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“Right.” From the way she looked at me, I got the impression she didn’t believe me. Well, whatever.
“When will she wake up?” Harley asked. He gripped Stella’s hand tightly like he was afraid to let her go.
“Any time now.” The doctor glanced at the machines and made some notes. “I’ll be around to check on her again soon. The police would like to talk to her, but I’ve told them not to bother coming back until tomorrow. I expect they’ll want to talk to you two as well,” she said, looking at Quinn and then Harley.
They both nodded. “We’ll be here,” Quinn replied.
“Of course you will.” She smiled and then left. The door closed once again and I stretched my legs out, fighting the urge to grab Stella’s other hand.
Part of me wondered why I had come. It suddenly felt like a massive overreaction.
She didn’t need me here. Not when she had Harley and Quinn. They’d look after her. There wasn’t much I could do.
“I should probably—” I started to say when Stella opened her eyes. She blinked a few times and then turned to look at me.
“Brax?” Her voice was raspy. Her eyes widened with confusion. Then she turned to Harley. “Where am I?”
He smiled at her. “Hospital. Do you remember what happened?”
My hand slid across the blanket without any conscious thought on my part. The tips of my fingers touched her arm. I half expected her to pull away, but she didn’t.
There were a million things I wanted to say to her, mostly that I was sorry for being an asshole, but I said nothing. I just watched and listened. Grateful for the slightest contact.
Stella screwed up her eyes. “Not really. I remember the cafe…that’s it.” She tried to sit up and winced, despite the painkillers in her system.
“Don’t move,” Quinn urged as he approached the bed. “Do you need anything? Water?”
“Yeah, my mouth is dry.” Harley grabbed a cup of water and helped her take a few sips. She relaxed again, her eyes already fluttering closed.
I felt her hand reach out for mine. Something sparked in my chest and I smiled. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Chapter 71
Stella
I drifted in and out of consciousness. It felt like a never-ending dream. The boys’ voices murmured in the background, but I couldn’t concentrate long enough to hear what they were saying. I recalled Brax’s presence, which made no sense. Why was he here? The only thing I remembered with any great clarity was dancing with Quinn and Harley, then the shower. Had that really happened, or was it a figment of my imagination?
My shoulder ached. A bone-deep kind of ache that never seemed to go away. My mind was fuzzy, like it was full of cotton wool.
I guessed whatever happened meant I’d been given drugs, lots of drugs. Not such a bad thing if it helped keep the pain at bay, but I really wanted my head to clear long enough that I could form a coherent thought.
Sleep claimed me again, pulling me down into a dark tunnel where the shadows lived. Brax’s voice followed me there, telling me I’d be OK. Would I though? I wasn’t so sure anymore. Things were happening and I had a feeling that events beyond my control were about to overtake all of us.
The next time I awoke, my head was clearer. My shoulder still ached like a motherfucker but the pain helped to crystallize my thoughts.
A heavy weight lay across my legs. Had someone dropped a sack of potatoes on the bed? If so, they needed to move it before it cut off my circulation permanently.
I opened my eyes and tried to move. The movement jarred my shoulder and I hissed at the pain. The weight across my legs instantly lifted.
“You’re awake again!”
“Again?” My throat was dry and sore. I tried to swallow but it hurt. “Water,” I croaked.
Someone pushed a straw into my mouth and I sucked down the tepid liquid. I would literally kill for a coffee right now, but water would do. It eased the pain in my throat, and I relaxed.
“You woke up a few hours ago but not for long.”
I had a vague recollection of what Harley was telling me. “Was Brax here?”
