Page 19 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

He roared out his pain as a handful of people in scrubs flocked into the room, pile-driving him onto the bed.

Half a dozen voices screamed at him, telling him what they wanted him to do, and he hollered right back, trying to tell them he just wanted to be left alone. All the while, his body turned into one huge ball of shrieking, throbbing agony, each nerve ending pulsing unyieldingly. But he was so mad and scared and hurt, he continued to fight against the bodies holding him back, against the voices telling him what he couldn’t do.

He knew he must look wild, and he knew he was acting crazy, but he couldn’t help it. He had to escape. He needed to be free from all this. Everything became about the fight, the will to not give up.

Bowing up his back while both of his arms and legs were being pinned down, he lobbed his head back and forth, cursing the entire room full of orderlies as he caught sight of one nurse sucking a syringe full of juice from a tiny clear bottle and then pulling it free before turning his way.

“No! Don’t you fucking get that thing close to me. Just leave me alone.”

“Hold him steady,” Needle Nurse demanded of her cohorts, and she approached, the gleam in her eyes scaring him shitless.

Jonah did not want that shot. Managing to wiggle his arm that was bound up in a cast free from its captor, he slapped the syringe away. As it flew across the room, pretty much every person holding him down groaned and cursed.

They recaptured his arm, using so much force this time the pain actually paralyzed him. His mouth opened in a silent scream as another needle was filled.

When someone else filled the doorway, he jerked his attention that way, to tell whoever it was to fuck off. He didn’t have another body part left for a new tormentor to restrain anyway. But when he saw who had arrived, the fight instantly drained out of him.

It must’ve startled his captors into thinking they’d killed him or something because as soon as his body went limp, about fifty hands jerked off him as if refusing to take culpability for his death.

Sinking deeper into the bed with his newfound freedom, he stared at the redhead frozen, petrified in the doorway, her blue eyes wide with shock as she gaped at him over the hands she held against her mouth.

“You came back,” he croaked, his voice so hoarse it barely cleared the air. Then a sob seized him, and it didn’t matter how much he blinked, he couldn’t see her through all the wetness clouding his vision. But he knew she was there.

She was here. Nothing else mattered. He needed her to draw him back away from all the fear.

He mopped at his face with trembling fingers. “You came back.”

She dropped her hands and took a hesitant step forward. “Of course I came back.” Her gaze skipped to the nurse with the half-filled syringe. “What’s going on?”

The nurse’s lips pinched thin with disapproval. “Who’re you? Are you family?”

“Yes,” Jonah rasped before Tess could answer. His hand trembled as he reached for her. “Yes. She’s family.”

As if sensing his need, she rushed the last few feet and gripped his fingers. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, was even too afraid to blink for fear she’d disappear if he closed his lashes for even half a second. She was like his angel, showing up just in time to save him from the very brink of despair.

“Are you okay?” she asked, worry lining her beautiful eyes. “What happened?”

“I just wanted to walk,” he confessed. And, damn it, his eyes were no longer just moist. Now they were streaming, and his burning hot cheeks were flooded.

“He’s not allowed to try that yet until his physical therapist comes in on Wednesday,” Needle Nurse announced haughtily while the others in the room made a mass exodus for the door.

Tess wiped his tears away with her bare fingers before she glanced at the nurse. “What do you mean try? Isn’t he capable of walking?”

Jonah glanced at the nurse, wondering that himself. He’d never come right out and asked because he’d been afraid of hearing the answer. And his orderlies had never been very forthcoming with updates because he wasn’t the most model patient.

In his opinion, the woman still wasn’t being very helpful when she answered, “The bullet that hit his thigh broke his right femur. And since it took so long for a medical team to get into the area after the shooting, and then transport him to a hospital, and then work on his more life-threatening injuries first, it didn’t get set properly. He has two pins holding it together.”

Jesus Christ. Did that mean he was going to be able to walk or not?

“Dear God.” Tess turned back to him, and damn, it looked like she was going to cry any second too. A heavy ache bloomed in his chest as she tightened her grip on his hand—which helped keep him from having a panic attack—only to frown and lift their bound fingers with a gasp. “He’s bleeding.”

The nurse glanced over and grumbled something under her breath. “He must’ve jerked his IV free when he was fighting us.” Sniffing with disdain, she sent Jonah a dirty look. “Are you going to behave and let us patch that up?”

“Wow,” Tess said, not sounding impressed in the least as she raised her eyebrows at the bitchy nurse. “Really? Don’t you think you could give him a little leeway here and not treat him like a criminal? I mean, he’s only been awake from his coma for a few days, has no idea what his own name is or who his friends are, has three bullet holes in his body, and now he doesn’t know if he’ll walk again. I’m sorry, but excuse us if he isn’t the cheerful ball of optimism you think he should be.”

Though his face was still wet from bawling, Jonah felt like laughing. As sweet and passive as she’d been yesterday, he never would’ve thought this blue-eyed, redheaded angel would have the backbone in her to get so defensive on his behalf. But there she stood, defending him like a pro.

So very glad she’d come back, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it gratefully. He might not know the first thing about her, but he was going to cherish every second of her company.

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