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"Shoulda known if we pushed he was going to push back Shouldn’t have left you alone" His thu the curve of my cheek and I closednear the top of my head prod me and tell uessing it was a concussion, as well I gathered
I wanted to tell Wheeler it was about tiainst everything that had landedlike that hat I deserved I pushed and pushed until it was no longer a part ofto face off with anotherain and again For myself and for anyone else stuck in a bad situation
Obviously, Wheeler couldn’t be by my side 24/7 but I couldn’t tell hi It eet that he wanted to be a living barrier betweenI’d been sloorking my way out of the protective shell I’d surrounded myself in after Oliver’s attack and I realized today that no matter how careful I’d been, or how deliberate I’d been in the people I let intoclose to hoe: it was the men that were supposed to love me the most
I’d had some really bad people in my life, ones that had left their ive But I’d been fortunate enough to have so, special people in ave me what I needed to heal and to make myself whole They also left marks, but theirs were ones that I didn’t want to hide in the dark They made me sit where the love and light foundto draghe had made his own bed, stuffed with consequences and penance I would rest easy at night knowing he would never be able to hurt ain with either his words or his fists
This was his end and onna be okay" Wheeler sounded so sure of the fact that all I could do was believe him I trusted him and he never lied to , but there wasn’t anything I could do about it while I was strapped down to a gurney with an IV into have to howl just a little bit longer
ONCE I GOT into the ER, it was a flurry of activity I was separated froravation and very vocal displeasure Salem and Rowdy showed up to keep him in check and run interference as he snapped at every person that tried to get betweento help I needed X-rays of my head and throat, plus I’d lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion Luckily, Saint Ford, a friend of uy that painted Wheeler’s garage, was the attending nurse Ia panic attack when she started fluttering aroundown efficiently and professionally, so I didn’t really have time to freak out I didn’t know her well but she was super nice, very patient, and treated ht break She didn’t touch me any more than was necessary and she let Wheeler into my little cubicle that was divided from the one next to it by a curtain as quickly as she could My sister and Rowdy fussed overable to respond to anything they were asking Sensing ently convinced the on to ernails
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, one of my hands held in his as his other hand traced over the features ofto memorize each and every one when the curtain swished back and another fa to have to talk to the police eventually but I didn’t think I was going to get lucky enough to land in Royal Hastings’s lap She was also a friend ofShe’d been instru the manhunt for me as quickly as possible when Oliver snatchedto make this horrific attack as easy onwomen Saint let it slip that she saw my name on the intake board and bounced her coworker to another roohtly laid me back on the hospital bed so I didn’t jostle the stitches and bandage that was norapped around my head like a h the doors of her ER battered and bruised at the hands of someone they loved She frowned as she told me how much it bothered her when they left with the person that put them there in the first place She was ecstatic to hear that I would be leaving with Wheeler
Royal watched , cop eyes as she told us both, "I heard the call and recognized the nah with these men in your life and would probably beyour stateer here was feeling like letting anyone with a dick anywhere near you I even told er at Wheeler and wagged it back and forth "Lucky you had witnesses to back up your story that you attacked Pastor Cruz in self-defense, Speedy You’d be looking at a night in lockup if not" I wondered at the nickname and made a mental note to ask him about it later
Wheeler grunted and ran his thumb over the curve of my bottom lip "She can’t talk Her trachea is all fucked up and she has a severe concussion The doc is keeping her for a few days and doesn’t knohen she’ll be able to talk" He sounded so frustrated and overly protective over it all, so I reached up and patted his shoulder reassuringly
Royal rocked back on her heels and clicked her tongue She was kind of a goof, and stunningly gorgeous … it was an odd combination for a police officer but it seeave a damn about the people she was supposed to protect and serve
"That’s okay We’ll talk when you’re better, Poppy I just thought youyour old man with attempted murder We found the rock he hit you with and it was obvious he stalked you until he found an opportunity to attack That’s not a crime of passion, that’s a plan, one that thankfully, backfired You’re lucky those college kids that live in the building were headed out for happy hour when they did"