Page 70 of Tex's Angel

“She’s had a blunt force trauma to the back of her head and has a mild traumatic brain injury. She has two fractured ribs, and she has multiple contusions. The puncture wound in the lower right quadrant of her back damaged one of her kidneys, which resulted in one of them being removed. There are a few other findings we need to talk to Mrs. Collins about, but she’s stabilized.”

My blood runs cold when I hear everything she’s endured physically. If I could kill that asshole all over again, I would in a heartbeat.

Levi asks in a scared voice, “Is she going to be alright?”

“Currently her prognosis is good. She’ll need to stay in the hospital for a few weeks, but there’s nothing to suggest she won’t make a full physical recovery.”

By the time he leaves, we’re all quietly contemplating his report. I break the silence by saying what everyone else is thinking. “Recovery from a situation like this isn’t gonna be easy for Clara. We’ll need to make sure we’re there for her every step of the way.”

Levi perks up. “She can stay with us. We’ll take good care of her and make sure she’s never lonely while she recovers.”

Mrs. Hathaway interjects anxiously, “Of course she’ll be staying with her parents.”

“Are these the same parents she’s been low contact with because they wanted her to pretend like her sister wasn’t having an ongoing affair with her husband? The parents that she didn’t trust enough to even tell she was being stalked?”

Wade puts in his own two cents’ worth, “We can all offer to take care of her but at the end of the day, it’ll have to be Clara’s choice.”

I agree, “Pressuring her will only add stumbling blocks to her recovery and none of us want that.”

Mrs. Hathaway states quietly, “But she’s our daughter.”

Mr. Hathaway turns to his wife. “Maybe it’s time for us look into family counseling. We can’t keep putting our own worries and anxieties above what’s right for our daughters. It’s left one unable to trust us, and the other feeling like she can say and do anything under the sun, and we’ll be afraid of rocking the boat to do anything about it.”

As the night turns into day, my club brothers drift away, Rage takes me to one side, he looks so concerned I’m almost afraid of what he’s gonna tell me.

“What is it, brother?” I ask.

My club brother lets out a long breath, “You know I’d never breach patient confidentiality,” he starts.

I nod.

“This kind of affects you too,” he looks at me and shoves his long hair behind his ears.

“I was in the trauma room when they were stabilizing her and doing all the tests. I happened to hear something. As I’m not officially working tonight and Clara wasn’t my patient, just a woman I helped until the paramedics arrived, it’s not like I’m breaching anything.”

Yeah right. I’m pretty sure patient confidentiality doesn’t work like that, but I’m curious, “Go on,” I say.

Chapter 29

Clara

Iwake up expecting to be in pain, but instead I feel as though I’m floating. I also feel a little lightheaded, dizzy, and extremely thirsty. When I open my eyes, I’m accosted by a brilliant white light and before my eyes can adjust, a sense of disappointment washes over me because the white light along with the floating feeling must mean I didn’t make it. Damn, I really wanted the life Tex dangled in front of me, one where I could finally have a little of the love I always wanted.

Suddenly, a warm hand smooths over my arm and takes my hand. “You awake, sugar? Thought I’d lost y’all for a hot minute.”

I’d recognize that voice anywhere. I squeeze his hand and try to talk. “You’re here,” I say but it feels like my tongue is huge and the words are garbled. When he snaps into focus, I see that he’s reaching for a glass with a bendy straw sticking up.

“Here, try to drink. Y’all probably feel like your mouth’s as dry as a powder house.”

When the straw touches my lips, I suck a small mouthful and then a larger one.

“Slowly,” he urges. His voice is tender and calm. It helps me relax while I try to figure out where I am. I slow down, just like he asked, and he just holds the glass for me, allowing me to take as long as I like.

When I lay back, I realize my surroundings look like a hospital room. I crease my brows trying to remember how I got here.

“Take your time, sweetness. It’ll come back.” After a brief pause, he asks, “How are y’all feeling?”

“Okay, I guess.” Giving him a small smile, I add, “Less thirsty at least.”

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