Page 168 of You Found Me

Ward reached for her hand to reassure himself that she was there and whole. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.” Della squeezed his hand. “This isnotfine.”

Spencer appeared with a med kit in one hand and sheer panic on his face. His gaze went straight to Ward’s injured leg. “Hell, man. That’s…shit.”

Spencer knelt and quickly unpacked supplies.

“Just a scratch.” Why hadn’t Spencer turned the lights back on? Oh. He had. Shit, he was tired. “Della…you okay?”

“Am I okay? Of course I’m okay. You found me. You saved me.” Della cleared her throat. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Ward. You said I’d get you shot and I thought you were exaggerating and now you’re shot and… Is he going to be okay? Please tell me he’s going to be okay.”

“An ambulance is five minutes out.” Spencer’s voice was shaky, but he was sounding more confident than he had a few seconds ago. “He’s a Marine. They bleed like this for breakfast.”

“That’s not funny,” Della said through a watery chuckle.

Ward managed to bark out a laugh, then Spencer applied a tourniquet so tight Ward saw dancing lights. When they faded, he was lying flat on his back, his head in Della’s lap.

“Hey, Lucy.” He squinted at her. Her hair was a shade of orange he’d only seen on clowns. “What happened to your hair?”

“It’s ruined. He made me ruin it.” She hiccuped a sob. “I’m not Lucy anymore.”

Ward reached for one orange curl as darkness closed in. “You’ll always be Lucy to me.”

Chapter Thirty-One

After being whisked away to the hospital where she was poked, prodded, and bandaged, Della woke up several hours…days?…later in a room full of sunshine and familiar faces. She blinked at the bright light and looked around, stunned.

All of her sisters had come. Even Piper, who was supposed to be in Greece or Turkey or somewhere hot. Blake and Adam had come too, and even though she didn’t see Renic, she knew he was around somewhere. He was never far from Lizzie.

How had they all arrived so fast? How long had she been asleep?

Where was Ward?

Spencer had been in at some point. Had she dreamed that? He’d told her Ward was in surgery. That the wound wasn’t too bad. A through and through, he’d called it. He’d patted her hand awkwardly and told her he’d be back with more information when he had it.

His face had been tight and pale with worry when he left. Had he just told her what she wanted to hear? Did the surgery go okay?

“Ward?” she murmured. Her throat ached and it came out all rough and wimpy.

Nobody heard her.

Piper and Blake were huddled together at the window. Blake studied a script, while Piper glared outside. It was her worried warrior face, the one she wore when she thought a crowd would get out of control. She was keeping watch. Della’s chest felt a little tight at the gesture of love and affection.

Mattie sat in Adam’s lap on a rickety metal chair near the door. He had his arms around her and was whispering in her ear. Della was surprised she was here at all. She hated hospitals. They reminded her of when Mom died.

Lizzie sat in a chair near the window with her business face on, cell phone to her ear. “No. No, that’s not good enough. Now. Yes, now. I don’t care what you have to do, you keep them out of this hospital. Just do it.”

Lizzie paused to listen, then huffed out an irritated breath. “I don’t care how many people you have to hire or where they have to come from. You keep those cockroaches out of this building. I’m not having my baby sister or her bodyguard hassled while they’re recovering. She’s been traumatized enough as it is.”

She held the phone out and stared at it like she wanted to throttle whoever was on the other end. Then she put it back to her ear. “If you don’t want to see your face plastered all over the internet with the headline ‘Asshole Fails Patients,’ you’ll get on this train. This isn’t a debate or a suggestion. If you don’t nail down the security around this building,I will.Then I’ll send you the bill. Trust me when I say you don’t wantthatbill. It’ll be more than your yearly budget.”

Piper snorted. “More than the entire town’s budget. Another van just pulled up.” Her head tilted, considering. "That’s a major network. It’s not just locals anymore.”

“Did you hear that?” Lizzie said in her sternest I-am-in-charge tone. “You’re about to make national news. Do you really want to be the latest meme?”

There was another pause and then grim satisfaction spread over Lizzie’s face. “Yes. That’ll work for now. I don’t know when we’re leaving. When I know, you’ll know.”

Lizzie hung up with a muttered swear word. She glanced at Della, and her eyes widened. “Della! You’re awake!” Her face lit up with a broad, happy smile. She got up, her round belly sticking out in front of her a lot more than it had a couple of months ago. “Rise and shine, sleepyhead.”