Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Frankie’s lips thinned, but he stayed silent. Dr. Stizer clicked his pen closed and stuffed it back in his coat. “I’ll run through the protocol myself and see.”
He did all the normal tests as I stared at the stained blue curtain blocking us off from the sleeping woman a bed over. When he was done, he grabbed the clipboard at the end of my bed and clicked that stupid pen. He wrote some things down, but before I could ask again to leave, Frankie poked his head into the curtain.
“Can I talk to you for a sec, Doc?”
“Frankie,” I groaned. I was more than ready to get the fuck out of here.
“Just one second.” He smiled at me. “Lie back and relax. I’ll be right back.”
I lay back on the stiff hospital pillow with a frown. Try as I might to hear what they were saying, Frankie and Dr. Stizer’s voices were too hushed for me to make out anything. I was sure that was on purpose. Frankie barely gave me a glimpse into his emotions. Why would he give me a ticket to his mind now?
When the voices stopped, Dr. Stizer returned, clipboard in hand. “It doesn’t look like you have a concussion, but I want to keep you overnight for observation just in case.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” I frowned and started to sit up. “If I don’t have a concussion, I’m free to go.”
Frankie slipped behind the doctor and shook his head. “You took a pretty big fall, Ari. It’s for the best.”
I glared at him. A fall? Really? What was next, running into a table?
“But I feel fine.”
“Do it for me, Ari. It’ll make me feel better.”
I bit my lower lip. He was making this so fucking difficult. If I said no, I’d never hear the end of it. He’d probably go through with his threat from way back and stop training me. I couldn’t come back from tonight’s defeat at Heathens Hollow without him. But at the same time, I had a date with Dr. Jack Daniels back at my apartment, and I wasn’t exactly ready to spend the night in some comfy hospital bed when I had the perfect cloud of a mattress back home.
One glance at Frankie’s worried frown and I caved.
Sorry, Jack. Gotta take a raincheck.
“Fine. But bring me the essentials,” I ordered Frankie. “You know where I keep my overnight bag.”
Frankie nodded a few times. I didn’t care how ridiculous I looked. If I was going to stay the night in the ER at his request, I needed my fuzzy socks and mineral face wash.
“Your wish is my command.” Frankie clapped a hand on the doctor’s shoulder before slipping out of our curtained off cubicle.
Dr. Stizer nodded at me. “I’ll have a nurse hook you up to a drip and knock you out for the night. Get some sleep.” He eyed the bruises on my face, clearly not buying Frankie’s cover story. “You look like you need it.”
I sank into the hospital bed as soon as I was alone. Being in the hospital fucking sucked. But Frankie was right. I could get some sleep tonight and wake up refreshed tomorrow, ready to take on the world.
And take down Misty Perk.
Chapter 20
Frankie
Ialready knew Troy’s answer before I stepped into his office.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.
The douchebag stood behind his desk looking as greasy as ever, with slicked-back hair, plaid suit, new Rolex. He eyed me curiously from his leather chair as I took the seat across from his desk.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?”
There was no pleasure here. Not even business. We were nothing more than weird dolls for Troy to make dance to the beat of his expensive drum.
“Ari’s got a concussion.”
I pulled a folded paper out of my pocket and opened it. Troy eyed it when I set it on his desk. The previous night’s diagnosis stared right back at him.
At least Troy’s cash was good for another reason: bribing a doctor for a reason to get Ari the fuck out of the ring. It had taken a little haggling, but Dr. Stizer knew how bad injuries like mine could get, though he still hadn’t been willing to falsify any documents. Nothing to put his ass on the line. But the suggestion of a mild concussion and keeping her overnight for “observation” sure looked good on paper.
What Troy didn’t know didn’t hurt him.
He took the paper and read over it a few times before setting it down again. “This says possible concussion. Not actual.”
“We’re keeping an eye on her. She just got out of the hospital this morning.”
Troy looked like he was chewing on his words for a long time before he sighed and stood. “I already have plenty of investors in this fight.”
“So, gamblers.”
He cut me a glare. “Investors. Brand new ring, brand new sound systems. Upgrades to the club, which I know your little team enjoyed.”