Forever My Protector (The Ryder Brothers), page 11
This time, she didn’t hold back. “It could’ve been a lot worse. She has a broken bone and some other minor injuries.”
“Like what?”
“She dislocated her arm, and the airbag caused some bad bruising and cuts on her collarbone. Her ankle is broken.”
“Okay,” I said, exhaling for the first time. “Are they doing surgery on her ankle?”
“The orthopedic surgeon will be in later to see her. Right now she’s relaxing with a powerful cocktail of sedatives and pain pills.”
I could understand the pain pills, but not the other. “Why sedatives?”
“Colt, she was screaming and wouldn’t stop crying and asking for you.” My stomach clenched. I was quickly turning sick. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t coming. Before I could respond, Brooke added, “When they brought her in, she learned something.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “What?”
“Scarlet’s pregnant.”
I blinked back my surprise. Unbelievable. Life was unbelievable. A moment of what should’ve been great joy had been muddled by this hell. If it wasn’t for this accident, we would’ve been home right now with the same news she would’ve learned from the doctor today. I just couldn’t believe it. And we would have been celebrating, that I was sure of.
Sure, we hadn’t planned for this, but there’s never a guarantee that you wouldn’t get pregnant. Especially with how many times we’ve had sex lately, I guess there was no reason to be all that surprised. The odds weren’t really in our favor. But it didn’t matter because I already knew Scarlet was it. She was my forever. And now, this baby was going to be so damn loved. We were going to spoil him or her rotten and love our baby with all that we had. Girl or boy, it didn’t matter, just that they were safe, healthy, and happy.
Coming out of my stupor, I looked at Brooke and Damon and stated the obvious, “I’m going to be a dad. We’re going to have a baby.”
“Well,” Brooke started and again my stomach clenched. For the first time I noticed she was currently crying. “It was babies,” she clarified, “but she had a miscarriage.”
My mind was reeling. No wonder Scarlet needed sedatives. “What?” The word came out more as a scream than anything else. The nurses at the station looked up momentarily and I just nodded as though to apologize for my abrupt loudness. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that I’d only known for two seconds and suddenly it was gone. Ripped from me. Just like that, everything I didn’t know I wanted—a family with Scar—vanished into thin air.
“She was pregnant with twins, Colt. Only one of them didn’t make it, so you’re still having a baby.”
My mind was reeling. “So one made it?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see her?”
“She’s out,” Brooke explained, “but I’m sure you can sit with her.”
“Come on,” Damon said, “let’s get you to her room, you can sit with her and I’ll get you a coffee.”
Brooke sobbed. “I have to call Max, so I’ll just be outside, okay?”
I nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Brooke. Thank you for telling me. I know it wasn’t easy.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, too, Colt.”
I knew she was, but the only one who should be sorry was the son of a bitch who caused the woman I love all this pain.
Chapter Fifteen
Colton
Surgery took way too long if you asked me. I mean, I was glad her ankle was finally being fixed, but I didn’t like her being gone so long.
After the orthopedic came in to see her finally, he decided he had time and could do the surgery on her ankle right then and there and with her sedated, prepping her became easy. They rolled her out before I even knew what was happening. All that time, sitting and waiting, and then suddenly something was happening, but it still felt too fast for my liking.
Meanwhile, Damon had called the rest of my family and told them what happened, fielding calls and questions for me. Frankly, I wasn’t sure I could’ve dealt with this without him. By this point, the entire family knew that Scarlet and I were having a baby, that we’d lost one, and that we didn’t know Scarlet’s state of mind. Hell, I was still confused myself. My stomach was in knots over the car accident.
Damon came up to where I was sitting in the too cold waiting room and placed a hand on my shoulder. “She’s in recovery. The nurse says you can see her now.”
“Damon, I really appreciate you staying, but you can go home if you want. I’m not going to leave Scarlet’s side.”
“I’ll stay for as long as you need me to, Colt. Really, I mean it. I’ve never seen you like this before and I’m not leaving you. Not now.”
I let out a sigh. “All right.” I got up to make my way to her room.
Max came to pick Brooke up about a half hour ago so she could get some rest, promising she’d be back in the morning. The only way she was leaving, though, was with updates. “Hey, do you mind calling Brooke, letting her know Scar’s awake?” I asked before leaving the waiting room.
Damon nodded, knowingly. “Will do. Just go and be with Scarlet, okay? Let her know we’re praying for her.”
“Sure,” I responded. I felt like a zombie as I opened the door to her room.
My heart immediately ached when my eyes met her. I didn’t know what I was thinking, but the battered and bruised version of Scarlet I had seen before was still there, although her ankle was now casted. I didn’t ever want to see her like this again. She looked so vulnerable lying there. Her eyes were closed, so I moved quietly to the chair by her bed to avoid waking her.
I fought every urge to reach out and take her hand in mine. Right now, she needed rest. The left side of her face was still covered in bandages from where the glass got her. Her lips were swollen and she had a cut on her top lip. The hospital gown was covering most of the other marks, but I could see the start of a nasty bruise on her collarbone. My eyes stopped at her stomach, where I knew she was carrying our child.
