“Sly took a bullet to the chest. He was brought in, but we haven’t gotten an update yet…”
The tears spilled over.
Sly…
“I don’t know for sure, Rose, but I think he’s the reason why you’re not worse off. By the time I made it to you, you were already on the ground, baby, and Sly was on top of you. From how it looked, he shielded your body with his, or at the very least, knocked you out of the way.”
I looked away; the tears flowing freely as I replayed Cain’s words. I remembered the feeling of someone slamming into me, knocking me down. My hands fluttered up to the bandage on my head again, touching the spot at the base of my skull. I had to have slammed my head when I fell…when Sly shielded me from a bullet.
Had Sly saved my life?
Looking down at my arm again, I remembered the searing pain I’d felt right before I went down.
I had so many questions, and the only person I knew could help me get the answers was currently a giant question mark.
Picking up the bed’s remote again, I clicked the nurse’s call button over and over.
“Baby, talk to me,” Cain urged. His hand squeezed mine, and he reached over to grab the remote out of my hands.
I jerked it away from him. “No, Cain. I need to know he’s okay. This is my fault. If he hadn’t been trying to protect me, we wouldn’t be wondering if he’s evenaliveright now.”
Cain stood and snatched the remote, throwing it. It dangled off the edge of the bed from its cord. “This isnotyour fault, Rose. It’s mine. I’m responsible for The Reaper’s Wings retaliating against us.Ikilled their guy. Preston’s death is onmyhands. Your injuries are onmyhands. Sly’s…” But he didn’t finish the sentence.
The door of my hospital room opened and a tall man wearing a doctor’s coat walked in. He was quite handsome and looked like he’d stepped right off the set ofGrey’s Anatomy.
“Hello, Ms. Adler, I’m Doctor Robinson. How are yo—”
I cut him off, not caring about pleasantries or howIwas doing. I was alive, and that was more than I knew about Sly at this point. “I need an update on another patient here. Sylvester Lucchetti.”
The doctor looked a little taken aback at my outburst, but then, to my surprise, agreed. “I’d be happy to see what I can find out about Mr. Lucchetti, but first we need to discuss your charts, Ms. Adler. May I proceed?”
Cain gave my hand a small squeeze. It did little to comfort my anxiety, but I nodded at the doctor.
“Ms. Adler, we’ve treated you for two injuries. The first, a gunshot wound to the surface of your arm, was assessed and thoroughly cleaned before we dressed the wound. Changing the dressing and keeping it clean will be the biggest component of the healing process. You should seek care immediately if any symptoms of infection arise. Your second injury was worse as you suffered blunt force trauma to the back of your head, which is why you were unconscious when you arrived. We were concerned about the length of time you were unconscious for, but we’ve concluded that, along with a concussion, your body went into a state of shock. We monitored you closely and ran some tests, but everything came back as normal. You had a nasty cut to the back of your head, but overall, you’re very lucky, Ms. Adler. We expect you to make a full recovery.”
“Thank you so much, doctor,” Cain told him. “When can we expect her to be discharged?”
“I’d like to keep her hooked up to the monitors for a while longer, but if there are no changes, we’ll be able to discharge her within a few hours, pending she has someone who can monitor her condition closely at home.”
“I won’t leave her side.”
“Excellent. Do you have any questions, Ms. Adler?” he asked, bringing the conversation back to me.
“I want to know how Sly is,” I rasped. Clearing my throat, I turned to Cain. “Can you get me some water?”
Cain nodded and left the room to find me some. When he was gone, I met the doctor's eyes.
“Sylvester doesn’t have any family nearby and I’m the closest thing. Please, I just need him to know he’snotalone.”
He nodded, seeming to understand my urgency. “I’ll see if I can find you an update on Mr. Lucchetti. The nurses will be in for their rounds shortly.”
“Thank you,” I murmured. I felt completely defeated as the doctor walked out of the room and I was left alone.
When Cain returned, ice cold water bottle in hand, he handed it to me with the top already off. Greedily, I chugged it down until it was empty. The cold hurt my already throbbing head, but the way the water took the edge off my thirst was worth it.
“Is Indy okay?” I asked. Last I’d seen her, she was heading inside the bar, but the fear of something happening to her ran through me.
“She’s in the waiting room. She’s okay, baby.”
