Chapter 18 #3
Her mom smiled down at her. “Hey, baby.” She ran her fingers through Becks’ hair. “It’s so good to see you awake.”
Her body felt heavy and warm, like she had a weighted blanket on over a winter jacket. “What happened? Why are you in my bedroom?”
“You’re in the hospital, Becks,” her mom informed her gently. She looked like she was searching for something on Becks’ arm. Then she found the button that Becks knew would summon a nurse. “You’ve been in a medically induced coma for about three days.”
She had? “I have?” No wonder everything felt so off. When was the last time she’d brushed her teeth? Everything felt fuzzy. Even blinking seemed to take energy she didn’t possess. Memories started to flood back to her. “Liam?”
“He’s,” her mom hesitated, “struggling, but he’s doing much better than he was. He’s down in the cafeteria with Libby right now. She flew in days ago and has been a godsend helping me take care of both you and Liam.”
Take care of her? “Where’s Ghost?” He’d been there, hadn’t he? At the end, in the woods? Or had she imagined that?
At her mom’s frown, Becks thought the worst. Had Ghost abandoned her?
Every instinct she possessed screamed that he wouldn’t do that to her, but what if he blamed her for Liam’s injuries and the bombing at the bar?
She’d brought so much trouble into his life when he’d married her. Was he regretting that decision now?
Her mom eyed Becks’ chest, and Becks found herself slowly looking down her body to find a tuft of red hair staring back at her. It took a long minute for Becks to register what it was she was feeling. It wasn’t a weighted blanket on her—it was her husband!
Ghost was smushed between her and the guardrail on her hospital bed. His head was just below her right breast with his arm draped over her belly. Like her, he was wearing a hospital gown, though she could see a pair of sweats and those stereotypical yellow hospital socks on him too.
Most surprising, though, was that he was sound asleep.
“The day you were brought into the hospital, Ghost collapsed.” Fear hit Becks, and she looked back up at her mom.
“He was injured in the explosion. Do you know about the bar?” Becks nodded slowly, her neck feeling stiff.
“Ghost had burns, and cracked three ribs. Well, the day they rescued you, one of those cracks fissured, sending a chunk of bone into his right lung and creating a tear. It didn’t fully collapse, but they had to go in surgically to repair the damage and fixed the rib with a metal plate and some screws.
He’s going to be just fine,” she added, patting Becks’ left hand.
“You, however, are the one we need to keep an eye on.”
Becks’ brain was not up for this conversation. “I don’t understand. Why is he in my bed?”
“Because the stubborn man won’t leave your bed,” her mom said, her voice laced with both amusement and frustration.
“Trust me, we tried. When he came out of surgery, they put him here in this room with you. He woke up, and immediately crawled into bed with you. They keep kicking him out, and he keeps coming back. I think the nurses and doctors have finally come to a truce with him. He can stay so long as he’s not in the way of any of your injuries and isn’t impeding your breathing.
Man truly does not give a damn about anything except being with you. ”
That explained why he was lying so far down her body. She carefully lifted her right hand to touch his hair. It was smooth, freshly showered.
“What happened to me?” Becks asked, keeping her voice low so she didn’t wake Ghost. It was rare that she got to see her husband asleep like this, and she didn’t want to disturb him.
Her mom leaned forward on her chair. The rail on that side of Becks’ bed was down, allowing her mom to lean on the mattress to speak to her.
“You were hemorrhaging in your brain, baby. They had to drill a hole into your skull to relieve the pressure and allow it to drain. Beyond that, you have numerous scrapes and cuts. Several of them in your feet needed stitches. You broke two fingers,” she nodded down to Becks’ left hand, where two of her fingers were in metal splints.
“They were worried about your spleen too, but thankfully the swelling on that went down and they did not need to remove it. They kept you sedated to help your brain heal and to keep you calm after your trauma.”
Her trauma? It seemed minimal in comparison. “And Liam?”
“Your brother’s quiet right now. Reserved.
I think he’s still coming to grips with everything.
They released him after he detoxed, and the club is helping to keep a close eye on him.
So far he’s just concentrating on healing.
” Her chin quivered as she added, “He’s a walking bruise.
But your brother’s strong. He’ll get through this. ”
“I’m so sorry, Ma. All this is my fault. I brought Ritchie into our lives.”
