Rome: A Marked Men Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

after her, me in pure male
    appreciation, Nash in puzzlement.
    “I swear I know that chick from somewhere.”
    “She one of your one-hit wonders?”
    “No. Maybe Rule’s pre-Shaw?”
    I snorted and contemplated the ceiling while my head and side continued to burn. “She seems too smart
    to fall into that category.”
    “Maybe. It’s going to drive me nuts until I figure it out. What the hell happened to you tonight? Picking
    a fight with Rule wasn’t enough, you had to take on a whole biker bar?”
    “’Merica!” I gave a bitter laugh at my lame joke.
    He scowled at me and took a seat on the doctor’s wheelie chair, dwarfing the thing.
    “Seriously, Rome. You need to knock this shit off.”
    I didn’t have to answer because the doctor chose that moment to come in. He was a guy in his fifties
    who clearly was at the end of a long shift because he was no-nonsense as all get-out and wasted no time in
    fixing me right up. When he was done he gave me a serious look and told me I might want to lay off the
    booze considering my blood test came back potent enough to start fires, and all I could do was silently
    agree.
    He scribbled a prescription for painkillers that I hoped I wouldn’t need to fill since I was already
    struggling with my reliance on another dangerous substance, and told me the nurse would be back in a few
    minutes to discharge me. I was stoked about having one more chance to get my flirt going, but as soon as
    she stuck her head back in, it was clear she was all business and wanted nothing more than to see us go.
    “Take care of yourself, Mr. Archer, and thank you for your service to our country.”
    She spun around to leave when Nash suddenly hopped to his feet and snapped his fingers. It made the
    nurse wince and made me frown.
    “I knew I knew you! We went to high school together, didn’t we? Aren’t you Saint Ford?”
    We could have heard a pin drop she went so still and got so quiet. She stared at him like he had just
    crawled out of the sewer.
    “I am. I’m surprised you recognized me, most people don’t.”
    He tilted his head to the side and gave her a considering look. “Why did you say we didn’t know each
    other, then?”
    She cleared her throat and fiddled with the end of her braid. She was clearly very uncomfortable with
    the conversation.
    “Because high school was a million years ago and I was a very different person then. It’s not a time that
    comes with the fondest memories; in fact I prefer to pretend it never even happened. I’m sure that’s not
    something a guy like you can understand. Have a nice night; try to avoid any more knife-wielding bikers if
    you can, Mr. Archer.”
    She swept out in a haughty cloud, leaving both of us dumbfounded and gaping at each other.
    “Whoa. Were you a dick to her in school or something? That was a whole lot of hostility for something
    that happened so long ago.”
    He shrugged and helped me get up onto my feet. I wobbled a bit from the mixture of alcohol and blood
    loss, so he didn’t let go until I was steady.
    “Probably. Rule, Jet, and I were a bunch of punks. Remy was the nice one.”
    “What do you mean, ‘were’? You probably teased her for being fat or something.”
    He had the good grace to look ashamed. “That is entirely possible. I wasn’t exactly in a great place when
    I was in high school either. There was too much stuff going on with my mom and that idiot she married for
    me to really give a crap about anything or anyone else. Man, that blows. She’s a total babe now.”
    I didn’t even consider putting my blood-soaked shirt back on as I hobbled out of the emergency room.
    “She sure is.”
    We got to Nash’s fully restored ’73 Dodge Charger and I slumped down in the seat. It wasn’t the worst
    Independence Day I could remember having, but it sure wasn’t one of the best either. All I wanted to do
    was crawl into bed and forget about everything, not that that seemed to be working out for me so great as
    of