A large bang pulls me from my thoughts. Looking up I see an older man slam his fist down on the nurses’ station. A small petite woman tries to calm him, her dark hair pulled back from her face. Her features are strikingly similar to Kadence's. Shit, these are her parents.

It’s not how I expected to meet them, especially here tonight. The small woman ushers the larger man to the waiting chairs, when the nurse just shakes her head no. I'm not sure what to do in this situation. Should I go over there? Introduce myself to them? I’m not even sure she’s told them about me. Hell, I only told Pops about her this week. My decision is made for me when the doctor walks out through the doors. Sy pushes off the wall coming forward to meet the older man. “Kadence Turner’s family?” he calls out. I look to the older couple as we both walk to the waiting doctor.

“Who are you?” the old man questions, looking around us as all the brothers move in. His eyes zero in on me.

“Nix,” I tell him, holding my hand out to him. He looks at it, not sure if he should trust me.

“You with my daughter when her asshole ex hurt her?”

“No sir, but we sure as hell made sure the asshole paid." The burning rage builds back up again, thoughts of what Sy told me he witnessed fill my head. If Sy hadn’t been there, I don’t want to think about what would have happened to her. The old man holds my gaze, nodding slightly before taking my hand and shaking it tightly.

“How is she, Doc?” He turns his attention back to the Doctor.

“Well, Miss Turner suffered a broken rib which caused a traumatic pneumothorax.”

"What the hell does that mean?" I bark out, interrupting him and thinking the worst. I feel one of my brothers grab my shoulder, trying to calm me. I don’t want to be calm. I wanna fucking see her.

"In layman's terms, a collapsed lung. We've had to drain some of the excess air and now we are just monitoring to make sure that she doesn’t need surgery.

"Surgery?" I snap again, fear now replacing my anger.

"Will she be okay?" her mom softly asks beside me, while reaching out for my hand. I don’t know what to do, so I just hold it in mine. The move nearly floors me, but at the same time comforts me.

"She will be, but she will need to stay in for a few nights for observation, just to make sure that lung doesn't collapse again.”

"Okay," Mr. Turner nods, taking in the news while I quietly shake in rage.

"She also suffered an injury with her larynx. It will cause some trouble swallowing for the next day or two and her voice will be hoarse, but I must warn you, the marks on her neck are somewhat confronting. She was very lucky. Things could have been a lot worse,” he adds, noting something down on his clipboard as his pager beeps from his pocket.

“Can we see her?” I ask, my body humming in need to see her with my own eyes, to touch her with my hands.

“She’s still in recovery, but will be up in her room shortly. A nurse will come down to get you,” he informs us before walking back through the same doors he came out of. Kadence’s mother squeezes my hand once, and then lets go, visibly relaxing next to her husband

Her father nods at me and directs his wife over to the waiting chairs.

“Pops, I’m gonna need you to take Z home,” I say, coming to sit next to him.

“Dad, I wanna see Kadence,” Z interrupts.

“I know you do, bud, but she is gonna be real tired. We can come back in the morning to see her.” He looks like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t. “I’ll let her know you wanted to see her, okay?” He nods, satisfied for now.

“Nix?” Mrs. Turner comes to sit next to me.

“Yeah?” I reply. I honestly don’t know what to do in these sorts of situations. The last time I did a ‘meet the parents,' I was eighteen and didn’t give a fuck if they liked me or not.

“Kadence was only telling me about you this afternoon,” she smiles a sad smile. “I’m sorry we had to meet like this.”

“Me too,” I agree, wishing Kadence was here for the first meet. I feel like this is some important shit and I’m gonna mess it up.

“Nix?” a nurse calls from the double doors.

“Here.” I stand at my name being called.

“Kadence is asking for you.” The small blonde holds the door open, waiting for me to follow her. I smile back at Kadence’s mom. I feel like I should let them go in before me, let them see their daughter, but the urge isn’t strong enough. I just need to see her.

