Love to Hate You (Hope Valley #9) - Jessica Prince Page 0,91
also determined. So what I need you to do is put your arms around my neck and try your best to hold on, okay? I’m getting us the fuck out of here.”
I was sitting in one of the hard waiting room chairs, curled into a tight, shaky ball. I rocked back and forth as I thought back to that drive. What had only taken ten or so minutes had felt like an eternity, especially when the rattling sound coming from Charlie’s chest had stopped.
Tears welling in my eyes and I gave my head a shake. I couldn’t let myself go there. I couldn’t. I kept repeating over and over that she was going to be okay. But I didn’t know that for sure, and it was killing me. Worry over a girl I didn’t even know, over a girl who’d saved my life, eclipsed everything else. I didn’t even feel the pain in my own body.
I sniffled and batted away the freshest stream of tears when I heard his voice.
“Where is she? Hayden!”
Shooting to my feet, I bolted for the door, slipping on the tile as I ran. I jerked to a stop just outside the waiting room doorway when I saw Micah barreling down the hall. Leo was at his back, as were a few other men I recognized from Sylvia’s cookout. There were also faces I hadn’t seen before.
His name came out as a garbled sob. He started running as soon as he spotted me. “Christ, baby. Jesus Christ,” he rasped as his hands skated all over my body. I couldn’t blame him for the reaction, after all, I was covered in blood. “Fuck, where are you hurt? We need to get a doctor in here.” He turned, prepared to shout the place down, when I finally managed to get the words out.
“It’s not mine,” I told him, my voice raw and thready. “It’s not mine, Micah.”
His eyes returned to me, and I gave him the hardest part, losing hold of my tears as I said, “It’s Charlie’s. She was there. He was—” I squeezed my eyes closed and gave my head a vicious shake. “She saved me. B-but h-he shot her.”
His voice came out in an agonized whisper that tore me apart as he asked, “What?”
“I took his keys and got her to the car and drove her here. S-she’s in surgery.”
“Jesus Christ,” he repeated, yanking me against him and holding so tight it was a struggle to breathe.
“Micah.” My whisper was almost impossible to hear. Burying my nose in his chest I inhaled his scent, letting it soothe me as I admitted, “I killed him.”
Then I broke down.
Micah
Between Dalton and Hayden both refusing to leave her bedside and demanding answers every time they came in, it was a wonder the whole nursing staff hadn’t quit.
Charlie had pulled through her surgery, but she wasn’t out of the woods. She’d been in ICU for two days before she started showing enough signs of improvement and they were confident enough to bring her out of the medically induced coma.
She’d been moved to a regular room just yesterday. She’d been in and out of it since then, only coming to for a minute before the medication kicked in and she passed out again.
I stood at the window, looking out at the mountains beyond our little valley, lost in thought when a small gasp, followed by a low groan, pulled my attention back to the figure in the bed.
“Shit,” Charlie hissed in pain.
I moved across the room quickly, careful to walk on quiet feet so I wouldn’t wake Dalton or Hayden, who’d both been going on no sleep for more than forty-eight hours. Exhaustion finally set it, causing both of them to crash only hours ago. Dalton was stretched out on the poor excuse of a loveseat, his head and feet hanging off the ends. Hayden was in a recliner, curled into a ball with her head on her knees.
“About time you woke your lazy ass up,” I said once I reached the side of the bed.
Her lips pulled into a grimace as she attempted to adjust her position. “Remind me to never get shot again. This does not feel good.”
I helped her sit up, then braced my hip on the bedframe, crossing my arms and glaring down at her furiously. “You ever get shot again, I swear to Christ, I’ll kill you myself.”
Her eyes grew glassy and her chin began to wobble. “I’m sorry,” she croaked as one tear broke