Page 35 of Bullseye
“Fine, follow me, please.”
Tossing our empty coffee cups in a nearby garbage can, we follow as she leads us through a set of double doors and into a busy ICU unit. Located somewhere between Phoenix and Hoppa, this is a major hospital, and it’s packed. As soon as we step through the doors, I’m immediately hit by the stench of medicine and bedpans that need emptying. As we walk across the newly polished floor, Nick puts a hand to his nose. Glancing down at Seneca who’s at my side, I see her nose is wrinkled. But Dr. Boling doesn’t appear the slightest bit affected. Walking past room after room of people talking, or yelling, and being treated for all sorts of various injuries, she points to an area farther down the hallway.
“He’s down here. I have his shoulder set in a sling,” she explains, “but he refused painkillers. And with no history of drug dependency…” Her voice trails off. “He’s, uh, an interesting man, Mr. Hardy.”
“Dr. Boling?” We stop short as another doctor rushes out of a room. “We’ve got a problem in here.”
“Excuse me. Go ahead, right in there.” She points to Seth’s room as she follows the shorter doctor into another.
Seth’s sitting up on his bed with no shirt on, and his left arm in a sling. He’s bandaged around his shoulder.
“Hey guys,” he says as we walk in. “I wasn’t sure you’d still be here.”
“Where else would we go?” Nick’s first to shake Seth’s good hand and bro-hug him.
Bullet steps up next to do the same, and that leaves an awkwardness around me and Seneca.
She steps closer to him. “Hello, Seth. You look well. The doctor said there was good news. I’m really glad you weren’t hurt any worse.”
“Thank you, Seneca.” He takes a deep breath and then exhales through his clenched teeth. “Sorry, just a wave of pain.” Giving her his full attention, he continues. “And, uh, Seneca. I am really sorry about what I said. There’s no excuse, and sometimes I say and do really dumb things, but I would never have hurt you. I hope you know that.”
Nodding, she smiles. “I do know that, Seth. Because as you might have guessed when I twisted your arm back there, I’m a black belt in Krav Maga. If you had gotten any closer to me, I would have kicked your ass.”
“Ha!” Nick slaps her on the back, and she jolts forward slightly. “Sounds just like Tess, doesn’t she? Except with my Tess, it would have been brass knuckles.” We all share a chuckle, but Seth looks unhappy.
“Seth.” She sits next to him and takes his good hand. “I’m not here to make enemies. And I’ve been told that my presence is a distraction for some of the Knights…”
“Well, I don’t feel that way.” Seth looks at Harry and glares.
“I’m glad. And I wish that I could have told you this privately, but after what just happened, I’m just going to say it. I like you, a lot. But I was never into you… like that. And I don’t really think you’re into me, either. I think I just happened to be there, and female. Seth, I’ve seen the way you look at some of the women who come into the Taphouse—the ones who get your attention aren’t dressed like me. You like the classically beautiful type. There just aren’t that many of those types of women who frequent Hoppa’s Taphouse. But there is one particularly beautiful doctor who matches that description.”
She raises her eyebrows, and he grins in response. I’ll be damned. He likes Dr. Boling. Well, good luck there, Seth. Good luck.
“Seth, this was more about your relationship with Harry and the fact that he’s Avery’s best friend. I think sometimes we feel threatened by people we want to be in with and do stupid things because of it.”
And the guys think I’m intuitive? Holy crap.
Seth cocks his head. “And you’re willing to just forgive my stupidity?”
“I’ve had to forgive a lot worse than this.”
What does she mean? Moving closer to her, I wait for her to say something more… anything more.
“I…” She pauses and sighs deeply before looking up at Seth. “This may not be what you want to hear, but I have a kid brother, and you remind me of him. He’s made some stupid decisions in his life, but I love him anyway. I am the last person who’s here to judge anyone.”
“Thanks, Sen.”
He balls his good hand into a fist and they bump. Standing, she gets up and walks over to a wall opposite the bed and leans against it. So, she has a kid brother. There’s something I learned about her today.
Seth glances at me.
“Hey, Seth,” I offer, nodding.
“I’m not sure what to say, Bullseye.”
“You can start with a sorry.”
“I am sorry.”
