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.Hisbrother said it was going to be a gift forsomeone he worked with.The girl was ahuge fan of his, Wyatt had said.Cole hadjoked that maybe they should beintroduced.Jesus.Turning, Cole glanced aroundEverly s bedroom.He realized that itwas decorated in Atlanta sportsmemorabilia.The only uncoveredsurface was a large rectangle over thebed.He looked again at the print.Nowonder she hadn t asked for hisautograph.But why was it in her closet?His gaze fell on her father s suitcase.He remembered some of the things she dsaid, as well as Mason s reaction whenhe opened the door and saw him.Frowning, Cole returned his attention tothe task at hand.It took him two more minutes tochoose a sweater, jeans, andundergarments for Everly.Spotting anempty backpack on the shelf in thecloset, he used it to hold the clothing.Then he headed back out to the familyroom.Mason stood next to the couch, hisphone in his hand.He looked up from thescreen when he heard Cole. Sure is thoughtful of you to stop byand tell us about Everly s incident,Cole. No problem. Cole glanced atJake s closed bedroom door. I guessI ll see you at the hospital.Northside. Oh, right.Thanks. Mason smiledand nodded. We ll definitely see youthere.Cole waited for him to ask if he hadmore information about Everly scondition.He waited for him to offerCole his cell number so he could getupdates.He waited for him to showsome amount of concern over hisdaughter.Any at all.And receiving none of the above,part of him bled for Everly.Chapter 34While Cole was in the house, Wyattfound out from Rowan that the doctorswere conducting a number of tests onEverly, including an MRI and X-rays, todetermine whether or not surgery wasneeded.Rowan still hadn t gotten backto them by the time they walked into thehospital. Hey, my man, Javier called out.He rose from the low couch along awall to the left of the doors.The otherguys were nearby and also turned togreet him. Hey. Cole accepted Javier s quickand hard embrace, then another one fromMarshall. Thanks again for coming. No problem, man.We don t have aclue what s goin on, though.When everyone gathered around, hespoke in a low voice about what hadhappened.Several of his friends let outloud curses as he spoke.The registrationnurse, who was conversing with Wyattand Rowan, gave them all a warninglook. This is so messed up, Anton saidwith a scowl. Did they catch who didit? No. Here, Cole caught Marshall sgaze.His friend s eyes widened slightlyas he realized what Cole was implying. Rowan didn t want to leave Everly, sohe didn t chase after her attacker.Nick frowned. Damn.Why wouldsomeone just jump a waitress? Was sherobbed? No, Cole replied. The police areinvestigating. Cole, Wyatt said.Glancing up, Cole caught hisbrother s hand motion.He hurriedacross the lobby to the registration desk.He realized a woman in surgical scrubshad emerged from a pair of doubledoors.When Wyatt and Rowanapproached the woman, Cole went withthem.His heart thundered in his chest.He found it impossible to ignore thesmears of blood on the woman s top. Wyatt, she said, reaching out andshaking his hand. Good to see you. Thanks, Janice.What can you tellus? Dr.Remer s still reviewing theresults of the MRI to be certain, but wesee no evidence of a cranial bleed.There s a minute fissure on the frontallobe in the area she was struck, but itappears to be remodeling from an olderinjury.We want to be certain beforeconsidering discharge. Of course. X-rays show no evidence of afracture in the forearm.There is,however, hairline fracturing in two ribsfrom the strike to her back.Took us awhile to review those images due tomore remodeling.Cole struggled to keep up as Wyattnodded and made noises ofunderstanding.From what he gathered,Everly s injuries weren t life-threatening.It also seemed that she dbeen injured before.Maybe a caraccident? He supposed it wasn trelevant just then. Can I see her? he asked.Janice turned her gaze to him. Sheshould be admitted to a room soon.We ll want to keep her overnight forobservation.Visiting hours  Janice, Wyatt interrupted. This ismy brother, Cole.Everly is his&  Girlfriend, Cole supplied. Please, I just want a few minutes withher.Sighing, Janice said,  I ll see what Ican do.Then she turned and disappearedthrough the double doors.Cole walkedback over to his friends to give them anupdate.He left out the part about theremodeled injuries. Look, guys, he said. There s noreason for you to hang out here.Visitinghours don t start until the morning, andwe re causing a bit of a scene here.They looked around and foundeveryone gaping at them.Consideringthe time, there was a large number ofpeople in the waiting room. You sure? Marshall asked. Wedon t mind.Hell, all I ve got waiting forme back home is my pain-in-the-assbrother-in-law. It s cool, man.It sounds like they llrelease her tomorrow.Thanks so muchfor coming out. Keep us posted, hear? Javier said. Will do.Once his friends departed, Colewent to sit with Wyatt and Rowan on theother side of the waiting room.Rowanstarted to apologize, but Cole stoppedhim.Whatever had happened in thatparking lot, it wasn t Rowan s fault.Twenty minutes later, Janice cameback out.Cole got to his feet.She methim, Wyatt, and Rowan in the middle ofthe waiting room. She s under the influence of heavy-duty pain killers, Mr.Parker, but you cansee her for a few minutes, she said. Come with me.Receiving nods from Wyatt andRowan, Cole followed Janice throughthe double doors.He felt like he shouldbe draped in surgical scrubs himself.Moans and cries of pain emerged fromone of the areas they passed.When theyturned another corner, Janice drew backa curtain.Everly lay on a hospital bed in aslightly inclined position.Her eyes wereclosed.Her arms rested beside her ontop of the blanket.White gauze and somekind of cooling pack covered her rightforearm.Swelling and dark bruising wasvisible on either side of the bandages.Similar dressings covered her foreheadand part of the left side of her face. God, he breathed.She looked sopale and fragile. Everly.She didn t stir.He took her hand inhis.It felt like ice.He couldn t help butfear that the ER team had been wrong.What if there was a bleed in her brain? Everly, he said again, squeezingher hand. I just want you to know thatI m here, okay? You be strong for me.Your grandpa s on his way, too.Her eyelids parted.His heartslammed against his breastbone. Hi, he said when she looked athim. Cole.Glad to see you.Her speech was slow.He prayed itwas a result of the medication. Glad to see you, too.Wish it was ina more glamorous setting, though. Mmm, she managed.Shemoistened her lips and tried again.Hervoice was raspy. Thanks for coming.Didn t know if you would.He frowned. Why wouldn t I? Why would you? she whispered.Her eyes closed.A tear leaked outand trailed down her cheek.Panic struckhim. She s gone back under, Janice saidin a quiet voice from behind him. Whydon t you let her rest? She won t be fullycoherent until the morning.Although he didn t want to leave her,he made himself follow Janice back outinto the waiting area.Everly s wordsfollowed him like a specter.Why would you?* * *Everly woke in the middle of adream [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]