Page 12 of Protecting Silver
Silver snorted a laugh and gave him a look that told him he was stupid. Patch could only grin. “Yeah, that was a stupid comment from me. From what the girls told us, you’d only been missing between thirty and forty-five minutes. They found your first shoe in the doorway leading to the back alley, then the second one in front of the dumpster. Ronnie actually climbed in and stayed with you after calling for help. I don’t know if you remember this or not, because you were pretty out of it, but you wrote down a name and several numbers. When I questioned you, you wrote what the numbers meant. I gave that information to Amos Bronson.”
“Who is that?” Silver found if she kept her teeth clenched, she could talk.
“The local sheriff. I trust him, and he’s going to want to talk to you, not only about your attack, but about the man who attacked you.”
“I understand. I’m ready to tell my story.” She reached for the glass on the bedside table, but Patch got to it first. He sat his hip on the side of the bed, and held it to her lips. As she drank, he studied her face intently. The swelling had diminished considerably, and her blue eyes were shining against the blue of the color of her face. “What are you looking at so hard? Am I that hideous?”
“No, not at all. I was comparing the blue of your eyes to the blue of your face.” He grinned, then held up a mirror Lorna had left the last time she’d visited. “I have to warn you, it’s not pretty.”
Silver took the mirror, then hesitated, and after several long moments, she lifted it slowly, then looked. “Oh god.” She stared at him in wide-eyed shock.
“Yes, but it’s better than when you arrived here. Then, your eyes were swollen shut, and your entire face was black, as well as the imprint of a man’s hand on your throat. I also need to tell you that right here.” Patch held up the mirror so she could see, then lightly touched the pad of his forefinger in the center of her left cheek. “You sustained four hairline fractures. Dr. Johnson, who reset and wired your jaw said that they should heal on their own. The cracks didn’t shift out of place, so he said it would be better to leave them. You’re going to be on a liquid diet until your jaw is healed and the wires are cut out, but you can have soup, milkshakes, any food you want that you can sip through a straw. Other than the bruising, those were the only two fractures.” He held the glass to her lips again, and nodded when she finished it.
“I’ll get a nurse in here to get your vitals, and maybe later today you can get up and move around. Those two things I told you about were the only fractures. The cheekbone, and the jaw. Everything else was contusions, which I’m sure you know are bruises. The CT scan also showed that you had no brain bleeds.”
“Thank god for small favors. Do you know when I can get out of here?”
“If you follow orders, and can keep food down for two days, and get up and walk around without falling down, I’d say by the weekend. It’s Tuesday, tomorrow will be two weeks since your attack, but Dr. Johnson has the final say, as he’s your physician. I’m here as a friend, and doing a follow-up from your trip through the ER.”
“Can I go back to work?”
“Would you want to?”
“I can’t stay home and not make money, I have bills to pay.”
“I’m sure Lorna and Finn would understand.”
“No, Patch.” Silver struggled to sit up and he helped her, then she gripped his hand, and stared directly into his eyes. “I’m not a charity case. I’m sure by now that everyone at the office knows what happened to me. That’s fine. I have nothing to hide. I take my job seriously. Will I go out in public with Lorna for a fundraiser? Probably not until I’m completely healed, but I can work in the office. I’m sure we can get a temp to answer phones, and Lorna and I can communicate through text or e-mail.”
“Okay, okay,” Patch said as he held out his hands to stop her rant. “I’ll mention it to Dr. Johnson. He’s going to be the one to clear you to go home, and for work.” He stood and grinned when his cell sounded on his hip. He looked at it and held it up.
“It’s Lorna, asking if you’re awake. All the women you were with that night have been texting me almost every hour on the hour. What do you want me to tell them?”
“That I’m awake, and they can come see me. Could you also get that sheriff in here?”
“I will. Now, I hate to leave you, but I need to go change and get to work. I’ve been stopping in every day to see you and update the girls since you came out of surgery. They’ve been told to stay away until you give permission for them to come.”
Silver tried to smile, but winced when her lips would only move so far. “Do it, do you know who has my phone?”
“Lorna. I’ll have her bring it with her.”
“Thank you, Patch.” She looked at him, and sighed. “Don’t forget to call that police officer.”
“I won’t, I’ll call Lorna and let her know she can come visit you.” Patch nodded, then left the room. Out in the hall, he looked at the nurse sitting at the station. “Hey, Samantha, could you let Dr. Johnson know that Silver Roundtree is awake and talking? I gave her a rundown on her injuries, and she seems to be okay with everything.
“She’s awake? Why didn’t you tell us, Dr. Atwal?”
“Because, I had some things to tell her in private. She is a friend of mine, and I wanted to let her know that she’s not alone in this, that she has friends burning up my phone with concern for her.”
“Oh, I did not know you knew her.”
“Yeah, well, I do.” Patch scowled, then sighed. “Sorry, but I’d better get downstairs and get to work.” He turned on his heel and didn’t see the slow grin cross the nurse’s face as she watched him walk away. As soon as the elevator shut behind him, she hurried over to Silver’s room to see for herself that the girl was awake.
Chapter 7
Lorna rushed downthe hall as fast as her high heels would carry her. When she reached her destination, she had to pause to catch her breath, and grinned when Major came up to her and tried to lick her face. Laughing, Lorna gave him a rubdown, and asked, “Is your master in?” Major gave a small woof, and moved to the side to allow Lorna to pass. Lorna stepped inside, and laughed harder when Major followed her in, and shut the door behind them.
“You have him trained well,” Lorna said to her boss, Finn, as she took the seat before his desk. She waited until he finished what he was writing, tossed his pen down, then leaned back and nodded to her.
