“Is it dead?”
“It is now.”
Her head hurt too much to figure out what that meant. “Help… me sit up.”
“No. Stay there. Can you feel your arm? No, don’t move it. It’s… It’s…”
“Is it bad?”
“It ain’t good.”
“Oh fuck. Trip…”
“Fuck Trip!”
“Easy…” She hissed as sharp pains shot through her arm and up into her shoulder. She risked a glance at it.
She shouldn’t have. It wasn’t supposed to look like that.
“Yeah?”
Her eyes were stinging and hot liquid escaping the corners.
Was she crying? Or was it blood? It better be blood because crying didn’t help anything.
“Are you cryin’?” Why did he sound more panicked over that than anything else? Like her fucked-up arm.
“N-no.” Fuck! Her voice was thicker than normal, definitely giving away that she was crying and about to blubber like a baby because of this helpless situation and also the timing of it.
“What the hell are you crying about now? I’ll give you something to cry about, you ungrateful brat…”
“Tess, wake up!”
She forced her eyes open. “I’m awake.” She groaned at the pounding in her head. Even her eyeballs were throbbing.
And, fuck, the ringing. It was so damn loud.
“Don’t go to sleep. You might have a concussion.”
“I won’t. How can I with this pain?” she hissed. Now she was definitely crying and every second that went by she hurt even more. Most likely because the shock of what happened was wearing off. Her head was spinning, her arm screaming, and now every muscle in her body was beginning to seize.
Plus, the dizziness was making her sick to her stomach.
She was going to puke. She didn’t want Easy to see her do that. “Turn away,” she cried. “Please.”
“Why?”
“Fuck!” She couldn’t turn over on her own, she needed his help. “Help me turn over.” Saliva flooded her mouth. She didn’t want to vomit all over herself. That would just be icing on the cake in this shit-tastic moment. “E, I need to,” she swallowed hard, “puke.”
“Fuck.” He shifted on his knees so he could gently roll her to her side, trying not to jostle her broken arm too much.
But now the pain was unbearable, making her grind her teeth but only until the contents of her stomach spewed out of her and splattered onto the ground.
When she was done retching, she whispered, “E…” helplessly. Like he could magically take away the discomfort.
Her eyes continued to water from throwing up, from crying, from the excruciating pain, from knowing they would be busted by Trip. For Easy’s injuries. For Easy’s new pride and joy that probably was damaged beyond repair.
For the damn dumb dead deer.
For everything.
Everything.
All of it.
Then she heard them in the distance. Sirens.
She saw the blue and red flashing lights bouncing off the surrounding trees.
She hoped it was an ambulance.
She was disappointed when the initial first responders on scene were cops.
Odds were good that one of them would be a Bryson.
The chance that they could’ve kept this accident a secret by making up a story went from very slim to non-existent.
Chapter Thirteen
“Nothin’ major’s wrong with her, right?” Easy asked Trip.
As soon as his president had pulled the curtain back to find him getting dressed, Easy’s asshole locked down to a no-breach status.
He had to assume Matt Bryson, one of the first on scene, contacted his cousin Jet, who then contacted Trip. Especially since Tessa was involved.
They were busted. Now it would all be about damage control.
After cleaning up and bandaging his wounds, one of the ER staff told him he could go.
Only he wasn’t going anywhere without Tessa.
He didn’t give a fuck what anyone said. They would have to drag his ass out of the hospital while he was kicking and screaming if he wasn’t allowed to see her, whether by the staff or Trip.
He had all his limbs. Somehow, nothing was broken. The doctor advised him to take some prescribed pain meds, if needed, and gave him a few muscle relaxers. But he’d heal.
He considered himself goddamn lucky.
He was more worried about Tessa.
Even though his luck was about to change now that her brother had arrived.
“They’re still evaluatin’ her. Broken arm that they need to set. Some scrapes, cuts and bruises. Minor concussion. Gonna be sore and hurtin’ for a while. But then, so are you.”
Easy ignored the last part, especially with the way the Fury president said it. “But that’s it?”
Trip cocked an eyebrow. “That ain’t enough?”
Easy was thankful that first goddamn deer made him slow down and keep a closer eye out for more. The rule was, if there was one, more were hiding.
If he’d been speeding…
If he hadn’t been paying attention…
Shit could’ve been so much fucking worse.
He needed to see Tessa with his own two eyes. “Where she at? I wanna see her.”
Trip’s head tilted and his eyes narrowed. “Do you now?”
While the Fury prez was wearing his signature ball cap, he wasn’t wearing his cut, so Easy assumed he had rushed out of the house as soon as he’d been notified of the accident.