Monroe, Marla - Their Broken Lady (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

She turned her head a little and recognized Bryan leaning against the bedrail of the hospital bed she was in. He had his arms crossed on the rail with his head down. She swallowed and tried to say hi, but it came out in a grunt. His head jerked up, and he smiled at her.

“You’re awake! Hey, baby. How are you feeling?” He reached over the rail and pushed something, then took her hand in his.

She grasped it as tight as she could. Somehow she knew it wasn’t very hard. He stood up and reached over the rail, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

A nurse walked in and smiled at her. “Good to see you awake, Amber. Let’s check you over.”

The nurse had her squeezing her fingers and pushing her feet against her hand. Then she had her follow her finger with her eyes as she moved it around in the air.

“Can you say anything, Amber?” she asked.

Amber swallowed and grimaced. Her throat really hurt. She opened her mouth and managed to say, “Hurts” in a raspy voice.

“I know it does. I’ll get you some ice to suck on. Nothing to drink yet, though.” She whispered something to Bryan before leaving.

“Hey, babe. She’s going to call Tanner and let him know you’re awake. He was up here last night with you.” Bryan held her hand and reached over the rail to kiss her on the cheek.

“Throat hurts.” She tried again to talk.

Bryan’s mouth grew tense then he relaxed. “I know, baby. It will get better. Just rest now. I’m not going to leave you. You’re safe.”

Amber wasn’t sure why he said that, but decided it didn’t matter right then. She was tired. She’d ask what he meant when she woke up again.

* * * *

Tanner hurried through the hospital corridors to the elevator. He tapped his foot as he waited for it to open up. Once inside, he pushed the button for the second floor and shoved his hands in his pockets as it slowly moved up. He slipped through the doors as soon as they began to open again. He hurried to ICU. As soon as he walked in the big, open room, he honed in on Amber’s room, number three. He heard Bryan talking.

When he opened the curtain and eased into the room, he was greeted with the welcome sight of Amber’s brilliant blue eyes. They were slightly dull, but he could see signs of her in there.

“Hey, Amber.” He walked up to the other side of the bed from Bryan and touched her cheek with his lips. He didn’t try to hold her hand since it was the one with the IV fluids attached.

“Tanner,” she whispered in a raspy voice. “I needed bread.”

Tanner looked over at Bryan. His brother shrugged, looking worried. He moved around the bed to the other side, and Bryan moved farther down the bed to let him get closer to her.

“I’ll get you some bread, honey. How are you feeling?”

“Head, throat, hurts.”

“I know. You have a bump on your head where you hit it.”

He didn’t say anything about her throat. He didn’t want to bring up that she was attacked. She needed to remember on her own if possible.

“Why am I in hospital?” she asked.

“You were in a car wreck, honey.” Tanner looked up at Bryan who nodded.

“Oh. I don’t remember.” She tried to clear her throat and tears came to her eyes.

“Easy, baby.” Bryan put a piece of crushed ice on her lips.

Tanner watched her suck it in her mouth and move it around. She looked at Bryan and he put another piece to her lips for her.

“How long has she been awake?” Tanner asked.

“About thirty minutes. The nurse called you as soon as she woke up.”

“Has she said anything much?”

“She’s mentioned the bread several times, but that’s all. I figure she must have stopped to get a loaf of bread and that’s the last thing she remembers.”

“Bryan, she might not ever remember what actually happened,” Tanner warned.

“I’m fine with that as long as she gets well. I don’t want her to remember some.” He stopped and looked at her as she watched him. “You know what I mean?”

Tanner knew exactly what he meant. He didn’t want Amber to remember someone strangling her, either. She would have more nightmares, and she already had too many of those. Damn the police for not catching the son of a bitch that had done this to her.

“Go home, Tanner.” Amber’s raspy voice got his attention again.

“You want me to leave?” he asked.

“No, me,” she said with a frown. “Go home.”

“As soon as they let you out of here. You’re still hurt, honey. Let’s get you well first.”

Amber sighed and closed her eyes. He figured she was tired by now. She would sleep again for a while. He looked over at Bryan and nodded his head toward the door. Bryan followed him outside the room.

“She’s going to need rest, but anytime she’s awake, tell her what day and time it is. She’s going to be confused sleeping in little bits and pieces. Don’t push her about what happened. She needs to remember that on her own. Have the police been by yet?” he asked.

“Not yet. I figure they will be here this afternoon. The nurses said they would hold off calling them until after her doctor has seen her. He’s on his way.” Bryan kept looking toward the door to her room.

“I’ll stay and talk to him when he’s finished seeing her. Then I’ll have to go back to work. I have a waiting room full of patients.” He sighed.

“You’re going to have to sleep tonight. I’ll stay with her, and you can get some sleep and stay with her tomorrow.”

“We’ll see. If they put her in a room tonight, we can both stay with her and sleep some. There are lounge chairs in the rooms.”

