small and easy, too, but Sophia had had to leave most of her favorite toys. They had Cuddles, who’d been her bunny since she was a baby. A few other stuffed animals came along, but her bigger toys had to stay. Her bike, puzzles, most of her books and DVDs. Fiona had been slowly rebuying a lot of things, but didn’t have much budget for all that.

For Jasper, he might have lost everything. It wasn’t like he’d gotten the chance to pick out his favorite clothing, like she had. If it was gone, it was all gone. Everything from bedding to dishes to books and movies to even his car. Where was his bike? He must’ve been on it if his car was there. So his bike should be okay. But what had he lost? What was valuable to him?

She couldn’t imagine having nothing at all except the clothes on your back. How was he handling this all so well? Shouldn’t he be freaking out or losing it right about now? Maybe he was just in shock. She looked over at him. He stared out the window, still holding her hand tight.

“You doing okay?” she asked.

He looked over and gave her a smile. “I’m perfect.”

“You sure?”

“As long as you’re safe and Sophia is safe, yup.”

“But your house burned down today. Is anything salvageable?”

He shook his head. “Highly doubtful.”

“That doesn’t upset you?”

He shrugged. “It sucks, yeah. But the things that are most important to me weren’t inside the house, so it doesn’t matter that much. It’s just stuff. It can all be replaced.”

“But you lost everything you own?”

“Nah,” he said. “I have my bike. And this shirt and these pants.” He chuckled. “I have insurance. It’ll be fine. You can help me go shopping if you want.”

“I do like to go shopping.”

“See. It’ll be a fun time.”

She let this sink in. Was he really so okay with all this? “Maybe you’re still in shock.”

“Fiona, I’m fine.” He kissed her hand again. “Everything I care most about in the world is right here in this car or heading to the hospital.”

***

Fiona turned into the hospital and Jasper gave her a look. “What are you doing?”

“You have to get your hand checked out,” she insisted. “And don’t you want to check on your friends?”

“What about Sophia?” He looked back at her.

“She’s sleeping now and she’ll probably stay asleep. She’ll be fine.”

They climbed out of the car and Fiona scooped Sophia into her arms, wrapping her little legs around her to hold her so she could stay asleep.

They went right to the ER. Aaron had been behind them, so wasn’t inside yet, but Derrick and Alex were there. Derrick was talking to the nurse at the window and pointed to Alex, who was sitting in a chair in the waiting area. The nurse came around the corner to him with a wheelchair and they helped Alex get into it.

“Hey,” Jasper said, and hurried over to Alex. “I’ll come check on you in a bit. Make sure that arm stays attached.” Jasper lightly punched the shoulder opposite of the arm that’d been shot.

Alex nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

Derrick and Jasper bumped fists and Jasper came back to where Fiona stood near the admittance window. When the nurse came back, he went over to talk to her.

“Hi, I was here earlier for smoke inhalation and a burn, but I had an emergency and had to leave.”

She looked up at him with an unamused expression. “Your name?”

“Jasper Paulson.”

She turned and rifled through a stack of folders. She pulled one out and flipped it open. “Right. You were the one who left without being discharged.”

“Yeah, sorry. I had an emergency.”

“Have a seat. We’ll give you a call.”

Jasper walked to the closest seat, Fiona right behind him with Sophia in her arms. They sat and waited.

Aaron arrived and walked over to them. “Hey, man. Where is everyone?”

“Alex is being looked at. Derrick is with him. Haven’t seen anyone else yet. I’m waiting to be seen. Again.”

Aaron nodded. “I’m going to the room Daniel was in.”

“Send me an update.”

“Will do.”

Aaron left and Jasper slumped back in the chair and closed his eyes. Fiona ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. Warmth spread through him, drawing a smile from his lips.

“Jasper Paulson.”

He opened his eyes and saw a doctor looking around the waiting room. They all stood and followed him to a small trauma room.

Jasper sat on the edge of the hospital bed, his feet dangling causally from the end. Fiona sat by his side in one of the padded chairs, still holding Sophia tight in her arms, as the doctor cleaned his burn. First he sprayed some sort of antiseptic. It was cold and soothed the hot skin, but then he dabbed at the burn with a gaze pad, which took the coolness away. Next, the doctor took out some sort of wipe. Like a wet wipe, but smelling much stronger of medicine and chemicals. He wiped it across Jasper’s hand. Jasper tried not to react to the pressure and friction as the doctor worked, but it hurt. He gritted his teeth and tightened his other hand into a fist. Finally, it was done. The doctor smeared some ointment on the damaged skin that cooled it and made it feel a little bit better. He relaxed some. The doctor wrapped a bandage around his hand and stood up, finished and satisfied with his work.

“Okay,” the doctor said while making notes on his clipboard. “Keep it dry and clean. You’ll need to change the bandage once a day, and use this ointment.” He handed Jasper a small white tube, which Jasper stuck in his pocket. “Come back to see me in a week.”

Jasper nodded. “Sounds good. Thanks.”

The doctor nodded at him and left the room.

“Guess we’re all set,” Jasper said, sliding down from the edge of the exam bed. “I want to check on Daniel and Alex real quick, then we can go home.”

Fiona yawned, but smiled at him. “Sure.”

“Want me to take her? She must be getting heavy.”

“No, your hand. It’s okay. I’m used to carrying her.”

In the hall, Jasper took out his phone and called Aaron. “Where are you guys?”

“With Daniel. Room 109. Man. It’s not looking good.”

Jasper swallowed hard. “We’ll be right there.”

“How is he?” Fiona asked.

Jasper looked at her and the despair must’ve been obvious on his face before he even said anything. Her eyes grew wide. He shook his head tightly. “Not good.”

They hurried over to room 109 and went inside. Aaron was there watching and Daniel’s girlfriend, Angie, sat close to his bed. Tubes and wires ran from Daniel, who lay in the bed, far too still. It looked like a machine was breathing for him.

“What’s going on?” Jasper asked.

Aaron and Angie both looked at him, but Angie turned her attention back to Daniel.

Aaron moved to stand closer to Jasper so he could keep his voice down. “They said his heart stopped a few times. They were able to resuscitate him, but that’s apparently a very bad sign. They don’t think they’ll be able to bring him back a third time if his heart fails again.”

“Okay.” He tried to let this sink in. “What are his injuries?”

“The burns are really bad and it’s making his body go into shock. And that can cause organ failure. So they’re watching for all that now. To make sure everything keeps working.”

Jasper pulled up the other chair in the room. “Sit down, babe,” he said to Fiona.

She sat and arranged Sophia into a more comfortable position on her lap. Sophia was fast asleep and Fiona looked exhausted. He was tired, too. The day had gone on far too long and held too much pain and drama. They’d leave soon, but not until he knew his guys were going to be okay.

Jasper walked over to Angie and put a hand on her shoulder. She gripped Daniel’s hand tight. “If you need anything, let us know, okay?”