Page 128 of Bloom: Part 1

“You don’t remember?”

“Everything’s foggy.” My voice was a raspy whisper, every word an effort that scratched at my throat.

“Shh, don’t talk. Someone should be here any minute.”

The door swung open, and Jamie hurried in, a big smile on his face. “Bloom, you’re awake.” He dropped his smile and switched into doctor mode. “How are you feeling? Any pain? Discomfort?”

“I feel like shit,” I groaned.

“That’ll happen when you take a bullet to the chest.” Jamie had a small flashlight in his hand. “I’m going to do a quick neurological check to see how responsive you are. Just follow my instructions.”

He shined the light briefly into each of my eyes. “Good, your pupils are reacting normally,” he murmured, more to himself than to me. He held up his fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

I squinted, trying to focus. “Three.”

“Correct.” He continued with a series of simple commands. “Can you squeeze my hand?” I felt his fingers in mine, and I gave a weak squeeze. “Good. Now, can you wiggle your toes for me?”

I concentrated on the action, feeling a slight twitch in my toes. “Yes,” I whispered.

“Excellent.” He gently pressed along my abdomen, his touch light but firm. “Any pain here?”

“A little,” I admitted, grimacing at the dull ache.

“Okay, we’ll keep an eye on that.” Jamie turned to Sarge. “You can give him some of that water. Not too much and have him sip it slowly.”

As Sarge helped me with the water, Jamie continued, “We’re going to do a CT scan to check for any internal injuries or complications. It’s important we ensure there’s no internal bleeding or swelling.”

Nodding was an effort, but I managed it. The cold water felt like heaven as it trickled down my throat, easing the dryness.

“We’ll take it slow,” Jamie said. “But I need you to tell us immediately if you feel worse or experience any new symptoms, okay?”

“Okay.” Where was Logan? Why wasn’t he here with me going through this procedure? Oh god, after everything, he hadn’t gotten hurt, had he? “Logan—”

“—is fine,” Jamie said. “He only left your side to attend a meeting and only because I convinced him it’s imperative for him to be there.” He clucked his tongue. “That man has gotten even more stubborn with you injured, but he should be back shortly. You gave us all a scare, Bloom. I’m glad you’re a…okay.”

I had a feeling he wanted to sayalive. When he left to have the CT scan prepared, Sarge sat down beside me, his presence a steady comfort. “Why are you here? Where’s everyone else?”

“They’ve come several times and left. They all took turns looking in on your man too to make sure he was taking care of himself.”

“They did that?”

“Yeah. You gotta know we got your back.”

I groaned. “What I really needed was someone standing in front of me.”

Sarge laughed, which made me laugh, but razor-like pain cut through me, and I gasped for air.

“You can make jokes. That’s good. You’ll be fine.”

“Did you come for me or for Chris?” I teased.

Sarge scowled. “For you, of course.”

“Yeah, right. So you’re not going to pick up where you left off over Christmas?”

“How-wha—” Sarge spluttered, his face red. “Nothing happened.”

“You’ve always been a horrible liar, Sarge. That’s why Bay always beat you at poker.” I managed a weak smile. Maybe I shouldn’t waste my energy. I was already so exhausted, and I hadn’t seen Logan yet. Was he mad at me?

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