Page 19 of The Chance

Well, she did half believe that. Genny said this brother was probably the kindest, best man she knew. She’d said before how Gunn was incredibly protective of her and her sisters, too.

“Aubrey, we’re going to get this taken care of. Then we’ll worry about your sister,” Dr. Laird said bluntly. “You are bleeding pretty badly.”

Aubrey tried to pull herself to her feet. She could walk. And she didn’t like looking like this—not in front of the people she worked with. Dathan helped her up, his strong arm behind her now, keeping her on her feet.

They had already wheeled Genny away now. Guthrie had gone with her. And Dr. Fields—Chad was nowhere around. He’d probably gone with her, too.

Genny would be okay.

Aubrey pulled herself together. She… had things to do now. She had to find a way to get her sister here. She had to pull herself together and get this taken care of. So she could be there when Genny came out of surgery.

“Thank you, Gunn,” Aubrey said as Dathan just sort of lifted her the rest of the way to her feet. His arm tightened around her when she swayed. Then Dr. Laird was there instead, and Dathan was hurrying upstairs.

To take care of Genny.

Aubrey let the people around her take over as Gunn Hiller headed to the doors. To get her sister.

“It’s okay, Aubrey,” Dr. Laird said. “Let’s just get you taken care of.”

17

There she was.Guthrie had waited until Genny was being wheeled into recovery, with Chad sticking to her side like glue, before he headed down to the waiting room. He had gotten an update from Hadassa earlier—Aubrey was in the waiting room with Guthrie’s family.

Aubrey was going to be okay. But he needed to see her for himself.

He would never forget. Never forget what he had seen tonight. Tears stung his eyes, but he battled them back. Now wasn’t the time for him to give in to emotion—not with his family waiting for him to tell them about Genny. He knew they would trust him more than anyone else now.

But he needed to see Aubrey. Make sure she was okay. He just needed to see that she was safe.

His brothers were already storming around, demanding answers. Just like he had known they would be. He was one of the quieter Hiller brothers—not that he couldn’t get riled when needed, but Gene and Grady especially could be intense. It was that animal caveman thing they’d inherited from their father—Gene and Grady had gotten it in spades.

Aubrey looked overwhelmed and defenseless—it immediately had him wanting to scoop her close. Her cheek was swelling, her arm in a sling, and exhaustion was written across her face. She looked at him, those blue eyes practically destroying him. Maybe he had gotten that caveman animal in spades, too.

He strode forward, cutting through the group. He pulled her closer.

And held her, while she just shook against him. Her hands tightened on the material of his scrubs. He’d changed clothes—he hadn’t wanted his family to see the blood, his baby sister’s blood.

Finally, Guthrie saw Caine enter the room. Caine came over, his gaze immediately finding Aubrey. Guthrie watched as Caine studied her, as if making sure for himself that she was okay.

“He went in with her, to recovery,” Guthrie said when Caine asked about Chad.

He turned back to Aubrey, on the bruise forming along her cheek. “Did you get it imaged? How many sutures in your arm?”

She looked up at him. “Eighteen. The eye is just a bruise, Guthrie.”

Every mark he could see just pissed him off even more.

“Your family… has been waiting for you,” she said quietly, almost like she was trying to remind him where he was needed. Or get attention off herself. He suspected that was a big part of it.

Shy. Genny had said she was shy. Now Guthrie believed it.

Finally, the questions stopped, and Caine spoke, giving them all the news they needed to hear. Genny was going to be fine. The damage was mostly superficial. His brother Gunn asked about Hodges, and Guthrie's anger rose again. If that man was in front of him right now, even the Hippocratic Oath couldn’t stop him.

Nothing would. Especially as he looked at Aubrey and the way she shook, as Guthrie’s own mother prodded her to drink the juice one of Genny’s friends had brought her.

“That bastard?” Guthrie couldn’t stop the venom in his voice. “Does anyone know what happened to him?”

“Chantal’s older brother took him away two hours ago. I gave Charlie my statement.”

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