Chapter 33
Wrath
T he ten minutes it takes to get paramedics on scene feels like hours. During that time, the rescue helicopter lands in the nearest field. I stand back to the side with my brothers and Candy while the paramedics do their work. Minutes later, she’s strapped to a board. The helicopter comes back. They strap the board to a hoist.
“I’m her husband. I’m going with her.”
The rescue workers nod and hand me a harness. I strap myself in while they get Millie attached. It’s not the first time I’ve been airlifted out of someplace. I’ve gone on my fair share of black ops missions with the club.
Yeah, I’m totally trying to distract myself before I go insane. What I know so far. She has a possible concussion. A cut on the back of her head that will need stitches. Her left leg is broken. They won’t know anything else until we get to the hospital and do more tests.
I put on the headgear and strap in before I take my wife’s hand. I doubt she can hear me over the chopper blades, but I lean in as close as I can get.
“Hold on, baby. We’re on our way to the hospital.” Tears prick the corners of my eyes and I swallow the lump in my throat. “If you wanted me to play Nurse Nightingale, all you had to do is ask. I wish you’d open your beautiful eyes.
“I remember the first time I saw your eyes. They reminded me of a forest at summer’s peak. I fell in love with you that day. You were like an angel. My beautiful Nightingale, whose sweet melodic voice planted seeds in my soul. Those seeds blossomed into the most beautiful love I’ve ever known. You’ve got to be alright, baby. I can’t live without you.”
As the minutes tick by, I continue to pour my emotions out over my wife’s unconscious body. We finally arrive at the hospital. They unload Millie before letting me off the chopper. One of the EMTs rides down with me before escorting me to Millie. The docs have her in a room, checking her out. A few minutes later, one of them comes out of the room.
“We’re going to take her to x-ray, then run a CT scan to check her head injury after we get her stitched up.”
I nod and head to the nearest waiting room. Over the next little bit friends and family pour into the hospital, filling up the waiting room. When two hours have passed and we haven’t received word, I’m about to lose my shit.
I head to the nurse’s station. There’s a brunette behind the desk. She looks up, annoyed, then sees me and her attitude changes. She bats her long lashes at me.
“Can I help you?”
“I need an update on a patient. Millie Jackson.”
“Sure, let me pull up her chart.”
I watch impatiently as she taps on the keys.
“It looks like Miss Jackson is in room 312. She just finished a CAT scan.”
I didn’t wait for the nurse to finish. As soon as she says the room number, I’m off. I practically sprint down the hall to the stairs. I don’t want to wait for the elevator. I take the stairs two at a time. The three flights take no time at all, and I quickly find her room. The doctor is coming out when I get there.
He looks a little shocked to see me, then smiles.
“She’s awake and asking for you. We just got her back in the room, and I was headed to find you.”
“Can you give me a quick update?”
“She has a grade two concussion. Her left leg is broken in two places. She’ll have a cast for six to eight weeks up to her hip, then physical therapy. Her right wrist is sprained. We put twelve stitches in the back of her head. And she has two bruised ribs.”
“Thanks, doc,” I say as I pass him and enter the room.
Millie is laying on the bed. Her eyes are closed. She looks so pale. I hurry to her side and take her hand. When I touch her, green eyes open and gaze up at me.
“Wade.”
With great care, I gather her into my arms.
Millie
I regain consciousness a few times while they run tests on me. Finally, I’ve been placed in a room. The doctor comes in to tell me about my injuries. They’re not bad considering the fall I took. I know things could be worse. What I really want is Wrath.
After the doctor checks my vitals again, he leaves with the promise of getting Wrath and updating my family. My eyes are so heavy, they instantly close when he leaves the room. I don’t know how long I slept when I feel a presence in the room. I open my eyes to see my husband standing over me.
“Wade.”
He bends down and carefully gathers me into his arms. His face is buried in hair.
“Nightingale, you scared the hell out of me.”
“I scared the hell out of me.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Yes, but can we wait for my family?”
“Of course, baby. Then you won’t have to repeat the story.”
Wrath takes out his phone and sends a quick group text to let everyone know where my room is. Wrath releases me then moves the bed and adjusts my pillows so I can sit up. He then takes a seat on the side of my bed.
“Are you in pain?”
“They gave me good meds.”
“That’s a good thing.”
A few minutes later, the room was full of people. I know we only have a few minutes like this before they made some of them leave. After a round of gentle hugs, everyone quiets down and turns to me.
“I thought I heard someone a few times on the trail, but never saw anyone. By the time I got to the pass, I thought maybe I was imagining things. We were a few hundred yards into the canopy when I heard crashing.
“It was a bear. It came running down the mountain and onto the trail. The horse spooked and took off. He stumbled at some point, and I lost my seat and took a tumble down the incline. I’ve never seen a bear act like that. It came running down the side of the mountain like someone was chasing it.”
“Danny and his crew are out combing the scene now,” Dad says.
I read the expression on my parents' faces.
“You think Aaron had something to do with this?”
“Don’t you?” Dad asks.
“Honesty, I haven’t had time to think. Yes, when I thought someone was following me or close by, I did think of Aaron. But they’re public trails with hikers and horses. I knew the bear’s behavior was off but had no time to do anything. Even if Danny finds something, there’s no way to prove it was Aaron or anyone else.”
“That’s not necessarily true, babe. I can have Wizard search the area for cameras, including satellites. You haven’t met him yet. He’s our tech genius.”
“I’ll call him.”
“On it,” Gambit says.
I watch the club’s president step out into the hallway. I look around the room. For the first time, everyone gathered inside. It was jammed with people. People who love me. My family has grown exponentially in the last week.
A nurse comes in, sees all the people, and loses her shit.
“Out now!”
Wrath chuckles and remains where he was. His brothers, both club and biological, file out first, giving the ladies and parents time to give me a quick hug and kiss before exiting.
My eyes are too heavy to stay open and close after the last hug.