“Don’t you dare.” It was rare that she heard such a stern tone from her mother, and yet suddenly Becks was a child again about to say or do something stupid. “You want to blame someone, blame Grandma Bertha. She’s the one who hired that law firm to take charge of her Will.”
Becks stiffened. “Grandma did nothing wrong!” She couldn’t believe her mom had just said that!
Her mom leaned closer and looked Becks directly in the eye.
“And neither did you,” she pressed. “Put the blame where it deserves to go, on Ritchie and Cameron, and concentrate on getting better, baby.” She lifted Becks’ hand to gently kiss the back, careful of the IV still connected there.
“Now, I’m going to go see why the nurse isn’t here yet. ”
Becks watched her mom get up and exit the room.
It was sunny out, but the shades were closed.
The other bed in the room was empty, because its occupant was apparently very clingy.
Not that she minded. Having him break the hospital rules repeatedly so he could be beside her was hot, which made her wonder just how messed up in the head she was.
“She’s right, you know.”
Becks gasped at Ghost’s grumbled voice. “You’re awake!”
“Woke slightly after you did,” he admitted, not moving and not opening his eyes. “Was afraid it was a dream, and then I didn’t want to interrupt your time with your mom.”
That was both sad and sweet. “It’s not a dream. I wouldn’t hurt this much in a dream.”
Ghost sat up, careful not to jostle her. “You’re hurting. Where?”
“It’s more like a full-body ache,” she confessed. She reached her hand up to touch his face. “How’re you?”
“Fucking terrified.” He covered her hand with his own, turning his face to kiss her palm before pressing it back onto his cheek. “I authorized them to do a rape kit. They found no vaginal trauma. Were you…?”
She shook her head. Tears filled her eyes as she recalled that awful day in the cells. “They didn’t touch me, not until they failed to get the money. Liam…” Her voice cracked. “Did he tell you what they did to him?”
Ghost nodded. “His injuries were extensive, including the effects of the repeated heroin injections.”
Becks opened her mouth, only to close it again. Did Liam not remember? Or was he keeping the assault a secret out of shame? Was it her place to tell? If he truly didn’t remember, would she be making his trauma worse by revealing it?
But in the end, she couldn’t keep the secret from Ghost. She’d discover later what Liam knew or didn’t know, but she had to share with Ghost. Just as she opened her mouth, though, her mom returned with the nurse and the doctor.
Apparently there had been a Code Blue further down the hall, and it had prevented them from answering her mom’s earlier summons.
Ghost was kicked out of the bed so they could examine Becks, though he didn’t go far.
Liam and Libby came back into the room as the doctor was finishing up.
They wanted to keep her a few more days for observation.
While they were in the room, the doctor also checked over Ghost’s incision, and informed Ghost that he was ready to be discharged.
But Ghost shook his head. “I don’t go home until she does.”
The nurse put her hands on her hips. “This isn’t a hotel, Mr. Keir.”
“I don’t give a damn if I’m a patient or a visitor,” Ghost told her sternly. “But for her safety, no one else will share this room. So you can either bill me for its use or let it go empty. I don’t give a fuck.”
Libby let out a snort of laughter from the doorway. It was really good to see her, but Becks really wanted everyone out of her room so she could talk to Ghost in private. Liam looked… haunted. There was no other word to describe the dead look in his eyes. Like he was still back in those cells.
Finally the doctor and nurse left.
Libby approached the bed. “So Ritchie turned out to be not so rich, huh?”
Becks laughed, and then winced as her head throbbed. “Ow. Don’t make me laugh right now.”
Libby touched her arm. “I’m sorry, babes. How about I kick everyone out of here so you can get some rest with your sexy as fuck husband? Because I didn’t think anyone could pull off a hospital gown, but damn,” she added, looking Ghost up and down.
God, she loved Libby. “Thank you. But wait, Liam—” She started, but Liam was already out the door.
“I’m fine, B. Get some rest,” he said shortly over his shoulder.
Becks frowned, not liking how he wouldn’t even look at her. Libby and her mom both hugged and kissed her quickly before chasing after him.
“Does he blame me?” she asked Ghost as he got back onto the bed with her. Now that she was awake, he maneuvered them so they were more evenly on the bed.
“He blames himself,” Ghost told her. “No one blames you.”
