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Testosterone Poisoning
Zanesatfora long time, holding Maggie’s hand and watching her sleep. He wanted to memorize every detail of her, her beautiful rosy skin, those plush pink lips that drove him to distraction, the way her silky chestnut locks spread out across the pillow. Her eyes were closed but he could visualize the chocolate brown orbs that changed to dark expresso when she wanted him. The unfathomable look in them when she told him she loved him. And her hands, the wonderfully small hands that were so soft but competent and graceful. Those hands that had the power to drive all his worries away and make him feel whole. He wished he could see her smile at him one more time. His eyes shone with unshed tears. He wondered if you could truly die from a broken heart.
When he was sure she was sleeping soundly, he let go of her hand carefully placing in under the starched white blanket on her bed. He leaned over and let his lips brush her cheek, careful not to wake her. He took a deep breath filling his lungs with her beautiful floral scent trying to memorize that as well. “I love you,” he whispered into her hair, took a shuddering breath, and turned to walk out the door.
On the way out, he stopped at the nursing station and found, Felicity, Maggie’s nurse for the night. “Hey, Felicity. Can you make sure Miss Wade gets this before you’re off shift in the morning?” he asked, handing her a folded piece of paper.
“Sure, Dr. Savage,” she agreed easily. “But aren’t you picking her up in the morning?”
His tried to clear his throat, his emotion thick and bubbling up from his chest. “Her brother will likely be here in a couple of hours,” he said huskily. “He’ll be checking her out, I’m sure.”
Felicity looked at him questioningly. “Okay, sure thing. Have a good night. We’ll take good care of her.”
Zane forced a thin smile. “I know you will, Felicity. Thanks so much.”
He forced himself to walk sedately down the quiet halls, back out through the ER and to his car when all he wanted to do was scream bloody murder and run. He beeped open the Audi and tucked himself inside. He fisted the steering wheel, his knuckles going white, closed his eyes and lay his head against the headrest. He stayed this way for several long minutes trying to build up the courage he needed for his next task. Finally, he opened his eyes, took a deep, cleansing breath, and dialed Dani’s number.
“What’s wrong, Zane?” Dani asked him in a rough voice, clearly having been woken out of a dead sleep. Her phone said 3:38 AM. A phone call in the middle of the night was never good news.
His voice was guttural as he answered. “There’s been an accident,” he rushed to assure her as he heard the quick uptake of breath. “Maggie was hurt but she’s going to be fine. They are keeping her overnight for observation.”
He heard rustling and Dani calling to Levi. “Honey, wake up. Zane and Maggie have been in an accident.”
“Are you okay? What happened? What can I do?”
“No, I’m fine,” Zane huffed out a long breath. “Actually, it wasn’t exactly an accident. Maggie was attacked at Mama Tried. She’s got a concussion but she’s going to be fine.”
He heard her gasp on the other end of the phone. “A concussion? What the fuck happened? Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker so Levi can hear.”
Zane rubbed his eyes. His vision was getting blurry around the edges with the tears he wouldn’t let fall and a headache was starting to bloom red. “Shawna happened,” he admitted when Dani told him to continue. “I caught a glimpse of her leaving the hallway where the bathrooms are at Mama Tried when I was trying to check on Maggie.” Zane took another deep breath, trying not to give in to his emotions in the telling of the events of the night. “I found Maggie on the floor bleeding from the head. Shawna caught her from behind and slammed her head into the stall door as near as I can make out.”
“Sweet Jesus!” Dani exclaimed. “Did they catch her?”
"Not yet. Unfortunately, Maggie didn't see attacked her but luckily, Carl from the hospital was working security at the club tonight as well and I saw her leaving the hallway to the bathrooms right before I found Maggie. Detective Morales came and got all our statements already."
“Fuck, Zane! What are you going to do? That woman is mental!”
He blew out a heavy breath. He felt like he was swimming through molasses, his movements and thoughts slow. “That’s why I’m calling you. I need you to come pick up Maggie in the morning from the hospital and drive her car back for her.”
“Why don’t you just take her home with you until she’s able to drive home in a couple of days? I’m sure JT and Sofia can cover the cafe on their own; not that Maggie won’t pitch a fit.”
Zane spoke slowly, his voice oddly flat. “I need you to come get her because I can’t see her anymore.”
There were a few beats of silence before Dani exploded. “What the actual fuck, Zane Savage?”
He cringed. He’d known Dani was going to have his head, but he had to do this. No matter that his heart was being ripped from his chest with the doing. “It’s the only way to keep her safe,” Zane said. “If I’m not seeing Maggie anymore, Shawna won’t have any reason to go after her again.”
“That’s got to be the single stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Dani shouted at him. “She’s fucking crazy and you’re trying to think about this in a logical manner. Crazy doesn’t think logically, Zane. You know that!”
Zane was silent so Dani went on. “Maggie needs you now more than ever. What do you think leaving her is going to do to her? You’re going to shatter her fucking heart. It’s going to be a thousand times worse than what Shawna has done to her.”
“But she won’t be dead!” Zane shouted back at her, his fear for Maggie and his anger at Shawna coming out full force. “Don’t you think I know how devastated she will be? Don’t you think it will be just as bad for me, Dani? I love her. I’ll always love her, but I can’t take a chance of Shawna coming at her again and doing worse! I’ve already landed her in the hospital with a concussion! I don’t want to see her in the fucking morgue!”
Dani could hear his anguish over the phone lines. His breath was ragged and she had heard the crack in his voice at the end of his tirade. She softened her tone. “Zane, please, rethink this. I know you’re upset right now, but leaving her will be so much worse. She needs you, now more than ever. We’ll figure out Shawna. Hell, I’m a witness to what she’s already done to you, too. Surely we can at least get a restraining order and Gladewater is a small town. We can have everyone on the lookout for her. She can’t hide in plain sight here like she can in Dallas. We can keep Maggie safe.”
Zane was quiet again. “No, I’ve been going over and over it in my head all night. I can’t endanger her anymore. I couldn’t live with myself if something worse happened to her. Hell, Dani, I’m barely holding on with what happened tonight. This is how it has to be to keep her safe.”
Dani started to argue again but Zane cut her off. “I’m going to pack her things and leave them in her Explorer. You know where my spaces are in the parking garage for my building. They should cut her loose from the hospital by noon, but if you can come be with her the rest of the night, that would take a weight off my shoulders.”
