Page 4 of Protecting Gina

Her eyebrows shot up, and she winced before blowing out a breath. She reached out and grabbed a clean cotton round.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, it hurts. I guess with your job you’ve been injured?”

He snorted a laugh. “Sure have. It’s part of the gig.”

“I don’t like rolling over in bed and having to adjust because of a bruise.”

He should stay out of her business, but he wanted to know more. “Before you leave today, I want you to stop by and talk to me.”

“Why?”

“Maybe I can do something.”

She rolled her eyes again. “What could you do?”

He stepped back and held her gaze. “I know people. Just come by and talk. If I can help, I’d like to.”

Maybe he’d pushed too hard. She didn’t know him, but he needed her to trust him, at least a little, if he wanted to find out who was hurting her.

He shouldn’t care so much. His life was full at the moment with plenty of things to worry about. But turning off that part of him was hard. And she’d been here for his mom and, more importantly, his sister. Helping her was the least he could do.

CHAPTER THREE

Gina had nothing to lose. She’d already lost so much, and now Pete was coming after her hard. It worried her that his goons had shown up outside her work. She was almost positive they wouldn’t come inside the hospital. There were cameras in here, and it would be harder for them to hide their activities with cameras recording their every move. She had to leave the building at some point, but she knew they couldn’t sit around all day waiting for her to get off work. Her odds weren’t perfect, but they weren’t too bad. She just had to pay attention.

After Wave left, she made sure she looked semi-presentable and then headed up to finish her shift. She grabbed a bag of chips and a candy bar from the vending machine, knowing she couldn’t go back out for lunch without getting accosted again.

A few of the nurses looked at her weirdly, but she smiled as if nothing was wrong. When she showed up on her floor after trying to grab food, the charge nurse asked her what had happened.

She shook her head. “Just tripped and ran into a sign. It’s no big deal.”

“You should put a band-aid on it.”

She nodded, glad the nurse hadn’t told her to go home. She wanted to finish her shift, maybe work a few more before her troubles became too much, and she had to leave.

After about ten minutes, she spied Cassandra heading into her mother’s room. The poor girl had been so lost. At least her brother was here now, and she didn’t have to carry the full load on her shoulders.

It bugged her that Wave hadn’t shown up before now. Of course, she didn’t know the situation. Sometimes families just had too much going on to play nice. Gina forced herself not to dwell on Wave and Cassandra as she started her rounds.

Cassandra certainly didn’t deserve this kind of pain. No one did. She hoped they both could get over their mother’s death. When her own mother passed away , it had been one of the most difficult times in her life. Eventually, she learned to live with the pain, but she never got over it.

Wave hugged Cassandra close, glad his little sister was there now. If their mother passed, at least Cassandra would be here to say goodbye instead of stuck at school.

“How is she now?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. She hasn’t regained consciousness. I think it’s close.”

Cassandra moved to the side of the bed and grasped their mother’s hand. “Mom, I’m here now. I passed everything. I’m done with high school. It’s okay to go. I’m moving to California with Aaron. We’ll be okay.”

Tears burned Wave’s eyes. He hated that Cassandra had to learn this lesson early. The first friend he’d lost to combat had hurt. When a few of his SEAL brothers had been killed in action, he felt like he’d lost an appendage. Cassandra would feel the loss of their mother, but he would be there for her.

They stayed beside their mother’s bed, not saying much for over an hour. Then the door opened, and Gina stepped in. The bandage on her cheek was hard to miss.

“Gina,” Cassandra said as she hopped up and moved to the nurse, giving her a quick hug.

“Cass, I heard you finished high school.”