Breaking Shadows (Darkness Falls Book 2) Read online

“I’ll ask around, report back to you, and then,” she said, looking at Caleb, who had sighed quietly, “I will let my impatient husband take me home. Where he is going to make me my favorite supper and rub my feet.” She smiled wickedly at him.

  “Deal.” His voice was grumpy, but the look on his face was anything but. Kara left the room again and came back a few minutes later.

  “Looks like the surgery will be a little later. They’re going to get you prepped, Dr. Vandehei is available to do the surgery, but they want to wait a little bit since you ate not that long ago. It isn’t ideal to do surgery after eating. At least you’ve been waiting down here a while, so it really shouldn’t be too much longer, but since your injury isn’t life threatening, they weren’t going to rush you into surgery.”

  “Thank you,” Quinn whispered.

  “I didn’t do much, just called to ask how long it was going to be. They were already prepping everything. I would love to stick around—”

  “Not going to happen.” Caleb cut her off when her searching eyes reached his. “No offense, Quinn.”

  “None taken. Take her home, even if you have to drag her out kicking and screaming. I’ll be fine. I’ll see all of you later.”

  Ethan didn’t budge. He knew when he was being dismissed, but he was choosing to pretend he didn’t notice. He calmly picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages. After Caleb and Kara left, Quinn looked at him with a look of irritation, and if he wasn’t mistaken, relief on her face.

  “You better hurry up; they aren’t going to wait for you.”

  “No worries. I wasn’t going anywhere anyway.”

  “You don’t have to stay. I mean, if they leave, you won’t have a car.”

  “Caleb drove Kara here this morning. Their car is in the hospital parking lot. He left the keys to the squad on the counter over there. I’m all set.”

  “Don’t you have plans?”

  “Yep.”

  “Then you better get to them.”

  “I am.”

  “What?”

  “My plan is to sit here until they come down to get you. Once they get you, I will move into the waiting room for surgery. Once you’re out of surgery, I’ll find out if you’re going home or staying here.”

  “And then what?”

  Ethan shrugged, flipped through a few more pages.

  “Ethan?”

  “If you have to stay, I’ll stay here, maybe hold your hand. Kind of like you did for me. When you get to go home, I’ll drive you there.”

  “You can’t be serious. There is no way I’m allowing you to sit here all night. It’s ridiculous of you to even think I would allow that. If I have to stay the night, I can get Taylor or someone else to drive me to my car in the morning.”

  “Not happening.”

  “And why not? I’m sure you have somewhere better to be.”

  “You’re not getting rid of me.”

  “Why are you being so heavy-handed?”

  “I’m not being heavy-handed. I’m looking after you. Taylor is gone for a few days, which, if you weren’t in excruciating pain and on narcotics, you would have remembered. Also, you won’t be able to drive because you’ll be on the same narcotics, and you’ll not be permitted to drive yourself home. I assume you will need a prescription to be picked up, so there is that, as well. And the matter of your car.”

  “What’s wrong with my car?” Her voice had raised in pitch and Ethan almost felt bad that he was being so overbearing. He knew it, she knew it, but for some reason, he couldn’t stop himself. He needed—no, he wanted—to protect her. To take care of her like she needed to be. He had waited patiently for months, and now he just wanted to be part of her world, not sidelined as a friend.

  “Nothing is wrong with your car. I had an officer stop and get your keys while you were getting checked out. He drove it home. Therefore, your car is safely at your house, and I will take you to it and your car when you are released.”

  With that statement, he leaned back in his seat, propped his ankle over his knee again and began flipping through the magazine he had looked through, from cover to cover, half a dozen times already.

  10

  Quinn had never had surgery. That didn’t mean she had never had a broken bone. On the contrary, she’d had her share of injuries in her life. Even so, she had never required surgery. There was a doctor who made house visits all those years ago. He came in, made sure she wouldn’t die from her latest lesson in life, and then he would leave. Amazingly enough, nothing had ever been life-threatening. Then again, her abuser knew how to hide the marks, how to make the most of the injuries without seriously harming her.

  The thought of trusting someone to do surgery on her made her want to jump out of her skin. To be put under general anesthesia and trust a doctor to take care of her and not do any harm to her was exceptionally hard for her to allow. It wasn’t long until she started to feel herself panic, and her breathing came in shallow gasps.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Someone was talking to her.

  No, not just someone, but Ethan. Ethan’s voice came through the haze of her panic. An anchor, someone she knew and trusted, leading her home. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she held it like she had read about and taught herself to do. In through the nose, out through her mouth. Over and over until she felt better.

  “Quinn?” Ethan had sat gingerly on her bed in the ER, and she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

  “I’m fine. Just got a little panicky about having surgery. I’ve never had surgery. It’s more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be.”

  “Dr. Vandehei is pretty awesome.”

  “You know him?” she asked and then winced at the stupid comment. Of course, he knew him. He probably knew most, if not all, of the doctors at the hospital.

  “Not really. I mean, I guess I know him. He’s the one who performed the surgery on me when I was in the car accident.”

