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“You scared me half to death, you know. You don’t get to go trying to be a tough guy right now, jumping straight into action,” I scold.
“Are you crying?” he asks incredulously, his hand rising off the bed once more as if to wipe away my tears.
I brush them away coarsely so he won’t hurt himself trying to reach my face. “Yeah, well, you may be hardheaded, but apparently, when it comes to crowbars, your skull stands up to them as well as any other man’s.”
A deep chuckle rumbles from his chest but quickly transforms into a racking cough, and Gabriel grimaces as he grips his bandaged side. Anxiety ratchets up inside me as I grip his muscular arm, trying to steady him and chastizing myself for making him laugh.
When the coughs finally subside, Gabriel collapses against the pillows, looking utterly spent. “What happened?” he asks.
I don’t know where to begin. He was hit hard enough in the head; I wonder if he might have lost some memory. After my experience with amnesia, I can’t take anything for granted when it comes to that.
“What do you remember?” I ask.
“I know we got attacked at the clubhouse, and I got knocked out with a pipe.” Gabriel tenderly presses his fingers to his bandaged head. “When I came to, the boys had fought off the aggressors. And then you called—” Urgency fills Gabriel’s eyes as he grips my hand fiercely in his own. “What happened? Rico asked if you were all right.”
“Shhh,” I soothe, gently pressing against his shoulder in case he tries to sit up again. “Everything’s okay, so you need to calm down unless you want me to go get the doctor.” I give him a pointed stare even as I absorb the beauty of his ice-blue eyes. Though I’m trying to maintain a stern tone to get him to listen to me, all I can think about is how desperately I want to see him look at me the way he is right now.
“I’ll behave,” he says, a smile tugging at his lips and stretching the split there.
I run the pad of my thumb over it lightly as I cup his jaw. “Someone slashed my tires while Starla and I were in town visiting Honey Bee’s. But they were gone by the time we came back to the car.” Not the whole truth, but I don’t want to stress Gabe anymore than he already is when he’s only just woke up. “I tried calling you a couple of times, but you didn’t answer. And when Dallas didn’t pick up either, I started to think something bad had happened. I got ahold of Rico, and he nearly scared me to death when he barely said two sentences before he started shouting about getting you to the hospital. Anyway, he came to pick me and Starla up from Honey Bee’s, where we hid out until he arrived.”
Gabriel swallows hard, his blue gaze peering deep into my soul. “I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight, but every time I woke, my first thought was about you and the baby and whether you were okay.”
Leaning in once more, I place a feather kiss on his lips. “You have several skull fractures which had to be closely monitored. The doctor worried your brain might swell. Three of your ribs are broken. One punctured your lung, and they had to rush you into emergency surgery because it collapsed. I guess you gave one of the nurses a fat lip while he was trying to restrain you.”
Gabriel has the decency to look embarrassed about that, though it makes me giggle.
“You were practically unconscious when you did. I don’t think he holds it against you.” I start to smile, but when Gabriel’s lips spread into a responding grin, I point a finger in his face. “Don’t. No laughing. I don’t want to see you flinching anymore.”
Gabriel clears his throat as he fights to keep his smile under control. “Yes, ma’am.”
Before I can say any more, Rico and Knuckles burst through the door.
“I thought I heard voic—” Knuckles starts.
They both stop short as they take in Gabriel’s smiling face.
“You’re awake!” Rico says, his long strides taking him to the side of the bed in an instant.
“Gently,” I command, worried he might be too rough with his cousin.
Gabriel’s grin starts to widen, but when I level him with a stern gaze, he tries to reel it in again.
“No making him laugh,” I instruct the boys. “He’s still in a lot of pain.”
“I’m not going to break,” Gabriel insists, his fingers reaching for mine once again.
“I know because you’re already so busted up, there’s not much more youcanbreak,” I scold.
I can see Gabe’s lips twitching as he fights to keep the humor from his face. Then his expression grows more serious as he looks back to Rico and Knuckles. “Is Dally…?”
“He’s fine. They released him after a day. He got a concussion, too, though not one nearly as impressive as yours. A few cracked ribs and a broken wrist. Nothing a little rest and recuperation won’t fix,” Knuckles assures him.
“And the clubhouse?”
“It’s all cleaned up, and we have the boys rotating guard shifts to ensure no one can break in again. We won’t be leaving it unattended until we find out who did this.”
There it is again, an unspoken glance that shares some communication they don’t want to say in front of me. I plan to force it from Gabe if need be. But right now is not the time.
