Page 72 of Stolen Voices
“Um…” Pressing my palms into the bed, I risk moving into a seated position. I hiss at the shooting pain in my butt and lower back.
“Take it easy.” The good doctor hands me the remote and shows me how to adjust the bed. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“No problem. Now, tell me. How are you feeling?
“Aside from the pain in my ass?” I groan.
Taylor covers her mouth, attempting to maintain her professionalism. “Yes, aside from your butt pain.”
“My neck feels stiff, and my head hurts. But I’ll survive.”
“You will. You’re a strong woman. The stiffness, bruising, and headache will all go away. If it wasn’t for Eli catching you, I’m not sure you would walk away with only whiplash.”
“Wait, what do you mean he caught me?”
“Somehow, Eli got under you just in time. Caught you under your knees and your back before you hit, but the force was too much for him to erase the impact, so your backside hit the ground, and your head snapped back as he fell to his knees. He’s lucky he didn’t get hurt. It was a dangerous move on his part, but if he hadn’t…” She lets the rest of the sentence hang, but no explanation is needed.
I could have died. But I didn’t because he saved me. Without a second thought, he put himself in danger to save me.
Elijiah Miller saved me.
“He sure did,” my doctor says with a grin.
My cheeks heat; I’m embarrassed by my not-so-silent thoughts.
“I’m going to give you a painkiller to help you sleep a little more comfortably. It will also help with the headache. Is that okay?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“My pleasure, Callie. I’ll send the nurse in with your medication in just a few. Get some rest, and I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon.”
She walks out, leaving me to sift through the flurry of thoughts in my head and emotions battling in my chest.
Eli caught me. I can’t believe he would do something so risky to save me. Does he care more than he lets on? You wouldn’t put yourself in danger for just anyone, right?
As promised, a young nurse with kind eyes enters my room and inserts a syringe into my IV bag. The drug doesn’t take long to make its way through my system, and I slip into a deep sleep faster than I can count to ten.
A deep, gruff voice has me blinking my eyes open. My head feels better as I adjust to the sunlight pouring into the room.
Eli is pacing back and forth in front of the door, frustration rolling off him in waves as he holds his cell phone to his ear.
“This wasn’t an accident.”
What wasn’t an accident?
“She’s a little banged up. Doc says whiplash, bruising. But she’s okay.” He sighs, and I can hear the exhaustion in his voice. He’s talking about me. “I’m good.”
Like a spy, I lie quietly, listening to Eli’s one-sided conversation.
“How long does it take to look at the fucking footage? It’s been hours, for fuck’s sake,” Eli whisper-shouts, making me wince.
Who the hell is he yelling at?
The voice on the other end doesn’t appreciate his tone and shouts something back. I can’t make out the words, but whoever it is has Eli pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath.
