Nice words that he couldn’t possibly mean. He was merely feeling the shock of her attack, she thought, keeping her head averted and her eyes closed tight. She kept her focus on breathing through her nose.
Soon her limbs grew heavy, and behind her eyelids things began to spin. Maybe she still had the sedative in her system. Or maybe she was on painkillers. Something was making her dizzy.
“Sleep, baby,” Mike whispered, his voice gruff. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Mike didn’t know how long he’d slept, but a hand shaking his shoulder woke him, and he bolted up from his half-prone position on Cara’s bed where he’d laid his head. He rose from the chair, every muscle in his body protesting the night he’d spent there.
“I brought you some coffee,” Sam said softly, so as not to wake Cara.
“Thanks.” Mike gratefully accepted the cup.
Sam tipped his head, indicating they should step out of the room.
Mike paused to glance at Cara. She lay against the hospital bed, eyes closed, her face pale, and with the white sheets, the bruising on her face and neck stood out even more. It was a good thing Sam had handled booking Bob Francone, because if Mike got his hands on the man, he’d kill him and save the state the cost of a trial.
Mike followed him into the hall.
“Were you here all night?” Sam asked.
Mike nodded. They’d moved Cara to a private room, which was why the sympathetic nurse had let Mike, who wasn’t family, stay with her. Then again, Mike had towered over the male nurse, flashed his badge, and made it clear he wasn’t leaving.
“Listen,” Sam said. “I just came here, one, to check on her, and two, to apologize. If it weren’t for me, you’d have gotten to her much sooner.” Sam’s guilt was palpable.
According to Alexa, Cara had just stepped outside to her car to get her bag and when she’d taken too long to return, Mike’s gut, which never steered him wrong, told him to go check on her. But Sam had insisted Mike give her time to cool off. And he’d forced himself to wait another few minutes.
Mike knew how much his brother cared about Cara. “Don’t do that to yourself. There’s no way either of us could have anticipated she was in danger.”
Francone had gone quiet since his release and nobody suspected he’d go after Cara.
“But—” Sam geared up to argue.
“Shut up,” Mike muttered to his brother. He might be silently cursing them both for the time he’d wasted, but Sam’s guilt wouldn’t change anything. “She’s going to be fine, and that’s what matters.”
Sam nodded. “Thanks. I’ll go look for Alexa and see when she plans on signing her out.” He slapped Mike on the back and walked down the hall.
Mike leaned back and closed his eyes, the events of last night playing out in vivid detail, every second feeling like an eternity as he watched the woman he loved struggling for her life.
If anything happened to her, Mike would be lost.
He’d already taken his brother’s advice. Mike’s go big or go home plan was ready and waiting. He was amazed at how much he had accomplished in the short time since he’d left the city. He’d wanted to share his news with Cara last night, but she’d run from him. Now he had a captive audience and he’d stop at nothing to convince her that she was his home.
By the time the doctors signed Cara’s release papers and gave her instructions, she was antsy and ready to leave this place for good.
“Soft foods, lots of rest, and little talking,” the older female nurse reminded her, handing Cara the paperwork.
“Don’t worry,” Mike said, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I’ll make sure she listens to doctor’s orders.”
Cara narrowed her gaze, frowning at him. She had tried telling him to get lost, but he wasn’t listening and short spurts of sentences were all she could manage.
Alexa had left earlier, so Cara didn’t have her as a buffer with Mike. And since Cara understood that she needed someone around because of the concussion, she was stuck with him. At least until she could make other arrangements, which she intended to do, by text, as soon as possible.
The nurse looked over toward the door. “Oh! There’s the wheelchair now.”
Cara groaned.
“Hospital policy. You leave in our wheels.” The older woman patted the seat.
A few minutes later, she was settled in Mike’s truck, a place she’d never thought she’d be again. The arousing scent of his cologne permeated her pores, causing an ache in her heart she was beginning to think she’d never be rid of.