Page 75 of Be My Vengeance

It was easier to speak now. “Alex.”

He burst out laughing. “Fuck, yeah!” he shouted, and I must’ve winced. “Sorry, too loud.”

That whooshing sound came and then, “Sir, you need to calm down.”

“I know but look, he’s awake.” Alex was so excited.

“I’ll get the doctor,” the woman responded, and Alex was in front of me.

“You’re probably hurting. The nurse is getting the doc. Damn, Danny, it’s so good to hear your voice.”

I wasn’t in any pain right at the moment. All I could concentrate on was how handsome Alex was even if he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.

“I gotta text Gideon and tell him. Penn, Rita, and Gideon are in the waiting room.” He left my line of sight then, and I missed his face but I knew he was informing everyone about me.

I figured out the whooshing I was hearing was the door when the doctor and nurse entered.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Brooks, I’m Doctor Orin. I’m the on-call. I’m sure it’s hard to talk, so I will make it brief. Are you in any pain?”

I could barely move, and while there was a throbbing pain in my head and body, it wasn’t unbearable.

“So-so,” I managed to croak.

“Can he have water?” Alex asked.

“Small sips,” the doctor allowed.

A beat later, I felt something poke my lips.

“Open up, babe, it’s water.”

Babe…I liked that. I was able to get the straw in and take a little pull. The burning in my throat immediately started to dissipate.

“Better.” My voice wasn’t as raw.

“I’m going to raise your bed slightly just to check some things. After, I can flatten it if you’d like. Alex, is it? If you could step outside, we need to bring the X-ray machine in and room is limited.”

Alex’s face was in front of me again and the softest kiss was pressed to my chapped lips. “I’ll be back soon.”

Once he was gone, I endured the poking and prodding, counting the seconds until Alex returned.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Alex

“How is he?” Gideon rushed toward me as soon as I got to the waiting room.

“Talking. Not a lot—mostly one-word answers, but he’s fucking talking.” I was stupidly relieved that he’d said all of four words. But after not hearing his voice, it had been everything.

“That’s a very good sign.” Rita squeezed my arm.

“Doc needs to do some stuff so I told him I’d be back in a few, but if you all want to go see him I’m sure he’d like that.”

“I have to get home soon, mind if I go see him for a few?” Rita asked.

“I need to talk to Alex anyway, so that’ll be perfect,” Gideon answered.

Once the nurse informed us someone could go see Danny, Rita went and I moved to a quieter area with Gideon and Penn to talk.