Page 88 of Eagle Eye
I bared my teeth and had the satisfaction of seeing both the medics flinch. "You will not 'fix her up in the ambulance.' She is precious to me. You will get her the finest physician, the best care, the—"
"Jack," Tess said, sounding tired but amused. "Don't scare the nice medics. I'm fine. Well, a little banged up, to be honest, but fine. It could have been much worse, except for Logan, or so I hear."
I looked up to find Logan, but he was gone. I'd be having a serious talk with that man soon, but for now, I had to focus on Tess.
"You're going to the emergency room, and that's all there is to it," I demanded.
Tess and the medics traded glances, and then she blew out a breath. "Would it make you feel better if I get an x-ray or something?"
"Yes," I said firmly.
The female medic shrugged. "It couldn't hurt. You may have hairline fractures."
"Okay. Let's go. But I'm not riding in the ambulance."
She rode in the ambulance.
I followed them in my truck. By the time the doctors finished examining her a couple of hours later, Mike, Ruby, and Shelley had arrived at the hospital and sat with me in the waiting room.
Ruby cried a little in between urgent mayoral phone calls. Mike paced, and Shelley sat on my lap and looked terrified. She'd need to go see her therapist after this, probably. A child was not meant to have to live with such a fear of loss.
By the time they wheeled Tess out, the text I'd been waiting for about her birthday present came through. I put my phone in my pocket, kissed the top of Shelley's head, and gently nudged her off my lap to run to Tess.
Mike clapped me on the back, and I could see the powerful emotion he was hiding behind stoicism. "If anything happened to her," he began.
"I know. Same here," I said, and he nodded and went to join Ruby and Shelley, who clustered around Tess's wheelchair.
I stood where I was, suddenly frozen to the spot, the full impact of what-might-have-been crashing over me with the force of a tsunami. I'd just found her, and I might have lost her. I wasdoneletting her be involved in dangerous things. I'd wrap her up in that bubble Mike talked about—he had the right idea. I'd …
I'd …
I blew out a breath and faced the truth. I'd do nothing different at all. If I tried to cage Tess, I'd lose her. And I couldn't imagine my life without her. She glanced up and met my eyes just then, and her smile almost shattered me.
I'd honestly believed I'd be okay going through life alone. After I'd lost Quinn, my co-leader of the rebels, to Alaric, super sorcerer and giant Atlantean pain in the ass, I'd been sad for a while and then figured, okay, they were clearly meant for each other. I'd moved on.
But if I lost Tess …
There would be no moving on.
Ever.
I pasted a smile on my face for Shelley's sake—I knew Tess could see right through me—and walked over to where she was arguing about the wheelchair. Then I bent and scooped her up into my arms and turned and carried her out of the hospital.
"My knight in shining tiger fur," she murmured, putting her arms around my neck and leaning her head against me. "I have to admit, I was a little scared."
"Woman, you scared ten years off my life," I confessed.
"One of your nine lives?" Her smile was everything. I had to kiss her. Gently, though, since she had a cut on her lip.
"I'm not sure how many lives I have left, but I never want to see you next to any explosions, ever again."
I lowered her to stand on her feet and opened the truck door, then helped her up onto the seat, only then realizing that Mike, Ruby, and Shelley were right behind me.
"I'm taking Tess to her house to rest. If you follow us, you can see her birthday present."
"Oh, sweet heavens," Ruby said. "Tess, I didn't even call you for your birthday yet."
"Worst birthday EVER!" Shelley shouted, clearly happy now that Tess was out of the hospital and doing okay.
