Page 31 of Valiant

“Cole, can you hear me?” A voice spoke near his ear, and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Time to wake up, young man.” An even louder voice echoed in his head.

Cole opened his eyes to a bright and unfamiliar space. Two people he didn’t know stood over him. Why were they shouting at him? Where the hell was he? He tried to sit up but felt hands restraining him.

“You’re not getting up. We just want you conscious,” the person on his left side said.

Cole blinked, taking in the details of his surroundings. Beeping machines, sterile smell, and rails on the bed. So, a hospital room. Why was he…?

The attack in the parking lot came back to him in a rush. The speeding car, his roll over the hood, the fight afterwards, and Kelsey clutching Eddy to her as the men moved in on her while darkness closed over Cole, leaving him unable to help her.

“Where’s Kelsey?” he demanded, pushing against their hold on him. “And Eddy?”

“Hey, hey, settle down,” a man in blue scrubs said.

The last thing he remembered seeing was Kelsey backing toward the store with Eddy strapped to her chest. She hadn’t pulled the gun out that he’d given her. Had she been captured while he lay unconscious and helpless on the pavement?

“Did a woman with a baby boy come in with me?” he asked, his gaze shifting between the two medical personnel. “Her name’s Kelsey Reeves. He’s Eddy.”

“The baby in the squad with you was taken to the pediatric ER for evaluation,” the woman said as she straightened out the IV lines.

“Did something happen to Eddy?” Had his son been hurt in the attack?

“The nurse I spoke to said the baby is fine,” she explained. “He and his mother are on their way up. Should be here soon, but you aren’t going to get visitors until you let us figure out howyou’redoing.” She shot him a look that made him believe her threat.

After that, he followed their directions and answered the questions they asked about the day of the week, his name, and birthdate.

“That’s good,” the man said. “Your mind’s working fine, but you’ve got a concussion, and two cracked ribs. Plus several contusions and lacerations. Hit by a car?”

“Yeah. I went onto the hood and over it.”

“Better to get out of the way,” the doctor commented as he shone a light in Cole’s eye.

“No time.” Cole’s temper was getting short. He knew they were talking to him to assess his mental faculties because of the concussion, but it still irritated the hell out of him. He needed to know what happened after he blacked out. Only Kelsey could fill in those details. Where was she?

“We’re still waiting on some test results that will show any internal injury. Rest easy for now,” blue scrub guy, who Cole assumed was a doctor, said.

“Use your call button if you need anything,” the nurse said, placing it on the bed next to him. “Don’t get up on your own.”

“Fine,” he muttered, fully aware that he was being a pain in the ass and not caring much. After they left, he watched the clock on the opposite side of the room. With each minute that ticked away, he became more anxious. Kelsey was in the hospital, which was good, but that didn’t necessarily mean she was safe. Hospitals had security, but they wouldn’t know they needed to protect her and Eddy. He was just about to get up and seek her out himself when the door opened. Kelsey came in with Eddy on her shoulder, looking shellshocked.

“Finally,” he said, tension draining out of him at the sight of her, whole and unharmed. “You’re here. Are you okay?”

“We’re unhurt,” she said.

His relief was so strong that he felt winded. He could have lost them. The thought made him almost frantic. He had the overpowering sense that if they hadn’t come in right then, he’d have pulled the hospital apart to get to them. When had he become that guy? He’d always taken the safety of his teammates and others seriously, but this was a completely different response to danger, and he wondered what it meant.

“The doctor said you have a concussion,” Kelsey said, still hovering by the door.

“I’m fine.” He dismissed his injuries. “I’m more worried about you and Eddy.”Worrieddidn’t touch how he felt, but it was the only word he had because his brain was a garbled mess of emotions. And it wasn’t just his mind; his body felt like it did after a huge rush of adrenaline started to fade. A little nauseous and unsteady. He was sure his hands were trembling, but he didn’t look.

“We’re okay,” she said. “A doctor in the pediatric unit checked Eddy out, and he’ll be fine. Just frightened mostly.”

“What about you?” Why was she being so stingy with details?

“Nothing wrong with me.” She was keeping her distance from him when he wanted her to come to the bedside so he could at least hold her hand, maybe touch Eddy’s bare leg.

“You’re sure?” he pressed, worried she was hiding some injury from him.

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