20.

I hope your pH levels are thrown off-balance and you get a yeast infection.

Text from Amethyst to Diamond

A METHYST

"I came up on my lunch break and talked to her for a few minutes. She's in good spirits," Cydney said as she walked around the back of her SUV and waited with me for Wren and Bella to park so we could walk in together.

"I thought she must be. She asked me to bring Tama'i, so he's meeting us in the lobby."

"You two have become quite the couple," Cydney commented.

"Haven't they?" Bella asked as she got out of her truck.

As Wren walked toward us, she said, "I think they're adorable."

"He's pretty awesome," Cydney admitted. "You've definitely got our vote."

"Good. I've got something I've wanted to tell you for a few days, and since we had dinner at my parents' house last night, I can," I said slyly. I smiled brightly at my friends and then lifted my left hand up and wiggled my fingers. "We're getting married!"

"Holy shit!" Bella squealed.

Cydney's mouth dropped open in shock, and she burst into tears - not the ‘happy for my friend' tears I was expecting, but great big wracking sobs that shook her whole body. Bella and I were shocked at the emotion, but Wren just looked at the ground uncomfortably while we tried to soothe our friend.

"What's going on, Squid?"

"I'm just so happy for you! It's great news, Amy!" Cydney said through her tears. "This is wonderful, isn't it, girls?"

Bella was studying Cydney's face as if there would be an answer there to the questions we both had, but she finally smiled at me and agreed, "Congratulations, Amy."

Wren lit up when she looked up at me with a smile. "I'm happy for you, cousin. He's a great man, and I think he'll do whatever it takes to make you happy."

"Just like I'll do for him," I promised. As Cydney wiped the tears off her face and checked her makeup in the side mirror of the car we were next to, I said, "Should I wait to tell Zozo? She's got a lot on her mind right now and . . ."

"And good news will only help make her feel better," Wren assured me.

We were already on the sidewalk when I spotted Tama'i and picked up the pace to get to him faster. I was only about ten yards from him when he suddenly frowned and opened his mouth to yell. Suddenly, I was hit from the side. I lost my footing and went flying as I heard my friends and Tama'i screaming my name. I curled up to lessen the impact on my body like I'd learned to do in my wild childhood and hit the ground with a thump before my body naturally rolled.

My roll abruptly stopped when I hit the brick wall, and I heard a woman grunt right before someone tugged my hair as if to get me to stand. Not a stranger to a good brawl, I reached up and grabbed the wrist attached to the hand in my hair and used that leverage to spin around on my ass to face my attacker. I punched the strange woman as hard as I could dead center between her legs and heard her let out a squeak before her hand let go of my hair.

I was up on my feet in the next second and had my forearm on her throat when I slammed her into the brick wall. She started to squirm, and I yelled, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Let me go!"

"Answer me!"

"Please let me go."

"Answer me!" I screamed.

"He broke up with me because of you! I can't even go see him because you blocked me from visiting Archer!"

"You!" I growled when I realized that this was Mr. Massey's girlfriend - the woman who had almost killed my patient, an innocent little boy who trusted the adults around him to keep him safe and healthy.

"You're hurting me!"

"I just got started, bitch! You come at me like that and then don't expect me to go completely fucking sideways on your ass? That tells me you're even more fucking ignorant than I first thought. You're lucky we're in public because if we were alone, I wouldn't just kick your ass, I'd end your fucking life without even blinking twice, and then I'd make it a point to go back to your shallow grave every time I need to take a shit."

"Camera on your right, Amy," Wren called out as she walked over to block the view.

"Watchers behind us and to the left," Cydney warned. I saw her raise her hands as if to wave people by, and then she called out to strangers, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen two women kissing before? Jeez!"

"Move along, people!" Bella yelled.

Wren got close to my back and said, "Figure out how you want to fix this because we've got maybe two minutes before people start to get antsy."

"Want me to get the truck?" Bella asked.

"I think I can carry her, but you'll have to knock her ass out."

"I could end you right now, bitch," I said as I pressed against her neck even harder, cutting off her air for a few seconds before I backed off enough for her to catch her breath.

"Fuck me," I heard Tama'i whisper. In a louder voice, he asked, "What did I just hear?"

"What? I didn't say I don't know how to cuss, just that I don't like to," I said as I glanced over at Tama'i who was standing there in shock with a helpless look on his face. I looked back at the woman who was quickly turning an alarming shade of purple and hissed, "If I ever see you again, I'll kill you where you stand. Do you understand me?" She nodded frantically as she clawed at my arm to help clear her airway. I pushed a little harder as I said, "If Archer gets so much as a hangnail, I'll fucking end you, bitch. Same thing will happen if you mutter a word about our little chat today."

The second I let her neck go, she gasped for air and bent forward at the waist in obvious pain.

