Page 43 of His Sassy Little

“I’ll always come for you.”

As the sheriff read James O’Conner his rights, Tanner got himself off the ground and helped Arabella up. “Let’s go get you checked out.”

“I’m worried about the bruising on your abdomen, and the tenderness there. I strongly recommend coming with us and checking it out. Make sure there isn’t any internal bleeding.” The paramedic checking Arabella out declared.

“I don’t - ” Arabella began.

“I’m coming too.” Tanner said over her initial objection. He made sure to use a voice that let Arabella know there should be no objections from her.

“Yes, sir.” Arabella relented.

Tanner didn’t like her calling the paramedic sir. He was the only Sir in her life, but he kept that to himself as she was loaded on the gurney and he climbed in beside her.

“I’ll get your bike and we’ll all meet you there.” Stone didn’t wait for a reply, simply headed off.

Sheriff Blake had already taken all their statements. He’d said he might need to talk to them again but for now, they were free to go. James O’Conner had been taken into custody along with his men. Between the evidence Pup had accumulated about O'Conner's dirty deeds on the force, the kidnapping of Arabella, and attempted murder of Tanner, it didn’t seem like he’d be getting out of jail any time soon.

Tanner wasn’t too worried about James O’Conner right now, though; he was too busy being worried about his girl. As the ambulance headed to the hospital, Tanner sent up a silent prayer that she didn’t have any serious injuries.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Tanner positioned himself as far back in the ambulance as possible, giving the paramedic room to work. He gently stroked Arabella’s hair as he answered all the questions he could. Arabella was staring off into space, seemingly unaware of her surroundings. That worried him. That and the fact that when the paramedic tried to ask her something, she didn’t answer. After the second attempt from the paramedic, Tanner called her name. There was still no response. He repositioned himself so he could look directly into her face.

“Little Hurricane.” He used a stern tone of voice to get her attention, which worked since she finally turned her gaze to his.

“You came for me.” He didn’t like the undertones of pain in her voice.

“I’ll always come for you.” He gently moved a few strands of her blonde hair from her face. “Are you feeling dizzy, lightheaded, out of it?” He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he couldn’t answer the paramedic for her on this.

“What?” Her face was a study in concentration as she thought about what he’d asked. “No, Daddy. I…” The paramedic got his answer when she passed out.

The rest of the drive was a flurry of commotion. Tanner kept hearing phrases like “Abdominal bruising”, “Possible internal bleeding” and “Low BP”. He stayed out of the way and let the paramedic work, praying the whole way that his Little Hurricane would be alright.

When they pulled into the ER bay, there was a team of nurses ready to take over. He was pushed aside and told to wait in the waiting room. Tanner wanted to be with her, but he knew that would only hamper their ability to treat her so he kissed her forehead, squeezed her hand, and with a whispered command to pull through no matter what, he turned away from his whole world and trudged in the direction the nurses had pointed him in.

Tanner wasn’t sure how long he’d been pacing the floor of the waiting area when he heard a commotion coming from the hallway. He didn’t really care what was happening out there, but he thought it might give him something to think about other than the fact that his Little Hurricane was in some room without him and he had no idea what was going on back there.

He trudged toward the entryway and peered out, only to find his brothers all trying to come in at once and a harassed looking nurse trying to keep the large group of men at bay. She was actively trying to block them when Ham stepped to the front.

“It’s alright, Annabel, we just need to know what waiting room Arabella Wright’s family is in. We’re here for her.”

To Tanner’s surprise, the nurse seemed to know Ham. It shouldn’t have been so much of a surprise since he’d called her by name. “Hello, Henry. I didn’t see you. Just let me look at the computer and I’ll get you pointed in the right direction.”

Tanner stepped fully into the hallway, “No need, thank you.” He made sure to speak loud enough for everyone to hear him. “I’m in here.”

What the hell was taking so long? Had they forgotten he was here? His brothers had done everything they could to get more information, try to get food in him, get him to sit down, but for the past six hours, he’d been pacing this room. It was a miracle that he hadn’t worn a trench into the floors.

“Spike, sit. You’ll do her no good if you’re exhausted when you finally get to see her.” Ham tried again.

“Can’t” was all he said. He couldn’t sit around when his girl was in danger. She had to be in danger for it to take six hours for them to come tell him anything. Also, he’d had enough coffee to keep him going for the next week. He was jittery and worried and frustrated. There was no way he could do as Ham suggested. His back was to the entryway when he heard what he’d been waiting so long for.

“The family of Arabella Wright.” He turned to see a doctor in a white coat with blue scrubs underneath.

“That’s me.” He rushed to the doctor, “How is she?”

“She made it through surgery and is in recovery. We had to do a blood transfusion, surgery for internal bleeding, plus she has a few cracked ribs and a significantly bruised hip bone.” As the doctor listed all of Arabella’s injuries, Sapphire came up to Tanner and took his hand. “She did well through surgery, however, and she should make a full recovery.”

“Oh, thank God.” Tanner’s legs felt like they were going to give out from the relief he felt, but thankfully, Stone was right behind him. At least if they did give out, his brother would catch him. “Can I see her?”

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