Page 122 of Bloom: Part 1

“We…we have to wait and see how he responds to the surgery and treatment. He’s not out of the woods yet. He’ll remain in a medically induced coma until he improves enough for us to wean him off the sedatives.”

“Son of a bitch.” Crowe clenched and released his fists. He stared at me, jaw set. He blamed me for what had happened. I did too.

“I begged him not to do it,” I whispered, the words sounding pathetic even to my ears.

“Did you think he would listen to you? He’s Bloom. He never lets new people in, but he did with you. The most dangerous thing we could have done for him was to teach him the biker way. He lives by our creed. Literally. He takes every oath to heart, and if he sees you as his, there’s nothing he’s not willing to risk for you.”

“I know.”

Only too late.

Bloom was who he was and would never change. And I couldn’t change my history and the fact that I lived a precarious existence that, for all I knew, was already crumbling around me with the national coverage of what had happened at the hospital. I needed to check with my handler to see what damage the news had done, but I had to stall for as long as possible. If they wanted me to relocate… No, I couldn’t leave Bloom like this.

“If you care about him, you’ll not let him die.”

Crowe’s words lingered in my head long after he was gone, and I returned to my vigil by Bloom’s bedside. The steady beep of the monitor was the only sound in the room. I watched him as if I could make him open his eyes by sheer force of will.

The door creaked open, and Nurse Hatchett entered, carrying a tray with medications. She didn’t look at me as she did her task, each movement practiced, efficient.

“Dr. Collier.”

“Yes?”

“A detective wants to speak to you.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“They’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m afraid it can’t any longer.”

I sighed. “Let them in.”

Nurse Hatchett left, and a man came in. He introduced himself as Detective Marquez, and I shook his hand, bracing myself for what was coming. He asked me questions about what had happened, to which I responded curtly. They brought in a patient suffering from gunshot wounds, but I did a shit job of securing that patient, so his gang members infiltrated the hospital and put everybody’s lives in jeopardy.

“We may reach out with further questions. Thank you for your time.” He looked at Bloom, then back at me. “You know, I can’t decide if he’s a hero or a monster. I guess we’ll only know when he wakes up.”

As the detective walked out, shame settled inside me at what I’d said to James. The world might see Bloom as a monster, but he would never be that to me. He would always be the boy who bulldozed his way into my life and captured my heart.

And dammit, he was a hero. I would ensure no one forgot it.

34

LOGAN

Iopened the front door and stood in the doorway, staring blankly at nothing. Why did I have a feeling I was leaving something? I checked my pockets. I had my car keys. My phone too. What else did I need?

“Logan.”

What the hell? What were they doing here? Not just Crowe but one, two, three, four—yup, four bikers—stood on the porch. They didn’t look happy, but I had no time to figure out what I’d done to piss them off. I had to go to the hospital.

“Look, guys, I would invite you in, but I need to go to the hospital.” I’d only come home to shower and change my clothes. It was bad enough I’d fallen asleep while putting my shoes on. “If you’ve held your little meeting and decided to beat me up, you’ll have to wait.”

Crowe frowned. “Jamie was right. You’re losing reason.”

“Jamie? Who’s Jamie, and what’s he right about? I assure you I have all my mental faculties still intact.”

“Grimm’s Jamie? He works at the hospital with you?”

Oh, right. He was talking about James. Why was I so slow today?

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