Page 51 of Protecting Gina

Cass moved closer, and she put her arm around her shoulder. They stayed close, waiting for any word on Wave. After a bit of time, she took Cass to the bathroom and helped her clean up the blood from the small cut on her face.

“There. That’s better.”

Cass turned to her and put one hand on Gina’s arm. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Are you?”

Cass snorted a laugh. “I think I am. I mean, hell, I really thought he was going to kill me.”

A sob escaped her lips, and she pulled Gina close, holding her tightly. “I don’t know what to do.”

“We have to believe he’ll be okay.”

“I hope so. I need him to be fine.”

Cass leaned back and met her gaze. “When that guy swung the bat the second time, I really thought it was going to kill him. But the bat hit the floor first before it glanced off Wave’s head. I don’t think it hit him that hard.”

“But he was knocked out.”

Cass nodded. “But I don’t think it’s going to be bad.”

Gina drew in a slow breath. “I hope you’re right.”

Waiting for news about Wave’s injury seemed to take forever. It was more than an hour before someone came out to talk with Bang. Gina moved closer, listening to what the doctor said.

Relief filled her as the doctor spoke. He had a concussion, and it was a bad one, but they didn’t think he needed surgery. They wanted to keep him overnight, maybe two nights. He would need to take a few weeks off work, but he would be okay.

Relief washed over her, and tears ran down her cheeks. Wave would recover. She hoped he could recover enough to remain a SEAL, but he would have some sort of life because he wasn’t dead and wasn’t at risk of dying.

Cass leaned in. “Is something wrong?”

She shook her head. “No. He’s going to be okay.” She closed her eyes, letting the relief wash over her.

Cass slumped against her. “Thank goodness.”

Bang moved close and squatted in front of them. “We should take you two home. The MPs fixed Wave’s door, and the threat has been neutralized. I’ll sleep on the couch. You’ll be safe. We’ll come back tomorrow and check on him.”

Gina wanted to stay, but knew Wave needed the sleep. “Can I see him?”

“The doctor said he is being moved to a room. Let’s get you two home, and you can clean up, then come back later to see him before we call it a night.”

Cass reached out and grabbed onto Bang’s hand. “Thank you.”

“He’d do the same for any of us. We don’t leave guys hanging in the wind.”

Cass pulled Bang into a hug. “Thank you.”

Gina hugged him next, grateful Wave had such good friends. “Thank you.”

Bang cleared his throat, then stood. They were headed back to Wave’s place. Normally, she would be scared, but Pete was gone. He couldn’t hurt her ever again.

The man had been obsessed with getting his money back, but he’d been dumb. The one person who could have helped him had been killed by his hands. She’d become involved by some weird happenstance that put her in the path, and not by anything she’d done.

Once they were at Wave’s place, she showered and then dressed in comfortable clothes. They were headed back to the hospital in a few hours. Hopefully, by then, Wave would have regained consciousness.

Cass found her in the den and dropped to the seat next to her. “I’m worried for him.”

“Same. I know that he’ll be okay.”