Chapter 30
Through-and-Through
Ivy
My hand tickled when I woke up. I thought it was just the IV line moving, since I’d woken up earlier and Mom had told me I’d had surgery. Ryan came to see me, but the nurses put more drugs in my IV bag, and our visit was cut short since I couldn’t stay awake.
I opened my eyes and saw Ryan was holding my hand. He was drawing circles on my palm and he had his head bent to my hand, like he was studying it.
“Hey,” I croaked.
His head jerked up. “Ivy.”
I felt my lips tip up. “How’re you doing?”
His eyes widened. “I’m supposed to be asking you that.”
“I’m awake, so that’s a good sign, right? But how’s your brother?”
He turned his head to the side and exhaled, then he turned back to me. “He’s out of surgery. And, I guess we have another twelve hours to go before we know if there’s another hurdle for him.”
I squeezed his hand, but it wasn’t very strong.
He shook his head. “Save your energy, Trouble.”
“Where’s Mom? She was here the last time I woke up.”
He lifted my hand and kissed it. “She went to get coffee. Are you hungry? I’ll see if they can get you some food.”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry, but some water might be good.”
A tall, slim woman with brown hair strode into the room. “It’s a good thing I bought three water bottles instead of just one, then.”
She wore shorts and a T-shirt promoting the band Slightly Stoopid. Something in her facial features told me she was Ryan’s mom. This was confirmed when Gamble came in behind her.
“Ivy, it’s good to see you’re awake,” Gamble said.
“Hi,” I squeaked out.
“Did I hear you say she’s awake?” Mom asked as she hurried into the room.
My eyes widened and darted between Gamble and his wife. “You two met my mom.”
Ryan gave me a small smile. “It was bound to happen, Ivy.”
“I’m Victoria, Ryan’s mom, and your mother is lovely,” Victoria said, fiddling with the wrapper covering the sport cap of a water bottle.
“Kitten, let me do that before you drop it,” Gamble said, taking the bottle from her, undoing the cellophane, and handing it to me.
I realized she was as nervous as I was – probably more – since one of her sons was fighting for his life.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Garrison.”
She aimed a stern look at me. “Victoria. It’s nice to meet you, too, but I would have preferred much different circumstances.”
My mom wandered around to Ryan, holding out a to-go cup of coffee. “Here you are. Black with four sugars. You might want to cut back on that, young man.”
I looked at Ryan, hoping my eyes conveyed my apology.
He grinned at me, then looked at Mom. “Thanks, Debra.”
As I sipped some water, I struggled with guilt.
“What is it, Ivy?” Ryan asked.
I glanced between all the people in the room. “It’s just that I’m all right, but… I feel guilty keeping you from—”
Ryan grabbed my hand while he rose to prop a hip on the side of my bed. “Stop, babe. Only one person at a time can be with Killian, and he’s not conscious.”
Victoria stood on the other side of my bed, and she rested a hip on my bed too. “My best friend Heidi has always called these three hers, even after she had her own kids. She’s with Killian right now. Her husband, Block, is going to spend some time with him when she’s done.”
I recalled meeting Block. Then I had to fight off my emotions as it became clear how serious things were. “He’s a nice man,” I whispered.
Gamble smirked. It was diabolical – much like Killian’s the first time I met him. “Block is anything but nice, but he’ll like knowing you said that.”
By lunchtime I had no idea when I’d get out of the hospital. My room had turned into a revolving door of visitors…which was both comforting and surprising. I had no idea so many people cared about me after only being around me once or twice.
Alexandra hurried into my room not long after Gamble and Victoria went back downstairs to get an update from the doctor and to see Killian. Kristen came in right behind Alexandra, and I did introductions.
Chad bustled in not three minutes after them. He looked disheveled.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
Chad rolled his eyes. “One of my best friends got shot is what happened to me!”
“It was a through-and-through, Chad,” I muttered, never in my life thinking those words would leave my mouth.
