The man that came back with her was younger than I thought he'd be, but he was completely professional as he shoved his short brown hair off his forehead and adjusted his wire-framed glasses. Setting down his bag, he started firing off questions as he carefully untied Logan's wrists.
I told him what I knew and tried to stay out of his way while Lisa helped him strip off Logan's clothes so he could better check his injuries.
"Will he be okay?" I asked him when I couldn't take the suspense anymore.
"He was beaten badly," he stated. "His arm is obviously broken. One of his cheekbones might be shattered. I'll need to take some X-rays of his torso." He glanced over at me. "And as soon as I'm done here, I'll take a look at your face."
I gingerly touched my cheek, wincing as my fingertips brushed against the swollen, tender skin. In the chaos of getting Logan the hell away from Gino, I'd completely forgotten about my own injuries. Adrenaline must've masked the pain, but now that things had settled down, I could feel the throbbing ache radiating from my cheek where I'd hit the floor and the soreness in my back from Gino's knee.
Lisa left and returned a few minutes later with a metal rolling cart. "What's that?" I asked her.
"A portable X-ray machine," she told me. "And this is a handheld sonogram. The doctor can hook it up to his phone and take scans of your brother's organs."
I collapsed in one of the blue chairs so I was out of the way and watched as the doctor took X-rays and scans of Logan's battered body. I couldn't lose my brother. He was all I had left in this world.
After what felt like hours, but was probably closer to thirty minutes, he set aside his instruments and turned to me. "He has a broken arm, three cracked ribs, and a lot of deep tissue bruising. His eye socket is fractured but not shattered. I didn't see any internal bleeding, but keep an eye out for any swelling in his abdomen or any other strange symptoms. I'll leave some pain meds here for him in case he needs them, and I'll brace up that arm until we can get a proper cast put on him. It's good that he's not awake for this."
I took a shaky breath. "So he's going to be okay?"
He nodded. "With rest and time, yes."
Tears of relief sprang to my eyes. "Thank you," I whispered.
"You're welcome. Now, let's get his arm taken care of and then I'll take a look at your face."
Lisa helped him with Logan's arm. He groaned in his sleep when the doctor set it, but didn't wake up. Then Lisa held it still while he went out to his car and got the brace for it.
Then he pulled up the other chair, and I let him examine me, wincing when he pressed along my cheekbone and jaw. "Nothing seems to be broken," he said after a moment. "And these cuts are superficial and shouldn't scar. You'll have a hell of a bruise, though. Wash your face with some soap and water to clean out this scraped section so you don't get an infection, and you should be fine. Is this your only injury?"
I frowned. "Um, I was hit with something. Across my right shoulder and head."
He didn't ask any questions as he probed those areas. "I think you're okay. How long ago did this happen?"
I shook my head. "I'm not sure. A couple of hours, maybe."
"Will you be with her until the guys get back?" he asked Lisa.
She nodded. "I can check on them both."
"If she falls asleep, wake her up every few hours and ask her some questions." He turned back to me. "You might have a concussion. If you start having headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, or anything out of the ordinary, have someone call me."
I nodded and stood. "Okay. Thank you," I said again as I stood up.
Lisa left with the doctor, leaving me alone with my unconscious brother. I pulled the blanket over his chest and then dragged one of the chairs over to his bedside and sank down into it. Taking his hand in both of mine, I watched his chest rise and fall. Silent tears slipped down my cheeks, but whether they were from relief that Logan was going to be okay or fear for Tristan, I couldn't say.
The rational part of my brain knew I'd done what I had to do, that I couldn't have gotten us all out of there intact. But the other part of me, the part that cared for Tristan more than I wanted to admit, was screaming at me for abandoning him.
Please be okay, I prayed to whoever would listen.Please...
The door opened behind me, and I twisted around, hoping my prayers had been answered, even though I knew it was impossible that they'd be back so soon.
But it was Veda. Still dressed in her skirt and blouse from earlier, she rushed over and dropped to her knees beside my chair, throwing her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, her voice thick with emotion.
I hugged her back, fresh tears burning my eyes. "I left him behind, Veda. I left Tristan with Gino. He traded himself for us and I just...I left him there."
"Gino?" Her mouth twisted in disgust. "I never liked that guy. Luca told me how you ended up as his date for the wedding."
"There's more to it than that." Tired of being strong, I poured my heart out to this woman who was little more than a stranger to me. I told her everything, starting with the poker game and ending with Tristan letting me out of the cell and getting the text from my brother. I even told her how Logan and I had grown up in foster care. I skipped over the more intimate moments between me and Tristan and the details of what I'd done to protect my brother. Not because I didn't want her to know, but because I didn't know if he could hear me.
