“What’s the verdict?” I ask, bracing myself as she settles back down beside the bed.
“Luckily, your nose only has a hairline fracture, but the skin was opened up pretty bad. You have stitches on the bridge of your nose, but they should heal with minimal scarring. Your right thigh has deep tissue bruising, but that will heal on its own. However, you’ll be pretty damn sore for a little while. You are lucky it’s not broken. But you do have two broken ribs on your left and one on your right, but again, they’re only small breaks, nothing that some time won’t heal. You swallowed a hell of a lot of blood when they socked your nose, so then you started to throw it all up. The doctor said you aspirated some of the blood, so they are keeping an eye on that. We thought you might have had some internal injuries, but it turns out it’s just some hardcore bruising. You hit your head pretty hard when you fell, though, and it caused a concussion. You’re pretty doped up on morphine right now, which I’m sure is helping with the pain. You were lucky, Kaden. It could have been much, much worse.”
She delivers it all steadily, like she’s had time to memorize the doctor’s explanation, like she’s replayed every word in her head while she sat here waiting for me to wake up.
As she talks, I take inventory of my body.
The dull throb in my ribs when I breathe too deeply. The tight pull across my nose. The heavy, floaty disconnect in my skull.
Yeah. That checks out.
Sighing carefully so I don’t aggravate the pain, I shake my head slightly. “I’m sorry I put you in that situation. It must have been terrifying.”
Her face falls immediately, the bravado slipping. She winces like she’s being dragged back into the alley, as if she’s hearing the crack of bat against bone all over again.
“Seeing the man you’re deeply in love with being beaten nearly to death…” She clears her throat, blinking rapidly. “I’m just glad you’re awake.”
The words hit deeper than any broken rib.
I reach out for her hand without thinking, and she threads her fingers with mine instantly, squeezing tight, and it feels as if she needs the reassurance just as much as I do. Up close, I notice she’s still in her leather dress and boots, still wearing my jacket draped around her shoulders like armor. The fabric looks oversized on her, but she’s clinging to it like it’s the only thing holding her together.
I furrow my brows. “Have you been back to the hotel yet?”
She shakes her head, brushing her hair behind her ear. “No, I haven’t left your side.” There’s no drama in the way she says it, no expectation, just fact.
“What time is it?” I ask, and she glances above my head, obviously at a clock on the wall.
“About eleven.”
I squint toward the window. The sun is shining through the thin hospital blinds, pale and sterile. “Morning?”
“Yeah. Morning.”
Which means she’s been here all damn night.
“Have you slept at all?”
She shakes her head again, and this time I see how exhausted she really is. “No, I was so worried you might vomit blood again. Plus, I wanted to be awake when you woke up. And I needed to tell you the story in case the police came in.”
Of course she did.
She sat here rehearsing lies to protect my sister while I was unconscious.
“Jesus, Eff.” I drag a slow breath into my bruised lungs and immediately regret it. “I’ve put you through so much damn shit.Fuck!I put you and Kiera in danger.”
She sighs softly, but there’s a steadiness in her eyes now. “I don’t think I was ever in danger, really. Vex seemed only out for you. Raoul did well in keeping me back. He’s taking it tough, though. I think hearing that they wanted to go after Kiera has him on edge. He wanted to go back to Ligonier straight away to keep her safe, but of course, we wouldn’t let him. We need him here with us. But we sent a security detail to the hospital in Pittsburgh to make sure everything is fine. They’re keeping a low profile, and Gran and Kiera don’t even know they’re there. So far, there are no reports of anything since Vex has been paid out.”
Paid out.
Fucking hell, those words sit heavy in my gut.
“Raoul really cares about Kiera that much?” I ask, studying her expression.
Effa shrugs lightly, but there’s a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Seems so. They’ve bonded quite a lot. It’s cute. He rang and told Kiera and Gran you’re in the hospital and that you had an accident, but didn’t tell them what. Just that you’d be fine andnot to worry. I think he wanted to check on Kiera as well… you know, make sure she was okay.”
I let out a long breath, some of the tension bleeding from my shoulders. “I should call them.”
“You should,” she agrees gently. “But first, I need to let the doctors know you’re awake again so they can check you out.” She presses the call button beside the bed, and I ease back against the pillows as carefully as I can, staring up at the sterile white ceiling tiles while the beeping machine resumes its steady rhythm beside me.