Page 96 of Run

Just how he liked her.

“Now,” he said. “Let’s see what we can do about these things.” He tugged on a tassel, and Elle groaned in pleasure. “Well, this is going to be fun,” David said as he lowered his mouth to her breast.

First Epilogue

Every member of Benson Security’s London team, plus a couple from the Scottish head office, where Ryan had worked before moving to London, had assembled for their teammate.

“He’s still in a coma,” the doctor told the waiting room full of brooding men and women.

When he took a step back, Elle completely understood. En masse, they were pretty intimidating. And that was when they weren’t all frowning at you.

“What about his injuries?” Rachel asked. “Are they healing?”

Like all the core members of the London team, Rachel had spent as much time as possible by Ryan’s bedside. They each had a different way of trying to reach him. Julia read recipes to him. Megan described all the ways she was going to beat him in training. Dimitri talked about an online game they both played. Joe kept him up to date with everything happening with the James Syndicate case. Rachel ordered him to wake up and get better. Harvard apologized for Rachel. Callum just sat glaring at him before stalking out, leaving Isobel to explain to an unconscious Ryan that her husband was too upset to talk. Elle joked with him and explained all the geek-culture references she thought he should know while David hovered over her, ready to wipe away any stray tears that might fall.

They just wanted him back.

It was as simple as that.

“We’re very pleased with his progress,” the doctor said. “As you know, we reconstructed his skull with titanium mesh, and it’s functioning nicely. The swelling in his brain has gone down, and the gunshot wounds to his chest are healing rapidly. Physically, he’s doing far better than we expected.”

“Then why won’t he wake up?” Elle asked, her tone making David put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

“The truth is, we don’t know. The trauma to his brain was massive. It isn’t only the bullet wound itself, you understand. It’s the pressure waves caused by the force of the bullet. The waves can cause catastrophic damage to the brain. We won’t know what effect they’ve had on Ryan until he regains consciousness.”

“Will he?” Julia asked, sounding close to tears.

“We very much hope so.” The doctor smiled at them all. It was full of sympathy. “All I can tell you is that he’s healing well, and there’s nothing more we can do other than wait until he’s ready to wake.”

“How long will that take?” Rachel demanded.

“I’m afraid I can’t say,” he said.

With a nod of his head, the doctor escaped the room. Leaving the team to turn to each other.

“We carry on doing what we’re doing,” Lake Benson said. “We talk to him and make him deal with us. In the meantime, we’re moving him to a private room, where he’ll be more comfortable. There are facilities in the private wing that’ll make it easier for his family when they visit.”

Elle pressed into David at the mention of Ryan’s family. His grandparents and great-uncle and great-aunt, as well as his parents, wandered in and out of his room, their expressions devastated. Watching them broke the already bruised hearts of his friends. Each and every one of them was desperate to ease the Granger family’s burden. Unfortunately, nothing short of Ryan waking would do that.

“Lake’s right,” Callum said. “It sucks, but all we can do is wait. Julia will set up a roster for visiting, so we can ensure someone’s with him around the clock. Other than that, it’s back to work for all of us.”

Elle watched her friend as he lay sleeping on the bed. His head was bandaged, as was his chest. Drains and tubes and monitors surrounded him.

“It’s okay.” David held her tight. “All that stuff will disappear soon enough, and he won’t look so scary.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist. “What if he doesn’t wake up?”

“Then we’ll spend the rest of his life keeping him company while he sleeps.”

“I miss him.” She wiped her tears on his black sweater as she tried to make them stop.

“We all do,” Rachel said from behind them.

Elle lifted her head to find the whole team filling the room. None of them were ready to leave just yet. With all of her heart, Elle hoped Ryan wasn’t ready to leave them either.

There was nothing they could do but leave their friend alone in his bed as they went on with their lives. Each of them carrying an ache where he should have been.

Some of the team headed for the hospital’s carpark, where Lake wandered over to Elle and David. “I hear you’re joining the team,” he said to David.