Page 93 of Hash
“Yeah. It was here within about thirty minutes of her calling me, so it had to have happened sometime between me hanging up the phone with her and me getting here.”
“If her concussion is severe, like I think it is, then it’s normal for her to be out this long. I’d like her brought back to the clubhouse so I can observe her overnight. I may call in a favor with a friend at the hospital to do an MRI of her brain to check for damage. I’ll determine that from how she is acting when she wakes up.”
Shit.
X-rays, MRIs, what’s next?
I should have been here.
Instead, I left for the night and didn’t come back after everything was done at the clubhouse, and I fucking should have.
“Don’t,” Cain’s stern voice sounds throughout the room. “Don’t take this on. It’s not your fault.”
“I should have been here,” I growl, my anger rising as I shoot up to stand and face Cain.
“We can play the what-if game all you want, brother, but it doesn’t change the fact that what happened here tonight is not your fault. We’re going to find who did this. You have my word.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that I should have fucking been here. My woman and my kid were left unprotected because of me.” I jam my finger into my chest.
Just as Cain opens his mouth to speak, Aisling whimpers from the floor, drawing all the attention in the room to her.
I dive onto the floor, my knees sliding on the wood as I come to a stop next to her. “Aisling,” I say, relief coursing through my veins.
Her eyes slowly open halfway and close, repeating the process until she slowly opens them fully. Her big blue eyes are staring up at me, disoriented and confusion swirling in the depths of them.
She slowly begins to move her body, stretching out on the floor from the fetal position she was in before moving to lie flat on her back.
“Hey, baby doll,” I whisper, my hand coming up to gently cup the side of her good cheek. “How are you feeling?”
Aisling stares at me for a moment, almost as if she’s struggling to focus.
“You came,” she croaks.
“Of course I came,” I tell her, my stomach coming up in my throat. “I’ll always come for you.”
“Is Cormac okay?” she asks, trying to sit up, but Doc and I quickly move to block her at the same time.
“He’s good, baby. Evan has him, and he’s sleeping,” I assure her.
“Good.” Her eyes start to flutter closed. “I did everything I could to make sure nothing touched him.”
“I know you did. You did such a good job, baby doll. You’re so strong. So fucking strong.”
“Tired,” she says, her voice soft and just above a whisper.
“Sleep. I got it from here,” I tell her before she’s out again. I turn to Doc, worried as fuck that she had passed out again. “Is that normal?”
“Yeah,” Doc answers. “Head injuries take a lot out of the body. Its natural response is to sleep and heal.”
“Am I safe to pick her up and put her in the car?” I ask, wondering how in the fuck I’m going to get her back to the clubhouse.
“I’d say so. If the kid is riding in the same vehicle, I don’t want her in the backseat if there isn’t enough room for her to lie down. I don’t want her sitting upright just yet. I’d recommend laying the passenger seat all the way back and setting her in that.”
I nod, relieved that he’s giving the okay for her to come home with me. “Thanks, Doc.” I turn to Evan. “Can you put the bags in her car? I’ll load Cormac in and get her.”
“How about Cain carries the bags and I load Cormac while you get Aisling in the car?” Evan suggests reading me that I don’t want to let either of them out of my sight.
It’s an internal battle I’ve been having with myself that I wouldn’t wish on any of my brothers. No one should ever be forced to choose between their child and their woman when they both need you.