Amber’s doctor walked up and interrupted them. “I hear she’s awake. How is she, Tanner?”

“She’s disoriented, naturally, but she’s awake and knows us. She’s focused on the last thing she remembers, though. It probably has to do with going to the grocery store.”

“I’ll look her over and maybe we can transfer her to a room so I don’t have to run interference with everyone about your brother here being in the room all the time.”

Tanner smiled. “I appreciate your understanding.”

The doctor disappeared into Amber’s room along with a nurse. Tanner pulled Bryan farther away so he could talk to him, and Bryan wouldn’t hear if the doctor made Amber cry out. He would be pressing on her abdomen some.

“That’s good news. If he lets her go to a room, then she’s out of danger for the most part. We can stay with her, and she’s that much closer to going home.”

“She’s coming home with us,” Bryan said.

“She’s coming home with us,” Tanner agreed.

“We can convince her to marry us once she recovers. By then, maybe they will have found that bastard and shoved him in jail.”

“Let’s take this one day at a time, Bryan. She’s going to need time to recover even once they send her home.”

“I’m not going to push her, Tanner. I know she’s got to heal. But I want to make sure you understand that I plan to marry her.”

“I’m marrying her, brother,” Tanner teased.

“Same difference.” Bryan smiled.

It was the first real smile Tanner had seen on Bryan’s face since before the accident. He looked older now, though. The wreck had aged him. He had lines around his eyes he hadn’t had before. He supposed he probably did, too. Neither of them had had any sleep in the last two days.

Amber’s doctor walked up and smiled. “She’s doing remarkably well considering what she’s been through. I don’t see any reason we can’t transfer her to a room on the floor. Her abdomen is still soft, and the last X-ray looked stable. She’ll get well faster in a more normal environment.”

“Thanks, doc.” Bryan shook the man’s hand and immediately slipped back into Amber’s room.

Tanner smiled then looked at his colleague. “Does she have any lasting damage from the lack of oxygen?”

He sighed and pressed his lips together. “Honestly, I can’t say. With the head injury, we don’t know how much of her memory loss is due to that, and how much is from the strangulation. We don’t know how long she was without oxygen before he was interrupted. She can move all her extremities and she follows directions, so if memory loss is all she has, she’s damn lucky. Don’t ask for more.”

“I’m not. I’m just concerned if there is anything we need to watch for,” Tanner said.

“I think you’re on the downside of the hill and heading in the right direction. I’ll keep a check on her, but her regular doctor should follow her now.”

“I’ll find out who that is.” Tanner hadn’t even thought about her having a doctor.

Thanks.” They shook hands and Tanner returned to Amber’s room. Bryan was scowling.

“What?” he asked.

“He hurt her,” Bryan said.

“He poked on her belly to make sure she wasn’t bleeding, Bryan. Get over it.” Tanner just shook his head.

“Amber, honey, who’s your normal doctor?”

She looked confused for a few seconds then shrugged slightly. “You.”

“Honey, I can’t be your doctor and your boyfriend, too. Have you seen anyone since you’ve lived here?”

“No,” she said.

“I’ll find someone, then. Do you remember about the loaf of bread now?” he asked.

“Went to the store to get it. I didn’t get back home, though, did I?” she asked.

“No, honey. You had a wreck.”

“Someone was there.” She squeezed her eyebrows down. “Someone hit me.” She frowned harder.

“Don’t worry about it now, baby.” Bryan said, interrupting them. “You’ll just make your head hurt more.”

Tanner sighed. Bryan was right. She could remember more later. The police would be by soon enough to question her. He needed to get back to his patients.

“I’ve got to go, Bryan. When the police get here, remember that they have to ask questions, and don’t get thrown in jail for interfering. I need you to watch over her when I’m at work.”

Bryan smiled crookedly. “I’ll behave. McKenny knows me.”

“Yeah, he knows you all right, and will toss your ass in jail if you cross him.” Tanner clapped Bryan on the shoulder and turned to leave. He looked one more time at Amber. She had her eyes closed once more. He went back and bent over the bed rail to kiss her. She opened her eyes and smiled.

“Let me know what room they put her in,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. She was there. He could see her.

Chapter Fifteen

Amber sighed and pushed herself up in bed. Bryan was immediately there to help her. She didn’t move a muscle that he was there waiting to help her.

“I’m okay, Bryan. I’m just ready to get out of this bed.” Her voice was still raspy, but not as much as it had been. This was her second day in a regular room. They promised she could go home in another twenty-four hours. She was going to make sure they kept their promise.

“We’ll sit you in the chair to eat your dinner. You did good at lunchtime,” Bryan told her

A nurse walked in and smiled at him. Amber just shook her head. They were all jealous of her because she had both men looking after her. They weren’t mean about it, though. When Bryan stepped outside so they could help her bathe, they giggled about her having two men to take care of her.