“Yeah, just keep us updated.”
“I will.”
There was silence for a minute and then Craig spoke again. “Listen, I know this is hard on you right now, but you did the right thing back there. Florrie would have kicked your ass if you had handled things differently.”
“I know.”
“I’m sure she’s going to be fine. Florrie wouldn’t let a little thing like a car bomb take her down.”
I chuckled, because he was right. Florrie would probably wake up and be pissed that a head injury from a car bomb had finally landed her in the hospital.
“And we’re not done talking about you switching teams,” he said right before he hung up.
We waited around for another half hour, just praying for any kind of news when a nurse finally came out and said that Florrie was awake and I could head back.
“I’m really sorry the doctor couldn’t come out and see you. We’re pretty slammed tonight. But he said that he would be by to check on her as soon as possible.”
“It’s no problem,” I told her as I stepped into the room. Florrie laid on the bed, her eyes closed and her blonde hair all disheveled on the pillow. They had pulled out her pony tail holder, so her hair was going everywhere. She would hate that. Florrie wasn’t the kind of girl that wanted her hair down and all pretty. She wanted it up and out of her face so that she could do what she needed to without her hair getting in the way.
There was a bandage on the left side of her face and a little bit of bruising peeking out, but other than that, she just looked like she was sleeping. I sat down beside her and slipped my hand around her smaller one. Her soft skin encased in my rough hand made something hard settle in my chest. I felt like I was on the verge of losing her, but here she was, lying here with her hand in mine. The urge to protect her and keep her safe was overwhelming, but that wasn’t a possibility. That wasn’t who we were, and I had to fight those urges or I would lose her. I knew this from all our previous fights.
“Hey,” she croaked, her eyes open just enough that I could see their beauty.
I smiled, fighting down the need to tell her she had to quit. “Hey, you’re awake.”
“You know, you’re smarter than you look,” she said, wincing slightly when she smiled too big.
“Yeah, well, I have to impress you somehow. I figured that pointing out the obvious would do the trick.”
She nodded and her whole chest heaved like she was trying to take a deep breath. “How bad is it?”
“I’m not sure. The doctor hasn’t been by yet. I guess you’re not the only one that tried to risk life and limb tonight.”
“Well, I try to keep up with what everyone else is doing.”
I smiled and squeezed her hand tighter for just a second. I really wanted to climb into her bed and hold her to me, but that would only piss her off. So, I sat there and pretended like I was totally cool.
“Hey, I’m fine.”
“Yeah,” I snorted. “I’ll wait to hear that from the doctor.”
“Well, I’m awake. That must be a good sign.”
I held back my temper and didn’t tell her that head injuries weren’t something to mess around with. She already knew that, but she was trying to placate me. She didn’t want me to freak out like she knew I was already doing internally.
“What happened with Jamie?”
“Well, after you swooned in my arms in the tunnel,” I joked, “Craig got us out of there and we hid out at a motel until we could get reinforcements. Derek’s team showed up, and Hunter and I brought you here while the rest of them got Jamie back to Reed Security.”
“So, he’s okay?”
“Not a scratch, as far as I could tell.”
She nodded and let her eyes drift closed. It wasn’t long before she was asleep again, and I was left to watch her and pray that she woke up again. Until I heard it from the doctor that she was fine, I wouldn’t be able to calm down. Leaning forward, I brushed the hair from her face, letting my fingers linger against her cheek. My hand was shaking and I snatched it back, shaking it out. I needed to calm the fuck down. She was fine. She was right here in front of me and I had just spoken to her.
The door opened and Hunter walked through with a doctor. He gave me a knowing smirk and walked to the other side of Florrie’s bed.
“Doctor, is she okay?” I asked.
“She should be fine.”
“Should?”
“I’d like to keep her until morning, just to make sure that she responds the way I think she will. I hate to discharge head injuries before I’m one hundred percent certain there’s nothing I missed.”
I glanced at Hunter and then back to the doctor. “What does that mean? What do you think is going on?”
“She has a skull fracture. What I’m watching for is fluid leaking into her brain that could cause swelling. It doesn’t appear that any arteries were damaged, which could also lead to swelling. And the skin around the fracture was broken, which could lead to bacteria entering the fracture and cause infection or severe brain damage. I just want to keep an eye on her and make sure that none of that happens. In the morning, I’ll have some more scans run and if everything is clear, she can be released.”
“But you’re not seeing any of those signs now,” I clarified, my heart pounding out of control.
“No,” he smiled. “Like I said, this is just a precaution. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on her, but if you have any questions or think something is wrong, please contact me,” he said, handing me his card with his personal
