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I makea quick stop at my place, and I’m back at the hospital in fifteen. Laney’s talked to Rory’s doc, and she meets me in the waiting area.
“They’ll be getting her settled into a room pretty soon,” she tells me. “Rory’s got some bad road rash, which they’re treating and which should be okay unless infection sets in. She’s got mild whiplash, and a head injury from when her torso hit the ground and her head followed. The doc says her skull is not fractured, but she does have a concussion that they think is mild. There’s no internal injury to the brain as far as they can tell, but they’ll be keeping her here until they can be sure. And she has a partial fracture to the fibula in her right leg. Plus the laceration to her cheek, which they’re stitching up. She’ll have a scar, but Doctor Everett does good work. It probably won’t be that noticeable.”
Having Laney list all the ways Rory’s hurt does something to me. This girl, who two months ago I thought I hated more than any other woman I’ve ever known, came close to dying. I almost lost her.
I reach into the pocket of my cut, making sure the papers I brought with me are there. It’s about time I tell her the truth.
It takes fucking forever for the hospital staff to get her set up in her room. While I’m waiting, I call Rory’s mom and tell her she’s okay. I have to make some shit up about what happened, of course. Susan seems to believe me, and I manage to convince her that she doesn’t need to come down to Ironwood. Then I call Rory’s dad’s place and tell them the same story.
Not long after that, Axel calls with an update from Wretched Souls.
Finally, a nurse comes out and tells me I can go in to see Rory.
When I push open the door, she’s propped up in the hospital bed, hooked up to a couple machines. There are dark circles of exhaustion under her eyes. Her left cheek is stitched up and swollen.
She’s never looked more beautiful to me.
“This one needs her rest, so don’t tire her out,” the nurse warns me, before leaving us alone.
I go in and sit down on the bed next to her. Rory gives me a weak smile.
“How you feelin’?” I ask.
“I’ve felt better,” she admits. “Mostly, I’m just tired and achy. My head hurts. They said I have a concussion. I’m supposed to not look at screens for a while.”
I try to keep the conversation light, but Rory keeps asking me about what’s happening between the Lords and the Wretched Souls. I know she’s not going to let it go unless I give her something, so I tell her as much as I can.
“Turns out,Sassy knew Wrecker’s old lady from before all this,” I say. “I guess Sassy used to hang around the Wretched Souls club before she got involved with the Lords. Sassy already wasn’t a fan of yours because of me, and when she saw what happened with Wrecker at the pig roast, she went and found his old lady, and the two of them started talking about you. I guess they decided to team up to teach you a lesson.” I wait for Rory to process this. “I’m guessing they’re probably the ones responsible for smashing up your car, too.”
“Oh, my god. I didn’t think of that!” she exclaims.
“Speaking of which the Lords are fixing up your car. It should be all ready to go by the time you get outta here.”
“What about the Lords and the Wretched Souls?”
I shift on the bed and chuckle. “Well, sweetheart, you may have just inadvertently done us a favor. The Wretched Souls were pretty eager to wipe the slate clean to avoid starting a war between us, since one of their women came after one of ours. You may be the best ambassador we could have had. They’re disciplining Wrecker’s old lady. Don’t know how, don’t wanna know how. But their prez has given us his word she won’t be bothering you again. Not only that, but he’s giving you a marker.”
“A marker?” She wrinkles her nose. “What’s that?”
“It’s like an IOU. An acknowledgment that their club is in your debt. The Wretched Souls owe you one, in other words.”
She shakes her head slowly.
“This is such a bizarre day,” she breathes.
“Tell me about it,” I snort. “Oh, by the way. I called your mom, and then I called your dad’s house. I told them all you were out running and got hit by a car. I made sure to tell them your injuries are minor enough, all things considered. Gina and Hans didn’t tell your dad you were missing in the first place so as not to stress him out. They figure it’ll be better to bring you back there so he’ll see you’re fine before anyone tells him about your ‘accident.’
“What about Mom?” Rory frets.
“She was pretty freaked out, but I talked her down. She made me promise you’d do a video call to her later. She says she wants to see your face.”
“My face…” She reaches up and touches her stitched cheek. “Does it look awful?”
“No, it looks badass,” I say honestly.
She shakes her head. “You’re just saying that.”
“Babe. I don’t just say shit to make people feel good. You above all people should know that.”
