“Thanks, Cal.”
“Take care of our girl.”
He nodded firmly. “You know I will.”
The ride to the hospital was quiet, save for the beeps of the monitors hooked up to Anna. Ryan held her good hand tightly as he watched her lying on the stretcher. Images, memories flashed through his mind. Hearing her scream, seeing her trapped by Tim. An endless cycle of torment made worse by Ryan’s imagination taking over and thinking about what could have happened if he had not been there in time.
Their arrival at Oakville Memorial Hospital was surprisingly uneventful. Two police officers had followed the ambulance and walked in with them. Ryan’s glare did nothing to deter them from hovering close by while Melanie examined Anna and assessed her arm. Ryan felt helpless as he stood back, letting the medical team do what they needed to do. When Sandy, a nurse he recognized from the pub as a friend of Callie and Melanie’s, wheeled Anna away for an X-ray, Mel pulled Ryan aside.
“She’s okay other than the arm, Ry. I don’t think it needs surgery so we can just put a cast on it and she should be fine in a few weeks.” Mel paused, glancing over at the officers who were still waiting in the corner of the curtained area Anna had been in. “You’re going to have to drop the caveman protective boyfriend act, buddy. You can’t be in here when they interview her.”
Ryan looked at her in shock. “What the hell? I’m not leaving her to do that on her own, Mel, no way.”
She looked at him sympathetically. “I know you want to be here for her, but it’s procedure. They might let me stay though, if that will help?”
Ryan nodded, running his hands through his hair. “Yeah, I just don’t want her to be alone right now.”
Mel touched his arm in support. “We’ll get her through this, then you can take her home and hold her close.”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to let her go.”
* * *
Anna was exhausted. She was dimly aware it was some ungodly hour in the morning, but she had no true concept of time. It felt as if mere moments had passed since she first saw Tim in the parking lot of the pub, but she knew, logically, it had been hours. Her arm throbbed, despite the pain medication she had been given. The bright lights of the ER were painful to her eyes as she fought to keep them open as one of the police officers took her statement. Reliving what had happened with Tim that night was torture. The fear she felt in the moment that he grabbed her surged to the surface of her memories. Thankfully, as her doctor, Melanie was allowed to stay in the room. Her hand on Anna’s shoulder helped her to stay in the present moment and not get lost in the memory of the trauma she had suffered.
After Anna finished giving her statement, she knew the officer was still speaking, but she was no longer paying attention. Fear was steadily building inside her, thoughts of what could have happened if Ryan and Jake hadn’t been there threatened to overtake her conscious mind with panic. She needed Ryan. His arms around her, his heart beating strongly, those were the only things that would make her feel safe. She didn’t tell the officer about what Tim had done back in California. Maybe she should have, but there was no way she was telling that story without Ryan holding her tightly.
“So, given the obvious nature of your injury, as well as the witness statements, Mr. Fox will likely be held on felony charges awaiting trial. If there’s anything else you can tell us about him, here’s the phone number for the precinct.”
Anna realized the police officer was holding out a business card. She took it numbly, and nodded, pretending she had heard everything he said.
Thankfully, Melanie stepped in when Anna was unable to formulate a response.
“Thank you, Officer, but if you’re finished, my patient needs to go home and rest now.”
“Of course, Doctor Haynes, we’re done here. Miss Thorn, you take care. And call us if you think of anything to add.”
Anna nodded. After the police officer left, Ryan came striding back in, and she sagged back against her pillows in relief. She cursed how weak she felt, how desperately she needed him, but when he gathered her in his arms Anna felt herself take the first deep breath she had in hours.
“Take me home, Ryan, please.”
Chapter 18
At some point on the drive home from the hospital, Anna fell asleep. The crash from the adrenaline of the previous night’s events, combined with the sedating medications she had been given hit hard. So hard that even when Ryan lifted her out of the truck and carried her inside, she barely stirred. He was thankful for small mercies, knowing that sleep was likely the most important medicine for Anna right now.
The house was eerily quiet, as Samson had already been picked up by Jake and Callie earlier. Anna’s jacket, still at the pub, held her keys, making it possible for them to collect the dog.
Ryan carried Anna upstairs and laid her down on the bed before easing off her shoes. He considered trying to undress her to make her more comfortable but chose not to for fear of waking her up. Instead he propped up her broken arm on a pillow, stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the bed on the other side of Anna. As he gently pulled her close, he simply lay there for a while, watching her. His heart was filled with gratitude for her safety, anger that she had been hurt, and guilt that he had not been fast enough to prevent Tim from ever touching her. His heart heavy with the turmoil of emotion, Ryan eventually fell asleep.
Screaming woke him up, fear leaping into his throat, bitter tasting and vile. Anna bolted upright, panting heavily as her hands fought off an invisible attack.
“NO! TIM, NO! STOP! HELP! RYAN!”
Ryan threw the covers off, and grabbed her hands, trying to slow her motions. “Sweetheart, you’re okay! I’m here. You’re safe.” Tears began to fall down his face as he looked at the woman he loved, held captive by her terror.
“Baby, you’re safe. Please wake up, Anna. I love you,” Ryan pleaded with the semi-conscious Anna, as he stroked her uninjured arm and she slowly came to full consciousness.
“Ryan? Oh my god, Ryan, I was so scared.” Anna sobbed as she collapsed into his embrace. He continued to hold her and murmur comforting sounds as he tried to force his own heart to stop racing.
