Bad Wolf (Wild Men 4)

Even if I told him I love him, and he didn’t say it back.

The hospital buzzes like a hive. We somehow find a wheelchair for Mom—though I have the feeling she was a bit reluctant to let Jarett put her down, clinging to him as he lowered her to the seat.

I hide a small grin, because I know exactly what it feels like to be in his arms, surrounded by all the strength and warmth and protectiveness, and I can’t blame her.

A receptionist takes Mom’s info. I take the opportunity to call Matt once more, see how things are progressing.

“Gigi.” He sounds so much calmer than I expected, than I feel. “How’s your mom?”

“Mom’s fine, the question is how’s my sister?” I swallow hard, aware my voice is rising. “How is she?”

“Doctor says the C-section may be necessary, but they’re monitoring the baby’s heartbeat for now. It seems it’s not as off as they thought.”

“Off?” I frown, glancing at the receptionist. Jarett is talking to her, his hands on the handles of the wheelchair. “Okay, that’s… good, right?”

“No fucking clue,” Matt says, and suddenly sounds exhausted. “She’s having contractions, and is in pain, and nobody will really tell me what’s going on.”

My heart thumps in my chest. “Tell Tati I’ll be there very soon. We brought Mom to have her ankle x-rayed, make sure it’s not broken. I’m right here, and I’ll find you in ten, twenty minutes tops.”

“Okay. She’s been asking for you. I’ll be glad to see you, Gigi.”

I hang up to find Jarett rolling Mom to one side of the waiting room. “Wait for me.”

“You go find your sister,” he says, shoots me a faint smile. “I’ve got this.”

“Yeah, go to Octavia,” Mom says, waving a hand at me. Her face looks much better, I notice, more relaxed, the lines around her eyes and mouth smoother. “I’ll be fine.”

I don’t need to be told twice. I hurry over to them, bend to give her a kiss on the cheek, then grab Jarett’s arm and lift up on my toes to kiss him, too.

He turns and our lips brush. He draws an uneven breath, his cheekbones coloring. “I’ll find you later.”

Nodding, I call Matt again to find out exactly where they are and hurry away, knowing he will.

Because if there’s one thing I know by now for sure when it comes to Jarett is that he keeps his promises.

My phone rings as I hurry through endless hallways, asking a thousand people on the way for directions. I fish it out of my purse and bring it to my ear, wondering if it’s Mom or Matt calling me.

Turns out it’s neither of them.

“Sis? What’s up?”

“Merc. I’ve been calling and calling. Where the hell are you?”

“Sorry, sis, was at a party. A Sebastian found me, said to call you. Said Jarett owes him? What’s this about?”

Wow. He did it. Jarett said he’d find Merc, and he did it, even if it meant asking a favor from his horrible brother.

“You chose a bad night to go off grid.” The heels of my boots clack on the floor as I take another hallway. “Mom twisted her ankle, and Tati’s in labor and the baby may be in distress. You have to—”

“Whoa, what? You serious? You fucking with me?”

“No, Merc, I’m not. Get your ass over to the hospital right now.”

He huffs. “On my way.”

He disconnects and just in time, as I finally locate the door with a sign for the right wing. Heart pounding, torn between worry about my sister and gratefulness for Jarett, I open it, and the first thing I see is Matt pacing in the distance.

Okay, I found them.