Page 36 of Actions and Reactions
I did get a text from Hawk saying Wolf got to the ranch safely, with his bodyguard, and that all was well.
I know damn well all is not well, but knowing he’s safe is enough for now. I’ll have to find the time to have a real conversation with Wolf at some point, get him to realize we’re all here for him whatever he needs, but now is not the time.
The knock I’ve been expecting comes and I practically skip over to open it.
“Hey, Si.” I let him pass, then lean in for a kiss.
He steps back before I can get my fill and shakes his head.
“What was that today?” he snaps at me.
“What are you talking about?” My poorly built good mood disappears.
“Why were you so late to practice?” He jerks his arms then settles his hands on his hips and looks at me expectantly.
“I had to make a call,” I start explaining slowly.
“Acall?!” He’s full on screaming now, and I am... beyond confused. “Pre-season starts tomorrow, Ivan. You can’t get distracted from practice because of a call.”
“Hey, now wait a minute.” I pull both palms up. “Wolf was all over the tabloids and I had to make sure he was okay, Si. He’s my family.”
“The team is your family too!”
“Yes, I know that. And they know that. It was just a couple of minutes, Si?—”
“Justa couple of minutes,” he screams again and turns, shaking his head. Unsure, I start to reach over, when he moves—so fast I barely process it—and he’s screaming again, but this time it’s so full of... well, rage.
He punches the wall, theconcretewall, once, twice, before I’m on him.
When I do, I wrap my arms tightly around him from behind, so much so I know there’s no way he can get out of my hold, and thankfully he can’t move his arms anymore.
Not that he wants to. His body goes completely lax before he takes a deep breath, and his scream is full of pain this time.
Not the usual kind, though.
10
Ivan
“The surgery should only takea couple of hours,” the kind nurse tells me. “He’ll be fine. Dr. Collins and Dr. Kekoa are great surgeons.”
I appreciate her assurance, but it’s not having a huge effect on my shattered self.
How did I not realize how badly he’s doing?
I saw his state after Bear’s wedding more than a month ago, so how?—
“Really, honey.” Her earnest, dark eyes look into me and something inside me does settle. But as soon as she leaves the private little waiting room they’re letting me wait in, everything inside me knots up again.
We only got here thirty minutes ago, and that’s because Si wouldn’t let me call an ambulance, so I wrapped his handin frozen peas that I tied with a kitchen towel and drove him myself. They took him in for X-rays right away, and yeah... he broke so many bones in his hand.
Dr. Collins is a neurosurgeon, and she told me she’s just going to make sure there’s no nerve damage, while Dr. Kekoa is the orthopedic surgeon on call. I thought about calling Dr. Rex, the team’s surgeon, but I dismissed that idea quickly.
Because that would mean making calls before... now.
There’s no escaping it, I have to call Si’s parents, and just the thought of it makes me want to hurl. The memory of the last time I called them to tell them I was at the hospital with Si is painfully clear in mind.
And this time it’s worse, because this time it really is my fault.