  The idea that the doctor who saved Ethan would be performing the surgery on her was more reassuring than just about anything could be at that moment. Which was a good thing, because a few moments later they came to get her prepped for surgery. Ethan squeezed her hand, the hand she didn’t realize he had been holding. She looked up and smiled at him.

  “I’ll be waiting when you get out.”

  Then he stood up and moved out of the way so they could move her bed out of the room and into the elevator. She didn’t know what to expect and was trying to go with the flow of things. They had stitched up her knee before she’d fallen asleep. Whatever they had given her made her feel out of it, and she didn’t like the feeling, but it was better than the terrible pain in her arm. After all the waiting around, when she wanted things to slow down, they didn’t, and before she knew it, they were wheeling her into the operating room, and she was being talked to by a doctor with a soothing voice before she was out for the count.

  Groggy, she woke to the sound of a woman’s voice telling her that she had something for her to chew on once she woke up enough, and then she fell back under, only to open her eyes a few moments later to the same soft voice.

  “Well, there you are. It took a bit to get you to wake up…” Quinn blinked long and slow and tried to focus on her words. “...adverse reaction to the anesthetic…”

  “How long?”

  “The surgery went well, in and out in no time. Getting you to stay with me has taken a lot longer, but I see you’re with me now. The doctor will pop in and talk to you about it. They will make a notation in your file about your reaction. You’ll want to let any medical professional know about it.”

  Quinn hoped they’d go over this with her when she was more coherent. It was really hard to follow what the woman was telling her. She could hear the concern in her voice and knew that she should feel anxious about it but was still too lethargic to care at all. Bit by bit her head cleared, and she started to feel more focused. It must have become apparent to the woman who was still talking to her in that soft voic
e because she placed a cracker in her hand and asked her to take a couple small bites. Her mouth was so dry, like the Sahara Desert had invaded her mouth. She could hardly find any saliva to swallow, but she listened anyway and took a tiny bite.

  “I know it seems strange to give you a cracker, but it’s easier on the stomach after surgery. That young man is going to be so relieved that you’re awake.” Young man? Obviously, she must be talking about Ethan. “He was ready to tear down the walls to get to you. We’re going to get you in a room and then he can come see you.”

  “I can’t go home?”

  “Afraid not, honey. It’s pretty late. They weren’t sure about letting you go home to begin with, but with you struggling with the anesthesia, they’ll want to keep you for observation. It would be irresponsible to send you home. My understanding is your young man has already stated he won’t be leaving. Such a sweet man.”

  “He’s not my young man.”

  “Hm, seems he wouldn’t mind the job. I think I would take him up on the offer, if I were you.”

  “He should go home.”

  “Nonsense. He had a scare, what with it taking so long for you to wake up.” As if sensing she’d said too much, the woman became quiet.

  “That bad, huh?” Quinn asked. “I have to admit, it is kind of scary.”

  “I imagine it is. All right, how are you feeling? I think we’re all set to move you into your room. How does that sound?”

  “Since I don’t have a choice, it sounds just lovely.”

  The kind woman, who looked just like a gentle grandmother, had the decency to ignore the sarcasm in her voice. Granted, it was pretty pathetic, since she was still out of it. While she chewed slowly on her cracker, she felt the bed start to move, and the feeling was a little disconcerting. She closed her eyes tight and chewed her cracker. It was still hard to swallow; her throat was so dry.

  “We’ll get you some water once you’re in your room. But you can only have some small sips.” She must have looked confused because she continued. “You said water.”

  Quinn hadn’t realized she had mumbled the word, but obviously, she had. Once she was in her room, all she could think about was the promised water, and as if a magic being had conjured it, the top of the bed was lifting, and a cup was in the lovely silver-haired lady’s hands, straw bent over, calling to her. After a couple of small sips, she smiled and sighed.

  “Thank you, so much…”

  “Jackie, you can call me Jackie, and there is no need to thank me. I’m going to leave this water at the bedside. A nurse should be in shortly, but I imagine that young man will be here before then.”

  As if on cue, there was a quiet shuffling noise and then a whispered conversation, two male voices that appeared to be somewhat arguing, until one finally acquiesced. The door that was slightly ajar opened all the way and in entered Ethan. His hair was standing on end and messy, his face drawn and pale, dark rings around his eyes. The whole picture reminded her of the night that she sat with him. He looked the same way when he’d been worried about Kara.

  “Oh my God, is Kara okay? The baby?” He stopped, obviously confused by her questions.

  “What? No, I mean, as far as I know, they’re home and everything is just fine.”

  “Then why do you look so…so…discombobulated?” she asked.

  “Woman, are you serious?” He huffed out a laugh and charged toward the bed. Poor Jackie scooted out of the way at the last second. Once he was next to the bed, he suddenly stopped and stared down at her, long enough it eventually made her want to squirm.

  “What is wrong with you?” She heard Jackie quietly laugh.

  “You honestly have no idea what I just went through, do you?”

  “Well, I was in surgery, so you’re right. I have no idea what is going through your head or what you went through. What happened?”

  “What happened? What happened?” he asked while running his hands through his hair, which was obviously why his hair was so disheveled.

