Grady put a hand on my shoulder and leaned in close. “You’re gonna stay to make sure he’s okay, aren’t you?”
“I want to, but Brenner said I shouldn’t.”
Grady tightened his grip. “Since when do you listen to what other people say?” He didn’t wait for my smartass answer, and I wasn’t sure I had one. I was too scared. Grady pinned me with a frown. “You know Brenner’s wrong. You’re the one he’s known the longest. Things like that matter when you’ve been hurt.”
All of a sudden, nerves kicked up. “I-I don’t want him to get angry.”
The harsh lines of Grady’s face softened. “I am one hundred percent sure he won’t. I’m going to head back to the hotel and grab something to eat. I can call Daniel and let him know—I’m sure he’ll want to hear that both Manny and Brenner will be okay.”
“Yeah, thanks. I forgot all about that. You’re right.” The image of Brenner’s battered and bruised face took up every bit of real estate in my head.
“Make sure you keep me in the loop.” Grady gave my shoulder another squeeze, and then he made the rounds to try and convince the others to return with him. They all departed, except for Manny. He remained behind, his expression guarded, as it had been all evening.
Several of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the waiting room sat empty. I took one, stretched out my legs, and waited.
Manny gave me a face full of puzzlement. “You don’t have to stay. I’m not going anywhere.”
I laced my fingers over my stomach. “Neither am I.” Manny sat, choosing to leave an empty seat between us. Debating whether to go there, I decided to hell with it. “What’s your problem with me?”
It didn’t really matter much, but I wondered if Brenner had said something to him. If he had, it was sure to be negative, which probably accounted for Manny’s attitude.
Hmm. Maybe I did care. As much as I didn’t think I minded people disliking me, I wanted to know why.
“I don’t know you. We’ve never spoken.”
“Exactly.”
“My only problem is Brenner lying in a hospital bed.” Manny shrugged.
Why I was on the defensive, I couldn’t say, but I was too wound up and stopped speaking. A check of my watch showed it had been more than an hour since Brenner was taken to X-ray, and I approached the clerk at the desk.
“Can you tell me if Brenner Fleming is back from X-ray?”
Bright-tipped fingers flew over the keyboard. “Yes, he’s in room 803.”
Fear exploded inside me. “They admitted him? Did they find something wrong? Do—”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t tell you anything else.”
Of course she couldn’t. I forced a smile and left the emergency room, heading for the elevators in the main building. Footsteps pounded after me, but I didn’t stop.
“Weston, please wait,” Manny called after me.
I didn’t wait and followed the overhead signs to the elevator and jabbed the button. Manny caught up with me.
“Why didn’t you stop?”
“Why should I?” I snapped, unconcerned about his opinions, too scared at what I might find upstairs. The doors opened, and I entered and pushed the eighth-floor button.
“I’m sorry—”
“I don’t care. Looks like they may have found something wrong, because Brenner’s been admitted. So excuse me, but that’s my focus.”
We waited in toe-tapping frustration as the elevator stopped several times in between. When we finally reached the eighth floor, I hurried out and down the hall to the room the clerk had given me, to find a weary-looking Brenner lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.
“You just couldn’t stand not coming in first, is that it, Brenner?” I strolled in, attempting to act casual, but the fact was, he looked like hell. Black-and-blue marks had blossomed over his body, and pain lines were etched into his too-pale face. Anger mixed with fear twisted inside my chest at how close he’d come to being seriously injured.
“I thought I told you to go home,” he muttered.
