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I turnedin closer to Tanner “This probably isn’t the best time to yell at you, but you never see” I stroked his beard with led tufts “How the hell did you get in this mess? Huh?”

His eyes cracked open again, a pained s blood bead on theettin’ into trouble, baby Whaddya talkin’ ’bout?”

Matt placed a cool, damp cloth in oing to have to calently “Your son needs you around toolike this”

His eyes drifted shut “Whatever you say, Jos Just sit there and touch me, ’kay?”

“When you’re better, I’ll bring hi his face with the da away dirt and blood “He looks just like you I ot to the clubhouse the other day Rory doesn’t like me all that much because of it”

“Rory?” he said with a pained grunt “Where’s Matt?”

“Right here, brother” Tanner’s eyes opened enough so he could see thebehind me

“Where’s Rory?” he asked, sounding weak

“Back at the clubhouse She’s okay Don’t worry about her”

“She not treating Jos okay?”

Matt sighed “They’re not fighting Just avoiding each other Your kid kind of took us all by surprise, man”

“There’s that word again,” he mumbled “This is the most fucked-up dream I’ve ever had”

Chapter 5

Jos

It took another hour before the doctor was finally finished cutting away all the decayed flesh on Tanner’s back No sooner were the nurses cleaning up, than the ICU team was there to take him upstairs