Page 8 of Romancing His Heart

“Just spit it out, Seth,” I command, but he’s already typing away on his phone.

“Ash is on his way down. He’s been staying at Preston’s place. God, man, it is so good to see you.” I see the relief wash over his face as he takes me in, and I feel guilty.

Why does he seem so worried about me?

“We’ve got work to do,” I inform him. Attempting to sit up in bed, I feel a stabbing pain and try to fight through it. That’s what I’m trained to do. However, before I can do anything else, Red is out of her chair and positioning me in a way that relieves the discomfort. I regard her uncomfortably.

“Who are you?” I finally ask.

With a smirk so sexy it sends blood rushing through my veins, she replies, “I’m Sloane. Emory’s sister, the renter of this apartment, romance author extraordinaire, and now, your private nurse.”

Emory. Emory. Emory?I have that niggling feeling again and smash my knuckles into my temples.Why can’t I remember?

“Ah, Loki?” Her sweet voice fills the room. “Emory. Preston’s doctor, remember?” Sloane murmurs just as Ashton enters the room.

“Jesus Christ, Loki. It’s so good to see you awake. You scared the shit out of us,” he says while wrapping me in one of those Westbrook hugs I learned to tolerate all those years ago. Okay, maybe tolerate is too harsh a word, but I can’t focus on how good it is to be home right now.

“It’s good to see you, too, Ash. We have work to do, though.” Remembering we have an audience, I turn to Sloane. “Hey, Red? Would you mind giving us a few minutes?”

“Actually, I do.”

Seth rolls his eyes, and Ashton chuckles.

What the hell?

“Listen, I see you’ve camped out here, and I appreciate you were taking care of me, but my work is confidential and could be a matter of life or death. Plus, this is my apartment, so I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the room.”

“No.”

Is this girl joking?

I look to the guys for backup and realize instantly that they have no intention of stepping in.

“What do you mean, no? This,” I say, gesturing around the room, “is my apartment.”

Her sparkling green eyes dance with mischief, and I know she’s about to put me in my place.

“You may own it, butIam renting it. I have a signed lease, and I’ve checked; you cannot kick me out.” She smiles as she rounds the bed, her wild, silky hair falling out of a ponytail that sits on top of her head. Before settling back into her chair, she opens a medicine bottle, then hands me two pills and a glass of water.

“Take those before the pain gets too bad. Doctor’s orders, and you don’t want to mess with my sister. One is an antibiotic, and one is just a mild pain pill. If Emory’s sedatives didn’t knock you out, you don’t need to worry about those.”

How the hell did she know I would worry about the pain pills knocking me out?

“Ah, boss? I’ve got some stuff to tell you, and it’s okay to talk freely in front of Sloane.”

Seth is acting dodgy, and I don’t like it. Narrowing my eyes, I glare from him to Sloane, to Ashton before finally settling back on Seth.

“Well, what is it?” My irritation is bubbling over.

“Sloane, you have your notebook handy, right? You might as well take notes. I think we’re going to need them to piece this together.”

I watch in shock as she takes not one but two pens out of her ponytail and grabs the notebook on my nightstand.

“We’re going to talk about this apartment thing. Soon,” I say seriously.

“Can’t wait, handsome.” She winks. She actually freaking winks at me.

Ashton, the asshole, lets out a bark of laughter.