Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“I already know you’re tough.”
“I’m keeping weapons out of your hands,” he tried to joke.
“He deserves a taste of his own medicine.”
“Not at your hands. You’d never forgive yourself if you hurt someone,” Faust gently pointed out.
“You’re right.”
“Climb into bed with me, Little girl. I need to hold you,” Faust urged.
“I don’t want to hurt you. Besides, there’s an alarm on your bed. I just sat on it and the nurse came in to yell at me.”
Faust felt his eyebrows draw together in concern. “She shouted at you?”
“It’s okay, Daddy. She was afraid I’d hurt you. Look, I pulled my chair way up. I can sit here and talk to you.” Molly demonstrated by plopping down on the thinly cushioned chair.
“Totally not acceptable. How long are they keeping me in this hellhole?” Faust growled.
“I thought I heard your dulcet tones. I’m Margerie, your nurse. It’s time for pain meds. Rate your pain for me on a scale of one to ten.”
“Zero.”
“You’re lying,” Margerie commented bluntly.
“Just tell her the truth.”
“Three,” he said and winced as he tried to shift in bed.
“A three from the bad biker dude. That must be a six on the regular people scale,” the nurse commented as she injected medicine into his IV.
“Probably,” Molly agreed with her.
Glaring at them both, Faust asked, “When do I get out of here?”
“A couple of days probably. There’s a lot of stuff that can go wrong after you’re stabbed. The doctor will tell you more, but you must have been very lucky that knife didn’t cause more damage. You shouldn’t be awake to glower at me.”
Molly sniffed, and Faust looked over to see tears in her eyes. “I’m okay, Pixie.”
“I was so scared.”
“There’s an alarm on this bed?” Faust growled, looking at the nurse.
“There is.”
“Take it off,” he demanded.
“That’s against protocol,” she said crisply as she checked all the bags hanging from his IV pole.
“Somehow, I’m holding Molly. Here where I don’t move or over there,” he said, pointing to a chair.
“Fine.” The nurse turned to look at Molly, who had tears streaming down her face by this time. “Don’t hurt him.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Molly nodded eagerly.
“I didn’t do this. You figured it out yourself,” the nurse said, pushing a button on the side of the hospital bed before leaving the room.
Faust saw the corners of her lips curve up as she turned away. He switched his attention to Molly. “Come here, Pixie. I need to hold you.”
Bolting to her feet, she almost knocked over the chair. Molly rounded the bed and hesitated before crawling carefully over the sheets toward him.
Faust wrapped his arm around her and held her against his body. He took a corner of the sheet and wiped her face dry. “No more tears. I’m fine. Is that asshole in jail?”
“He is. The police will be here some time to talk to you.”
“I’ll be glad to talk to them as well,” Faust said ominously.
“It’s not their fault the jerk is working the system. Hopefully, he won’t get out again for a long time. Minister Steve and Lester are pressing charges. Elizabeth’s getting everything tied up in a neat bow,” Molly said.
A thought popped into his mind, and he asked, “The Guardians didn’t leave you at the hospital alone, did they?”
“Oh, no. There has always been someone with me. I just sent everyone back to the compound so you could sleep,” Molly explained. “Kade told me to tell you not to worry about work. Ink’s filling in on engines.”
The string of curses that flew out of his mouth made his Little giggle. Faust looked at her and said, “That’s a joke?”
“Kade said that would make you get better faster. He didn’t warn me your foul language would sizzle my eyebrows off,” Molly teased.
“Sorry, Pixie.”
“I hear voices. That’s a great sign.”
Molly tried to shift away at the sound of Minister Steve’s voice, but Faust held her in place. “Stay.”
“Thank you for stopping by. I’ll be back at work soon,” Molly promised when Steve came into the room.
“The office will survive without you for a few days, Molly. I think you’re right where you need to be,” Steve commented.
“How are you and Lester?”
“We’re fine. Lester has a big goose egg on his forehead. He’s enjoying all the attention.”
“I didn’t know how he got hurt until the Shadowridge Guardians filled in everything that happened as I tried to hide,” Molly told him. “You tried to stop him, too. I’m sorry I brought trouble into the church.”
“A house of God should be a refuge for everyone. The blame rests fully on the person that chooses to do evil. I stopped by today to check on you, young man.”
Faust barely controlled a snort from shooting from his nose. Young man? “I’m doing fine.”
“Are you religious?” the minister asked him directly.
“I believe in a higher power,” Faust answered vaguely.