“Didn’t sit right after I said it.”
Leo looked back.
“What?”
“Leaving you here.”
“I told you I was fine.”
“Yeah.”
Sully paused.
“You weren’t.”
Leo said nothing.
“I believed what you said because it was convenient.”
The biker looked toward him.
“Came back to fix that.”
The ambulance was waiting.
Sully tapped the door.
“Go.”
Leo climbed inside.
“Sully?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
The biker shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed toward the Road King.
“Debt’s still mine.”
The hospital smelled too clean.
Leo hated it immediately.
White walls.
Bright lights.
Questions.
People touching his ribs.
He expected someone to tell him he was difficult.
Nobody did.
X-rays confirmed that two ribs had fractured earlier and were healing.
Fresh bruising covered one shoulder and his jaw.
Dehydration required fluids.
The doctor noted his weight.
Then asked:
“When did you last have a proper meal?”
Leo shrugged.
The nurse brought soup.
Then a sandwich.
Then another sandwich.
Leo ate too quickly and felt sick.
The nurse slowed him down.
“Food isn’t leaving.”
Leo looked at the tray.
“What?”
“You’re guarding it.”
He realized one hand was curled around the edge of the plate.
“Oh.”
“It’ll stay.”
She left.
Leo still kept one hand near it.
At nearly midnight, Angela Ruiz returned.
She carried a folder.
Leo’s stomach tightened.