Chapter 27
Aspen
I cameto as Willow was making an attempt to escape Rex and Shane’s grasps while the men were trying to help the uniformed officer exchange what looked like an electrical cord for handcuffs.
I’d read about people who lived in the wild and off the land, hunting and fishing for their food, harvesting random things in order to make clothes and so on, but not once had I ever thought my sister, a member of society for the first eight years of her life, would have turned into something akin to a wild, untamed animal. And that was what I was witnessing at that very moment.
“Where does it hurt, sweetheart?” I heard Cade’s voice through the chaos.
“Everywhere,” I croaked. “Think my ribs are broken. Heard…a…cracking snap.” I paused to breathe. “Hurts to breathe. Fire.”
“Okay.” He leaned over me and kissed my forehead. “We’ve got the medics on the way. Is there something I can do to make things better? Can you move a bit? If you stretch out, it’ll help with the breathing.”
It took me a minute to get settled, and I breathed better, but holy shit had it hurt like hell. “My head is pounding. I think she hit me pretty hard.”
“Yeah,” he whispered. “Any nausea?”
I tried to nod, closing my eyes as a bout of queasiness became overwhelming, so I swallowed hard.
“Concussion,” I heard someone else say, thinking it sounded much like Rex.
“Punctured lung,” another said, Shane this time I thought. “She’s coughed up blood.”
“Keep talking,” I told them. “Don’t wanna…sleep.”
“Got it, sweetheart,” Cade promised. “Just rest. We’ll keep you entertained.”
“Renegade?” I croaked.
The dog in question whined and then I felt him nudge my foot. As if he knew everything above the waist hurt something fierce, he covered my shins and lay over me. His heat a welcome blanket that soothed.
“S—sorry, boy,” I managed.
“Shh,” Cade ordered. “Just rest and concentrate on breathing. Renegade is safe and so are you.”
Cade
If I were ever one to lift a hand against a woman, hearing the words out of Aspen’s mouth about where she hurt and witnessing the difficulty she had with expressing herself would have been enough for me to put a beating on so good, the other woman would never forget it.
Aspen lost the battle with staying conscious moments after Renegade covered her legs with his body. The medics were just pulling up, and Shane’s JPD coworkers were trying to extract information from our otherwise uncooperative perpetrator.
“Willow,” I barked, following my gut. “You’re fucking Willow Ridge, aren’t you?”
“Not that I owe you an answer, but I’ll tell you the same thing I told that bitch, I haven’t answered to that name in over twenty-five years.”
“If you don’t want me to add resisting arrest to your current charges of kidnapping, battery and assault, and breaking and entering, along with whatever else I can make stick so you go away for a long-ass time, I suggest you fucking cooperate,” Shane ordered, yanking Willow to her feet, then urging her forward. “Get her out of here and get her processed.”
Standing back to give the medics room to work, I gave my detective friend a curt nod, but not once did I remove my eyes from Aspen as the health professionals proceeded with sliding a C-collar to stabilize her spine, then they put her on a backboard.
“You okay, man?” Brycen asked from one side, Rex on my other, with Renegade next to him. We all stood sentry over the working man and woman team currently trying to insert a line in my girl’s arm so they could deliver some fluids and pain meds.
“Pupils blown out,” one called into their shoulder radio. “BP one thirty-two over ninety-six. Shallow breathing. Painful on the right torso. Five minutes to loading. Thirty-five minutes out.”
“Sorry, men, but we need to get her on the stretcher,” the man told us.
Moving out of the way, I watched as they moved Aspen from floor to stretcher.
“Go with our girl,” Rex said.
“We’ve got your truck covered,” Brycen added, squeezing my shoulder. “We’ll meet you at the hospital.”
As the medics headed with a strapped-in Aspen, I followed suit. “Boy, stay with Rex,” I called over my shoulder without looking back.
By early evening, I was still in the waiting room, the rest of the guys, Devolin, Emberlyn, and Lana Rose having joined me. I knew some of the extent of Aspen’s injuries since she’d told me about them herself, but what else had the doctors and nurses discovered during their examination? Had there been any complications?
Every time someone in scrubs and a stethoscope came out, I’d gotten up, hoping it was news I was destined to hear. It hadn’t been.
I paced the waiting room, currently on cup of coffee number five, my body telling me it had fallen victim to three cups too many with my current jitters. I hadn’t eaten the sandwich Emberlyn and little Rosie had brought for us either, too amped up with not knowing anything. Brycen had dug into that extra pastrami on rye with little hesitation.
We were the only group left in the waiting room when finally, the set of doors I’d been focused on all day flew open, and a woman, not much older than us came through.
“Family of Aspen Ridge?”
“Here,” I said, then let the lady doc approach. “Fiancé. Caden Summers. How is she, Doc?”
“Well, Mr. Summers, she’s got a severe concussion, two broken ribs, a punctured lung, and quite a bit of bruising.” My stomach dropped as she listed Aspen’s injuries. “She’ll be in a great deal of pain, and right now, we’re having issues with waking her. She’s not making much sense, but that’s normal.”
“When can we see her?” Rex asked, coming to my side, setting his hand on my shoulder.
“I—I don’t think it’s wise to have too many visitors in these first twenty-four hours,” she said, but her eyes were glued to Rex, whose hand stiffened on me, causing me to shift beneath his grip.
“Sorry, man,” he rumbled, but his words were distracted, his eyes locked on the woman standing across from us.
If I wasn’t worried about Aspen and needing to see for myself that she was okay, I’d find this entire scene quite entertaining.
“Ms. Ridge needs her rest, but as you’re her fiancé, Mr. Summers, we’ll make an exception,” the doctor stated, then eyed the rest of our group. “As for the rest of you, I’m not changing my mind,” her eyes settled and focused with intensity on Rex, “and that’s that. Come back tomorrow and depending on how my patient is doing, I might just let you through to see her, two at a time. Come on, Mr. Summers, I don’t have all day.”
Turning on her heel, she disappeared right where she’d come from a little more hurried than what I figured was her normal.
“Damn,” I heard Rex say under his breath, causing me to chuckle.
“On that note, I’ll keep you all posted.” I hurried after the doctor.
When she pointed to the doorway she stood next to, I could tell the woman was a little off-kilter after that short interaction with Rex.
“About my friend out there,” I started.
“Don’t worry about it,” she mumbled. “Visiting hours end at ten.”
“I’m not leaving, Doc,” I told her. “She’s been through hell and back, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be quiet, I won’t disturb anyone. Hell, you won’t even know I’m there, but I either park my ass on those plastic chairs out there in the waiting room, or the comfier version of them in the room with her. Your pick.”
With her arms crossed over her chest, she still didn’t have as strong a stubborn streak as my Aspen.
On a huff, she capitulated. “Fine. Stay. I’ve got patients to check on, and I’d rather be doing that than standing here arguing with you.”
“Glad we’re on the same page, ma’am,” I muttered to nothing but air; the doctor having already left.