Page 76 of Reckless
The doc continued. “We’ve cleared you of any immediate spinal injuries, although you sustained some blunt force trauma to the back of your shoulder and neck, apparently from a falling ceiling beam. X-rays don’t show any significant damage to the bone in your upper arm or shoulder.”
“So, I’m fine,” Alex said. His arm throbbed in protest, so he tacked on, “Mostly.”
“What you are is lucky. And I imagine, what you will be in the coming days is very sore.”
Alex matched Dr. Ward’s raised brow, shifting against the over-starched sheet on the gurney beneath him. “That’s not a no.”
The corners of the doc’s mouth tipped upward in a touché-like smile. “We’ll have to monitor you overnight per concussion protocol, and I’d like to run a CT scan and a few more tests just to hedge our bets. But yes. Your prognosis is for a full recovery eventually, provided that you follow your standards of care.”
“What about the man from the fire?” Concern peppered Alex’s gut. The guy had barely been breathing, and God, he’d been so limp when Alex had picked him up to get him out of that room.
Dr. Ward shifted his weight, his internal debate raging clearly on his face. “Hospital policy dictates that I can’t share patient information with non-family members. However, I can tell you that every patient brought to Fairview Hospital’s ED gets the very best care we can offer.”
Goddamnit, why had Alex hesitated when he’d first seen the guy in that doorway? “So he’s in pretty bad shape.”
“He’s being extremely well attended,” Dr. Ward said, the subtext of his non-answer screaming through loud and freaking clear. “At any rate, you’ve got a room full of firefighters outside who are chomping at the bit to see you. I’ll need to restrict visits to one at a time, and only for a few minutes each, but I can update them on your condition if you’d like.”
Oh, hell. The last time any of them had been hauled off in an ambo, their captain had been critically burned, and the time before that, they’d lost a man. Knowing everyone at Eight, they were probably flipping out. “Please. Make sure you tell them the prognosis part first.”
He sat back against the gurney, his head and neck duking it out for the title of I Hate You More. Everett had needed backup on the nozzle—there was no denying those stairs had been ridiculous, and not in the good way. But Jones had been there, too, and just because he was a rookie didn’t mean he was an idiot. If Alex had gone down that hallway earlier, even by a minute or two, he might’ve gotten the guy to safety.
But he hadn’t. He’d hesitated, and that caution could’ve cost a man his life.
Movement in the door frame by the foot of his gurney captured Alex’s attention, his surprise quickly becoming a bolt of pure goodness as the sight of Zoe registered in his fog-filled brain. Even if she did look like she’d been through the wringer.
“Hey, Gorgeous.” He lifted his arms to reach for her, but between the sling on his left side and the IV tubes snaking up from his right, it was pretty much a no-go. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you kind of look terrible.”
“After everything that’s happened, you’re going to joke with me?” she asked, her lips pressing into a pale, practically nonexistent line, and shit.Shit.Her news about the grant—along with the argument they’d had with her father—came crashing back into focus.
“Zoe, I’m sorry. I know today’s been rough, but we’ll find a way to help Hope House. And to patch things up with your father.”Eventually. Maybe.Damn, Cap had been so furious. But at some point, Alex would convince him that what was going on with Zoe wasn’t fast and furious.
He was in love with her. And he didn’t even care if Westin, or everyone at the station, or everyone in whole goddamn galaxy knew it.
“That’s not what I mean.” Zoe wrapped her arms around her body as if she were holding on for dear life, but she didn’t move past the three steps she’d taken into the trauma room. “I saw the fire on the news, and then Cole told me what happened, how that ceiling beam just came down right on top of you, and I thought…God, Alex, I thought you were dead.”
The shell-shocked look on her face took a slap at his sternum, and he gestured to himself with his right arm in an effort to reassure her. “But I’m not, see? Totally fine.”
Disbelief bled into her expression, taking over her tearstained face. “You suffered a traumatic brain injury and blunt force trauma to your shoulder.”
Ah, she sort of had him there. “Okay, I guess you’re right. I did get a little banged up. But my shoulder’s not even broken.” He didn’t voice hisprobably, because really, she looked frightened and furious enough.
“Do you honestly think this is no big deal?”
Alex paused, his gut going tight. “I think getting hurt is part of the risk involved in my job, but I promise, Zoe. I’m no worse for wear.”
“You promise,” she whispered, her eyes flashing with a sharp flare of anger before the emotion dulled into sadness. “You promised me you’d be fine to begin with. Just like you promised that sinking all my time and resources into applying for the Collingsworth Grant would be worth the risk. But the truth is, there are no guarantees.”
Alex’s heart sped up. “I didn’t try to get hurt at this fire, Zoe. And we both know you deserved the hell out of that grant.” There was only so much of life you could control. Fuck, he’d learned that lesson at the ultimate cost when he’d lost his parents twelve years ago, then again when Mason had been killed in that apartment fire.
Still, she shook her head. “I understand that you made those promises to me in good faith, Alex. I really do. But it doesn’t change the fact that they turned out to be wrong.”
His chin snapped up, and even though it scrambled his vision a little, his determination didn’t budge. “Have I ever been wrong when I said I had your back?”
“No, but?—”
Even though he knew it would likely piss Zoe off to no end, Alex interrupted her anyway. “And have I ever been wrong when I told you I’d be fine?”
“You’re not fine now!” The fiery glint returned to her stare, and yup. Pissed.
