Page 85 of Little Fury

Once he’s done and my shoulder has a new bandage, I grab a pair of panties from the bag and slip them on. I hold a tank top, and Matt helps me slide it on, careful not to jostle my arm.

“I’m going to go change. You good?”

“Yup, thank you. I'm going to go to sleep. Thanks again for all of it, Matt.”

“It's why you pay me so well.”

“A bit, yeah.”I laugh. I follow him out of the bathroom, and he walks out my door.

“The switch on the bedside table will lower blackout curtains for you,”he calls to me over his shoulder as he makes his way back to the stairs. Once I’m in bed and the curtains are drawn, I sleep. I sleep for 18 hours. I get up to use the bathroom and go back to sleep for another 12. I know Matt and the guys woke me a few times to take painkillers and antibiotics, but I don’t remember much.

When I finally wake up, I feel a lot better. My side and shoulder still hurt, but the pain from the infection is gone. I head into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I see clean clothes laid out for me, so I change and pull my hair into a ponytail.

I open the blackout curtains, and I see the patio doors for the first time. I step out in the mid-morning sun. I can hear the waves up ahead, knowing this will be one of my favorite spots. I sigh, not wanting to go in, but my stomach is being terribly rude and won’t settle down for me to enjoy the view a bit longer.

I leave my room and carefully go down the stairs. I remember Matt’s threat about the stitches, so I won’t do anything that will make him think he needs to restitch them.

I enter the kitchen, heading for the fridge. I open it andstart pulling things out. I see breakfast sausage, so I get that in a pan on low. I grab a couple of potatoes, quickly chop them up, add them to another pan and put the lid on them, leaving them to cook. I grab a brick of cheese out of the fridge and cut off a slice, then I see a loaf of fresh bread and cut a piece off, slathering it in butter. I’m pretty sure I moan when I bite into the bread. It's so fluffy, and it's still a bit warm. I silently thank Parker for finding Caden for me; the man makes good bread.

“Hey, boss lady, look at you up and about,”Ben says as he walks inside.

“Have you eaten?”I ask.

“No, I have not.”

I nod and grab another couple of potatoes. I chop them up quickly and put them in the pan. I add water to the pan to steam the potatoes before I get them crispy.“I’m just doing scrambled eggs. Is that okay?”

“Yup, I’m not one to complain about food someone else makes me,”Ben says, watching me.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just good to see you up and about.”

“Worried about me, were you? Where are the other two?”

“Town to pick up more groceries. I was voted to stay here and keep an eye on you.”

“Well, now you get food, so it's win-win.”

“How are things? “

“Marcus is still looking for you. But we got out fast enough that we’re nice and lost.” Ben smiles to himself, clearly pleased with his ability to outsmart Arthur. Arthur is the tech guy Marcus has. Marcus felt Ben was too young and mouthy—his loss. Ben is one of the best there is. Parker will tell you Ben is better than him now, so there is no better compliment than that.

“Are you going to miss showing him up?”

“No, it got very boring. But Marcus is pissed, so I think, unfortunately, Arthur will be finding himself with a hole in his head very soon.”

“Fair. You can only take so many fuck-ups before it’s time to cut your losses.”

“Is that what you would have done with me? Cut your losses?”

“Yes,”I say matter-of-factly.“If you or any of you three had turned out not to be as good at your jobs as you are, I would have cut my losses. But I wouldn’t have waited two years like Marcus. I would have done it the first time any of you fucked up. That also would have meant the likelihood of you guys getting a bullet in the head was significantly less. You knew way less sketchy shit about me back then.”

Ben laughs. And I smile at him. I love to hear the guys laugh.

“Did Matt mention a sound system?”

“Pay up, Caden. She’s been up for less than 40 minutes and is already asking about the sound system,”Matt says as he and Caden come into the house.

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