Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
My heart ached at the raw pain in his voice. I abandoned his wounded hand to cup his face between my palms, forcing him to meet my eyes. His beard was rough against my skin, his face hot with emotion.
“Listen to me,” I said, my voice low and fierce. “You are not your past. We decided last night we would fight this together. That fight includes this fight.” I swallowed hard, willing strength into my voice. “I’ve watched you with her these past weeks. You’re exactly what she needs, and anyone who can’t see that is either blind or stupid. Those pricks on that fucking committee haven’t met you or Brynn, so how could they possibly know your motivations?”
“Not sure it matters. Seems they’ve already judged me. Besides, I did manipulate you. You’re back in my bed, in my arms. I’m pretty Goddamned sure you never intended for that to happen. Hell, pretty sure you told me you weren’t sure what you wanted, yet here we are.” He tried to look away, but I wouldn’t let him.
“Bullshit,” I snapped, surprising us both with the vehemence in my tone. “You think they know you because they read your rap sheet? I know you. I’ve always known you. I know the man underneath all this.” I gestured at his tattooed face, his hardened exterior. “The man who sits for hours playing video games with our daughter even when she pretends she doesn’t want him there. The man who memorized her entire medication schedule faster than I did. The man who’s read every medical journal article on kidney transplants he could reasonably find to make sure he understands exactly what she’s facing.” I shook my head. “Those people don’t know you. Dr. Patel sees you. Trust in her. And if you think Knuckles can help you out, have him bring every idea he has. You’re the one who said your club is your family.”
Knight leaned into my touch, vulnerability raw on his face. “I can’t lose her when I’ve just found her,” he whispered, the confession so quiet I might have missed it if we hadn’t been standing inches apart.
“You won’t,” I promised, pouring every ounce of conviction I possessed into those two words. “This afternoon, you’ll go in there and make them see what I see. What Dr. Patel sees. A father who would move heaven and earth for his child.”
“And if that’s not enough?” The fear in his voice broke my heart all over again.
“Then we’ll fight harder,” I said simply. “We’ll appeal, we’ll find advocates, we’ll go to the media if we have to. They don’t get to decide our daughter’s fate based on paperwork. I won’t let them.”
Knight’s uninjured hand came up to cover mine on his cheek. “When did you get so fierce?” he asked, a hint of wonder in his voice.
“I’ve always been fierce,” I replied. “Had to be. I was raising your kid.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Yeah, you were.” He exhaled shakily, pressing his forehead against mine. “You did a fantastic job too.”
We stood there in the concrete stairwell, foreheads touching, breathing each other’s air, my hands on his face and his blood soaking through the makeshift bandage between us. Two broken people who’d somehow found their way back to each other, united by a love for the child who carried pieces of us both.
“Together,” Knight murmured, the word a promise.
“Together,” I agreed, knowing that whatever challenges lay ahead, we’d face them side by side.
Chapter Eleven
Knight
I rushed down the hospital corridor with Lavender’s hand clutched in mine, my makeshift paper towel bandage balled in my fist to hold it in place. The glare of the fluorescent lights needled my eyes like angry wasps, casting everyone we passed in that sickly, unnatural glow that made even healthy people look half-dead. I’d never felt more like I was in prison since I’d gotten out of Terre Haute than I did at that moment.
I gripped the paper towel around my injured hand while still holding the phone to my ear, telling Knuckles I needed a plan while dodging a nurse pushing a medication cart. My heart hammered against my ribs, every beat a reminder that time was ticking away for Brynn. If this got delayed more than a day, the likelihood of Brynn being on dialysis the rest of her life looked like a very real possibility. And I would not stand for it.
“I don’t give a fuck what it takes,” I growled into the phone, lowering my voice as we passed a patient’s open door. “These committee assholes have six hours to get their heads out of their asses before they decide if I’m worthy enough to save my own daughter.”
Lavender’s fingers tightened around mine, a silent reminder to watch my volume. I shot her an apologetic look, squeezed her hand back, grateful for her steady presence beside me when everything else felt like it was crumbling to dust. I stopped briefly in the hall, moving to the wall so we wouldn’t be in the way. I pulled Lavender into my arms and held her while I talked to Knuckles on the phone.