Page 135 of The Grief We Hold

If I could cry any harder, I would. “I’m so sorry,” I manage to say.

But Wraith gives me a weak smile through his own pain. “I’m…not. We lived.”

It takes us half an hour to get to a hospital, but despite the wait I was expecting, the leather these men wear opens doors fast.

They take one look at Wraith and try to rush him away from me.

“Wait,” I say, hurrying up alongside the stretcher they place him on. I touch his cheek gently. “I love you.”

Wraith gingerly lifts his arm so his knuckle brushes my cheek for a second before dropping back to the stretcher. “Love you.”

His eyes roll back in his head, and then he’s whisked down the corridor.

“No. Wait,” I yell while I try to run after him. “Is he alive?”

Strong arms wrap around my middle. “Let them take him,” Atom says gruffly as I try to kick against the hold.

“We need to get you seen,” the emergency room doctor then says to me.

“No. I need to know he’s okay. What just happened to him? I need to be here when they’re done. I need to be there when he wakes up. When he?—”

“Raven,” Smoke says, stepping in front of me. “He’s in the best hands. And he’s going to be in surgery for a good long while.” Gently, he strokes the skin on the back of my broken hand. “Let them fix you while he’s in there.”

I look at Smoke and can see there are unspilled tears lining his eyes too. “I can’t. I...”

“I know, sweetheart. You want to look after him. And you did such a good job today. But the best thing you can do is let themput you under. Rest, while they fix your hand, then be awake before he’s out.”

“Please,” Atom says, releasing his hold.

“Okay.” I turn to face Butcher. “Is Fen okay with Ember?”

Butcher steps forward and cups my cheeks. “I’ll say what you’re really scared of. Both you and Wraith in surgery at the same time. The club’s got all of you. No matter what.”

“And I’ll take care of Fen,” Smoke says. “You have my word.”

I wish I’d had time to see my baby, but I turn to the doctor. “Okay.”

When I finally wake, my first thought is that there is petroleum jelly in my eyes. The world looks blurry, and there’s a halo around the light fitting.

“Wraith,” I say.

“Hey, Raven. It’s me, Smoke. You’re good, sweetheart.”

I try to lift my hand, but it doesn’t feel like it’s there. Panicked, I try to lift my head, but can’t. “My hand.”

“All fixed. It’s gonna be pinned in place for a couple of months.”

“Where’s Axel?”

Smoke moves my hair off my face. “He’s been out of surgery about an hour. About an hour behind you in terms of recovery time. But they’re gonna bring him here when it’s safe enough.”

I look up and down the small room with four beds and see there is space.

“Thank you. For coming to get us,” I say.

“You feel up to telling us what happened?” Smoke asks.

I sigh. “Not yet.”

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