Page 50 of Stay Little Fighter

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHLOE

NOW

“Your wound is looking great, and your blood came back clear of infection,” Dr. Canning, a blonde woman in her mid-forties, tells me with a friendly smile. “I want you to take it easy over the next few days but keep up regular walks a few times a day until you feel up for more. I wouldn’t be doing any heavy lifting for at least a few weeks, but you’ll be okay to return to regular activities by the weekend.”

I catch Ryker’s smirk out of the corner of my eye, but I force my face to remain neutral even if my cheeks heat.

“I understand the nurse went over how to change your dressing with you…” She trails off as she gestures to Ronan before glancing around at the other three men that line the edge of the room.

“Boyfriend,” he inserts helpfully, holding up a bag of supplies the nurse gave him. “And yes, I got a crash course on when and how to change them until the end of the week when we should allow the wound to dry out.”

“Fantastic. I’ll go and complete the discharge paperwork while you get dressed, but I think you’ll be good as new before you know it.” She turns on her heel and leaves the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

“I thought I’d have to speak to the police before they would let me leave,” I say as I reach for the pile of clothes at the end of the bed.

Ryker picks them up before my fingers can connect. He steps in front of where I’m perched on the edge of the hospital bed and lifts the oversized T-shirt that I’m certain belongs to one of them over my head.

“Kingston dealt with it,” he tells me as he carefully guides a fresh shirt that actually fits me over my head.

“What exactly does that mean?” I ask slowly.

“I made a sizable donation to the hospital in exchange for them slightly altering yours and Damon’s records.”

Ryker’s lips quirk up at the reminder, and I roll my eyes. If things work out between us, I’m going to have my hands very full with their distaste for one another.

Just the thought makes my chest ache. The last thing I want is for them to have to coexist with one another just because of my selfish need to have them all.

It’s unfair of me to expect them to get along for my benefit, and while I want to think that things can work out, I need to be realistic about my expectations, because if I let myself fall into what could be, I’m likely just to get my heart broken, and I’m not sure I’d survive it.

I nibble at my bottom lip, trying to ease the anxiety running rampant through my chest.

My ever-observant former bodyguard frowns, brushing his thumb over my cheek in gentle swipes. “You okay, Siren?”

I nod.

“Don’t lie to me,” he warns.

“I’m not,” I murmur. “It’s just…a lot has changed the last few months, and everything feels…uncertain.”

He leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead. “You leave the worrying to us, Chlo.”

“That’s easier said than done,” I argue. “There are multiple people that want me dead, I’m recovering from being shot, and the four of you are at risk of killing one another at a moment’s notice. It’s not exactly a stress-free time in my life.”

He huffs out a laugh. “I promise we will not kill each other. We have a very good incentive to be nice to one another, and as often as we may argue, we’re adults. You are not responsible for our shit. Okay?”

I swallow heavily but nod.

“Good girl,” he praises. “Let’s finish getting you dressed and then we can get out of here. I don’t know about you, but I can’t fucking wait to eat something that wasn’t made in a hospital.”

I groan at the thought of food. It feels like a lifetime ago that I was eating a home-cooked meal at the cabin. “Can we get burgers?”

“Anything you want, Chloe.” He drops another kiss to my cheek before crouching down in front of me with my sweatpants in his huge, tattooed hands.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing a man like Ryker on his knees for me.

“Careful, Siren,” he rumbles when he catches my eye. “I’m going to struggle to keep my hands to myself enough without you looking at me like that.”