| |
They covered her face with a mask. She focused on the face of the beautiful man above her. It helped. Reminded her that his sister was her friend. That his sister-in-law was, too.
There were people in her world who did care about her.
Like Jillian and Ariella and Bert and Jake and Veri and Jeremy and...Liam.
Clay.
They loved her. They were who she was going to fight for. She wasn’t ready to give them up yet. She wanted to hold Liam’s little fingers when he learned to walk.
She wanted to hold Clay after a hard day on patrol.
She wanted to figure out what was going on with Bert and Veri and if they’d ever just start making out already.
A nurse jabbed a needle in her arm.
Another hooked her up to some monitors. Bailey tried to turn her head to look. She’d memorized her stats when in the hospital the last time she’d been shot.
Someone held her head still. “Don’t move, sweetie. We’re going to get you prepped for surgery. Then the doctor will take that bullet right out, ok?”
“Ok.” She tried to talk around the tubes, but it wasn’t easy.
Her side burned. Breathing was hard again. But she was still lucid. Still watching Dr. Alvaro.
It was easier to focus on him than on the pain.
On what her father had almost done. On Clay.
“Is Clay ok?” she asked again.
Alvaro leaned closer. “Bailey, repeat that.”
“Is Clay ok? Hit his head.”
Dr. Alvaro nodded. “We’ll have someone check him. You just quit moving that mask and relax.”
She hadn’t realized she had somehow moved the oxygen mask, but she had.
The nurse righted it. Bailey breathed in.
Dr. Alvaro was such a pretty man, like his brother. And his eyes were just like his sister’s. That reassured her some.
Made her feel like she was less alone.
And he was far too handsome for his own good. But not as handsome as Clay.
Clay, who she loved more than she had ever loved anyone before.
She wanted to see him. Make certain he was ok.
“Clay?”
“Shhh. We’ll take care of the sheriff,” a nurse said. Bailey barely heard her.
Bailey kept her eyes focused on Dr. Alvaro until the drugs took hold and all lucid thought left her.