The Wingman (Alpha Men 1)

“Daisy and I were . . .”

“I know, pretending. Right?” Mason nodded. “And yet you seemed sincere. Now you tell me she says she’s in love with you. Seems to me you finally got what you wanted. Don’t see what the problem is.”

“I—I . . .” The ER doctor walked in, and Mason had never been so relieved to see another person in his life. He was still completely thrown by Daisy’s parents’ easy acceptance of her so-called feelings for him and more than a little stunned by her father’s interpretation of what he believed Mason’s words had meant so many weeks ago.

“Daisy will be fine,” the doctor assured them. “I’ve administered a mild sedative to help combat the shock. She had a deep laceration on her left side, which needed several stitches; a few nasty bruises; and whiplash, but I’m happy to release her tonight. She needs a couple of days’ bed rest for the blow she received to the head—but luckily it’s not a concussion. I do recommend she seeks counseling for any PTSD she might suffer. She’s currently being interviewed by the police, but as soon as they’re done taking her statement she’s free to go home.”

“Daff, I’ll need you to bring Peaches to my place later. I don’t want Daisy to worry about her,” Mason commanded, and the woman gave a disbelieving little laugh.

“Listen here, Mason, you can’t—”

“Daff, do as he says,” Andrew McGregor interrupted firmly.

“But, Daddy . . .”

“He’ll take good care of her, won’t you, Mason?”

“I’ll make sure she gets enough rest.” Mason nodded. His response was met with four exasperated faces and one amused one. “What?”

Daisy was hugged and fussed over by her family, but she was very much aware of Mason just standing in the doorway watching them all. Why was he still here? She would have expected him to make his escape by now. Spencer was there too. The man came into the room to give her a kiss and tell her he was glad she was okay, before saying his good-byes and leaving. But Daisy was too overwhelmed by her family to give much thought to Spencer’s unexpected appearance.

Her father was giving her a gentle lecture on the irresponsibility of her actions, which she humbly accepted because everything he was saying was true. Her mother constantly asked her if she was okay, patting her hair and stroking her face as if she had to have her hand on Daisy at all times. Lia fussed over her bruises, and Daff insisted on seeing her stitches.

The rest of the room went quiet while Daisy unbuttoned her dress to show them her wound. Even though it was covered with waterproof dressing, the size of the bandage around her torso made them all gasp in horror. Daisy was thankful that they were spared from the sight of the actual wound—a long, vicious-looking cut that curved up from her hip to just a couple of inches below her breast. She had been shocked by the size of it and grateful that it had required only a few stitches. It could have been so much worse, and she was so grateful to the people of Inkululeko for saving her.

Daisy’s eyes lifted to where Mason stood in the doorway. He was staring fixedly at the covered injury, his eyes burning and his jaw clenched. When he looked up to meet her gaze, she was shocked by the raw emotion she saw swirling in those beautiful green eyes of his. He looked furious, but he also looked . . . anguished.

His lips thinned, and he cleared his throat, breaking eye contact with her.

“That looks huge; you’re going to have a badass scar,” Daff stated, trying to sound cavalier but defeated by the wobble in her voice and the haunted look in her eyes.

“I think it’s time Daisy gets some rest,” Mason recommended gruffly, and Daisy was stunned when her family seemed to defer to him. They all hugged her and filed out of the room.

“Wait, why are they leaving?” Daisy asked after a moment’s shock. “Who’s taking me home?”

“I’ll get your stuff, and then we’re leaving.”

Five minutes later they were back in his car and once again stewing in grim silence. This was getting a little old. If he didn’t want to talk to her, he should probably stop acting as her self-appointed protector. It was bizarre and confusing.

“Why are you turning here?” she asked in alarm when he turned onto the path that led up to his house. “I’m tired; I want to go home.”

“You’re staying with me tonight.”

“I can go home and Lia or Daff can stay with me. I can’t leave Peaches alone overnight.”

“Peaches is here, Daff brought her, and before you say anything, she packed a bag for you too.”

“But why?”

“Somebody needs to keep your ass out of trouble.”