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Bang.
The front door crashed open downstairs, and Bishop rushed across the room, wrapping his arms around me and putting his body between me and the bedroom door.
“Bishop!”
Blue’s roar filled the house, and panic rushed through me as we scrambled out the door, neither of us completely clothed, feet creating a mixture of thumps and creaks as we thundered down the stairs and into the living room.
“I’m not going to the… hosp… hospital!” Rafe protested while Blue and Cash lowered him onto the couch. As they stepped back, I noted the blood running down Rafe’s face.
“Holy shit,” I cursed, pushing past the boys and reaching for the large gash on the top of Rafe’s head. He swatted at my hand, trying to push me away. “Rafe, I swear…”
“Rafe!” Bishop snapped. “Sit still. Let Shay check you out. That’s a fucking order.”
Rafe’s shoulders slumped, his fight instantly fizzling away.
“Here,” Cash offered, reappearing from the kitchen and tossing me a clean tea towel.
“Thanks. Can you grab me an ice pack too?” I instantly pressed the cloth to the top of the kid’s head, cautious of the blood since I didn’t have any gloves handy. “What the hell happened?”
He sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth. “They ran me off… off the road.”
I almost snapped my neck, looking back at Bishop.
The dark glare in his eyes wasn’t directed at me, but for a brief second, it sent a shiver down my spine. “You’re going to have to—”
“I’m not going… not going… hospital.”
“Rafe, look at me,” I hissed, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at me. His eyes were slightly glazed, and I could tell he was fighting to stay awake. “Rafe, did you lose consciousness after the accident? Do you remember what happened?”
“I don’t…” He paused, shaking his head. “I’m not…”
He lurched forward suddenly and spilled the entire contents of his stomach on the front of my T-shirt. All I could do was stand there, continuing to apply pressure to his head as he emptied his guts.
“Oh shit,” Blue cursed, his mouth hanging open.
“Shay, I’m sorry,” Rafe apologized, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I just… I don’t want to go to the hospital.”
“You know what I want?” I whispered, screwing up my nose. “I want you to not die right here in front of me. So I’m telling you, we’re going to the hospital. Now.”
“You heard her, kid,” Bishop announced, nodding to the other boys. “Get him in my truck. I’ll be out in a minute to take him to the emergency room.”
“We’ll be out in a minute to take him to the emergency room,” I corrected, earning a couple of quick smiles from the other guys.
Rafe groaned loudly but didn’t complain as Blue and Cash stepped back up, helping heft the heavy-set teenager off the couch and back out the front door.
“I’ll be two minutes,” I told Bishop as I trudged up the stairs and stepped into the bathroom. “I want to make sure I’m there with him. Matt’s on shift, so I can get all the information and have him seen quickly.”
Bishop leaned through the door, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “Thanks,” he said, stepping back with a heavy sigh. “I probably would have put him to bed and told him we’d sort it in the morning.”
“Honestly, that’s what most people would do, and more than likely, he would have been fine. But there are those few…” I shuddered, thinking about the percentage of people who don’t realize they have a major head injury and then one day just lose the ability to speak or use their body. Or just don’t wake up.
He clenched his jaw and nodded. “I’ll meet you downstairs in five,” he confirmed, taking a step back but pausing, a smile growing on his face. “Maybe you being puked on three times is lucky. But not for you, for me.”
“Funny,” I deadpanned, remembering that I was once again covered in someone else’s lunch or dinner choices. “Get out. I’ll be there in a minute.”
***
“It’s not broken,” Matt announced, shoving the X-ray into the light box. I blinked a couple of times to bring everything into focus, but it only took a breath for my eyes to shoot open wide, and I turned my shocked gaze toward Matt. “Yup, my thoughts exactly.”