“I’ll let her know you’re here,” I tell them as Mr. Turner comes to stand by his wife's side.

“Fuck that, I’m goin’ in boy.” Mr. Turner booms, shaking his head.

“Frank,” his wife scolds him, slapping his arm. Jesus, you can see where Kadence gets her quirks.

“Oh, please, Jolene. If he’s any type of man, he’d understand my need to see my girl.” I nod, knowing he’s right. No fucking way would I not want to see my daughter after someone attacked her.

“Of course,” I agree, not wanting to piss her father off, but if the nurse says one at a time, I’m not gonna fucking stay back. Telling the guys I’ll be back, we walk through the doors, passing room after room. My fingers itch to touch her soft skin, to see for myself that she is okay.

The nurse stops us at the door, letting us walk past her into the darkened room.

“Oh, baby girl.” Frank's rough voice echoes around the room.

My eyes find hers as I walk through the door. A low guttural sound erupts from deep within, building each second my eyes run over her messed-up face.

“I wish I got to fuckin’ kill him,” I say, coming to stand on the opposite side to where her parents stand. Her eyes haven’t left mine since they locked on to me.

“He’s dead?” she asks. Her voice doesn't sound like hers. I nod and watch her body relax. I can’t speak. I can’t even touch her. I’m stuck, my body vibrating with an untapped rage.

“Oh, honey,” her mom leans down closer and lightly brushes some hair off her forehead. Her black eye is now fully visible. My pulse quickens in response.

“I’m okay, Mom,” she rasps. The tiny movement sends pain across her face. I follow my natural instinct to reach out and grasp her small hand in mine. Her hand responds, squeezing me back.

Standing closer to her, I can see the busted lip held together by a small stitch. Her delicate neck bruised from the asshole's hands. Seeing her lying in bed with her beautiful face battered and the thumbprint shaped bruises covering her neck, I realize I could have just as easily lost her.

“How’s Holly?” she asks.

“Still in surgery,” I answer. It doesn’t look good for Holly, but I don’t want to tell her that. She looks so lost, lying there, not the strong woman, I know.

“Whatever you got goin’ on in your head, get it out.” I squeeze her hand. I can see the guilt she holds playing out all over her face.

“It’s my fault, Nix,” she cries softly, a tear falling. I knew she would take it on her shoulders, knew she would feel guilty.

“It’s not your fault.” I pull the chair up beside the bed. “It was that asshole’s, so quit your bullshit blame game, or I’m gonna have to take you over my knee, woman,” I finish quietly.

“Oh, I like him,” her mom giggles.

Her dad growls

Obviously, I wasn’t so quiet.

“Geez, Nix, my parents are in the same room,” she states the obvious, shaking her head, wincing at the movement.

“I don’t give a shit. I'm not sittin’ here watchin’ you go inside your head over some seriously fucked-up shit your ex pulled. The fucker is lucky Sy put the bullet in him ‘cause I would have to kill him with my bare hands for layin’ a finger on you,” I tell her.

“Calm down, Nix,” she says.

“Kadence, I don’t think you get just how crazy I have been waitin’ to see you. Knowin’ that asshole had you for two hours, doing who knows what, who knows where... Jesus, Kadence, I can’t even comprehend the heaviness in my heart right now.”

“Well then, I’m glad he’s dead. You wouldn’t be any good to me if you were in jail,” she states, staring back at me. Even in a hospital bed, the woman wants to argue with me, test me. I hold her gaze, our eyes locked in a stare off, but she breaks it, looking over at her mom.

“You didn’t have to come, guys.”

“Like hell we didn’t,” her dad barks out beside her mom. I smile. I’m beginning to like the guy. He speaks my language.

“Of course we did, Kadence. Your father was racing to the car before I even hung up the call from the hospital. Can we get you anything while we’re here?” She begins fussing over her. My heart aches watching it, remembering my mom being the same.