Cydney picked a purse up off the sidewalk and pulled the wallet out before she tossed it back to the ground. Once she had the wallet open, she pulled the woman's driver's license out and slipped it into my back pocket before she threw it at the woman's feet.

Wren, one of the most even-keeled women of our group but also the one with the most violent temper, grasped the woman by her hair and yanked her up so that they were eye to eye. "She's not the only one you'll have to contend with, bitch. We know your name, and we can find out everything about you in seconds and then make it our mission to shit on every corner of your life until we're bored and decide to start at the beginning and do it all again."

As the woman frantically nodded, tears and snot streaming down her face, I warned, "If you ever hurt another child, we'll find you, and don't think I won't keep track. Got me?"

"Yeah," the woman said through her sobs. "I'll move away. I'll never . . . I promise. I'll be . . . I'll go away."

"Do it right the fuck now," Wren ordered before she smacked the woman's head on the bricks behind her and then tossed her aside like garbage to land at Cydney and Bella's feet.

Bella leaned down and smiled at the woman before she said, "It's so sad that you're clumsy enough to trip and fall like that, isn't it? That's what the cops are going to think if they ever ask you any questions, right?"

"Yeah. No cops. I'll just go. Right now."

"Run," Cydney ordered menacingly.

The woman scrambled to her feet just as Cydney kicked her purse closer to her. She bent and picked up her wallet and the purse before she sprinted across the street to the parking garage, her sobs echoing loud enough for us to hear them where we were standing by the hospital.

"Who was that?" Wren asked calmly.

"BAC and heatstroke," I said simply, knowing Wren would remember the patient I was talking about but not willing to give his medical information to everyone.

"Oh, that fucking bitch," Wren said as she started across the street.

"Down, girl. It's a small town, and you know she won't leave. We'll run into her sooner or later," Bella promised as she grabbed Wren's arm. "As a matter of fact, considering y'all's reaction, I think we should use the info on her driver's license and hunt that bitch down."

"I'll drive!" Cydney said cheerfully.

"Are you ready for this?" I heard my dad ask from nearby. I spun around and found him standing there next to Tama'i with Cydney's father, Grady, and Uncle Bird behind them. "Marrying my little princess will come with some challenges, Tiny."

"Princess?" Tama'i choked out. My dad and the other men laughed, and without missing a beat, Tama'i said, "You know, you're right. She is a princess. I thought I was in love with Cinderella, but I just found out she's more like Thugerella, and I'm here for it. That was sexy as hell."

My dad grimaced and looked at Tama'i before he said, "And now I have to kill you."

I ignored Dad's irritation and threw myself at Tama'i. He caught me in his arms and spun me around as he kissed me soundly.

"Hi, Lalelei," Tama'i said with a grin the second he pulled his lips from mine. "Looks like you've had a pretty boring day."

"Just the usual," I lied with a shrug. Tama'i let me slide down his body until my feet were on the ground, and I linked my hand with his before I said, "Let's go upstairs so I can officially introduce you to another of our mild-mannered and well-behaved friends."

"I can't wait."

TAMA'I

The women who had been so keyed up downstairs were much calmer when they filed into their friend's hospital room. Apparently, they had connections here because I knew there were signs plastered everywhere that stated no more than two visitors at a time, but when we got into Zoey's room, there were already three people - her parents and a man who looked a lot like the woman in the bed.

He stood up and strode over to us, and Amethyst squeezed my hand before she let it go. The man stuck his hand out and said, "I'm Zane, Zozo's twin brother, and I can't thank you enough for what you did for her . . . for our family. You have my . . ." The man's eyes filled with tears, and he cleared his throat before he finished with, "You have my eternal gratitude. I can never repay you for the gift you gave us by saving my sister."

"I hate that it happened to her, but I'm glad I was there to help," I said honestly.

"Thank you," Zane repeated before he tugged my hand to pull me in for a quick hug with a few hard slaps on the back. When he stepped back, his eyes were clear and his posture was strong again, and I was glad to see it. He looked over at Amethyst and then down at her hand before he said, "Is this new information?"

"Yes."

"She's gonna shit."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," the woman in the bed croaked. "I hate that."

"Yes, my queen. Anything for you, my queen. God, the drama with this one, right?" Zane asked sarcastically.

"Piss off," the woman said with a half-smile.

Amethyst took my hand again and led me closer to the bed. Once we were beside her friend, she leaned over her and paused for a minute before she said, "You look like shit."

"The last time I saw something that looked like you, I flushed," the woman croaked. She smiled up at me and through her swollen lips said, "Whenever you're ready to take out the trash and get a real woman, I'll be waiting."

"I'll keep that in mind," I joked and then laughed when Amethyst's eyes narrowed at me in mock outrage. I could tell that she was trying to lighten the mood with her good humor, so I went along with it and shrugged before I said, "A man's gotta keep his options open."