“I do,” she confessed. “It was because of me that Liam injected himself. Did he tell you that? If I hadn’t been there or if I hadn’t made myself a target to Cameron, he never would have injected himself, never would have made himself so vulnerable.”
Ghost touched her face. “He’s your big brother. I wasn’t there, so I can’t judge his decisions. But I trust him and his choices. If he believed that was the only way to save you, then who am I to say otherwise? Cameron had a gun to your head, remember?”
Becks nodded, her chin trembling. “I thought she was going to shoot him, and I came out from behind the island, even though he told me to stay. I did everything wrong, Ghost. I didn’t even try to save him.”
“With your super ninja skills you spontaneously developed?” he threw back at her.
“Baby, you both were put into an impossible situation. And I’ll tell you one thing,” he said, stopping her rebuttal.
“Movies and books often have it wrong. They make fighting glamorous because there’s an audience.
Rarely is combat so neat and organized. Ranger did what he felt he needed to do to save your life, baby.
” He kissed her forehead. “I would have done the same.”
Becks put her hand on his chest, and for the first time realized that her ring was back on her finger. “Hey, my ring! You found it!”
He nodded, “And I put it back where it belongs.” The note of danger in his voice sent shivers up her spine. “When you’re feeling better, remind me to punish you for taking it off.”
“I needed to warn you somehow. I knew if you saw my ring that it would clue you in that something was wrong.”
He gripped her chin between his thumb and pointer finger. “Never. Take. It. Off. Again.”
Becks swallowed hard, and nodded into his grip. “I promise.”
He loosened his hold, running his fingers gently over her face. “Thank you. Now, we both need rest, but there’s a lot we both need to tell the other. Are you up for it now?”
“Can I pee first?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “You couldn’t have asked to do that before I laid back down?”
She gave him an innocent shrug. “I didn’t realize I had to go then.”
Becks watched how stiffly he moved, lacking his normal fluid grace. He helped her to her feet, telling her how she’d had a catheter in until that morning. Some people come out of the sedation immediately while others took a bit. Per Ghost, Becks had taken her sweet time coming back to reality.
“Didn’t even wake up when I gave you true love’s kiss,” he scoffed at her as he guided her over to the toilet.
Becks sat down. “Surprised you didn’t turn into a frog.”
“Nah,” he said, walking back over to close the door.
Her hospital room door was closed, but she still appreciated him closing the bathroom door in case anyone wandered in.
“Although when I started quoting various ‘I love you’ lines from cheesy rom-coms, I at least expected a giggle from you, but alas, nothing!”
Becks groaned. “Seriously, Ghost? Did you just tell me you love me for the first time in the most roundabout way possible while I’m on the toilet?”
He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at her. “I don’t give a damn where you are or what you’re doing. I’ll always tell you that I love you.”
Becks stared up at him, her hospital gown gathered up on her hips by her hands so she didn’t accidentally pee on it.
Sure, there were a lot more romantic ways they could have done this, but this was them.
Nothing about their relationship was conventional, and Becks honestly wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“What the hell,” she laughed. “I love you too, Ghost.”
He approached her, taking her chin back in his grip and tilting her head up to him. “I know.”
Becks glared at him. “Really? That’s the best line you’ve got?”
But he shook his head. “Not a line. I knew before you were taken, but I hadn’t thought it mattered.
They’re just words, right? It wasn’t until you were gone that I realized just how important those words are, Becks.
So I’ll tell them to you every hour of every day for the rest of our lives, because I never want you to doubt them or their sincerity. ”
Her chest felt heavy and light all at once, and she sniffled, feeling her eyes water. “Ditto.”
It was his turn to snort, shaking his head at her spunk. “Are you finished pissing? I really want to go lay back down with you in my arms.”
Becks nodded. Ghost moved to hold up her gown while she wiped.
Then he helped her to her feet, even though he wasn’t supposed to be lifting anything heavier than ten pounds until his incision healed.
“You know,” she said as she washed her hands, “we’re going to need to come up with a better story than that to tell our children when we talk about our love story.
Because there’s no way in hell I am telling them the first time their father told me he loves me is while I was peeing. ”
Ghost approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her middle, and hunching down to rest his chin on her shoulder. He met her reflection’s eyes in the mirror. “Don’t worry. We’ve got about nine months to come up with a lie.”