Page 10 of Ghost

But none more so than the man sitting at the back of the room.

Even in the midst of his brothers, you could see that he was the one in control.

He had to be the one they called Viper.

Frankie had only talked about him a time or two but always made him out to be this father-figure type. She failed to mention that he was the kind of father who had an overwhelming presence and commanded attention without a word.

His eyes, dark and piercing, locked on mine and remained trained on me as I started over to him. As I grew closer, his fierceexpression softened, and there was a kindness in his eyes that took me by surprise. “You must be Casey.”

“Yes, sir. I am.” I tried to keep my voice steady as I told him, “I’m sorry to come to you like this, but Frankie insisted. She said you might be able to help me.”

“Yeah, I talked to her, and she explained the situation.” He grimaced as his eyes skirted over my wounds. “I’ll do what I can, but first, we need to get Doc to check you out.”

“That’s okay. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re anything but fine,” he clipped. “What about your son? Does he need to be checked out, too?”

“Yes, sir. I’m afraid he does.”

The words had barely left my mouth when Viper leaned over to the man sitting next to him and said, “Get the kid and bring him to the infirmary. We’ll meet you there.”

The man nodded, then stood and started out of the bar.

“Wait!” I called out. “He won’t go with you unless you say hungry hippo. I know it sounds stupid, but it’s our secret code. He’ll know I gave the okay for him to go if you use it.”

“Hungry hippo?”

“That’s right.”

“I got it.”

He continued out the door, and I turned my attention back to Viper. Seeing the concern in my eyes, he gave me a warm smile and said, “It’s going to be okay, Casey. We’re gonna get you through this.”

I wanted to respond, but I was too overcome with emotion to speak. So, I nodded, then followed him out of the bar and down a long, dim hallway. After passing several doors, we entered a room that looked like a cross between a doctor’s office and a surgical room. An older man with salt and pepper hair and a thick beard greeted us at the door. “Doc, this is Casey. I need you to check her out and make sure she’s okay.”

“Sure thing.”

“Rafe’s gone to get her son. I’ll need you to check him out, too.”

“Of course.”

Doc grimaced as he helped me up on one of the gurneys and started looking me over. I had my doubts on whether this guy was a real doctor, but it was evident in the way he was examining me that he knew what he was doing. “So, an ex did this to you?”

“Afraid so.” I glanced over at Viper as I said, “I really did try and get away from him.”

“We know... Frankie told us everything.” Doc examined my wrist, carefully pressing and bending, and after several seconds, he said what I already knew. “It’s just a bad sprain, but it’s going to be tender for a while. I’ll wrap it to give you a little extra support.”

I nodded and silently watched as he started wrapping it with an ACE bandage. Once he was done, he moved on to my other wounds. He was checking my swollen eye when one of the men walked in with Toby. “Momma?”

“It’s okay, Toby.” I eased off the gurney and quickly made my way over to him. I knelt in front of him and showed him my bandaged wrist. “He’s a doctor. He’s just making sure I’m okay, and he’s going to look you over, too.”

“I don’t want him to.”

“It’s okay, kid,” Doc interjected. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. I just want to make sure you and your momma are okay. That gonna work for you?”

Still unsure, Toby glanced over at me.

I gave him a reassuring nod, and he turned back to Doc and whispered, “Okay.”

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