I rise from the bed and stand there as he approaches.
Miller plants his arms on my shoulders and studies me from head to toe. "You're hurt. What's wrong? Tell me, what did he do?"
I shake my head. "I'm fine." But the nagging tears fill my eyes anyway, no doubt bringing him the opposite of comfort.
Alec interjects. "She's got a couple broken ribs and minor bruising, but she'll be fine. The doctor went to see if she could get an update on London."
"Your tracker," Miller says, his eyes never leaving me. "It shows you're still at Ricardo's."
I blink as the realization dawns on me. "I must have left my purse there. I'm sorry."
Miller sighs and closes his eyes briefly. "I'm just glad you're okay." He pulls me into him and I bury myself in his chest. His embrace is gentle but exactly what I needed.
"How did you find us?" I ask him, suddenly unsure how he was at the hospital the second Alec told him where we were.
"When I didn't see you at the house, I checked Alec's location." Miller rubs soft circles on my back and kisses the top of my head.
"What the hell dude, you put a tracker on me?" Alec scoffs.
I pull away. "Are you stalking Alec, too?"
Miller shrugs. "I'm not sorry."
Alec rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "Whatever."
"London?" Miller takes a step back to glance between us.
"I don't know. She has a punctured lung." I wipe my cheek and exhale. "Ricardo beat the shit out of her."
"I told you it was a bad idea," Miller says.
"Not going would have been worse. He would have found us. He probably would have killed us all." I try to search for some kind of silver lining but it's hard not knowing if London will make it. I don't want to admit that I might be the very reason she doesn't pull through. I have to believe that this was the best possible option, even if they were all shitty to begin with.
"Yeah, you're right," Miller admits and surprises me a bit.
The doctor, a soft-spoken older woman named Jenny, comes back into our room, her blue eyes latching onto Miller the second she steps through the door. She nods to him and draws in a long breath. "I'm afraid I don't have much of an update. You were correct that London did suffer frompneumothorax, a collapsed lung. Preliminary recordings show she has several broken bones, including some skull fractures. She's in surgery for the time being but I don't know when she'll be out." She swallows harshly and adds, "This probably shouldn't have to be said, but I'd like to remind you that this is confidential information that I'm not able to give out, so please keep this to yourselves for now."
Miller is the first to speak up. "Of course. We wouldn't jeopardize the ongoing relationship we have with the hospital staff here." He extends his hand. "Miller Rossi, I don't think we've met before."
"Jenny Durk, ER Doctor."
"Thank you for the unofficial update," Miller continues.
Jenny glances at us each curtly and settles on me. "Meds. Ice. Rest."
"Got it," I tell her and wish that she would have kept her mouth shut. I don't need another reminder to the guys how fragile I am. They already worry about me enough as it is.
Jenny leaves me and the guys alone, the silence nearly deafening.
"I want to wait until she's out," I make my formal declaration while expecting them to protest.
Miller pivots toward me. "We have no idea how long that's going to take."
"He's right," Alec adds.
I consider darting out of the room and hiding somewhere for an update that London's made it out of surgery, but knowing Miller, he'd hunt me to the ends of the Earth if I tried to evade him—Alec more than likely helping him in his pursuit of keeping an eye on me.
"It's not safe here." Miller watches a person walk by the doorway suspiciously. "There's no telling if Ricardo is going to come after you again."
