Page 110 of Bravo

“Yes. Doctors had to go in and get the bullet out. You were just moved here from recovery about half an hour ago.”

“Who shot me?”

Her mouth flattens in a tight line. “We don’t know, honey, but we’ll get it figured out, okay? You don’t worry about such things right now. You worry about getting rest.”

“Where is the guy?”

“What guy, honey?” she asks, her eyes full of concern.

“The guy. The one who saved me.”

“Oh, Elliot. He and his brothers are combing the ranch, looking for any sign of what happened to you.”

Elliot.“His name is Elliot?”

She nods, a soft smile replacing the worry. “He’s my son.”

The door opens, so I turn my head as the dark-haired woman I’d seen before—Lani? Was that her name—walks in carrying a clipboard. She’s wearing a white coat and blue scrubs.

She looks up and smiles. “I see you’re awake.”

“Am I going to live?”

“Yes, you’ll be fine.” Lani smiles. “We were able to get the bullet out. We’re not sure how long you were in that water, but I do know that the only reason you survived is because of it. The cold slowed the bleeding. Otherwise, you probably would have bled out before Elliot found you.”

“I would have died?”

She nods. “Do you have any idea what happened to you?”

I try to think back, to come up with anything that answers her questions, but I come up completely blank. “No. I have no idea.”

She smiles. “Mom, can you give us a minute?”

“Of course. I’ll be right outside.” She gently squeezes my foot then leaves. As soon as the door has closed behind her, Lani sets the clipboard aside.

“What is it?”

Lani takes a deep breath. “I want your permission to check for signs of assault.”

“What?”

“You were found in a party dress with a man’s shirt wrapped around you.”

“I was?”

She nods. “I want to make sure nothing happened to you. And if it did, we might be able to pull some DNA. That’s if the water didn’t wash it all away.”

Tears blur my vision. Surely this nightmare won’t get worse, will it? “I don’t feel different.” My stomach rolls at the mere idea. Would I feel different? Surely, I would, right?

“It’s totally up to you,” she says softly. “No pressure from me at all. I cannot even begin to imagine how confused you are, and the last thing I want to do is be pushy. I can even perform a quick physical examination that will tell me if there’s any cause for concern. I can look for bruises or any other signs of trauma. But I won’t do it without your consent.”

I swallow hard then nod.

“Okay.” She reaches down and squeezes my hand gently. “I will come back in and do it in just a few. Right now, there’s a deputy from the Sheriff’s department here, and he wants to speak with you.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll get you taken care of, okay?”

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