Page 46 of Poker
“I’m sorry, brother.”
Crow.
Those are the first words I hear when I open my eyes, and my heart cracks wide open.
She’s dead.
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head and ignoring the way the movement makes it feel like bowling balls are rattling around in my skull. “No, no, no.”
“I’m sure if you talk to her, make her see reason, you can work it out,” Crow says.
Grief overwhelms me, and I thrash on the bed in an effort to escape it, but after several seconds, his words penetrate the fog.
I’m sure if you talk to her…
I whip my gaze to Pres. “What did you say?” I demand.
He stares at me with confusion. “I’m sure that if you talk to Meri, she’ll come around, and the two of you will work it out.”
“She’s not dead?”
“What?” He balks. “No, she’s very much alive. She’s just not… here.”
I sag against the pillow with relief. “Fucking hell, Crow,” I snarl. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry, I thought you knew.”
“I didn’t. She stopped responding to me before I called you.”
“Shit. Sorry, man.”
“Wait,” I say. “She’s not here?”
He looks away from me. “No. She left two days ago.”
“Two days!” I roar.Fuck that hurts.“How long has it been since the wreck?”
“Um… Three days.”
I throw the sheet off and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Dizziness plagues me, and Crow pushes me back down.
“You’re not going anywhere until Jackyl clears you,” he orders.
“Fuck that,” I bark as I try to struggle against him. Unfortunately, I’m not at my strongest yet and get nowhere. Giving up, I flop down. “Why’d she leave?” I finally ask.
“First things first,” he begins. “I know when you come to your senses, this would’ve been a better question. Meri suffered from a concussion, and Jackyl monitored her overnight. She’s got a lot of scrapes and bruises, but physically, she’s fine.”
Dammit, I let my grief and then anger completely obliterate rational thought. Of course, I should’ve asked that first.
“That’s good.”
“It’s pretty much the same for you, but you were in and out of consciousness until now. We were worried about you, but Jackyl said you just needed to give your brain a rest.”
“Okay, fine. My brain rested,” I huff out. “Now, why’d she leave?”
Crow reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. Instantly, I’m on the ragged edge of fury.
“This was sitting on your bike when we got to you.”
