She means the world to this entire hospital. She won’t be alone for a second, and like I said, the best of the best are working on and for her.”
“I’m scared,” Joseph admitted.
“I know, Joseph. Keep your family with you, remind yourself you’ve been through hell, and come out the other side. You’re strong, and your wife is stronger, even if she hides her strength in kindness and compassion. She’s also healthy and so much better off than most at her age,” Spence said.
“Age is just a number,” Joseph said.
“I believe we’re going to find nothing more than a severe concussion causing all of the issues. We can get control of that,” Spence said.
“My poor Katherine,” Joseph said with a sigh. He was going to kill those men who’d put her in this hospital.
The rest of the family asked several questions that Spence happily answered. After twenty more minutes, they finally gave the doctor a reprieve from the multiple voices raining down on him.
“I’ll keep you updated,” Spence promised before shaking hands all around, then walking from the room.
Joseph leaned against a chair and took a deep breath. Katherine was stable for now. And he was more than ready to get answers. He looked at Lucas, and his son seemed to understand without any words being spoken.
“What do you need, Dad?”
“I need to split this group up for a few,” Joseph said. “Would you ladies mind if I speak with my brothers and the boys for a few minutes?”
“Of course not,” Amy said. “We’ll hunt down some coffee and snacks. This might be a long night and day, and we’ll be prepared for it.”
With that the women left the room. He loved how in sync his family was. No one had their feelings hurt, and they all worked together as a team. He looked at his brothers and his sons, and then he began to speak . . .
Chapter Six
Avery paced back and forth in her apartment as she told herself repeatedly she wasn’t going to the bar. She didn’t want to see the obnoxious man from the night before. She hadn’t been intrigued by him — not one little bit. She was going to stay in the house tonight and review files. Work was her life.
She sighed as she moved to her window and looked outside at the city skyline. Work had always been her life. But lately she’d been disillusioned. She couldn’t help but feel bad for helping free some of the people she had. She could tell herself all day that she was doing the right thing, and she knew, more than anyone else, that innocent people did get convicted. It’s what had made her enter the justice system in the first place.
But her last client had given her the creeps. A shudder ran through her as she thought about that man. He’d done some truly evil things. There was no doubt about it. And still, she’d fought hard for him, and because she had, he was now a free man. Would he hurt someone else? Would that be on her shoulders?
She shook her head, trying to assure herself he’d never actually admitted to her that he was guilty, claiming his innocence the entire time she’d defended him. She thought back to that day in court where he’d groped himself while walking by the court recorder. She’d been utterly disgusted by his action.
Her clock chimed and she looked at the wall, seeing it was eight. That might be early for a Saturday night in the Bay Area, but it was late for her. She liked to be in bed by ten so she could wake up at dawn, take a nice jog, and then start her workday while the rest of the city was just rising from the comfort of their beds. She liked to be better than everyone else. The more competitive she was, the further she’d make it in life. Wasn’t there a saying that you could sleep when you were dead? That was the plan. She’d work hard her entire life, and then have eternal rest. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since having a banana that morning after her run.
“I could go get a bite to eat. I’m sure he won’t be there,” she said aloud, feeling foolish that she was now talking to herself, and hating that a part of her was hoping he would be there.
It was absurd.
She knew nothing about this man. Yes, he’d been charming and said