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“I’m just saying,” I say, waving a hand lazily. “One of these days, your fiance will catch on.” I shrug, climbing to my feet and letting my implication hit its mark. “Besides, I can text you when she gets out and is healthy.”
“You would, wouldn’t you?” he growls, shifting the ice on his face to scowl at me. “You’d really send that email and let her know…” He swallows hard, shaking his head.
“What? That you used to fuck River behind her back at the record store? Or that you’re stalking her now? Or that you really had something to do with all this?” I wave a finger, smirking when he gets paler and paler with every word I speak, eventually turning green. “There’s plenty I can do. Now or later, that’s your choice,” I say with a shrug, waltzing back toward Kieran and plopping down next to him. He raises a brow at me, practically begging with his eyes about what I said.
Satisfaction spears through me when Van grabs his shit and stomps out of the emergency department. Seconds later, his engine roars to life, reverberating through the lofty room. Finally, I settle back in my chair, letting my eyes fall shut. Maybe now I can get some rest. All the children are snug in their chairs without worry.
“Finally,” Kieran shouts, jumping to his feet.
My damn body bounces out of the chair on instinct with a pounding heart. Swallowing hard, I blow out a breath as Ode emerges from behind the locked ER doors.
“Nice to see you, too,” Ode quips with a tired groan. Bags sit under her red, puffy eyes, letting me know she hasn’t slept a wink.
“How is she?” Rad asks, out of breath, rushing Ode with urgency, furrowing his brows.
Ode sighs, running her fingers over her forehead. “She’s finally awake and talking to the doctors and cops. It’s fuzzy for her, but she’s doing okay. They’re going to run tests and shit. Doc thinks she has a concussion and abrasions from the attack. So, she’s fortunate it wasn’t worse. But we’ll see after the MRI.”
“Jesus-Jesus,” Callum mutters with a quivering chin, pulling his fist to his mouth.
“She’s a tough cookie,” Ode says, clapping him on the shoulder and gently squeezing. “Believe me, and she’s already bossing around the doctors and demanding to leave. Don’t worry too much about her, okay? I’d say you should probably go, but then I’d probably be talking to brick walls,” she huffs.
“Yeah, we’re not going anywhere until I know my pretty girl is feeling okay.”
“Can we see her?” Kieran asks with hope.
Ode wrinkles her nose. “I think like one at a friggin time. Whoa, dude!” she hisses, turning on her toes when Kieran pushes past without care and marches back into the ER, disappearing behind the doors.
I roll my eyes. “Friggin idiot,” I mumble through a tired sigh.
“I’m next,” Rad says, rubbing his hands together. “My pretty girl needs a nice massage and a dose of penis-cyclin.”
“You’ll only hurt her,” Callum grumbles, slapping him on the back of his head.
“By the way,” Ode says with furrowed brows. “Did you guys know that Bradley from high school came in with a stab wound?”
“He what?” Rad yelps, and his body stiffens, fury taking over his face.
Yeah, there’s something up with him and Bradley. Every time that fucker enters a room, he tenses. And those cops before, they were here for him. Who the hell finally stabbed that dick? My entire body locks up, drowning out the noises around me.
Bradley Bradford is officially on my shit list. A stab wound? That’s awfully fucking coincidental. Images of River’s fingers dripping with blood run through my mind, and before I know what I’m doing, I’m marching down the hallway without a clue as to where I’m going. Kieran grumbles something behind a curtain before I throw it open, revealing River nestled against his chest. His arms lock around her protectively, gently running his fingers through her long, ratted strands.
Looking around, I pull the curtain back behind me, huffing when the rest of the idiots pile into the room and hover around a broken-looking River. Tears threaten to burn the back of my eyes as I take her in, noting the black and blue bruises lining her face. The three of us stand there with gaping mouths as she untucks herself from Kieran’s grasp and refuses to look in our direction. Keeping her eye downcast, she summons Ode to the edge of the bed.
“Leave,” River rasps, taking Ode’s shaking hand. “Get some sleep, please.” Exhaustion pulls at her tiny voice, tugging at my fucking black heartstrings. She sounds like she’s fighting a battle she won’t win—like she’s already given in to the pain, and defeat has taken over. But that’s not the River I know. The girl I know fights tooth and nail through anything and with anybody. Fuck.
Ode’s face falls, but she squeezes River’s hand. “Fine, I’ll leave y’all to it. Bitch, I love you. But don’t you ever pull that shit again.” Leaning down, she plants a soft kiss on River’s cheek, lingering long enough to whisper something, and pulls back with a stern look. “I’ll check in with your momma, too. And you four,” she says with a demanding tone, putting a hand on her hip. “You fuck with River. You fuck with me. Got it?”
We all nod in unison. Not daring to toe an inch out of line while she death glares at us with mama bear vibes emanating from her. The fierce expression doesn’t leave until we’re protectively cupping our balls and shivering from her threat, and with one last look, she waves, walking out the door with apprehension.
Once Ode clears the room, Rad wraps his arms around River, smothering her with light kisses.
“I’m fine,” she groans, trying to weakly shove him off.
“No, Pretty Girl. You’re not,” he murmurs lovingly, moving a piece of her hair out of her face. “Bradley did this, didn’t he? Did he…?”
River visibly cringes at his words, recoiling into Kieran’s chest and hiding her face from us. The world blurs around me, mixing into a multitude of colors, and my heart fucking drops out of my fucking body. Ice runs through my veins, raising the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. Grabbing my skull with force, I massage my temples until the pain subsides into a dull ache. It all makes fucking sense now. Every goddamn piece of the puzzle clicks into place, and murder vibrates through me.
“You stabbed him?” I blurt breathlessly as piles of information storm through my mind like wildfire blowing through. “He did it?” I accuse now, narrowing my eyes and taking in her reaction.
