Page 81 of Serve and Protect

Micah pulls me into his arms. “It’s okay, Jen. He’s going to be okay.”

Micah goes with me to his room. We’re silent as we step inside the dimly lit space.

The room is quiet, except for all the beeping and wheezing equipment. Chris lies on the bed, white as a sheet, dressed in a hospital gown. There are wires attached to his chest and an IV in his left arm. There’s a blood pressure cuff on his left arm. His upper right arm and shoulder are wrapped in fresh bandages.

We stand beside his bed—the left side—so I can reach down and squeeze his hand. “We’re here, Chris. Micah and I are here.”

He doesn’t respond. Clearly, he’s still out of it.

Micah pulls a chair up to the side of the bed. “Here, Jen. Sit down before you fall down.”

He pulls a second chair up beside mine, and we both sit there, holding a vigil as we wait for our best friend to wake up.

Chapter 32 – Chris

The light hurts my eyes, and I have to blink several times to focus on the white tiled ceiling above me. Machines are beeping. The place smells like antiseptic cleaner. My right shoulder is on fire, and the sling is back on.

Damn it! I’m in the hospital again.

“Jennie?” Her name comes out as a garbled croak.

I look frantically around until I spot her curled up sound asleep in a chair beside my bed. My entire body sags in relief—and damn it, that hurts!She’s okay.

I guess I got shot. I honestly didn’t expect that to happen because I figured Dave Braggart is a lousy shot. But I guess everyone gets lucky sometime.

The important thing is Jennie’s here. She’s okay. She’ssafe. Yeah, she looks tired, haggard even, but that’s not surprising given the nightmare of a day she had. But at least she’s in one piece. It looks like we both are.

“Jennie?” I try again, attempting to generate some volume this time. I’m a selfish bastard, and I want her attention. I want to see her eyes. I want to hear her voice. “Sweetheart?”

Her dark eyes fly open, and she sits upright in the chair, her feet falling to the floor. “Chris!” She jumps up and leans close, cupping my face as she gazes deeply into my eyes. She gently brushes my hair back. “Are you okay? How do you feel? I was so scared when David shot you.”

“I’m okay,” I say, surprised by how raspy my voice sounds.

She places a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I love you so much, but if you ever do something like that again, I will kill you myself.”

I muster a smile. I don’t mind getting shot if this is the reception I get. “I’ll try not to.”

She smiles at me, relief evident in her face. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

“Yeah. I’ve had enough of hospitals to last me a while.” My smile falters when I think about what happened today. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

She drops back down onto her chair as if all her energy has been expended. “I’m okay. Really.”

I notice the bandages around both of her wrists. “What happened to your arms?”

“It’s nothing serious. Just some abrasions.”

“What caused them?”

She looks away. “Ropes.”

“Hetiedyou up?”

She nods. “He tied me to a bed.”

“Where else are you hurt?”

“My ankles. Same reason. Other than that, I’m fine.”