Page 168 of Fought and Freed

Jace grabbed her hand, and she startled, having forgotten he was there for a second.

They followed Harry to the elevator, and when they got off at the children’s floor, she heard screaming.

Maddy ran down the hall and into the room.

Kelly was on the bed, screaming as a big orderly tried to wrestle her down while a doctor stood by and watched.

“Get away from her!” Maddy pushed in between the doctor and Kelly, then shoved the orderly away. “Can’t you see she’s traumatized? Get the Hell out of here and find someone with a brain!”

“Who do you think you are?” the doctor demanded. “You can’t throw me out of my patient’s room.”

“She can do whatever she wants since she and her brother gave money for this floor and half of the hospital,” Harry stated. “Plus, Lucca is on the board. I wouldn’t piss her off.”

The doctor straightened his white coat and stormed out, followed by the orderly.

“Is that true?” Jace questioned Harry.

He shrugged. “It wasn’t a complete lie. Lucca is on the board.”

Maddy turned to find Kelly curled up in a ball with the sheet pulled up to her face. “Kelly, my name is Maddy. I’m a friend of Grant’s.”

Her dirty face popped up. “M-a-ad-dy?”

Surprised, Maddy asked, “Did he mention my name to you?”

She nodded. “G-gr-an-t?”

Maddy looked at Jace, who grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“Do you mind if I sit down?” She pointed to the corner of the bed.

When Kelly didn’t say anything, Maddy took her silence as acceptance and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, Kelly, but Grant was in an accident. He didn’t make it.”

Unsure if Kelly would want a hug, Maddy opened her arms. Kelly flew into them, sobbing out that she had no one to take care of her.

Maddy rocked her while she cried for her brother, whispering reassurances.

Once Kelly calmed down, she talked to Maddy. “I saw Grant a few times. He snuck into where I was being kept.” She sniffled. “He talked about you a lot. He told me that I should trust you if anything happened to him.”

Maddy turned to Harry. “Can you go find Kelly some clothes, please?”

“Sure.” He turned and left the room.

“Let me tell you a story, Kelly,” Maddy told her about growing up by herself and how hard it was, though she didn’t go into the gory details. “I see a lot of myself in you. You’re strong to survive what you have, and you’re not alone anymore. You have my guys and me, if you want. Together, we’ll make sure no one ever hurts you again.”

She pulled Jace closer. “This is my boyfriend, Jace, and he’s a good guy. He’s going to stay with you while I talk to the doctors. Okay?”

Kelly glanced from Jace to Maddy and nodded.

Maddy left the room and found the doctor. “What’s wrong with Kelly?”

“She doesn’t have any physical wounds,” the doctor said stiffly. “But she needs fluids, desperately.”

“Then, why doesn’t she have them?” Maddy puts her hand on her hips.

“You saw what was happening.” The doctor glared. “She wouldn’t let us near her.”

“Bring in what you need.” She returned to the room and was surprised to find Kelly enthralled with whatever Jace was telling her.

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