Fire & Ice (The Locklaine Boys #1) (31 page)

I felt myself growing hysterical, my voice getting more high-pitched with every word. “I’m not staying with you!”

“Ms. O’Malley,” the doctor spoke. “If you don’t stay with your boyfriend, I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here overnight. Those are the only options I’d feel comfortable leaving you with.

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“I am,” Griffin added casually, “We’re just having a little spat at the moment. Everything’s working itself out. You can get those discharge papers ready, Doc.”

“A
spat
?!” I shrieked, able to ignore my pounding headache because it was obvious I’d woken up in an alternate universe, and that took precedence over a measly little headache. “Have you lost your
fucking mind
?!”

“It’s the red hair,” he told the doctor with a shit-eating grin. “Makes her feisty. Gotta say, it’s always been a turn on for me.”

I gasped so hard I began choking on my own spit.

“Um…” the doctor drawled out in concern. “Maybe it would be best if she were to stay here tonight. She’ll need a stress-free environment.”

Griffin waved him off as he patted my back while I coughed and sputtered uncontrollably. “Nah, it’ll be fine. She gets like this all the time. She’ll just burn herself out and be asleep before you know it. She’ll be in good hands,” he finished with a wink.

“Okay, well. I’ll just go finish that paperwork.” With that, he was gone before I’d managed to suck in enough air to object.

“You dick!” I yelled as the door swung back open and my brother’s head peeked through.

“All good in here?”

“No!” I shouted at the same time Griffin said, “Yeah.”

“So, the doctor just said she’s going home with you…” This was good.
Really
good. No way in hell Dex would allow that to happen. “Wendy and I will go to her place and pack her an overnight bag. Text me if you think of anything she might need, brother.”

What in the ever-loving fuck?
!

I was stunned speechless. Unfortunately, Griffin was
not
. “Will do, man. Be sure to pack for more than just a couple days.”

“What?
No
!” I cried.

“You got it. See you in a few.” Then his head disappeared and we were once again alone.

“What the hell just happened?” I said quietly to myself.

“Oh, just a head’s up. You’re brother’s totally on board with us being together.”

“There is no
us
!” I insisted. “We broke up!”

He simply shrugged. “Eh, tomato, to-mah-to. I’m gonna go fill the others in. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Try and get some rest in that time.”

After placing a quick kiss on my stunned lips, he exited the room, leaving me wondering what the hell was happening.

“I DON’T THINK THIS
is a good idea,” Navie spoke in a hushed voice. Rowan and Richard were with us. Tomas, having discovered that there would be no drama for the foreseeable future, headed back to close up Fire & Ice. Dex and Wendy were already on their way to Pepper’s apartment to pack her a bag that, hopefully, held at least a week’s worth of clothes. I’d just filled them in on the current situation when Navie voiced her concerns.

“Maybe she should come home with us,” she said, looking up beseechingly at her fiancé.

“She’s not staying with you guys. She’s staying with me,” I declared in a voice that brokered no argument. Unfortunately for me, my cousin was engaged to one of the only two woman on the planet—Pepper being the other woman—that couldn’t be intimidated in the slightest.

From the way her face scrunched up and her fists clenched, she was about two seconds away from attempting to pound me into the ground. “Listen here, you as—”

“All right,” Rowan cajoled, pulling his little hellion back against his chest. “Let’s just calm down.”

“Fine,” Navie finally relented when she saw I wasn’t going to cave to her attitude. She might be able to bring my cousin to heel, but there was only one woman I’d be willing to roll over for, and the mini-dynamo wasn’t it, not matter how much I liked and respected her. “But so help me God, Griffin, if you make her cry again, I’m gonna play whack-a-mole on your franks and beans. You understand?”

“Jesus,” I flinched, my hands coming down over my crotch protectively. “What the hell do they teach you down in Texas?”

Rowan and Richard both laughed as she gave me that Robert De Niro double finger eye point thing before heading into Pepper’s room and closing the door.

The little psycho.

I was just about to turn and head out of the waiting room when a flash of something caught my eye. “Son of a bitch,” I mumbled as I made my way out of the waiting room and into the hall, my cousins hot on my trail.

“What? What is it?” Rowan asked in curiosity.

“Ah, fuck,” Richard cursed, knowing exactly what the problem was.

Chance fucking Hoffman.

I almost felt bad for the poor guy as he made his way slowly down the hall, scanning the room numbers, an unopened box of oatmeal crème pies in hand, completely unaware he was just seconds away from death. I might have let him off with just an ass kicking if it hadn’t been for those damn pies. Why hadn’t I thought to bring some?