The monitors were beeping constantly and I looked down at her hand for a moment, thinking maybe I could just brush my hand against hers, let her know that I was here. But, no, I didn’t want to startle her. The IV in her hand must’ve caused bruising, because the top of her hand was six different shades of blue.
I just didn’t understand how this could happen. Just this morning we were happy, goofing around. I had never been this caught off guard. In the Army we were prepared for situations to arise, but we were also trained on how to handle them, but, this, this was something I could’ve never been prepared for.
She’d been through so much in the past few months and all I wanted to do was erase all of the pain for her. I wanted her to feel safe and protected again, like she did this morning.
The way Brooke and the nurses explained how on-edge she was when they told her about the miscarriage, it wasn’t right. None of this was right. She was supposed to go to the doctor, find out she was pregnant and come home and tell me. Never was this supposed to happen. Fuck. I cursed at myself not for the first time for not getting in that car with her, driving her to the doctor in the first place. I had plenty of time before my job interview, I could’ve gone with her. But she told me she needed some alone time and I wanted to give her the space she needed.
I watched as her eyes began to flutter open and immediately went to touch her hand. I gingerly laid mine on top of hers, bending to press my lips to them.
“Colt?” she asked, her voice scratchy.
“Scar,” I replied.
She turned her head to meet me and closed her eyes with discomfort. “Colt, I’m so sorry.” Tears began to well in her eyes and I could see the pain.
I brushed my hand over the side of her face, gently as to not cause her any more pain. “No, I don’t want to hear you apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for, do you understand me?” I added, “None of this was your fault.”
She shook her head then. “That’s not true. I should’ve told you this morning.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I suspected,” she said. “I was afraid you’d—“
I shook my head, stopping her. “Be upset,” I supplied, passing her an ice chip to soothe her throat. She barely nodded, but I could see I nailed it. “Baby, I’m so happy that you’re pregnant. It was the best news I’ve ever received. We’re going to have a baby.”
Finally, she spoke a little clearer, more like herself. “I didn’t trick you into it. I didn’t get pregnant on purpose to trap you.”
“I would never think such a thing. How could I think that? Scar, I know you too well, and I know you would never, could never, do something like that.” It’d be a short period we’d been together, but I knew this woman, that much I was sure of.
She closed her eyes briefly and the tears ran down her cheeks. I kissed them away as she spoke. “Colt, I lost one of the babies.”
“I know,” I muttered.
“Why? Why did any of this have to happen?”
“I’m not sure,” I told her. I wanted to tell her what I had learned, but I wasn’t sure it was the right time. Going against my better judgment, I finally said, “The guy who hit you died on impact, though.” She deserved to know and it wasn’t her fault, not by any means.
Her eyes grew wide. “Colt, it was Nick.”
I was heating up with anger now. “They didn’t say the other driver’s name was Nick.”
“No, no,” she immediately backtracked. “He warned me this would happen. He was warning me about it on the phone when it happened.”
“What?” Now I was confused. “He knew?”
“Rafe set the whole thing up. My phone was bugged. He’s been watching my every move. He wanted to make sure it was final, that I couldn’t speak on any of his crimes ever again.”
“But he did know that I knew, right? So if they took you out, then what did they think would stop me from going to the police? I would have nothing to lose at that point.”
“Don’t say that,” she wept.
“It’s true. Scar, you’re my life now. My family.”
She squeezed my hand as much as she could. “I love you, Colt, but I don’t want you to think that. Please. Take it from someone who felt like she had nothing to live for when her brother died, the last bit of her family, it’s not something to take lightly.”
“I’m not. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“But I’m right here, Colt. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Scar, it could’ve been much worse.”
“But it wasn’t.”
I sighed, not wanting to argue with her. “What are we going to do now?”
“We’re going to move on. I’m going to heal, carry this child to term, and we’re going to have a family.”
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Me, too.”
I leaned in and laid my forehead against hers. “I can’t stand seeing you like this,” I confessed.
She grinned. “I know, baby, but it’s going to be okay. I’ll be as good as new in no time.”
“But until then,” I started, “does Nick know what he’s done? What his stupidity caused?”
“Colt,” she urged, but I just couldn’t hear it any longer. I stood and walked the length of the small room.
“Don’t do anything you’re going to regret, Colt.”
I walked to her bedside and looked down at her, taking her hand in mine. This wasn’t the time for this. “Me?” I feigned insult. “Never. I would never.” I could see she was getting sleepy, the pain meds kicking in. She needed rest. “Never mind any of this, Scar. I won’t do anything. You needn’t worry about me. Get some rest,” I urged.
I kissed the top of her forehead and slowly freed her hand, too. “I’m going to go home, get a shower, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
She grabbed my hand before I could walk away. “I love you, Colt.”
“I love you, too.”
“Okay,” she responded and stifled a yawn.
I knew she could tell there was sympathy in my eyes and I didn’t care. This woman was so damn strong and she looked so broken at the moment, it pained me. “You get some rest.” I kissed her forehead again. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
She didn’t try to fight it anymore and I let her give in, allowing her to close her eyes before I slipped out.
Outside her room Damon was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. “How is she?” he inquired.
