Page 81 of Courting Danger

Chapter 22

Ocean

Brrrring. Brrring. Brrring.

The fancy vintage phone on the kitchen counter scared the shit out of him when it rang, and Ocean almost dropped the glass he’d been filling with water from the pitcher in the fridge. Snatching it up, he smacked himself in the ear in his haste, wincing as he saidhello.

“Ocean?”

“Yeah. Roan? Are you guys still at the grocery store?”

“No. The hospital. I need you to get Pope on the phone.”

Whirling, Ocean made it three steps with the receiver in his hand before a sharp tug reminded him that he couldn’t take it with him. He hastily put the receiver back on the counter beside the now cockeyed phone and hurried to the den, where Pope lay beside the dogs, the three of them soundly snoozing.

“Pope,” Ocean hissed, shaking him harder than he intended, but his heart was hammering, which made caution impossible. “Pope, wake up.”

“W-what!” Pope snapped, jerking awake.

“Roans on the landline and says they’re at the hospital.”

That was all it took for awareness to return and Pope to scramble off the cushion, banging his knee hard enough on the floor that he growled a stream of curses as Ocean helped him to his feet. Ocean was certain his knee would buckle during one of those first few frantic steps, as Pope tried to move entirely too fast to get to the kitchen.

“Roan! What the hell is this about being at the hospital?” He barked into the receiver the moment it was in his hand.

Even pressed against him, Ocean still couldn’t hear what was being said. Guess they’d intended calls to be private back then, though right now, he’d have given anything for a speaker feature. It felt like forever before Pope spoke again.

“Okay, you sit tight while we figure shit out here. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Silence again, but shorter this time.

“No, no, you did good, both of you. Sounds like the only damage is to that hard-as-a-rock skull of his. I’m going to reach out to Mark; Joker’s Wild is closer to you than we are right now. Just park your ass in a chair and wait for him to get there.”

Silence again. Ocean was getting sick of fucking silences.

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll take care of it. You just take a moment to breathe and collect yourself,” Pope said, his voice having slipped into that soothing tone he used when someone was upset. “Everything is gonna be just fine. I promise. It’s okay to hang up now. We’ll be there soon.”

Though he couldn’t be certain, it seemed like the short silence that followed was Pope waiting for Roan to hang up first, while Ocean had resorted to restless pacing, anxious to learn what the hell had taken place. Only, instead of telling him, Pope hung up, then immediately raised the receiver to his ear again and started dialing a number.

Oh yeah, he had said he was going to call Mark.

Grumbling beneath his breath, Ocean continued to stalk between Pope and the center island, impatience slowly getting the best of him. He had to bite his lower lip just to keep from demanding answers.

“Hey. It’s Pope. Danger got himself hit with a piece of the ceiling when it fell in at the grocery store. He’s at the ER with Roan. Can you and a couple of guys head over? It’s gonna take a bit before Ocean and I can get down there.”

This time, Ocean heard a burst of sound from the receiver, though he still couldn’t make out what was being said.

“No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. Apparently, the whole goddamn roof caved in.”

Never in his life had he ever felt like a stretch of silence went on as long as the one that occurred while Pope listened to Mark.

“Roan said no one was trapped and Danger was the only one injured. He was carrying someone who couldn’t get to the back room on their own. Was alert and complaining about how much he hated hospitals and pissed about needing more stitches, so it sounds like he’s his usually ornery self.”

There was no way he was going to get through another pause without something to occupy himself, so Ocean went around the island to retrieve a glass, guzzling the water so he wouldn’t snarl at Pope to hurry this shit up so they could go. At least now he had some clue about what had happened, not that it settled his nerves much.

How the hell did a ceiling just cave in?

“Thanks.”