Chad turned his outraged expression to Kristen. “Do you hear her? Where is Ryan?” He looked at Alexandra. “I’m sorry, you don’t know me, but—”
Alexandra grinned. “It’s all right. I get it, but be thankful she’s awake and on this floor. If she were downstairs, things would be far worse.”
Chad took a deep breath. “Right.” He looked at Kristen. “Did you try to see Ricochet?”
Kristen shook her head. “It isn’t like that, and he has family who should be there. Not me.”
My mind wandered while the three of them became better acquainted. It really had been a close call, and I prayed Killian would be taken off the ventilator.
Ryan and Mickayla wandered in a couple minutes later. Mickayla gave me a feeble hug since I had one arm in a sling. Kristen crossed the room to her and gave her a better hug than I could.
“How is he?” Kristen asked.
Mickayla twisted her hands up. “No changes, but supposedly that’s good. A nurse pointed out that he’s not going to be able to navigate stairs for a few weeks if he recovers because of his lung needs to heal. That means he can’t stay at the clubhouse.”
I cleared my throat to get her attention. “He’s welcome to stay at my place. The master bedroom is on the first floor. He wouldn’t have to climb any stairs.”
“Trouble,” Ryan muttered.
I shook my head. “I could stay with you for a few weeks, since I can climb stairs.”
“He won’t want to put you out of your home,” Ryan said.
Chad waved at Ryan. “I’m also in a first-floor condo, and he’s more than welcome to stay at my place.” His eyes darted to me and back to Ryan. “My bathroom is better than hers, not that I’m biased.”
I gave a silent chuckle, then stopped because that movement made my shoulder hurt.
Ryan’s eyes widened with concern.
“I’m fine,” I said.
He looked at Chad. “That’s incredibly nice of you, man.
He’s got a best friend from back home who’s in the military and stationed at NAS Jax.
His house isn’t far from the clubhouse, and he’s offered, too.
Pretty sure Killian will take him up on that.
Plus, Colton’s going on deployment soon, and Killian and I were already on board to do weekly check-ins on the house. Now, it won’t be an issue.”
Chad nodded. “Good to hear. Just know, it’s a standing offer in case something falls through.”
A doctor knocked on the open door. “Ms. Brummis?”
I nodded. “That’s me. Are you here to tell me I can go home?”
He chuckled. “If your exam is good, that will happen very soon.”
Everyone but Ryan murmured their good-byes and moved toward the door.
After the doctor was done (I had the all clear to go home), a police officer sauntered into my room.
He nodded at Ryan, and I realized they’d already met. I spent close to half an hour answering his questions about what had happened.
Once he left, Ryan and I finally had a moment alone. I waited a couple minutes to be sure the officer wasn’t within earshot.
I grabbed Ryan’s hand. “What happened to Rusty and Sig? It all happened so fast, and the officer didn’t really say.”
Ryan inhaled through his nose and tipped his head back a touch. “Both of them were dead at the scene.”
I squeezed his hand. “You almost sound disappointed.”
He leveled his ocean blue eyes on me, and I saw his pain. “That bastard could have killed you, and if shit goes south, my brother might not make it. Things are looking good right now, but it’s gonna be a long road before he’s breathing on his own and back to normal.”
“It doesn’t say good things about me, but I’m glad they’re dead.”
The pain in my man’s eyes morphed into an angry gleam. “Death is way too fuckin’ kind for those assholes. This doesn’t say good things about me, but I’d rather see them suffer worse than Killian is right now.”
My head tilted. “No honey. That says very good things about you because that vengeance is driven by the enormous amount of love you have for your triplet.”
His lips pressed together and I noticed his whiskers were thicker. “And the enormous amount of love I have for you, Ivy.”
I smiled. “There you go being too darn sweet to me.”
A nurse came in with a wheelchair. “Got your discharge papers here. If you have some clothes to change into, I’ll wheel you downstairs when you’re ready.”