"Just for that, I'm not going to introduce you as my fiancé," Amethyst said petulantly. "Zozo, this is my casual acquaintance, Tama'i."

"Fiancé?" Zoey asked with a gasp. When Amethyst nodded, Zoey scoffed and said, "Of course he is. I damn near get killed, and she steals my knight in shining armor. How shitty is that? Typical Amy."

"She is a drama queen, isn't she?" Wren asked.

Cydney rested her hand on Zoey's leg and squeezed it gently before she said, "Always with the drama. You know if you weren't such a puss, you'd be up walking around by now."

No one pointed out that the police officer's leg was in some sort of contraption that held it over the bed, but I knew they were just trying to avoid that elephant in the room.

"Wren lost her temper and threatened to kill someone in the parking lot," Bella tattled. "You should have seen it."

"Amy got her first!" Wren argued. "Why is it always my fault? You were there. You watched it happen!"

"I didn't see shit," Cydney said with an exaggerated shrug. "Did you see anything, Amy?"

"Nothing."

"Lies! Y'all are a bunch of lying hags," Wren said petulantly. She sat on the edge of the bed by Zoey's feet and looked at Cydney before she said, "I like what you've done with your hair."

"You do? I haven't had it done in a few weeks but . . ."

"There's one out of place," Wren said as she reached toward Cydney's face. She touched her top lip and said, "There. I got it!"

Zoey snorted and then started laughing silently as Cydney stared daggers at Wren.

"No matter how old they get, they still act like wild animals," Carlie, Zoey's mother, said through her laughter.

Her husband, Sam, agreed and said, "You ladies should take this shit on the road."

"I will as long as Cydney never gets to drive," Zoey said firmly.

"Ditto," Amethyst agreed with Zoey. "I'm not riding anywhere with that crazy heifer."

"She drives like a maniac," Bella agreed. "I think she learned from Terran."

"Or Griffin!" Wren said cheerfully. "Koda is almost as bad."

I thought I remembered that one of the wild little boys was named Griffin - Amethyst's cousin's son or something. There were so many that it was hard to keep track.

"Oh my God! I saw Koda at the clinic today. You would not believe what he did this time!"

"Oh, I love Koda stories," Zoey said cheerfully. "What did he do now?"

"I swear, Ruf and Hawk should get punch cards at the clinic and the emergency room. Buy nine x-rays and get the next set of stitches free or something," Wren said with a laugh. "You should have seen Ruf's face when he brought him in this morning."

"What happened?"

"He decided to propose to his little girlfriend during lunch at school and put the ring he chose for her on his finger. Of course, his finger swelled up around the bolt that he stole from Ruf's junk drawer, and we had to figure out how to get it off without hurting him."

"Can you imagine what kind of woman he'll snare one day?" Bella asked.

"I think our parents probably said the same thing about us when we were kids," Amethyst admitted.

"Actually, it was just last week," Carlie chimed in, causing everyone, including the badly injured woman to laugh.

Her entire demeanor had changed since the women arrived - her face wasn't nearly as pale, and she was smiling with a twinkle in her eye. Obviously, good friends were the key to healing.

We hadn't been there long before Zoey started yawning, and when the nurse came in to check on her, the girls said their goodbyes and filed out. There were lots of insults about Zoey being lazy and getting her ass out of bed, which she threw back at them by saying she looked better with a bruised face than any of them did on their best day. After hugs and kisses, I left the room with the women I'd arrived with.

We made it almost to the elevator before I heard the first sniffle, and by the time the doors opened, one of the ladies behind me was crying openly.

I looked over at Amethyst and saw tears on her face, but before I could ask what was wrong, she said, "She looked so small in that bed."

"And her face. Oh my God. I just wanted to hold her," Bella said through her tears as she walked ahead of me into the elevator.

"It was so hard to see her like that because she's our number one ass kicker," Cydney whispered. "She looks so frail."

I barely had enough time to process what Cydney had said and wonder how Zoey was the ‘ass kicker' of the group when I'd just seen Amethyst go off on a woman and threaten to kill her. Honestly, I couldn't imagine what Zoey was bringing to the table.

"Thank you for saving our friend, Tiny," Wren said in a voice choked with emotion. "You're the best."

"You are," Amethyst cried as she threw her arms around me. Suddenly, I had not just the woman I loved in my arms, but three other women who loved her, too, and all of them were sobbing.

When the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, I saw several men I recognized as some of Amethysts's extended family standing with Hawk, Phoenix, and Crow. In a split second, they took in the scene in front of them and then scrambled away, going off in all directions before the women spotted them.

On a regular day, I wasn't really a violent man, but I had just added at least five names to the list of people I was going to kill the next time I got angry, and at least three of them had the last name Forrester.