“Yeah?”
“River, it’s Mona and Madden.”
I was instantly awake. “I’ll be there in twenty.”
Dr. Cobb ended the call without saying anything more, and my brain scrambled on what had alarmed me so much in his tone. It was…he cared for these kids, and I hoped it wouldn’t cause problems for himorthe children.
“What’s up?” Ben murmured as I sat up.
“Work stuff; go back to sleep.”
“What time is it?”
I got off the bed and looked at the time on my phone. “Just past three.” I’d gotten five hours of sleep, which was awesome. Sometimes being tired in the evening paid off.
I leaned back down to kiss Ben and then got dressed and was in the crappy truck before I was completely awake. I might’ve sped and gotten there in twenty like I’d promised.
I let myself inside and immediately heard sobbing from the back. Mona. This wasn’t good.
Trying not to run, I made my way to the examination room.
Yeah, it was bad. Mona sat on a chair by the wall, looking like she’d been doing her best to be brave, but there were tear tracks on her cheeks.
Madden lay on the table, looking pale and pained. There were bruises and smears of blood on his face from a busted lip and brow, and his knuckles told their own story.
“What happened?” I asked, right as Dr. Cobb returned to the room with ice packs.
“Fight,” Madden forced the words out.
I could immediately tell he was going to pass out, so I went to his head to try to see if he had any obvious injuries.
“Back of his head,” Dr. Cobb said quietly.
Madden’s eyes rolled back.
Dr. Cobb abandoned the idea of trying to soothe Madden’s bruises with the ice packs—I realized he was upset enough that he’d been needing to dosomethingin the way people who weren’t medical professionals sometimes would in a crisis. I went to lift Madden’s shirt and saw bruising around his ribs and abdomen.
“You need to take him in,” I told Dr. Cobb and looked him in the eyes. “Toby.” I waited until he made eye contact, his gaze a bit wild. “You need to take Madden into the ER. I’ll take care of Mona, okay? You need to be there for him right now.”
Dr. Cobb shook his head minutely, as if trying to clear it, and then he was back in the right mindset. He turned to Mona.
“Sweetheart, I really need to get Madden to the hospital. Will you go with River to his place for me? He’ll take such a great care of you while I make sure Madden will be okay.”
She looked from him to me and back, then squared her little shoulders, took in a hitching breath and nodded. Wiping her cheeks with her slightly grubby hands, she got to her feet, walked to the table and kissed Madden’s cheek.
“I’m gonna be fine, but you gotta be fine, too. That’s the deal. I love you,” she whispered.
He was unconscious, and I hoped he would be able to keep his promise.
In short order, Dr. Cobb picked Madden up, put him in his car and left the clinic.
I held my hand out for Mona. “Come on. Let’s lock up here.” As soon as we were in the truck and on the way to the rescue, I asked her, “Are you okay? Not hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. Hungry though. Madden was out getting money for food.”
Maybe it was a john who had beat him up, then.
“Well, you’re in luck, because where I live, we have a real chef who can make us anything we want to eat.” I glanced at her. “And there are dogs, cats, horses, ponies, donkeys, and even goats.”
