Page 101 of Bad Medicine
Logically, I knew Enzo was the leader of this merry band of misfits, but seeing Rocco now, watching him as he took charge in Enzo’s absence, as he made decisions and tough choices, I realized I had sorely underestimated the man.
He was a picture of confidence and power, and watching him work reminded me of myself in those moments at the hospital when decisions needed to be made and lives were on the line.
The situations may have been completely different, but the result was still the same.
This was Rocco’s emergency room, and he was ruling it with the same precision that I did my scalpel.
I was in awe of him.
“Alright.” Rocco spoke into his phone, his voice pitched low, likely in deference to me. He was pacing the living room, his feet carving a visible track into the lush, gray carpet in front of the picture window. “No, it’s fine. Just let me know when you get on the plane, alright? Yeah. Yeah, I know.” He paused, running a hand through his hair, and exhaled a heavy breath. “I know, man. I will. Thanks.”
I watched as he ended the call, sliding the phone into the pocket of his jeans and putting both hands on his hips as he stared out the window. I could see the tension in the broad expanse of his shoulders, and part of me wanted to go to him, to wrap myself around him as I had earlier, and sink into him as we comforted each other.
But the other part of me, the part that was currently delicate and brittle as blown glass, knew that if I started sinking, I might never stop, getting lost in my sorrow as I allowed every horrible thought to rise up and drown me.
And I couldn’t afford that. Not for a second.
As though he could feel my eyes on him, Rocco turned, his face tight with lines of worry as he looked me over. Not having any energy to fake it, I simply stared back, letting everything I felt play out on my face, baring my entire soul for him to see.
I half expected him to run, to turn away from the devastation that I could literally feel pouring out of me like a severed artery. But instead, he moved closer, never looking away from the open wound that was currently my entire existence. He looked my pain in the face and he accepted it, letting me see that no matter what I threw at him, Rocco would always be there to catch it.
And in that moment, IknewI loved him.
Sitting down in the chair next to me, Rocco reached over and gently tucked a few stray hairs behind my ear, his eyes searching mine.
“Talk to me,” he said bluntly, and I appreciated his candor. Rocco didn’t patronize me, didn’t ask inane questions about how I was holding up as though he didn’t already know the answer.
No, he cut right to the chase, simply asking me to tell him whatever I was thinking or feeling without hesitation.
Looking around the large open-plan kitchen and living room, I could see the others, every one on calls with contacts or chasing down leads. Benny and Trick were huddled together in one corner, talking on their phones and whispering back and forth as they exchanged information. Lucky stood against one wall, watching over everyone and twirling her knife like the predator she was.
Even Sway, that sweet sixteen-year-old with the troubled eyes of a man who’d seen more than he should have, was helping, slouched lazily on the couch, his thumbs flying over his phone faster than I could even follow.
These people, they had all been searching for Greg long before Jasper and I ever came into the picture, but seeing them now, I could feel their urgency, their determination to find him, and my heart swelled with appreciation.
These people barely knew me, and most of them had never even met Jasper, but here they were, putting hours into helping us find him, and I would never be able to thank them enough.
“I keep thinking,” I whispered, my throat raw from crying earlier. Lexi was the closest to us, her laptop set up on the far end of the table from me, and I was grateful when he kept her head down, pretending as though she couldn’t hear my tortured words. “I keep wondering if he’s scared. Or hurt.” I swallowed, my throat tight around the ball of fear that seemed to live there permanently now. “I think about if he’s sad, wondering why I haven’t come for him yet. If he—” I choked on my words, and Rocco reached for my hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “If he hates me for letting this happen to him.”
“Hey,” he cut in as I shook, swiping at the lone tear making its way down my cheek. “Not a chance, Doc. That boy loves you. He knows you love him too.” Pressing a kiss to my forehead, Rocco raised both hands to my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I swear to you, Mia. We will get him back. And when we do, he’s gonna be so damn happy, he won’t have room for anything else.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe it so damn bad, but the shadowy voice in the back of my head kept whispering things that I couldn’t ignore.
Like maybe I’d never see Jasper again.
And I knew I just couldn’t live with that.
Before I could fall apart all over again, a loud ringing cut through the low chatter, and I sat up straighter.
That was my phone. Where the hell had I left it?
Rising from the chair, I stumbled around the kitchen, my head whipping frantically back and forth, following the sound as my heart beat a frantic rhythm in my chest.
“Where is it?” I asked, my voice sounding hysterical even to my own ears. “Where is my phone?”
“Here,” Benny said, holding up my purse. “It’s right here.”
Racing across the room, I yanked it from his hand, turning the entire thing upside down and shaking the contents out onto the floor, finally seeing my phone when it landed, upside down, on the top of the pile. Falling to my knees, I stared at the screen for a second, the wordsUnknown Numberlooking like both a lifeline and a terrible omen at the same time.
