“Let me know as soon as you hear anything.”
I nod and Jensen assures Nate that we’ll fill him in. I won’t, though, because as soon as the doctor comes out I’m going in.
“I can’t lose her,” I say to anyone who is within earshot to hear me.
“It was a car accident, Evan. They’re both fine.”
I shake my head and hold up the bear so I can look at him. He’s cheesy, but Ryley will love him. “It’s not that, Jensen. I can’t lose her, period. This isn’t some high school infatuation that I never grew out of, or the fact that she should’ve be
en waiting for me when I came home. She’s who I see when I dream at night and who I want to see when I wake-up. When I think about what makes me tick, it’s Ryley. She’s the reason I am who I am today because without her I’m less than half a man.”
Jensen sighs. “I get it, Evan, because that’s how I feel about Carole.”
“If she chooses me, I’m going to marry your daughter the first chance I get.”
“About time,” he mumbles, causing me to laugh. If he only knew that I would’ve married her the second I came back from my so-called “snatch and grab mission”.
I quickly stop laughing when the doctor walks out. He looks somber as he takes off his paper cap. He holds it in his hand and the expression on his face is grim. Jensen steps forward first, followed by me.
“Your wife and daughter are fine. Your wife suffered a compound fracture to her femur and a broken arm. She’s needs to have pins put in both her leg and arm. The ortho surgeon is with her now and will be taking her up to surgery in a few minutes. She’ll be confined to a wheelchair and physical therapy will be required, but other than that she’ll make a full recovery. Your daughter has fared much better than your wife. Aside from breaking her wrist, she’s fine. They’re very lucky that they were saved before the car was fully engulfed in flames. They have no burns, whatsoever.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief that both of them are okay. I don’t know how our family would cope with losing either of them. Broken bones we can deal with, those are easy. Death is not.
“How did my wife break her arm?” Jensen asks. I know he’s concerned, but I want to shake him and tell him he can ask questions later. I just want to get in there. I’m trying to be patient, but my patience expired a long time ago.
“We think she put her arm across your daughter to save her.” I let the words sink in. Carole saved her daughter. The thoughts filtering through my mind right now are not good. I have visions of Ryley hitting the windshield and flying through it. It’s like I’m there, at the accident, even though I wasn’t. I can’t help but picture what could’ve been if they had been anywhere else and not in front of the base.
“Can I go in now?” I ask, but the doctor ignores me. Jensen looks at him, but he shakes his head.
“Only family is allowed until she’s moved.”
“Fuck that, I am her family,” I say as I move past him and through the double doors. He says something about security but I don’t give a shit. I need to see Ryley. I need to touch her, feel her skin against mine and hear her voice. I have to see for myself that every part of her is okay.
I look in every room, seeing things that I can’t erase from my mind. In one room, a wife is sobbing over who I’m assuming is her husband. It didn’t look so good for him. In another, there is a child with only a nurse in there. We make eye contact, and she looks sad and despondent. Where are her parents? Short of yelling out her name and drawing attention to myself, this is all I can do. Each room is either occupied or empty; sadly there are more occupants than I expected.
Finally I find her with a bandage on her forehead and her red hair tucked behind her ears. She looks pale and for her that’s not a good thing. Her casted arm rests on her stomach and her eyes are closed. I try to be quiet as I walk in, but to no avail. When her eyes spring open, a small, sad smile appears on her flawless face. It changes though when she sees the bear I’m carrying.
I hold him up in front of my face and move him from side to side like he’s dancing as I walk toward her. “You float my boat, Ryley Clarke.” She laughs, and it’s instantly like everything is okay. I know she hasn’t chosen me, but that doesn’t stop me from stealing a kiss from her. And as happy as I am to give her this bear, he’s cramping my style because he’s wedged in between us.
“I don’t know, babe, I saw this guy and thought he looked like me with his sailor hat and his life buoy, but right now he’s just in the way.”
“I love him,” she says as she pulls him into her chest with her good arm. “It’s worse than it looks, Archer, I promise you.” She knows that calling me Archer will soothe just about anything because for some reason hearing her call me by my last name is freaking hot.
“You scared me.”
She nods as tears prick her eyes. “I was scared, but someone pulled me out of the car before… I just don’t know what’s going on and why people want to hurt us.”
I try to hug her, but considering the bed and her arm, it’s really a half-assed attempt. Her hand clutches the back of my shirt as she sobs. I want to tell her that it’s going to be okay, but I don’t believe those words myself and I’m not going to lie to her.
“We’re uncovering the truth and someone wants that truth to stay hidden.”
“Did you kill someone over there, someone powerful?” she asks as she pulls away.
“I did, but I don’t know how he’s connected to what’s going on here. None of it makes sense, but I swear to you, Ry, I am going to find out.”
I LIKE TO PRIDE myself on being a man’s man. The type that isn’t afraid to open doors for women, pull out their chairs or help someone across the street. Being that type of man, I’ve always been the one to drive, but Cara won’t let me and I’m having a hard time sitting still. It’s not that she’s a bad driver, I’m just used to being in control.
And right now, I’m not in control of anything.