  Without another word, he plopped down into the chair by the right side of her bed and put his head in his hands. He was trembling, and Quinn was genuinely terrified of the scene unfolding in front of her. What in the world was going on?

  “Ethan?”

  “You have no idea the thoughts that were running through my head. They weren’t telling me anything. They couldn’t because of HIPAA. I was going mad not knowing if you were okay.” He looked up at her then, his eyes tortured.

  “I…I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry?” And she knew how dumb that sounded.

  “You’re sorry? For what? For them not being able to tell me what was going on?”

  “I know it sounds stupid; I don’t know why I said it. Maybe I should have given them permission to tell you what was going on. But I didn’t; for that, I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m going to want to know what the heck happened, though. They were sympathetic, but their hands were tied.”

  “Well, I’m okay. You worried for nothing.” She tried to put a brave smile on her face but seeing him so shaken up had her finally seeing the gravity of the situation for him. “Hey, I’m okay. Thirsty. But otherwise, I’m fine.”

  He looked at the bedside table and picked up the glass.

  “Small sips,” Jackie said quietly. “I have to get going, but I see your nurse is here to check you over.”

  “Thank you, for everything,” Quinn said to her as she moved to leave.

  “Nothing to thank me for.”

  After she left, an attractive man entered the room, obviously the nurse that she assumed Ethan had been talking to in the hallway.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Better now, not as groggy.”

  “I need to check your vitals. Your boyfriend can stay in the room, but I will need access to your right arm since your left one is in a cast.”

  “Oh! He isn’t my boyfriend,” she said, flushing.

  The nurse said something under his breath that sounded like, you could have fooled me. Her mind was racing, putting together the conversation with Jackie and now this comment. Apparently, people thought they were an item—attached and in a relationship. Wouldn’t that be something? But it wasn’t the case. Not even in the cards. Besides, Ethan only flirted with her. He would never want more than that, would he?

  Ethan didn’t know what to think of Quinn’s hurried response to the nurse’s statement. Part of him was thrilled that the nurse thought they were an item, even if it wasn’t true. The other part of him, the part that second guessed himself, was hurt that she seemed so adamant about them not being an item. Almost as if she was embarrassed by the idea. Maybe she didn’t want the good-looking nurse to think she was attached? It wasn’t a proud moment when he discovered how jealous that made him, but it did, and he had never been jealous of another man before.

  In the end, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t think of him that way, or did it? He knew the answer; the answer was that he would be crushed if she didn’t want to be with him. Ethan considered himself a strong and confident man, but on this item, he wasn’t. Not now that he had finally decided there was someone he wanted to spend his life with, someone that he was excited to see. He had Kara back, firmly back in his life, and she was happy, married, and pregnant. For that, he was grateful. Now he wanted a chance at his happy ending. He knew in the back of his head that he had closed himself off from all women because of his sister. It took more than a few sessions with the police psychiatrist to narrow down that he wasn’t as happy as he thought and that his happiness was joined to her happiness. The psychiatrist had called it survivor’s guilt, that he was holding himself back out of guilt for what Kara had been through and the fear that his being happy would hurt her. It also didn’t take long for the same psychiatrist to tell him that bedding every woman with two legs was his way of not focusing on what was missing in his life. Namely, what was missing was a meaningful relationship with a woman that he co
uld love and spend his life with.

  Ethan could remember that meeting when the doctor had said she had figured it out. Why he had been so unwilling to be in a personal relationship, why he was very cautious with who he trusted, but when he did, he was all in. When he met Quinn, and they were instantaneously friends, he trusted her completely, but nothing clicked into place until Kara had returned home and that night where Quinn sat with him. Now she was so tied to the present, and he hoped to the future, that he felt like he hadn’t taken a deep breath since the moment he had gotten the radio transmission that there was a situation. Then the end of the transmission called out Caleb and Ethan’s badge number and told them to check their messages, which was the way that dispatch discreetly let officers know a family member was involved. Now that Quinn was safely out of surgery, the band that had been wound tightly around his chest seemed to loosen by small degrees.

  Standing looking out the window in the room, he had been so lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice when the nurse had left until he heard the door shut and a soft moan. He swung around to see Quinn grimacing and holding her arm. In two long strides, he was by her side, assessing her or hovering over her. Whichever way you shook it, he was there, ready, and able to do what he could.

  “What is it? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I just bumped my arm on the handrail. As many drugs as I have in me, it still hurt like a son of a gun.”

  “Do you want me to get him back in here?” His voice sounded nervous even to his own ears.

  “No. It’s starting to subside a bit. No, actually, that is a complete lie,” she said and tried valiantly to smile. “But it doesn’t matter. He told me that I can’t have any painkillers for a bit. I guess it’ll be a long night.”

  “Is there anything I can do to distract you? Do you want to play cards or watch a movie or something?” he asked, indicating the TV.

  “Cards? What, you have a pack of cards in your pocket?” She giggled.

  “Well, no, but I’m sure I could find some.” He ran his hands through his hair and smiled ruefully. “I guess that was a dumb suggestion, huh?”