Page 116 of Elusion

“Of course.” She backs out the door. “I’ll tell the nurse. And you, let me know if you need anything for the ribs.”

“Sure thing.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and bites his lip in the most blatant attempt at flirting I’ve ever witnessed. Once the future mother of his children vacates the room, he returns his attention to us. “DA’s already decided on charges for Graham.”

Connor sits forward in a chair. “What does that mean?”

“Even if Dad wanted to protect him, he wouldn’t be able to get him out of this one.”

I want to ask what the fuck Kevin has gotten Graham out of in the past but decide on a less heated question for now. “What are they charging him with?”

“Three counts of aggravated assault,” he says.

“Three?”

“Cal, obviously.” He holds up a finger. “He attacked me when I showed up.” He puts up another as he counts them off. “Then, when my backup arrived, he spit in her face.” He waves three fingers around. “Breaking an officer’s ribs and exposing another to bodily fluids? No way she wasn’t going to file charges.”

Connor slumps in the chair as if relaxing for the first time in his life. Only he stiffens right back up. “What about the truck?”

Oh shit, I completely forgot about the truck.

Trey smirks and shrugs. “I took care of it.”

As much as the cloak-and-dagger comment intrigues me, I want—no, need to see Callie. Immediately. No more waiting. No distractions. With no hint of where I’m heading, Connor and Trey follow me to the nurses’ station. Day seven of Callie withdrawals kicks in while I wait for a nurse to finish doing something I can’t imagine is more important than me seeing my girl.

“All she has in now is an IV,” Trey tells Connor. “But she still looks pretty rough, okay?”

I assume Connor nods, but I wouldn’t know because my gaze continues to bore into the back of the nurse’s head. Like a cat, I slowly push a box of tissues off the edge of the desk. It startles her, and she spins around in her chair.

“Hi, can we go now?”

She glowers at us. “I’m only supposed to let you back one at a time.”

“Except for her underage brother, who needs someone with him,” Trey says. “Doctor’s orders.”

Probably just eager to get rid of us, she concedes. The reason doesn’t matter as long as I get through those doors. With a swipe of her badge, the lock clicks. This time, my feet have no problems, and we follow her through.

Having completed her task, the nurse leaves us in front of the room. Connor pauses, so I wait for him. He takes a deep breath and walks in, and then it’s my turn to hesitate. Not for long though. The pain on his face when he reaches the foot of the bed forces me into the room. I round the curtain, and I forget how to breathe, how to think, how to be.

Callie lies abnormally still, her chest slowly rising and falling. Her bottom lip is split open. Both her left eye and cheek are swollen and bruised. In a cast, her left wrist rests on a pillow. A faint redness covers her neck, darker toward the center from his grip.

All the injuries he gave her, I can handle. My brain sorts through them, categorizes, processes. But what I never in my life could have prepared enough for, what destroys me … the claw marks. Distinct lines streak down her neck where her nails dug in, breaking her own skin. Frantic attempts to gain leverage under his fingers and palms as they pressed against her throat. They’re the proof of how hard she fought for life against him, to survive.

There’s not enough air in the room. Connor sinks to his knees on the floor. He bends forward until his forehead touches the white linoleum, and a sob bursts out of him. I drop down next to him, vaguely aware of my own tears as a numbness creeps through my body. I rest my hand on his back and provide what little comfort I can. His cries calm, only for the pain to rip through him again, sounding more agonizing than the last time. Even after the waves stop, we stay there, neither of us moving or making a sound.

Suddenly, he sits up, face red and eyes bloodshot. “I need to see Cate.”

“Okay,” I say, fighting out of a daze.

I get to my feet, and my gaze falls on Callie. The sight shatters me a little less on the second go-around. Connor also appears more in control of himself. He goes to the side of the bed and kisses her temple. His hand lingers on her arm for a second before he turns to leave.

On his way by, I stop him with a hand on the chest. “If you ever feel anywhere close to how you felt tonight, talk to someone. Callie, Trey, me. Hell, go have a tea party with Cate. Just promise you won’t let it get that bad without asking for help.”

He looks down, but his eyes come right back to mine. “I won’t. I promise.”

The confidence he lacked earlier reappears and reassures me. I drop my hand. “Also, don’t expect me as backup when you tell your sister. In fact, I want a heads-up so that I’m out of the country.”

One side of his mouth perks up. “You got it, Lover Boy.” He glances at Callie once more before heading for the door.

The moment he disappears around the corner, I am at Callie’s side. All the things I needed hours earlier are essential to my future survival. I lace my fingers through hers, kiss her forehead, and tell her I love her. My eyes pore over her face, finding all my favorite features that make her Callie. A hand presses against her chest, feeling her heartbeat under my palm. I even stick my ear in her face and listen to the barely audible air entering and exiting her lungs.

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