“I’ll get you something for that pain in just a second, okay? You’re doing great.” I hear as she moves around the room, and then places a cuff on my arm. When it finishes its tight squeeze, she reads my blood pressure out loud.
I try for a few seconds to calm myself down by taking shallow breaths. My right eye finally cracks open, and I take in the room around me. My nurse, a beautiful woman with skin as dark as night and hair back in a tight bun, is still moving around the edge of the bed. I can see Maddox, Coop, and Chelcie in the corner by the window. Maddox has both of his thick arms crossed tightly over his large chest. His face is hard, but I can tell by the slight tick in his jaw that he isn’t holding his emotions in as well as he would like. No, he’s pissed. To my shock, Coop has Chelcie wrapped tightly in his arms, slightly rubbing her back.
When my eye finally hits the worried, dark gaze of the man sitting by my bed, I want to cry. His eyes are red, and I can tell he’s either been without sleep, or he’s been crying, and I desperately hope he just hasn’t slept. His brows are drawn in tight, his lips are pressed into a line, and his thick brown hair is mussed and standing in a million directions. Even looking as terrible as he does right now, he still is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.
“Everything looks great, Honey. I’m going to get you some more medication for your pain. It’s going to make you sleepy, so let me get the doctor to explain what’s going on before you turn into Sleeping Beauty again.”
My eyes never leave Beck’s face.
“That’s right. This prince of yours hasn’t left your side once, so I imagine I wouldn’t want to stop looking at him either.” She lets out a soft giggle before I hear her slip from the room.
I try to offer him a small reassuring smile, but it must fall flat because his eyes look even more pained. He leans in and kisses my forehead softly right before I hear footsteps next to my bed again. I turn my head from Beck’s worried face and focus on the new arrival. She’s wearing a white coat, so I’m only assuming this is my doctor. She puts me instantly at ease with her calm smile, but it’s her eyes that make me feel like I’m in good hands. She has the kindest eyes.
“Hello there. I’m Dr. Knott. I understand you just woke up?”
“About thirty minutes ago, ma’am.” Beck speaks, and I’m thankful that I don’t have to try out my voice again.
“Good, good. I understand there was an incident at your office, and I know that the police have been waiting for you to wake to speak to you, but I think I can hold them off for a few days. You need your rest. We’re going to keep you on the pain meds for at least another day or so, and let your body get a little better before we take the good stuff from you.” She smiles again and pats the arm opposite of the one that Beck is rubbing softly. “You have a few bruised ribs, but luckily nothing broken there. Your eye, the left one, is going to look and feel a lot worse than it is, but in a few days, the swelling should go down enough for you to be able to open it. We do want to make sure that you aren’t having issues with your vision, so we will need to check it. There are a few other bruises and bumps, but right now, we’re keeping an eye on your head to make sure the swelling stays down. You’re a lucky girl; by the looks of it, it could have been a lot worse.”
She continues to explain various things about healing and home care, but I’m too busy taking in everything she just told me. Beck asks a few questions, but I don’t hear them. I just lay there in shock. She asks me a few more things that I weakly answer before she leaves the room with the promise of sending Destiny back in with my pain medication. The second the door closes, it’s as if the floodgates slam open, and all the memories, leading up to now, come rushing back. The office, no alarm, light on, the man… oh God, the man!
“Shh, Dee… Look at me. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” I turn and focus on him, trying to calm the rapid breathing that has my ribs screaming.
“Did you find him?”
He shakes his head, and when I hear a snarl from the side of the room, my eye shifts to Maddox, who looks as if he’s about to snap in half. Beck yells at him to either calm down or leave the room before making me look at him again. “It’s okay; I need you to believe me, Dee. We’re working on it, okay?” I see his eyes pleading with me… begging me not to close him out.
I take a few shallow breaths and focus on his eyes. “Okay. I trust you, Beck.”
His shoulders sag with my whispered words, and his eyes drop for a second before he looks back at me. I gasp when I see the moisture forming in his eyes.