“Probably able to check vitals on that tracking system they have on her,” Flint adds.
“We know what that’s about?” I ask. I want my girl to have answers when she wakes up, not more questions. And I know she’ll be asking. Ruby isn’t the type to sit in the dark and be happy about it. And I’ve got no issues with sharing with her. I trust her. I know she’ll keep her shit together if needed.
“None. Still got jack shit back on facial recognition. Want me to put the feed out to our friends?” Flint asks the boss.
We didn’t tell the other groups who we were working with. Especially since we don’t know either. Not that they asked. They answered when we called, and that was all we wanted.
Casper shakes his head. “No, not yet. They didn’t ask for a favor, just gave us intel. My guess is that the favor was in getting Natalie out for them. We did that. As far as I’m concerned, we’re square.”
“How’s she doing?” I ask.
General answers. “Still running scans. She got it worse than Ruby; that much is clear. Initial report shows a fractured fibula and three broken ribs. Fractured jaw as well. We’ve set the leg and have a call out to a plastic surgeon to come in to help us after we reset her jaw. I’m hoping to keep her here for a few weeks just to be on the safe side.”
“And Ruby?” Casper asks. Everyone looks at me when he says it. I feel the eyes as I stare at my hands.
I know some of it. We agreed she’d find out most of it when she wakes up. After we got back, we came straight here. General put her under to give her body time to sleep a bit and give me time to talk. Also, so he could run some tests without freaking her out.
“Broken ribs. Broken nose. Torn rotator cuff. She got off easy in comparison.”
“Nothing easy about it,” Walker says, and I look at him, giving him a nod in appreciation. He gets it. Just because you don’t wear that many war wounds doesn’t mean you didn’t feel all of it.
“And the rest?” Bass asks.
They all want to know something. Even I do. We found a third woman, naked and cold on the floor. That could have been Peaches. Maybe it was. Either way, she’s mine. No matter what happened there, she’s mine, and I’ll hold her through whatever the answer is.
“Still waiting on results. But….” I look up at General when he pauses and see his eyes on me, waiting for me to look at him when he speaks. “No initial findings.”
I hear the collective sigh, and I just nod.
“We done?” I look at Casper, ever the respectful bastard that I am.
“Go see your girl. I’ll let Law know she’s back.”
He should be here. Law should be by her side through this, but he’s not. Still no memory. But that’s fine. I’m here for her. I’ll be all she needs till he remembers. Even then, I’ll still stand by her side.
“I’ll be in later to check on her,” General says, and I pause at the way he stands. Something’s off. Something he isn’t saying. Something he wants her to know before the rest of the brothers. Before me.
I nod, and then I’m out, heading down the hall and giving King a chin lift as a greeting before I walk into her room.
Her open eyes greet me, and it’s like the sun is finally shining after years of rain.
I go to her and kiss her forehead. She’s multicolored but still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“Hey, Peaches.”
“Hey.” Her voice is soft and rough. I grab the water on the table beside her and hold the straw for her while she takes a sip.
When she’s finished, I set it down and look her over once more before I speak. “How’re you feeling?”
She closes her eyes and breathes. I watch her chest rise and fall and look at the monitor. Steady breath. Thank fuck. Hearing her breathe is like damn birds singing and angels spouting poetry. It’s the best damn thing I’ve heard in my life.
“Like shit.” That pulls a chuckle from me, and she cracks an eye open. “And I know I look it, so don’t try to say anything nice.”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “Not my style.”
She smiles, knowing it’s bull. I’ll tell her anything she wants to hear, lies or truth, just as long as I get to talk to her.
I sit on the side of the bed and grab her hand, running my fingers over her skin gently.
