Page 91 of Royally Bad

Strong, solid fingers captured my shoulders. “Sammy, you’re awake, I thought you might never ...” Kain never finished. His pupils were tiny, they were lost in the white expanse of the rest of his face.

The ringing in my ears faded so fast I barely realized it had been there. Turning my cheek to the pillow, I saw the machines beside me, the IV in my arm. “I’m in a hospital,” I said stupidly.

Kain cupped my chin, trying to get my attention. “You’re fine, you’re alive.”

Keeping my voice calm, I said, “Someone else better be paying these medical bills.”

His lips cracked into a surprised pucker. The grin that grew after that lifted some of the weight from my soul.Thatwas what I needed.

“If you want,” he said slowly, “I can take care of them for you. But you know it’ll cost you, right?”

“How could Inotknow that by now?” I meant it as a joke. His wince reminded me of why we were here—the favor he’d done when he’d taken me to see my mother.

Sitting up, I looked him over with rising fear. “Oh, fuck, you were shot! I was shot. I—my mother, oh, no.” Covering my mouth, I let my tears rise and fall. I didn’t have the energy to stop them.

“Shh,” he soothed me. “I’m fine, and you’re fine.”

“But how?” Brick had us locked down. I remembered sitting there,knowingthat we were both about to die. And then ... my attention swam up, I stared Kain down in wonder. “I must have been fading away, because before I blacked out, I swear I saw my father.”

Kain’s eyes darted to the door.

“Stop,” I said quickly. “Don’t fuck with me. My dad’s dead, I know that. I was hallucinating.”

Gently, he disengaged from me. That was when I realized he was limping. Ice sank in my gut; how injured was he? Each step toward the door thudded like a drum in my heart. Twisting the knob, he leaned into the hallway. “I think you should come inside,” he said to someone.

Without waiting for me to ready myself,heentered the room. He was wearing a long-sleeved, tan shirt, and I instantly thought it looked too big on him. Too big on a man that had always been a giant to me.

It had been over a year since I’d last seen him alive, and in that time, my father had thinned out. It didn’t look right, his gaunt cheeks, knobby fingers, fading hair.

But there was no doubt it was him.

I’d know that smile half a world away.

“Sammy,” he said softly.

Yanking the IV stand along the floor, ignoring how every machine began to beep, I threw myself into my father’s arms andbawled.

He was alive.

Impossibly ...

My father had come back to me.

We sat for hours. We talked continuously.

I still had trouble wrapping my brain around everything.

“Mom is seriously okay?” I asked, knowing I was repeating myself. I just didn’t know how to handle being so lucky.

Nodding, my dad said, “I got her out of there the night before. I’d seen Brick on the road once nearby, that was enough for me.”

My head wagged side to side in gentle disbelief. “How did she handle seeing you? Her poor heart.”

“She slapped me a bit.”

Chuckling at the image, I said, “She probably had no clue what to think. I don’t even know what to think. Is everything Brick said true? You led the Deep Shots?”

He frowned severely; it made me miss his comfortable smile. “It’s true. I was their leader until about a year and change ago. The rising trouble within the ranks of the Deep Shots, the number of times my life seemed to be in danger, I’d decided it wasn’t worth it anymore. When I told them I was stepping down and backing off, I assumed that was that. Frock was a good enough guy. I never pictured one of his own putting a hit out on me.”

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