Page 24 of Tracing Her Stolen Identity
“That’s not unexpected, but watch for excessive sweating,” Selina answered as she worked. In less than a minute, she heard the catheter start draining into the urinal.
“That was crazy fast,” Skylar said, a laugh escaping before she coughed once. “It takes me ten minutes to change that catheter.”
“Selina can remove a bullet while riding a skateboard,” Reece said with a wink. “How’s your head?”
“Still hurts, but the pounding has slowed.”
“That’s because your bladder is almost empty,” Selina said. “Did you empty it this morning?”
“Of course,” she answered defensively. “Only a small amount came out, but we went to bed late, so I didn’t think too much of it.”
“There was no way you could in that case,” Selina agreed. “Reece, what are the blood pressure numbers?”
Reece turned his head, giving her a side profile that made her want to weep. He was so handsome. She’d never seen a man with blond facial hair, which made him look like a Norske hunter. “One forty over eighty.”
Selina nodded. “Good, it’s coming down.”
“Isn’t that normal?” Reece asked, turning his attention back to her.
“For someone without a spinal cord injury, yes. I would guess Skylar’s runs lower than that.”
“By a lot,” she agreed. “I’d like to see if it keeps coming down before I take medication, though. That usually makes it drop too much.”
“We can do that,” Selina agreed. “I’m going to sit you up now, which will help, too. Then, we’ll decide how best to approach the catheter situation. Reece, would you go down and update the team?”
“No, I don’t want to leave her.” He shook his head, refusing to look away from her long enough to address his friend.
Selina walked to the head of the bed and put her hand on his shoulder. “I know you don’t, but I’ll need to monitor her for a few hours. You can check on her, but those are hours wasted and you could be helping Mina sort this out so Skylar can get her life back. You can trust her with me.”
“I trust you, Selina. But I—”
“I know,” she promised with a wink, stopping him from saying whatever he planned to say. “Trust me with her for a little bit. She’ll be all the better for it.”
He glanced down and met her gaze. “Are you okay with me leaving? If you aren’t, say the word.”
“She’s right,” she said with a nod. “There’s no sense in wasting time with me when you could be helping Mina.”
“Being here with you is not wasting time,” he said as she brushed her hand across his face. His beard was soft and smooth against her palm. Tears pricked her eyes when she thought about the life with this man she’d been forced to give up.
“I promise to call you if there’s even a hint of a problem,” Selina said when she moved to the head of the stretcher. “You go do what you do best and I’ll do what I do best. Okay?”
Reece made eye contact with Selina momentarily before glancing down at her again. “I’d be mad, but I’m too relieved that you’re okay. I’ll chat with Mina for a few minutes and then check on you.”
“I can live with that,” she whispered when she realized how truly terrified he was about what had happened. That was when she remembered this was the reason she’d let him go the first time.
Chapter Thirteen
The memories overwhelmed Reece until he fell backward and slid down the wall, his head in his hands and his breathing ragged in the quiet space. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and push the memories away, but it didn’t work.
“My legs! I can’t feel my legs!” Sky cried, terror ripping through him as he knelt on the turf next to her.
“Help is coming,” Reece promised, holding her hand as tears streamed down her face. “Don’t move.”
“I can’t move.” She didn’t scream or cry those three words. Instead, they were barely a whisper, as though the realization had dawned on her that life as they knew it was over.
“Riker!” The sharp tone snapped his head up, and he came face-to-face with Roman. He held his hand out until Reece took it and let Roman help him up. “You look like a man who needs a cup of coffee,” he said.
Roman led him down to the cafeteria where Sadie kept hot, fresh coffee going 24-7. He poured them each a cup before they sat at a table to drink it.
