Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride [110]
I pointed to one of the chains. “Are these really necessary?” Bran’s look was sympathetic. “We don’t ever chain unless it’s necessary. Bear is a volatile strain, and Ramon’s body is fighting it.” A thread of respect entered his voice. “He’s holding his own, though.”
I stood over him, wishing I could do something. I’d been so happy to be free that I hadn’t even begun to tally up my debts. I owed Ramon a lot.
They let me hang around for a bit, giving me time to talk to my friend, even though I wasn’t sure if he could hear me. When they decided that I needed more rest, they steered me back to my room.
“We’ll take good care of him, Sam,” Brid said.
“Like he was family?” I choked over the question, my throat constricting as I tried to hold everything in.
Bran helped me into my bed.
“He is family now,” he said softly.
31
Live and Let Die
I got released from the clinic before Ramon. They gave me a pill bottle full of sedatives so I could sleep and sent me on my way.
Brid assured me that Ramon had made some improvement, but I couldn’t see it. He’d have to stay at the clinic for a few more weeks at least. Brannoc promised me he’d watch over him as if he were his own. He seemed like the kind of guy who took his word very seriously. When I expressed my fears to Ashley, she told me that she’d heard that fey couldn’t lie. I hoped she was right.
Until then, I had to play the waiting game. Not my favorite pastime, especially with this sick, unsure feeling in my stomach.
Sean offered me a ride, but I needed a touch of the familiar to settle myself. I’d handled a lot of upheaval in the last week.
I called Plumpy’s. Frank got really excited when he heard my voice, but the boss wouldn’t let him come get me. As stoked as Frank was to see me, he had bills to pay. Bills, however, were no longer a problem.
“You pick me up, Frank, and I’ll hire you as an assistant.”
He sounded intrigued but wary. We had trained him well. “Honest, Frank. I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.” Something good should come out of Douglas’s filthy blood money. And I counted freedom from fast food as something good.
“Yeah—wait. How much you paying?”
I felt a flutter of pride. Our little Frank was growing up. Ramon would be proud. The flutter died, and I was back with that sick feeling. “Salary, man. Full benefits. Three weeks’ paid vacation. Health insurance. Whatever you want.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
I made Frank take me back to my apartment, stopping only to grab Brooke from my mom’s house. He babbled at me the whole time. I only half listened, letting his voice roll over me, happy to see him again. Happy that at least Frank had made it through this whole mess unscathed.
As good as it was to see him, his puppy-dog enthusiasm was exhausting me. I sent him to the store when we got back. I hadn’t had much food in my apartment to begin with, and now I had even less.
“He’s just excited to see you,” Brooke said. Before he left, Frank had positioned her bag on the table so she could see me. I’d embedded myself in the couch and refused to move.
“I know,” I said, rubbing my temples. A headache was brewing. Maybe I needed to bust into those sedatives now.
“You ready to talk,” she said, “or would you rather continue your pity party?”
“That’s not fair,” I said.
“News flash, Sam.” She eyed me steadily until I realized how ridiculous my last statement had been. I was telling a girl who’d recently lost damned near everything that things weren’t fair. If they ever gave rank for stating the obvious, I would have made captain just now. Brooke was right. Of course things weren’t fair. And yes, my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be, but sitting here and wallowing wasn’t going to change anything.
“Sorry,” I said.
“I know,” she said, her cheeks becoming flushed, “but you don’t have anything to be sorry about. Yeah, I’m sort of dead, Ramon is sick, and you got the shit beat out of you. You also met a girl, got strange mutant powers, and kicked some ass.”
“You’re oversimplifying,