Page 42 of Hollow State

"I can't believe you just said that."

"I can." She stood next to him. "You two are the worst romantics I have ever witnessed, and I'm in love with Gideon. His idea of romance is sending me dorky cryptic messages."

"Let's get this bullet out of her."

"Yeah, so you can have all the wex."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Darwin covered Wynn's leg with the surgical drape and went to work. For the first time in a very long while, Darwin wasn't just letting a colleague into his world. He wasn't sharing part of his creation. Or his science. Or medicine.

He was sharing himself, and that was scary, wild, crazy, but mostly, it felt like he’d been set free.

CHAPTER TEN

Wynn dragged the last strip of bacon through what was left of the yolk and pointed it at Neve. "Coulter makes the best crispy bacon." Thank God Wynn hadn't suffered any side effects from the anesthesia, and moving into solid foods had gone smoothly and quickly.

"One of his many talents." Neve raised her mug and took a sip. "But Darwin makes the best brew in this place."

"You won't hear me complaining about that."

Neve set her coffee on the portable cart. "Are you done?"

"I couldn't eat another bite if I tried."

Wynn dropped the fork on the plate and wiped her hands. "Please tell Coulter I said thank you, and tomorrow, French toast might be nice."

"Get Darwin to make you breakfast in bed." Neve lifted the tray and set it aside. "But not this one."

"Trust me, I'm working on it."

"I bet you are." She leaned against the bed. "I want you to know that this is the last time you're allowed to get injured."

"Is that an order?"

"We have a medic." Neve raised her finger. "And when she's bleeding all over an SxS, that's a hell of a thing to work out on the fly at forty klicks an hour," she said. "So, no more."

Wynn understood the concern behind the teasing. The order was impossible to take seriously—no one could predict who'd be hurt on any given mission—but the worry under it was real. Not for the medic. For family.

"You need anything before I go?" Neve asked. "I can bring you a book. There's an entire shelf of Gus's westerns, and every one of them is about a man with a horse and a grievance."

"Hard pass on the books."

"I could bring you Scout's puzzle."

Wynn cocked a brow. "Do you want me to have another hole in my body that doesn't belong there?"

"Oh, come on." Neve chuckled. "It's two thousand pieces. Half of it’s sky. It's been on that table for months, and it's still not finished. You might as well give it a go."

"She wouldn't just shoot me. She'd gut me."

Neve cracked a smile, and they both burst out laughing until Neve cleared her throat.

"Seriously," Neve said. "What do you need?"

"Darwin." Wynn pointed toward the door. "Tell him I want to see him about my walking papers."

Neve reached down and squeezed her hand once, quick and hard, then let go. "I'll send him right in."

Wynn stared at the clock and waited. One minute ticked by. That wasn't so bad. The second minute dragged on forever. But she understood he could've been in the middle of something. Or even taking a moment to chat with Neve. But by the time five minutes ticked by, Wynn considered her options. She didn't have many. Getting out of bed and putting weight on her leg wasn't a good idea.