Page 87 of Silver Linings

“Yeah. Trust me, Gunner. They’d have to have some pretty powerful hackers behind them to get over the security I’ve put in place.”

“Or someone from the FBI is compromised,” Nash added.

“Fuck.”

“How is everything going in here?” Lily heard Mae ask as she walked back into the small room they’d gotten Sage settled into at the hospital in Bell Ridge. “Oh goodness, look at that little angel fast asleep. They never know how much panic they cause us, do they?”

Sage had screamed so much when the nurse came in to take a sample of her blood that Lily thought her heart was going to shatter into a million pieces. But all that crying had clearly made her tired, and Sage had been out like a light not even a few minutes later. The doctor had assured her, probably for the fiftieth time, that Sage’s temperature was coming down and they’d work on getting some answers for her.

“I grabbed you a coffee from the cafeteria and a chocolate cookie.”

“Thank you, Mae. For everything.” Lily took the coffee and cookie from her friend and slumped down in the chair near Sage. “I’m going to kill Gunner when he gets here.”

“I wasn’t allowed to know the specifics of what they’re working on tonight, but I know it must be something really important if Gunner would be out of reach. For all of them to be out of reach.”

“He promised me. He promised he’d always be here when we needed him. I know I’m being ridiculous, but I’m looking at my baby lying in a hospital bed and he’s nowhere to be found. I don’t think I’m cut out for this life with him. I can’t do this.” The tears nearly choked her as she looked down at Sage, laying so helpless in the hospital bassinet.

“Tonight has been so stressful, Lily. Don’t push Gunner away because of his job. There are things we can do in the future to make sure you can always reach him, but please don’t push that man away. I can see how much you and Sage mean to him. In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never once seen him smile. Until that day he came into Silver Springs carrying Sage and holding onto your hand. It will kill him when he finds out how deeply he’s hurt you tonight.”

“So I just have to suffer and hold it in, for his benefit? I’ve spent too much time holding in pain that the men in my life bring to me. How is that fair, Mae?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all, Lily. You don’t deserve to be hurt like that. All I’m saying is give it to Gunner good. Make him work for your forgiveness. But do forgive him. You’re both so good for each other.”

“Lily?” Gunner’s voice boomed down the hallway before she could respond and she hated how she immediately felt relief flood her body.

“I’ll go flag him down before he turns the whole hospital upside down getting in here,” Mae smiled and Lily forced herself to remain standing with her back to the door.

“Over here, big guy,” Mae’s voice filtered back into the room. “Fuck, Gunner, is the team okay?”

“Call your brother.” When Mae gasped, Lily had to fight the urge to turn around and comfort her friend. “He’s not hurt. But he needs to talk to you.”

His boots stomped across the floor. She swallowed hard as he walked into the room, trying not to fall apart. As soon as he was close, he placed his hand on the small of her back, but her eyes never left her baby. She didn’t let herself look at him until she saw him lean down and run his hand gently over Sage’s head.

And all of a sudden, it was too much. The concern and love in his eyes broke her, and no matter how hard she bit the inside of her cheek, she couldn’t stop the shaking sobs from taking over.

“Shh, Lily. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”

He pulled her into his chest and she finally let all the worry pour out of her. Lily’s fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt, her fists holding on for dear life.

“I was s-so worried when you didn’t answer my c-calls.” The smell of earth and char hit her as soon as she buried her face in his shirt. Pulling away, she saw the soot and blood that covered his face. “Oh my god, Gunner! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. There was a hitch, but the team’s okay. We’re going to need to go look at new vehicles sometime this week, when Sage is doing better.”

“You got in an accident? Are you okay?”

“More or less.”

“I can’t deal with this, too,” she sniffled, stepping back from him. She needed the space, the cold air from the hospital swirling between them to remind herself that Gunner was just playing a part here. He might have a soft spot for Sage, but he was just pretending to be her husband to keep her safe. The sudden pain from that sobering thought nearly knocked her over.

“Lil?” he reached out to steady her, but she flinched away.

“I’m fine. Please don’t touch me.”

The questioning look from him burned into her skin. “And Sprout?” He swept his hand over her sleeping daughter’s hair.

“She’s going to be okay. The doctor thinks it’s just a virus that needs to run its course, but they took a little vial of her blood to do some more tests on, just to make sure it isn’t something more serious. I lost it when her temperature kept climbing and she wouldn’t nurse.”

“You did the right thing. Bringing her here was the best decision.” His hand never left Sage, but his eyes swept over her. “Why can’t I touch you?”