My hands are clenched around the steering wheel, turning my knuckles white, as I concentrate hard on the road in front of me.
When Clem responds, his voice is low and surprisingly calming.
“You bet.I’m right here, honey.”
Chapter8
Tessa
It’s notuntil I see Clem waiting outside the hospital entrance, when I turn into the parking lot, that I disconnect.
His steady voice kept me grounded all the way here, otherwise I might well have lost it.
So when he walks up as I get out of the Jeep, throwing myself in his arms feels like the most natural thing to do.Every emotion I painfully tamped down on the way here abruptly escapes in a giant sob, so forcefully, it makes my knees buckle.
“Easy,” he rumbles by my ear as his strong arms hold me steady.
It would be so tempting to simply stay like this, letting someone else take the weight for a while, but I only allow myself a brief moment of indulgence.Then I disengage myself, wipe under my eyes, and straighten my shoulders.
“I want to see him.”
Clem’s response is to open the door for me.
I make a beeline for the desk on the far side of the lobby, when I spot Dana Kerrigan heading toward me.She’s the nurse practitioner who examined me for my medical clearance when I joined the Edwards County Sheriff’s Department.
“He’s awake and talking,” is the first thing she says to me.
A flood of relief threatens to buckle my knees again, when I feel Clem’s steadying hand at the small of my back.
“Good.”I take in a few deep breaths through my nose and blow them out my mouth.
“He was pretty badly beaten though,” she cautiously continues.“He’s got pretty extensive bruising on his face and upper body, as well as a nasty cut on the back of his head.He was also barely conscious when he was brought in, so we’re taking him for a CT scan to see if there is any internal bleeding.That’s our main concern right now.He likely has some bruised or cracked ribs, and I’m pretty sure he’ll, at the very least, have a concussion, but we’d like to make sure nothing else is going on we can’t see on the outside.Either way, I would be prepared for him to be here for a few days.”
I nod, grateful for the information.Not knowing is worse for me.
“Can I see him?”
Dana touches my arm, giving it a little squeeze.
“Like I said, he’s in radiology now, but I’ll keep my eye out and will come get you when he’s brought back down here.He’ll need a few stitches for that cut.”
“Thank you.”I force a smile, which she kindly returns.
“You bet, and once we’ve got a better idea what is going on with Remi, I’m sure Dr.Sharma will want to come out to speak with you.”
When she’s gone, Clem takes my arm and guides me to a waiting area.
“Sit,” he prompts.
Normally, I’d probably tell him to go to hell for ordering me around, but at the moment I’m almost grateful for the direction.He takes a seat next to me.
For a few minutes we just sit like that, side by side, not talking, but still I find comfort in his presence.My mind drifts, and instinctively I start sifting through any information I have on what happened.
“What made you go out in the alley?”I abruptly ask Clem.“Did you hear something?”
“No.We’d just come back from the junkyard in Kettle Falls.Remi left on his bike and I went inside to clean up.I left right after for some dinner and my standing Thursday night poker game at The Kerrigan.I was turning down the alley to get to Main Street when I saw him.”
He leans forward, elbows on his knees as he briefly rubs his face in his hands.
