Page 54 of Bent, Not Broken

“I was just telling Officer Slater’s friend here he has to go.”

“That’s his boyfriend,” Paxton pointed out helpfully, “so maybe he can stay?”

She scowled at him now too. “You need to go as well. Rules are for everyone.”

“But I’m his partner.”

“I’m getting a security guard,” she snarled and marched past him out of the room.

Paxton laughed and stepped inside. His uniform was wrinkled, and I noticed some spots on the fabric that looked uncomfortably like they might have been blood. “You do that,” he called after her as he winked at me. “There’s no way they’ll toss us out.” He inched farther into the room and his shoulders slumped. There were serious dark smudges gathering under his eyes that hadn’t been there earlier. “How’s he doing?”

“Same,” I whispered. “No one’s been in, really.”

“They must be monitoring him from the nurses’ station.” Paxton sighed, and we stood there together beside the bed, me clutching my empty coffee cup and feeling anxious, and him with an introspective frown. Not long later, a woman in a security uniform stuck her head in the room. She had black ponytails and didn’t look like she should be working security, but was probably a foot taller than me, so what did I know?

Paxton groaned. “Really?”

“That nurse, Nurse Hendrix, isn’t the… err… most accommodating,” the guard said with an apologetic smile. “She’s gone at six tomorrow morning, though, so you can sneak back in then.”

“Come on,” Paxton said, snagging my elbow. “I’ll drive you home.”

“I’m not going home,” I mumbled and shook him off. “I’ll move to the lobby. What if something happens?” Paxton frowned at the guard, who honestly looked like she’d rather do anything else than make us leave Evan’s side.

“He’s worried,” Paxton said, indignant.

“They aren’t my rules, guys.” She spread her hands and glanced between us. I could see her practically begging us to listen to her.

Paxton turned toward me with a wince. “I’d fight with her, but I’m low man here in New Gothenburg. I’ll get dinged if they call this in.”

“Okay,” I grumbled.

Stunned and upset, not quite believing what was happening, I allowed myself to be led downstairs by Paxton. We stopped in the lobby, and I curled up on a couch next to a water feature. I wanted to fight and argue, but all my energy had been eaten away, staring at Evan, willing him to be all right. For a long time I watched the people coming and going through the front entrance instead of sleeping.

Paxton sat beside me for a while, close enough that I could feel his body heat along my side. His phone kept buzzing in his hand every few minutes. Eventually he smiled at me and tapped my arm. “My husband’s going to have a cow if I stay any longer. He heard ‘hospital’ and hit the roof. I think he thinks I’m hurt and just not saying. I have to go show him I’m in one piece.”

He held out his hand toward me and we shook. “Thanks for everything.”

“Sorry I couldn’t do more,” he said quietly.

“Wasn’t your fault.”

He shrugged, and I got the feeling that maybe he was the type of guy who thought he should be able to fix everything, like most cops seemed to be. I waved after him as he left.

“He’s doing okay.” The redheaded woman from the desk startled me. She stood close and had a blanket in her hands, which she draped over my lap. “Tanya, the security guard, told me what happened. Go to sleep. I’m the overnight. I’ll wake you up when you can get back in, and I’ll let you know if his status changes.”

“Oh my God, thank you,” I whispered. She smiled and went back to her desk, but all I wanted to do was go upstairs, and my eyes refused to close.

Chapter 15

Evan

The first thing I recognized when waking was the hot slice of burning pain in my upper right shoulder; I cringed, groaned, and tried to raise a hand to touch the spot. Someone grabbed my wrist and held it down.

“Don’t do that,” came the hard, familiar voice of Captain Monahan.

I blinked away the sticky heaviness in my eyelids and glanced to my left, where she stood, tall and proud, with a twist of concern on her lips. She had on a dark navy pantsuit, with her short blonde hair pushed behind her ears, and looked every bit the captain she was. Her face seemed stuck somewhere between a glare and a frown.

“Cap-captain?” My dry and itchy throat left my voice crackled. I wasn’t sure if she heard what I’d said.