could survive a bombing and then crack a joke while lying in a hospital bed.”
“That’s why I can crack a joke. I’m lying here—alive.”
Another sound at the door had both of them turn, smiling as their gramps and grandma hurried in.
“Who’s minding the pub?” he asked, surprised to see his grandparents.
“Hell, boy, you almost got blown up. You think we give two hoots about the pub?” Gramps said, his hand holding tightly to Grandma’s.
She turned and hushed him. “Fergus, keep your voice down. You can’t curse in a hospital.” Turning, she looked down at Torin. “Anyway, we weren’t going to keep the pub open and serve drinks when tragedy had struck.”
Fergus jerked his head back, opened his mouth, then snapped it closed. A grin slid over Torin’s face despite his pain. “I’m fine, honestly. My leg is messed up, but I’ve already had surgery on it. Got it all screwed back together.”
Fergus slid a chair closer to the bed and ushered Anne to sit. “Boy, don’t mind telling you we were scared. Never seen anything like it. And to not know what had happened to you…”
The four shared a moment of silence, words not needed when they had all felt the pain of loss before.
Anne cleared her throat, then spoke hesitantly. “Have you seen the news? There’s a picture—”
“I know. We saw it.” He darted his gaze back to Maeve. “And that brings us back to finding out where Erin is and what’s going on.”
“If you stop fretting, I’ll call Rory to see if I can find out now that Gramps and Grandma are here.” She pulled out her phone, then looked over at him, a soft smile playing about her lips. “The two of you made quite a pair. She was ready to fight to the death anyone who tried to take her away from you, and you can’t settle until you know how she is.”
“I love her.” The declaration slipped out, but the words were truer than any he had ever spoken before. He winced, wishing the first time he’d said them had been to her directly. Looking at his family, he saw smiles on all their faces and shook his head, a chuckle erupting. “Yeah, it’s true. I love her. Now, I just need to find her so I can tell her myself!”
21
“I love her.”
Erin heard the words coming from inside Torin’s hospital room. She was sitting in a wheelchair, her mother right behind her.
She remembered fainting when seeing herself on TV holding Torin’s body. When she had woken, she was on a gurney being rolled through the hospital, her parents and brothers with her as a nurse took her back down to the ER.
Having endured a lecture by the ER doctor about leaving the area before being discharged, she had accepted a kiss and hug from Sean and Rory as they headed out. Sean had received a call from his partner, and even though they weren’t on the case, he’d wanted to return to the station to assist in any way he could. Rory needed to get back to the rescue station, a shortage of ambulances and drivers still being felt throughout the city. She had finally shooed her father away also, knowing that as a consultant for the FBI it was imperative that they find the bombers as quickly as possible.
Her mother had not left her side except when she was rolled in for the MRI. The ER physician had finally come back in and told her that other than lacerations, contusions, and a mild concussion, there was physically nothing else wrong with her.
“You’re very lucky, Ms. McBride.”
It had been on the tip of her tongue to snap back and tell him that it didn’t feel lucky to have had the experience of standing in the street with bloodied and broken bodies around, but she remained quiet and simply nodded. She should have known her mother would not do the same.
“I hardly think my daughter needs to be lectured by you considering that she stayed in the middle of the chaos and offered assistance to everyone she could. She was a runner, injured at that, and traumatized. And yet her nursing skills kicked in, and she did what she could to help others.”
It had been impossible to keep from smiling as she watched her mother stand to her full height, her narrow-eyed glare pinned to the doctor. “It’s okay, Mom.”
The doctor had blushed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any insult.”
The nurse had turned around quickly