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Most of the brothers finally left near dawn after I threatened to start sedating people myself if they didn’t go home. Ghost, Reaper and Shadow ignored me completely. By six in the morning, all three of them had passed out in various uncomfortable positions across the waiting room chairs. Ghost snored loud enough to wake the dead while Reaper slept sitting upright with his arms folded. Shadow looked like he’d been awake for three straight days even unconscious.

I stood near the nurses’ station pretending to update charts while my eyes kept drifting toward Riot’s room.

“You need a break,” Jenna said quietly beside me.

“I’m fine. Only an hour until shift’s up.”

“You look one inconvenience away from a nervous breakdown.” Jenna nudged my shoulder gently. “Go outside for five minutes. I’ve got this.”

I almost argued, but I walked toward the back exit before my body gave out on me entirely.

30

MARIA

Cold morning air hit my face the second I stepped outside. The door barely clicked shut behind me before everything collapsed. I pressed both hands over my mouth while tears spilled hot down my face faster than I could stop them.

I’d spent weeks trying to convince myself I could survive losing him. But that was a different kind of loss. One phone call was all it took and all I could think about was what would’ve happened if he’d died before I got another chance to speak to him.

I cried until exhaustion dragged at every part of me. Then alarms suddenly exploded somewhere inside the clinic, and every drop of blood drained from my face.

Riot.

I was already sprinting back inside before my brain caught up properly. Panic tore through me as I shoved through the hallway doors toward his room.

Dr. Harris stood inside looking deeply unimpressed while Riot sat upright in bed, peeling monitor pads off his chest one by one.

Relief hit so hard my knees nearly gave out. “What the hell are you doing?” I snapped.

Riot looked up slowly. Tired, pale eyes found mine immediately. “The beeping was annoying.”

Dr. Harris rubbed a hand across his face. “He removed half his monitors because apparently recovery is optional.”

Riot looked entirely unapologetic.

Dr. Harris glanced between us once before sighing heavily. “You okay dealing with him?”

“Yes.”

“Fantastic. He likes you more than the rest of us.” Then he walked out muttering something about bikers being a public health issue.

Ghost poked his head through the doorway almost immediately afterward. “Oh good,” he grinned tiredly. “He ain’t dead.”

“Yet,” Reaper muttered from behind him.

Shadow looked between Riot and me once before jerking his chin toward the hallway. “Move.”

Ghost pointed toward Riot while backing out of the room. “Try not to rip out anything important, Princess.”

“Fuck you,” Riot muttered weakly.

“See? He’s recovering already.”

The door finally shut behind them, leaving the room quiet.

Riot looked rough. Bruised, exhausted and far too pale against the sheets. Seeing him weak felt wrong. His eyes stayed fixed on me while silence stretched between us.

“You’ve been crying,” he said eventually.