“Lookin’ for someone?” I asked, widening my stance and crossing my arms over my chest as I narrowed my eyes on the guy.

“Uh, yeah. Room 503,” he muttered as he continued to look around before finally giving us his attention, recognition sliding across his features as he looked at Richard. “Hey man, how’s it going?”

“Good,” Rich replied lightly. “You’re here to see Pepper?”

His forehead creased. “Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”

“Pep’s in room 503. I’m her boyfriend,” I cut in bluntly, eager to put him in his place. I didn’t know who the fucker thought he was, but he wasn’t getting within ten feet of my girl.

“Ah, I see,” he smiled. That’s right. He actually smiled. I felt my smug expression morph into one of confusion as he nodded his head. “You’re the complication.”

“I’m sorry?” I ground out, my hands clenching into fists, ready to hit him if he said one word I didn’t like.

“I asked her out before. She turned me down, said it was complicated. I’m assuming
you’re
the complication?” His tone didn’t hold a single ounce of animosity. It was as if the guy was genuinely curious. To say it threw me for a loop was an understatement.

“Uh… yeah, I guess. But we’re back together now,” I added, just in case he still had any ideas.

“No worries, man,” he chuckled. “She friend-zoned me right out of the gate. I’m just here ‘cause Tomas texted to tell me she had an accident. Just one friend wanting to check on another, that’s all.” He raised his hands in the air, the box still clutched in one of them. “Here, I’ll just leave these with you to give to her.”

A strange mix of relief and bewilderment came over me, replacing my earlier need to pound the guy into the ground as I reached out and took the box. I wasn’t prepared for him to be a decent guy… to actually
like
him.

“Uh… thanks.”

“No problem. Make sure she gets well, yeah? And good luck,” he offered authentically. “Hope it all works out for you guys.”

Before I could thank him again, he turned on his heels and headed back down the corridor.

“Yeah,” Richard chimed. “Forgot to mention earlier, that Hoffman’s a pretty cool dude.”

“Think you could have mentioned that before I tried to get you to convince him Pepper had Ebola?” I grunted, shooting him a wilting look.

“I’m so fucking lost right now,” Rowan muttered. “But I think I’m better off not knowing.”

“A SPAT?” NAVIE ASKED
, hilarity shining in her eyes as she bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “He told the doctor it was just a little
spat
?”

“I fail to see the humor in this, Navie,” I informed her drily.

“Then you’re not looking hard enough, honey,” she giggled.

Flopping my head back on the paper thin hospital pillow, I let out a loud, beleaguered huff. “He said he’s my boyfriend, that we’re back together and everything was working itself out. Aren’t delusions like that a symptom of psychosis? Maybe you should talk to Rowan about having him committed.”

I felt the bed dip as Navie climbed up beside me. I scooted over the best I could to allow her enough room for both of us to be comfortable. “I gotta tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Griffin so furious before. I didn’t even know he was capable of exhibiting those kind of emotions.”

“What can I say, I bring out the best in him,” I offered sarcastically.

“I think you do, babe,” she said in a soft voice as she reached out to take my hand. “People don’t react like that unless they have serious feelings for the person.”

“Navie, don’t,” I warned. I couldn’t take it, not again. I was physically sore, emotionally drained, and worried about whether or not my instinct of self-preservation was strong enough to keep me from falling at Griffin’s feet if he so much as crooked a finger at me. “I don’t want to hear that he cares about me, okay? If you care for someone you don’t keep hurting them. You protect them. Griffin is the only person who’s ever hurt me this badly and I’m not going him to do it again.
Ever
.”

She studied me for a few seconds, compassion flickering across her features as she asked, “Did you ever stop to think that maybe he’s the only one capable of hurting you because he’s the only one you’ve ever let in? Sweetie, you hold everyone at arms’ length—”

“That’s not true!” I argued.

She cocked an eyebrow. “Really? So you’re saying there’s a totally different reason why you kept the truth about you and Griffin from me? Why you never planned on showing me that gorgeous wedding dress? Why you disappeared on me instead of telling me you were hurting so I could be there for you?” I felt myself deflate at her pointed look.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered brokenly.

“It’s okay, Pepper. I’m not mad about any of that, I’m just trying to make you see that
Griffin
is the only one who’s ever gotten that far in. I’m not telling you to forgive him or take him back. But look at it this way. He’s the only one you let in. He’s the only one with the power to hurt you. Maybe it’s because he’s the
only one
. Period.”