“That’s a good idea.” Liam nodded as if testing the idea and liking it. Then he slanted Macen a wry stare. “We should do that. Are we going to arm wrestle for it?”
“Maybe you should flip a coin.” Seth horned in beside him, staring at the little nurse like a starving man at a buffet. He stuck his hand out to her. “I’m Seth Cooper.”
She sent him a confused frown as she placed her fingers in his palm. “I’m Heavenly.”
Yes, you are. Hammer read Seth’s unspoken reply all over his face.
“Are you the patient’s family?” she asked.
“Just a friend,” Seth assured.
“She has no one else. We’re like her family,” Hammer insisted.
“But you’re not actually related or married?” she double-checked.
“One of us will marry her in the next ten minutes if we’ll be allowed to see her. Hell, we both would if it was legal,” Liam groused, sounding exasperated.
The innocent little submissive in uniform bit her lip, looking as if she’d never heard of, much less considered, a ménage.
Heavenly shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t make the rules.”
Hammer elbowed Seth. “What else can you tell us about Raine’s condition?”
“I’m just a nursing student. I’ve only been in to give her water and blankets.”
“Do you know how much longer before we’ll be able to see her?” Liam asked.
Heavenly shook her head regretfully. “The police haven’t even finished with her, so I suspect it will be a while. In the meantime, Dr. Beckman asked me to escort you to a nearby lounge. You’ll be able to shower there. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
After exchanging a glance with Liam, Hammer knew they were on the same page. “Let’s do it now, just in case we’re able to see her sooner, rather than later.”
“Follow me.” She let the ER door close behind her and led them to another closed door, accessible only with her electronic ID badge.
“Thank you, Heavenly,” Seth called to her.
She turned to him with a shy smile, not quite meeting his gaze. “You’re welcome.”
In fifteen minutes, he and Liam had both showered and changed clothes. The hot spray had done a world of good in reviving him. Liam looked a bit more alive, too.
When they emerged, Heavenly stood there with two hot plates of food. “Seth found you some breakfast at the cafeteria. There’s a little break room around the corner with coffee.”
Heavenly pointed to her left. They smiled, thanked her, grabbed hot cups, then returned to the waiting room to juggle their plates in their laps, shove down food, and wait for news about Raine.
By then, Seth was speaking to various members of the club who’d stopped by, updating them on what little they knew of Raine’s status. Hammer was grateful for their caring. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, finished the last swig of his coffee, and greeted the members, thanking them. Liam joined him.
In the corner, they spotted a young man behind a magazine with wide shoulders, big hands, and piercing eyes. He didn’t look familiar, but as far as Hammer knew, the ER wasn’t clogged up with other cases at the moment.
He frowned. If the asshole was a reporter looking for a scoop…
Another Dom approached him before he could finish that thought and accost the stranger. Hammer and Liam talked to that club member and the others, managing to pass the next twenty minutes in only mild agony. The waiting still rubbed him raw, but being surrounded by concerned friends was definitely a balm. Raine would be touched by the number of people who had come to express their support.
Finally, the door to the back of the ER snapped open, and Beck walked toward them.
Hammer and Liam both cut their conversations short and rushed over.
“What can you tell us?” Liam insisted, as if he couldn’t say the words fast enough.
“Anything?” Hammer added.
“Calm down. She’s shaken. Tearful. Afraid. But mostly fine. We cleaned her up, stitched her lip, and checked out the rest of her trauma.”
“What do you mean by that?” Hammer barked.
Beck held up a hand. “Kendall punched her in the eye. We’ve managed to reduce the swelling. The eye socket wasn’t broken, thankfully. But she’s bruised. There will be more contusions around her neck where he tried to strangle her.”
Hammer’s blood iced over. A chill settled into his bones as he buried his face in his hands. Why the fuck hadn’t he been able to protect her? Yes, he knew the news was mostly good. He could be standing in the emergency room again hearing the speech about how they’d tried but there had been nothing the doctors could do to save her… He refused to fall down that mental black hole now.
“Strangle her?” Liam breathed the words in shock. “Oh, Raine must have been terrified.”
“But she’s a survivor.” Macen kept reminding himself of that over and over. If he didn’t, he’d go fucking insane.