May gave him a shrug. “You know me, boss. I go with the flow.”
Hutch sighed, but when he looked back Vanessa’s way he flashed a heart-stopping grin. “So who would want to stab you?”
The question made her sink into the seat by May’s bed. “The list is long and mostly undeserved, though I’m sure a lot of people would argue with me.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you marry an old man for his money and ruin his family.” The nurse turned and walked out.
Pure embarrassment flooded her system.
“Hey, that was rude, and if you weren’t in control of my pain meds, I would show you how I got here,” May shouted.
Hutch stared at the door. “I bet I can get her name. You’re going to be laid up for a while. Wanna have some fun?”
May got a steely look in her eyes. “Yeah. I think I do.”
“I’m sorry.” Vanessa wished she hadn’t promised Michael she would stay here. She hadn’t considered the fact that her very presence could make things hard on May.
“She’s the one who’s going to be sorry,” Hutch said. “May can be…ruthless when it comes to her friends. And she makes friends pretty fast.”
“Well, don’t say anything to her. I’ve found it’s best to ignore people who like to comment on my private life,” Vanessa said. “They don’t know me. I’m not a person to them. I’m a character in a show. I’m the villain.”
“Villains have more fun.” Hutch offered her a Red Vine. “Want one?”
It wasn’t like she was getting lunch. She pulled one out of the container Hutch offered. It was better than smoking at least. “Thanks. If you two want some privacy, I could…”
“Oh, I think you should do what your boyfriend told you to,” May said. “He did not look like he was playing. That dude has had too much stimulation for one day. You need to get him home, put a glass of Scotch in his hands, and sit on his lap.”
“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend.” He’d acted like one though. “He’s a friend.”
“Sure. I mean you might think so, but that guy is twelve kinds of into you.” May winced as she settled back. “And he wants you to stay here. Please don’t feel bad about the nurse. She has no idea who you are. If it makes you feel better, I get called a whore a lot, too. It’s probably the fishnets. They are the most misunderstood of all the hosieries.”
“And I get called a nerdling. Always. Stereotypes are awful things,” Hutch said with a yawn.
May smiled up at him. “You are a fully grown nerd.”
“That’s what my wife says.” Hutch’s smile brightened at the word wife. “Stay with us, Vanessa. You know you want to. We have candy. Besides Red Vines, I brought Skittles, too.”
Her phone buzzed in her bag, but she ignored it for the moment. She knew she shouldn’t, but she liked May a lot, and Hutch seemed fun. They didn’t seem to have turned on her because of the nurse. It had been a long time since she’d clicked with someone as a friend.
Or clicked with a lover. Michael was sending her into new and dangerous territories.
She sat back. “All right then. I guess I’ll stay for a while.”
May’s eyes lit up. “Cool, because I have questions. First of all, what’s in the blood they poured all over you when you died in the first Terror movie? Also, how did you manage to scream like that?”
She had to smile. It had been a while since someone asked her a fun question. “The blood is a weird mix of corn syrup, water, and dyes. But in that last scene, they were running thin, so the director added ketchup to the mix. Craft services had fries that day so there was a bunch of ketchup. It was gross, and let me tell you it does not come out of your hair so easily.”
She sat back, and for the first time in hours, she relaxed.
* * * *
Michael stepped out of MaeBe’s hospital room and into the hallway. The text Deke had sent confirmed what Hutch had been subtly telling him. The crazy was here, and it wouldn’t matter that he was working an op.
“Get the fuck out of my way, Deke.” Kyle Hawthorne stood in Deke’s space, his hands in fists at his sides.
Two of the nurses were staring at the men, likely trying to figure out if they should call security. Or the police, since both Deke and Kyle were big muscular guys who could do some serious damage if they got into it.
He’d already had to deal with the police today. He didn’t want another run-in. He stalked down the hall because they were in plain view of the room. If Vanessa decided to disobey again, she would probably ask why a member of The Club was trying to fight his way into her savior’s room. Kyle wasn’t supposed to know the woman Vanessa called May.