Page 54 of Ruthless

Chapter 21

Ginger

I braced myself for what I was going to see when I walked into Della’s hospital room. Rebel remained quietly at my side, clasping my hand as we took the elevator up to her floor. I was so thankful for his presence. Having him around made me feel safe, and it was nice to know that I had someone strong to lean on. I knew that I had Stevie and Vinny, too, but Rebel was able to comfort me in ways that they couldn’t. He was protective and possessive, and I had no doubt that the first chance that he had he would show me in a very physical way how he was going to take care of me.

Stevie was the first person that I saw when the elevator doors slid open, and she took me into her arms for a brief hug. “God, honey, it’s good to see that you’re okay.” Once she stepped away her gaze traveled over me, as if she were looking for injuries.

“Della?” I was anxious to know how she was doing.

“The nurse is in with her now, that’s why I stepped out here. Plus, they’re keeping her sedated.” She paused to take a deep breath, her gaze moving nervously between me and Rebel.

Her hesitation, and the look of regret in her eyes, warned me that there was bad news. Her earlier revelation that Daryl had done some damage to Della hung heavily on my mind. I could only imagine the internal injuries that she may have sustained. I swallowed hard, afraid of what she was going to say next.

“I guess I should just tell you what I know, honey.” She reached for my hand, pulling me away from Rebel. “Let’s go into the waiting room.”

Oh, God, this wasn't good. Once there, the three of us sat down. Stevie and I turned to face each other, Rebel sat on the other side of me, his hand on my knee. I needed that minor touch from him, it kept me calm and grounded in spite of the sickening turmoil that was churning inside me. “She’s going to be okay, right?” There was fear in my voice.

Stevie nodded, but it didn’t set my mind at ease, because I knew there was more. “Della had a miscarriage.”

I gasped, my hand flying up to cover my mouth. It was the last thing that I had expected to hear. I hadn’t even known that she was pregnant. I closed my eyes to the violent image of Daryl kicking her in the groin area, wondering if it had been the cause of the miscarriage. Had she known she was going to have a baby? She hadn’t said anything to me.

“He kicked her . . .”

“She didn’t know she was pregnant.” I opened my eyes, meeting the sadness in Stevie’s, wondering if Della not knowing was good news or not. “That pig raped her, sodomized her, broke two of her ribs, her fingers, dislocated her jaw, and broke her nose. He . . .” She stopped, unable to go on.

A chill traveled over me. I felt guilt for not having done enough to help Della. The kind of damage she had sustained took time to inflict. I wanted to kill Daryl myself!

Stevie was tough. She didn’t normally get emotional in the way that she was now, and I wondered how much of this was reminding her of her own rape. “What else?” I asked softly. I didn’t want to know, but I needed to know. The tightening of Rebel’s hand on my thigh revealed that he wasn’t immune to Stevie’s words. I was afraid to look at him, afraid that if I did I would fall apart in his arms, and I needed to remain strong for Della.

“There’s more.” For the first time tears filled Stevie’s eyes, her bottom lip quivering.

I immediately thought of the possibility of brain damage, or something else just as life altering. I was soon to find out that my worry hadn't been for nothing.

“His beating left Della unable to have children. She was hemorrhaging so bad when they brought her in, they had to do an emergency hysterectomy to save her.”

Oh, God, no! Rebel swore viciously beneath his breath, the hand on my thigh clenching into a fist. I buried my face into my hands, giving into the need to express the heartache of Della losing a baby she hadn’t even known she was going to have, and the unfairness of never being able to have a child in the future. My rage and hatred for Daryl grew until I felt as if I were going to explode. Strong arms closed around me, and I found myself being dragged onto Rebel’s lap.

“I hate him,” I wept against him. “I hate him so much!" I said passionately. "I want him dead, Rebel, for what he’s done to her.” I didn’t care if anyone overheard me, but when I glanced around I was relieved to see that we were the only ones in the room. I looked deeply into Rebel’s hard eyes.

He kissed my forehead and smoothed his thumbs beneath my wet eyes. “Working on it, babe. I promise. For what he did to Della and you.” He glanced at Stevie, and I noticed them exchange a meaningful look.

“I want to see her,” I said finally. I struggled off of Rebel’s lap, even though I wanted to remain there in his strong arms.

“The nurse should be gone by now,” Stevie said as she rose to her feet. “Just a warning, she looks bad.”

I had expected that. “Thank you for being here for her. It means a lot.”

“We’re family, honey,” she said, leading the way. “We may not show it often enough, and Vinny can be a real grouch most of the time, but we care for you girls.” I smiled at that. “When Vinny found out what was going on he lost it.”

I didn’t ask where Vinny was. He practically lived at Pirate’s Cove. We came to a stop outside of a closed door. I took deep breaths, preparing myself.

“Angel.” I turned toward Rebel’s low tone. “You go in with Stevie, I’ve got some shit to take care of. I’ll be back for you, so stay put until then, yeah?”

“Okay.” I pushed down the slight unease that I felt at his leaving.

He pulled me against him and planted a kiss on my lips. I expected it to be brief, but he surprised me by lingering, thrusting his tongue into my mouth with an aggressive growl and letting me feel his passion. It didn’t take much to spark the fire between us, but a hospital corridor was hardly the place to let go of our feelings.

He pulled back before I had a chance to protest, smiling down into my face as if he’d known what I’d been thinking.

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