Page 51 of Deacon

“You chase,” Ledger repeated, “and you make her understand she’s yours and nobody else’s.”

Before I could answer, the door opened.

Lila stepped inside and stopped when she saw Nomad and Ledger. Surprise crossed her face before she tucked it away beneath that professional composure she wore so well. Her scrubs were wrinkled from a long shift, her hair pulled back without much care, and exhaustion sat in the line of her shoulders.

She still hit me hard.

Every part of me woke up and strained toward her before my mind caught up.

Nomad recovered first. “Hey, you’re Blue’s friend.”

Her gaze shifted toward him, recognition sharpening it. “Oh. Yes. I remember you, you were with Priest and the guys at the apartment the other day.”

He tipped his chin. “Nursery paint detail.”

The smallest smile touched her mouth. “Right. Hi.”

I wanted to keep it.

“Lila,” I said, because there was no world where I could let her stand there without hearing her name in my voice.

Her eyes came to me immediately.

I kept my tone even despite everything happening beneath my ribs. “This is Ledger.”

Ledger straightened enough to offer a polite nod. “Ma’am.”

“Hi.” She gave him a brief smile before turning back toward me.

The room changed with her attention. Nomad and Ledger were still there, machines continued humming around me, and pain was chewing steadily through my side. None of it carried the same weight once she looked at me.

“I just came to check on you real quick before heading home,” she said as she stepped farther inside.

Nomad’s brows lifted. “Home to a man?”

The question was teasing.

It hit me like a fist.

My hands tightened in the sheets before I could stop them, jealousy flaring so fast and hot that sitting up suddenly felt worth whatever damage followed. Lila turned toward Nomad, but her eyes cut to me for one brief second.

She saw it.

“No,” she said a little too quickly. “Home to a shower, silence, and the kind of sleep I don’t usually get enough of.”

Nomad glanced toward my white-knuckled grip and smirked.

Lila caught that too. “Do you always enjoy making trouble in hospital rooms, or is this a special occasion?”

Ledger turned his face away, shoulders shifting.

Nomad settled deeper into the chair. “Depends. Is it workin’?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You seem real comfortable for somebody stirring up business that isn’t his.”

A grin started before I could stop it.

There she was.