Page 66 of York

“It will be normal for her to be tired now. From the lack of oxygen and the trauma. But if she is hard to wake, that’s an emergency.”

“Got it,” I agreed.

“I do think most of what you’re feeling is from the strangulation, but I want to make you aware of anything else to look out for. But I will be dropping in to check on you, too. And not just because Eddie cooks up a storm when someone is hurt or sick and I want to steal a plate.”

Runa gave her a weak smile at that.

“Now, avoid all blood thinners in case of a concussion. So no NSAIDs, not even for your headache. If you have to, take acetaminophen. But if you could just try to sleep off the headache, that would be best. Alright.” She took a step back and pulled off her gloves. “Unfortunately, there’s really nothing I can do for you except tell you to rest, get fluids, take care of your sore throat, and watch for any serious concussion signs. I’m sorry. I hate not being able to help fix something, but…”

“Thanks,” Runa rasped out.

“Ama, on a less doctor side and more of a mom one, any idea how we can hide this from Denali?”

“I’d like to say honesty is the best policy, like I tell my kids. But the fact of the matter is, parents need to lie sometimes. So I think maybe leaning into Mommy being sick might work. Mommy has a sore throat, that’s why she sounds like that. And she is wearing a scarf because it’s important to keep your throat warm when you’re sick. An old wives’ tale, of course, but so what? Makeup for the bruise. Whacked her face with a cabinet for the lip. Kids that age usually just believe you if the lie is plausible enough.”

“Thanks, Ama. Really.”

“Anytime. I will see you guys tomorrow to check in,” she said before leaving us alone in the room.

“How do you feel about lying to Denali about being sick?”

“I like it.”

“Yeah, me too. I don’t think we need her any more scared than she is about something bad happening. And soup, tea, ice pops, all that kinda shit that will help your throat is stuff she would have had you bring to her when she was sick. It shakes out. Plus, there will be a lot of distractions at the clubhouse to keep her mind from wandering too much.”

She nodded at that, looking like she could barely keep her eyes open another second.

“Let me go see if Seeley is bringing us back to the clubhouse. Give me one sec.”

“I called Teddy. He’s going to send his car for you guys,” Seeley said when I emerged. “I’m gonna drop Ama home, then I’m heading to Miami to get in touch with Arty. He needs to escalate this and figure this shit out. She’s a mom. She can’t keep getting attacked like this.”

“Thanks, man. I would go myself—”

“Nah. Your place is at home, taking care of your girls. I’ll check in after I get in touch with him. Let you know what he’s doing.”

“Appreciate it,” I said, exhaling hard as I saw Teddy’s town car pull up.

With that, I carried a still-weak Runa out to the car, finding not only had Teddy had his man stock some cold drinks and ice cream, but a collection of designer silk scarves and lightweight cashmere ones.

At my questioning look as she sipped a cold water, I shrugged. “The club has a few very wealthy friends. Teddy, who is rich legitimately and has fancy town cars and a bunch of houses, then Zayn, who is less legitimately wealthy and likes to spend his money on yachts and hot tubs full of champagne.”

She shot me a weak smile at that.

“You’re gonna be alright. You got a whole club who is gonna want to wait on you hand-and-foot now. I have Harmon setting up the empty room for you guys. Caymen moved out recently, so there is one up for grabs temporarily.”

As much as I wanted Runa in my room, in my bed, I understood that Runa would probably not want to leave Denali alone in a room in a still new place.

“She’s probably already arranging all her stuffed animals and figurines all around the room,” I said, getting a soft smile from Runa. “Everything’s gonna be alright. I’m gonna make sure of it.” I reached out, giving her knee a squeeze. Her hand went on top of mine, holding it for a long moment before snatching it away and pretending that picking out a scarf was of the utmost importance.

We made it into the house after stopping to pick up and carefully apply some concealer to her face. Runa paused to pull the blanket off the back of the couch and wrap it around her before we followed Denali’s voice into the kitchen.

She was sitting at the table with Dixon and a couple of the club kids with a giant platter of food in front of her: lasagna, quesadillas, salad, sweet potato fries, and a bowl of mixed fruit. From the looks of her, she’d already had (and spilled) quite a bit of lasagna.

“Mommy!” she cheered, but her face quickly fell.

“Turns out Mommy has a really bad cold,” I told her, surprised how much I hated the lie. My whole career meant a lot of lying. It never bothered me. Lying to my kid, though? A whole different thing. “She’s got a really sore throat and is going to need us to bring her tons of ice pops, ice cream, tea, and cold drinks to her while she heals up. Think you can help me do that?”

There was a small bit of suspicion in Denali’s eyes but she nodded.