Sequel to Chapter 72 (BanSan, Boat Captain, Amethyst)

Kohaku groaned as he came to, ribs protesting as he tried to sit up. The last thing he remembered was meeting up with an informant and then—

"I wouldn't do that," a voice said, something pressing down on his forehead and forcing him to lie down.

"Where am I?" he asked, voice gravelly as he blinked, trying to bring things into focus.

"The hospital. You were in critical care until an hour or so ago," the voice said. "You've got a concussion and two broken ribs. The paramedics who brought you in think you got hit by a car." His arm was moved, and Kohaku hissed as pain shot up to his shoulder. "Plus a nice gash on your forearm. The doctor had to stitch you up."

A car? He hadn't been in a car. He'd shown up to the informant's meeting place in his car, but they'd been talking until something had shone in their faces and then nothing.

Has his informant ratted him out?

He shifted again, the pressure increasing on his head. "I told you not to do that."

Kohaku squinted, the outline of a brunette in a pink nurse's uniform standing beside him. She had a serious look on her face as she checked over his chart, breaking out into a smile when he was finally able to focus on the lines of her face.

"Hello, good to see you awake and coherent." She marked something down on her chart. "I'm Rin, one of the day shift nurses."

"How long will I be here?" he asked, cutting to the chase.

Her eyes narrowed. "Longer than you think you need to be."

Kohaku rolled his eyes. "I don't have time to—"

"What you have time for, detective, is to tell me who your emergency contact is and then rest." She knew he was a cop but hadn't checked his contact information? "And before you start in on whatever distrustful interrogation you use on criminals, your badge was still attached to your belt when they brought you in."

His jaw clenched, and he flopped back on the bed. "I've got a sister you can call. But she's currently treasure hunting with her boyfriend, so I'm not sure if she'll pick up."

Rin blew him a kiss. "Was that so hard?"

"You don't know my sister."

She rechecked his vitals, then tucked her clipboard under her arm. "Sounds like my kind of woman. Make sure you introduce me to her when she comes in here and yells at you for being stupid." The pain in his ribs was getting worse, and Rin clicked a button, sending a dose of morphine directly into his veins, relaxing his muscles.

"Why would I want to do that?" Kohaku asked, energy waning.

He swore she flashed him a grin as she headed toward the door. "Because then you'll have two beautiful women forcing you to stay in bed."

"Why do you think my sister is beautiful?" he asked.

Rin stopped at the door, her grin only widening. "I think the better question is why you didn't disagree that I'm beautiful too." Her laughter echoed in Kohaku's ears as his face turned bright red.