Page 7 of Protecting Silver
“Not yet.”
“Do it now, and if you have to, call Andy, and Grady. I don’t want you women to be alone. What if whoever did this saw you come looking for her, and then calling for help?”
“Oh shit.” Ronnie stared at him in shock, and looked around wildly. “I never thought of that.”
“Yeah, call Finn.” When Ronnie didn’t move fast enough for him, he barked out,“NOW!”Then, he turned on his heel to go attend to Silver. Once inside the room, he closed the curtains and quickly stepped up to the bed. He noted that her clothes weren’t torn, or ripped, but disheveled, but he would order a rape kit anyway. As he approached the bed, he began barking out orders, and knew they would be followed. Along with vitals, he wanted a head CT, and once he received the results from that, he’d order an MRI or x-rays. For now, he’d wait for the CT results.
“Hey,” he said as he bent over Silver, and thought he saw her eyes try to open. “It’s Patch, you’re at the hospital. I’m going to patch you up.” He chuckled at his own joke and knew she was trying to say something when she gripped his forearm and squeezed.
“I got you,” he said, then frowned when her fingers started moving in the air. At first the movements confused him, then he looked at her, not knowing if she could see him. “You want to write something?” At her nod, he held her head and told her not to move it, then he barked out for a pad of paper. Once he had it, he held it and gave her a pen. She felt frantically for the edges of the paper, then wrote furiously. When she held the pen out to him, he asked if she was done. She nodded, but only barely moved her head.
Patch turned the paper and read what she’d written. “Eddie Freedman? Is this the man who attacked you?” At her nod, he looked down again. “What are these numbers?”
He flipped over the page, and she wrote a number one and said phone number. Number two was his social security number. Number three was his badge number.”
“He’s a cop?”
Patch read as she wrote that her attacker was with the Chicago PD, and was an ex-boyfriend of hers from four years ago.
“I’ll make sure the police get this information, Silver. Now, let me take care of you.” So that it wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle, he tore off the pages and stuck them in the pockets of his scrubs. He looked at her, then took her face gently in his hands. “I have to ask, were you raped?” When she shook her head, he breathed easier, then got to work.
* * *
“Finn!”Ronnie yelled as soon as her husband picked up the phone.
“What’s wrong?” He couldn’t understand a word she was saying, and he looked over when Andy and Grady’s phones went off. They were just as confused as he was.
“Veronica!”Finn yelled, “Calm down and talk to me, I can’t understand you.”
“Ronnie, Silver was attacked, we’re at the hospital, and we need you and the others to come. We don’t know if the person who beat her saw us save her.”
“We’re on our way,” he said, and looked at the others. They said the same thing then hung up.
“What the hell was that all about?” Grady demanded. “I only got about three words, and they didn’t make any sense.”
“Someone attacked Silver, and the others found her. They’re at the hospital and they don’t know if the person who beat Silver saw them rescue her.”
“Oh shit,” they said, and ran to their vehicles. Andy and Finn had decided to go to Grady’s house to help him and Ryan, Tymberly’s son, clean up the area for Grady’s upcoming wedding. As they reached their vehicles, they opted to take separate ones, so that when they left the hospital they weren’t left stranded. Ryan hopped in with Grady, and said he’d drive his mother’s Jeep home, because she had picked everyone up to go out to celebrate the upcoming wedding. Even though it was still a couple of months away, it was a good time to celebrate. All the way to the hospital, Finn could only picture how he had found Ronnie lying at the bottom of the ravine ravished by the cold water, the elements, along with the damage the horses and a cougar had done to her. He knew Ronnie was a strong woman, both in body and spirit, but Silver, she was a little slip of a thing that was probably barely a hundred pounds soaking wet. His next thought was whether Patch was on duty. Patch had confessed to Finn not three weeks ago, that he really liked Silver and was going to ask her out for the first time the next night he had off, but he had wanted to be settled in his new apartment, as well as his new job before he started thinking of his love life. Finn had encouraged him to go for it.
If Patch was the doctor on duty, he’d be there for him, as well as for his wife. Finn braked hard and ignored the squealing of his tires as he entered the hospital emergency room area, and slammed on his brakes when he found a parking space, and whipped his truck into it. For the first time in years, he had to pause and call his father to have him go to Grady’s and pick up Major. He had been in such a rush to get to his wife, he had forgotten all about his dog. He would definitely have to make up for it when he got home. When the others parked in different spaces, Finn waited, and together the four men strode into the emergency room shoulder to shoulder. A security guard met them just a few feet inside.
“You here for Ronnie and her friends?”
“I’m her husband, where is she?”
“Dr. Atwal told another security guard to take them to the waiting room. I’m here to escort you.”
“Any word on Silver yet?”
“No, but Dr. Atwal told me to tell you that he’ll find you when he has any news.”
“Thank you,” Finn said, and followed the other man. As soon as he stepped into the waiting room, he was hit in the chest by his wife. He took one look at her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. It must be bad when his wife was crying. She never cried. He looked up at the flash of the other women as they rushed to their men. Finn also noted that Amber, Tymberly’s daughter, rushed to Ryan, then to Grady for reassurance. It took several minutes for the women to calm down, then Finn directed everyone to sit. No one wanted to move, but they finally did when he pointed out that there was no news yet. The security guard left, but returned ten minutes later with another guard, and they both carried carriers that held coffee cups. Not that anyone wanted to drink, but it gave them something to do.
Finn knew when to give Ronnie space, and when to push her. Now was not the time to question her. He’d sit there with her on his lap, and wait for her. That was how Amos Bronson, the local sheriff found them. Finn knew then that the girls were waiting for him to arrive to give their statement, and wouldn’t have to keep repeating it. He felt proud of his wife for that.
Amos entered the waiting room, and when everyone looked at him, he held up his hand, and shook his head. “I know nothing yet. Patch told me they’ve taken her down to CT. Now as we wait, I’d like to know what happened. But first, who are you?” He pointed to two people he didn’t recognize, one young woman sitting beside Grady, and the young man sitting on the other side of the woman seated on Grady’s other side.
“Amos, this is my family,” Grady said. “You’ve met Tymberly Dalton. This is her son and daughter, Ryan and Amber.”