“I’m good, Mom, but you should get some rest. It's the middle of the night.”

“I know, honey. We just wanted to see you. Make sure you’re all right. We’ll be back first thing. If you want to do up a list, we can go pick up your stuff and take it back to our house, for when you’re ready to come home.”

“That won't be necessary,” I tell them straight up. They all look over to me,

“Nix,” Kadence begins before I cut her off.

“No, Kadence, this one thing I’m not budgin’ on. You’re stayin’ with me. Respect to your mom and dad, babe, but you're with me; that makes you my responsibility. I look after what’s mine.”

“Nix, I’m not a possession to claim. I can get Mom and Dad to look after me. You have Z.”

“Like hell, you're not. You're my woman, one of the most important people in my life. You’re mine and it’s killin’ me seein’ you in this bed. I promise you, Kadence, this won't happen again. I’m not lettin’ you out of my sight.” She rolls her eyes and tries to hide her pleasure at me claiming her in front of her parents.

“Quit sassin’ your man, darlin'. If he’s a good man, he’ll look after his woman,” her dad orders, looking over at me.

“He is a good man, Daddy,” Kadence quietly replies, looking up at me.

“I know, baby girl. I can already tell,” he agrees, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

“I’m sorry, but your time is up.” The young nurse from earlier comes in checking Kadence’s chart.

“We’ll be back tomorrow morning.” Her mom leans down kissing her, while her dad comes around to where I sit. I stand when he stops in front of me.

“Good to meet you, Nix.” Offering me his hand, I take it in mine. He moves forward into my space, his voice lowered, “I don’t have to remind you that she’s my only girl, and we’ve already been through a world of pain. You mess with her, you’re messing with me.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I tell him, looking him in the eye. I have no intention of messing with Kadence. This week has proven to me just how much I want her in my life. He nods, letting my hand go and stepping back.

Mrs. Turner steps forward. Her small arms come around me. She stands at the same height as Kadence. “Look after her,” I hear her say quietly before she pulls back. It’s not a question, more a request, one I very much plan on doing. With a final goodbye, they leave us alone, following the nurse out.

Leaning down, I gently kiss her over her eye. She holds on strong, the pain and anguish kept at bay until her parents leave the room. Her body slightly shakes the moment the door latches, unraveling in front of me.

“I swear, Kadence, I'm nearly comin’ out of my skin seeing his marks on you and watchin’ you break.”

“I’m sorry,” she cries harder, tying to wipe at her swollen face.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s gonna be fine," I tell her, wiping at her tears with a tissue.

“Will you find out about Holly for me?” She looks up, concerned for her friend.

“I will,” I promise, still holding onto her hand tightly. I want to climb into the bed with her, crawl inside of her, and take the pain she’s feeling away, but I know that I can’t. I can barely touch her without the fear of hurting her.

“Z, Pops and the boys are in the waitin’ room,” I let her know. I want her to know Z is here for her; that all the boys are worried about her.

“Z’s out there?” she says shocked while trying to sit up. “How was your time away? Is Z okay?” she fires off, and her response warms me. This woman owns my heart. Lying in a hospital bed, surviving what she just did, and she’s worrying about my son. Fuck, I love her.

“He missed you,” I tell her the truth. “And quit tryin’ to move. You have a broken rib.”

“He did?” she ignores my concern.

I nod, smiling down at her. “Wanted to come home early so he could have you make him the lasagna dish you served him last week.”

“I missed him too. I missed you both like crazy,” she whispers, looking unsure. She’s only saying what I’m thinking. As much as I needed to be away with Z, I still missed her, wished every night I could hold her in my arms.

I reach out and run my finger along her busted lip. “I missed you, too. Missed you so fuckin’ bad.”

She nods. A tear slips from her eye and I wipe it away with my thumb.

“I need to say goodbye to Z and let Pops know I’m gonna stay. I'll be back,” I tell her.

She protests, telling me there is no point because they won't let me stay.