A Kiss To Send Us Off

Chapter 16

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Amelia did shower but she couldn't nap. It was still early, hardly lunch time, when she decided to head to County to see her father. He was in the infirmary so she knew she'd have to to sneaky and that meant putting her job at risk but to Amelia it didn't matter, not at that moment of course. She didn't speak to Juice on her way out, ignoring his pleas for her to at least tell him where she was going, and she left her phone in the glovebox when she parked in the free lot across from the jail to avoid cameras.

Using her badge, but not actually clocking in as she was on extended leave, she gained access to the infirmary. Timing it perfectly and keeping her head down she snuck into Chibs' curtained off area with hardly anyone noticing her.

"Hey Da," she whispered unsure of who was in the next few curtains. "How ya feeling?"

It was much worse than Juice let on. There was a beat down as he had said but Chibs also had two deep stab wounds to his arm and other more concerning bodily trauma.

"You shouldn't be here." His voice was scratchy and his eyes hazy as he looked at her. "But I'm glad you are."

"I'm sorry this happened." She gave his hand a squeeze and at first it was awkward but it gave them both comfort. "I knew this was a bad idea. I told Juice it was and he freaked out, I did too actually."

"It's not your call." He said softly. "Let us do our job, love. I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Yeah? And what if you end up with a shiv in your neck?"

"I'll just be hoping he didn't have it hidden up his ass."

Amelia was mad and she didn't want to laugh but the sparkle in Chibs' eye was enough for her to crack. "You're a dick."

He nodded and lowered his voice. "I need you to go to the club, Ginger. Tell them Hector Salazar is working with someone in Charming to do this shite. Calaveras, that's the crew. Small time bullshit. Can you do that for me sweetheart?"

"Yeah," she sighed hating to be pulled into the mess anymore so than she already was. "I'll tell them. Are you getting out soon?"

There was the very distinct sound of approaching footsteps that sent a wave of fear through Amelia. She'd be fired on the spot and, depending on who found her and their mood, could be brought up on charges.

"Fuck," she hissed as Tanya her usual rounds partner stepped into the room and pulled the curtain back.

"Shit," Tanya gasped and stepped back. "You scared the ever living shit out of me, Amelia."

"Please, please don't tell anyone." She pleaded, her fingers gripping the rail of Chibs' gurney. "I'll quit I swear."

"We'll pay you." Chibs added quietly. "If you need a favor, we can take care of it for you."

Tanya looked between the two of them with intrigue. "So what's the deal here?"

"She's my daughter." Quick to clear the confusion Chibs answered for Amelia.

"Remember the little Puerto Rican we treated? Shiv to the back?"

Tanya's eyebrows furrowed together as she thought back. "Oh shit yeah, you were all over him!"

"He's my husband." Amelia almost sounded ashamed to admit it and Chibs caught the emotion. "I just needed to be sure my dad's okay. Please, let me sneak out and we can make it up to you."

Tanya smiled and nodded, pointing out behind as she began checking over Chibs' vitals. "Go now, most of the doctors are at lunch."

Never moving faster in her life, Amelia gave Chibs a quick kiss on the cheek before scurrying out and back to her car. Catching Raylan a few spots to the left she waved and feigned a smile.

"You caught up." She called out as he climbed out of the town car.

"It's my job. Visiting your dad?"

"How do you know all this shit?"

"Again," he grinned and sent a pack of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "It's my job."

Her face fell and her chin began to quiver. "I think I want the fed help you offered before. I can't do this shit. I just need you to promise me you'll look away from the club."

"Would the club hurt innocent women, for any reason, ever?"

Amelia looked like she'd seen a ghost when he asked. Adamantly she shook her head, even without knowing their strict rules on women and children, she knew they wouldn't. "God, no, never."

He nodded, believing her and already having knowledge of their crimes. The Sons records were all clear of domestic abuse altercations and that was something Raylan felt passionate about after watching his own mother taking beatings.

"Sometimes, and I'm not saying you're a lowlife," he explained with a sly grin. "We have to make deals with lowlifes because we set our sights on life forms even lower on the ladder of lowlifes than they."

"Deals?" She asked hesitantly, already used to his strange way of speaking.

"Verbal only," he promised. "I'll look into this personally." Raylan already was, he had been, but he figured that would hurt the trust she now had in him. "I'll get whoever is after you, whoever hurt your aunt, and that's it. No collateral damage."

"Thank you." She spoke slowly and softly. "I don't want to go home and since you're following me anyway do you want to grab some dinner?"

Raylan nodded and pointed to his car. "You still insist on driving separately?"

"Let me have some independence. Between you and my husband I feel like a fucking child."

With a wink he slipped back into his town car and started the engine to follow her out and off to wherever she wanted to eat. It would be on Uncle Sam's dime, Raylan was sure of that, that was the best part of protection details. He found himself smiling at the idea of dinner with the young redhead. Refusing to entertain those thoughts he focused on driving and chalked it up to a curvy figure and her current need for protection. He was in law enforcement after all and he wanted to help people, that's all it was he told himself.