Page 49 of Max

Desi smiled, and it was the same smile she’d given Duncan the day she showed up and saw the bruises all over Shay. Shay took a step away from her.

Jasper scrambled up, ready to intervene if necessary.

“Well, Conan, let me tell you something. I don’t give a fuck if I make you dizzy. My brother is out there, after having suffered a gunshot wound and getting stitched up with no numbing agent. He’s in pain. He’s hurt, and he’s hella braver than you. So, stop bitching like a whiny little bitch and shut the fuck up before I shut you the fuck up!”

“What would Dad say if he heard you cussing like that, Desiree Marie Stevens?”

Desi launched herself at Max, knocking Cole down in the process. “Don’t you fucking ever do that to me again, do you understand me, Maxwell Dean Sheridan? I can’t lose you too, I can’t.” She hiccupped around her tears and huge snotty sniffs.

“I’m not going anywhere, brat. I promise. Takes more than an idiot to take me down.”

“No, it just takes one stray bullet to take you down. If that had gone just a few centimeters to right…”

“But it didn’t.” He hugged his sister tight, but his tired green eyes found Shay. “It didn’t.”

She let out a breath she’d been holding since she saw him bleeding hours before. He was okay. Thank God, he was okay.

Her legs went weak, and she stumbled backward, dropping into an empty seat. Her hands shook, and she saw his boots before she actually saw him. Her gaze traveled up his legs, his bloody t-shirt, and finally landing on his face. He wasn’t grinning or trying to play it off like he was some macho superstar. No. He was serious and not hiding how fucking tired he was. She saw the etching of pain hidden in his expression.

He squatted in front of her. “You okay?”

“No.”

He did give her a half smile. “What would make you feel better, darlin’?”

“If you got your ass down to the ER and let them look at you.”

“Oh, he’s going to do that. Viktor called and said the minute you showed up to haul you downstairs kicking and screaming if I had to.”

“Fucking Viktor. I don’t need…” His protest died at whatever he saw in her face. “Fine. Cole, you and Jarrod keep Desi out of trouble.” He stood and extended a hand to Shay. “Come on, darlin’.”

She let him pull her to her feet, wincing with him when his shoulder bunched in pain. True to his word, he went downstairs without complaint and spent the next several hours allowing them to poke, prod, and x-ray his shoulder and nose, which turned out to be broken.

“Fucker packed more of a punch than I gave him credit for,” he joked with the ER doctor, who didn’t look any more impressed than Shay had.

Max was admitted into the hospital overnight over his protest. He had been shot and suffered a concussion from the fight he’d been in earlier. Shay was relieved, honestly. They’d sent Cole and Jarrod back to Shay’s house with Desi, and Jasper had taken up residence outside Max’s hospital room.

It was really late by the time Shay sank into a chair beside his bed. She’d checked on her father earlier, who was still sleeping, and Aunt Ethel was sitting with him. She promised Shay she’d stay with him at night. She didn’t want her daddy alone any more than she wanted Max alone.

“Fuck, I’m tired.”

She glanced up and saw that he looked ready to drop. “Are you in pain? Do you need me to get the nurse for medication?”

“No, baby, I don’t take a lot of pain medication. Too easy to get addicted after only a few doses. I just need food, and I need to rest.”

“You do realize they’re going to be waking you up every hour all night because of the concussion?”

“Fuck.”

She laughed. It was so good to see him just breathing. “What I can do is order us food, though. Something a little better than hospital food.”

“Jasper will love that. He eats more than anyone except for Angel.”

“Angel?”

“Kade’s wife. Tiniest little thing you’ve ever seen, but she can out-eat every man at KSI combined.”

“Sounds impressive.”

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