Page 27

To say he was displeased with Linnie was an understatement.

Not only was she openly discussing aspects of the club in front of a woman who hadn’t signed any of the waivers, disclaimers, or non-disclosure agreements, she was hurting Tamsyn needlessly by projecting a future—or lack of one—where it didn’t belong, forcing him to make a stand where he didn’t want to set his feet.

This wasn’t the time or place to knock Tamsyn back.

Honestly, it was unfair for her to deal with it when she was drifting between drugged sleep and consciousness, floating on pain medication. He didn’t know how much of the full conversation she’d heard, but she’d definitely caught the tail end of it.

There was no mistaking those tears, glistening over and amplifying the power of her tawny eyes.

When they closed, her misery sliding away into sleep, Merrick bided his time. He waited through the tense silence permeating the bedroom as Linnie systematically shut down the IV and began removing it. “There, done. She’s all yours.”

Because he was a gentleman—well, not so much, but he occasionally liked to believe he owned certain gentlemanly behavior—he rose and carried the IV stand for her, shutting the bedroom door behind him as he followed her into the hallway.

“Appreciate you fixing her up, Linnie.” Each word was measured, his tone even and polite. “Appreciate it more if you don’t come back.”

“I—what?”

“Exactly what I said. You’re one hell of a doctor and a good woman, but the lines you crossed in there were unnecessary.” Dominance throbbed in his voice as it deepened. “Tamsyn was awake and aware, Linnie. Not only were you talking about submissives in front of her, you razed her world to shreds without a second thought.”

“She was sedated,” Linnie pointed out.

“She was listening,” he corrected. “Maybe she’ll remember what she heard, maybe she won’t, but I’m pretty damn sure she’s gonna remember me rejecting her. Putting me in an untenable position is unacceptable; doing the same to her is cruelty. She ain’t got much to hold on to right now, and you just took the last scraps away from her when you didn’t need to do so.”

She opened her mouth; he raised a finger.

“Becoming involved with her romantically or sexually was never gonna be viable for me. Friendship was beneficialfor her. Instead, you brought the impossible to the forefront, offered it first as an option, then squashed it.” His brows lowered until he imagined he resembled an angry ogre. “I don’t like hurting anyone, Linnie. I especially don’t like causing an innocent girl pain because you fucked up and opened a can of worms that wasn’t relevant at this point in time.”

“She’ll need medical attention at some point.”

“She will,” he agreed easily, shrugging his shoulders. “If she asks to see you, I won’t stop her. Won’t influence her for or against it.”

Linnie blinked, disbelief written all over her face. “What the hell are you going to do when she needs a fucking doctor, Merrick?”

“I’ll work something out with Elias, get permission to bring someone in from the city, or take her in. I don’t want to turn this into a battle where we fall out, Linnie, but you were right. There are consequences for what we do, and this is one of them.”

“I… This is… What thefuck, Merrick?”

“I’m putting the girl first, as requested.”

He saw the moment she switched from shock to temper. It lit up her eyes, twisting her mouth. She snatched the IV stand from his hand, adjusted her grip on her bag, and snapped her shoulders straight.

“Good fucking luck to you,” she hissed, storming down the hall toward the door. “She’s going to be more trouble than she’s worth, mark my words.”

He didn’t flinch when she slammed the front door shut behind her, nor did he let her words get under his skin. Trouble wasn’t something he walked away from; he thought of it as a challenge, more of a problem-solving exercise than a wrench in the cogs.

If Tamsyn ended up being trouble, it was only because Linnie stuck her damn nose into a situation that didn’t exist and forced it into existence.

So, now he needed to be on his guard and head that trouble off at the pass.

Damn Linnie.

Grumbling under his breath, Merrick turned his back on the door still shuddering on its hinges and headed for the kitchen. He needed to think, and he thought best with something in his hand. Coffee would hit the spot while he tried to sort this mess into a logical order.

He supposed a plan of action would come in handy for when Tamsyn was lucid again.

But what was the right plan?

Flipping on the coffeemaker, he paced around the kitchen table with slow, measured steps. Formulating a plan meant having some idea of what he had to work with, and the truth was, he didn’t know. Wouldn’t know until she woke and gave him some indication of where her head was at after Linnie’s interference.