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“Hey Maddy, your cousin Greyson is here, says it’s important.”

Sighing loudly.

“Go, I’ll be here when you get back.” Vince gently touched my chin. “I promise.”

It better not be like earlier and his promise of no blood, because he had failed to keep it twice. Though the second time, it wasn’t his fault.

Glancing at the doctor again. “I’ll only be a minute.” I kissed his cheek twice before turning, looking between Nikolai and Bastion.

“Don’t you two dare leave this room.”

Bastion held the door open for me. I swear to God if Greyson had summoned me over something petty, I’d slap him.

Walking down the hospital hall. Greyson and Uncle Cole were standing in the waiting room.

“It’s unlike you, Maddy, to not answer your phone.” Uncle Cole didn’t even wait for the door to shut.

“I left it in the car, I think. What’s so important?”

“This,” Greyson tossed me his phone, “You’ve taken the night off to be with the Crows. While we are dealing with this!”

He could not be serious.

One minor miscommunication, caused by their own actions. Glaring at him and his unruly hair. I stepped forward, slapping him hard.

“These are called consequences. When you make a commitment and fail to keep it.” Backhanding his other cheek. “My advice is to apologize to them. Take a moment to be humble and learn a lesson of respecting the time of others.”

Shaking my head. Unbelievable. How could he justify sending those empty-worded threats? This is exactly how things escalate so quickly.

Taking a deep breath.

“Now, Uncle Cole, don’t forget Zeke’s birthday next weekend. Greyson, I’m making an appointment for you to get your hair cut. No cousin of mine will walk around town looking like an uncared for, palm tree.” I handed him his phone back. “I’ll send you the time and place, understood?”

He nodded, still holding his cheek as he took the phone off me.

“Good. In two days, you both will apologize to me for wasting my time. And Greyson, do not send me white roses again. Any color but white. Actually,” I paused, “or red. That color is offensive to me at the moment.”

Leaving the door open as I walked out. If the circumstances had been different and they had woken me up for that, I might have just stabbed him.

Lucky for him, I have a deep disliking for knives tonight.

“Nik, give me that fucking needle. I won’t let this glorified paper cut upset her all over again when she gets back.”

Unbelievable.

I pushed the door open fully. Lucky for Vince, the doctor tapped my shoulder and asked to get past me before I could yell at him for being off the bed. This is exactly why I have to supervise him.

“I don’t care if half the people in the strip club have overdosed. You aren’t leaving.” I turned the dressing room light off walking into the bedroom.

Vince was sitting up in bed, tapping the back of his phone.

It had taken an effort to get him home from the hospital and stop him from going to the strip club once he heard what happened.

“You can’t step in and take over every time things get hard. Give Rome a chance to prove to you he can handle this.”

Climbing on to his bed, I crawled to his side.

“Have some faith in yourself, okay?” I took his phone off him. “You’ve raised him well. If he really needs your help, he will call.”