I blew out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding and ran my hands through my hair. “She looks so weak, Damon.”
“She’s anything but weak.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I was taking it out on him and I didn’t mean to. “Sorry,” I immediately apologized. “I’m just so pissed.”
He patted my back. “You don’t have to apologize. I’d be pissed, too.”
“It was her ex and his idiot friend. They did this to her.”
“What?” Damon looked shocked and overwhelmed with the information. It looked like his mind was going a million miles a minute. I knew the feeling.
“It’s a long story, but, yeah, and they’re just going to get away with it.”
“Don’t even think about it,” he warned. “You’ll regret it. And I bet Scarlet wouldn’t want you to do anything stupid either.”
“What other choice do I have?”
“Colt,” he warned again.
I assured him, “I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just want to look him in the eyes when I tell him he’s going to prison for a long, long time. And that I’m going to be the one who puts him behind bars.”
Damon blew outwardly. “Is there anything I could say to stop you?”
“No,” I admitted. “I told Scar I was going home to get a shower. Will you stay here with her and when she wakes up, tell her I got caught up with something?”
“You want me to lie to her?”
“I don’t want to agitate her and telling her I’m flying to New York to confront Rafe will probably do just that.”
Damon just sighed. “Do what you have to. I won’t leave her side until you’re back, okay?”
“Thank you. I’m going to call Easton on the way, too,” I replied. “Wait, what about your job?”
“Don’t worry about it. And if I do leave, I’ll make sure Deacon is here before I do. She’ll be in good hands, okay? Someone will always be by her side.”
“You promise?” He nodded and I gave him a bro hug. “Thanks, Damon. Seriously, I owe you one.”
“Don’t mention it,” Damon said, as I walked away from him and Scarlet’s room.
I guess I was getting on a flight to New York. And if Rafe wouldn’t see me, I’d talk to Nick and make sure he got the message to deliver to Rafe.
Chapter Sixteen
Scarlet
I was finally going home today and nothing made me happier. Every part of my body ached and my emotional scars would take a lot longer to heal, unfortunately, but I knew being home with Colt was exactly what I needed. I only wished he’d come back to see me. I knew something was up, even if Damon was swearing otherwise. It better not be that Colt went to track down Rafe because if that was the case, he shouldn’t have gone alone. It was a fool’s mission, really, because Rafe was never going to confess to anything and Colt could get hurt or worse.
“You didn’t have to,” I said to Damon when he came into my room with two burgers, one he was enjoying, the other in his outstretched hand for me to take.
“Oh, please,” Damon quipped, “I’ve been in hospitals before. The food sucks. Even the Jell-O tastes like crap. If you’re going to get better you need food for the soul.”
I pulled back the wrapper to uncover a cheeseburger. “And a cheeseburger is supposed to do that?” The aroma filled my nose and I immediately rose from my current position in the bed. “I’m gonna be sick,” I commented.
“That bad, huh? Deacon picked them up for us. I didn’t think it was bad.” He took another large bite out of his. “What, it’s better to eat with company.”
I covered my mouth as I gagged. “Damon, the smell,” I insisted, “please.”
I watched as though a lightbulb went off then. “Oh, shit. Sorry, Scarlet. I forgot.”
I tried to get out of bed and he watched as I struggled, held up a finger, and brought the trash can over to me. “Here you go.”
He held back my hair as I couldn’t contain it anymore and threw up in the trash can. “Ow,” I groaned, as his hand brushed over the raw skin on my collarbone.
Damon pulled away. “Sorry. Again.” He shirked. “I’m the worst, Colt should be here.”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I couldn’t wait to take a shower, I thought to myself. “No, you’re not. Really, Damon, I owe you one. For everything you’ve done for me. Brooke can’t get off work, and well I have few others to call on as you know.”
“It’s fine, really. You’re family.”
I nodded in understanding. “You know, you’re pretty great,” I told him, as if he didn’t already know—which I hoped he did. He really was a good guy.
“It was the Army. Taught me a helluva lot.”
I regarded at him seriously. “I doubt that. It’s in your DNA. It’s who you are.”
“True, and the Army kind of fucked me up.” He laughed it off, but I wasn’t buying it.
I smiled. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, you don’t go into the Army naive to the fact that you may not come out a different man. You plan for the worst,” he said, a far off look in his eyes.
“Plans change,” I told him, gesturing to my belly.
He chuckled. “I know you and Colt didn’t plan on this, but it was going to happen inevitably. You two are going to get married and you’re going to have a lot more children.”
“He’s proposing?” I nearly jumped out of the bed with excitement.
Damon immediately shook his head profusely. “No, no, I’m not sure. I mean, yes, maybe, some day. Damn, you work for the FBI?”
I chuckled. “Don’t I wish. Seriously, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t starting to dream of forever with him. It’s hard not to. Your brother is something special and I love him very much. Now that we’re having this bundle of joy together, nothing would make me happier than to start our lives together already. But he might have to actually come back around,” I intoned, hoping like hell he’d give and say something about what Colt was up to. I wanted to get home and find him there if he couldn’t be the one to break me free from this hospital hell.
