Page 8 of Rage's Solace
Now isn’t the time for questions and recriminations, so I decide to help her out in any way I can but this time I’m going to guard my heart. I’d be the world’s biggest fool if I let her break my heart twice.
“I brought you something that’s actually edible.” Whisking away her tray, I open up the food Meli sent and explain. “Meli’s French and owns a fantastic restaurant,” I see Priscilla’s face fall.
“Is she your wife?” she asks.
I shake my head, “No she’s like my surrogate mother, she’s my club brother Venom’s mom and she kind of took me under her wing. I took Mia there this morning for breakfast.”
“Oh wow, I hope she didn’t embarrass you by using the wrong fork.”
I can’t help but laugh. “It’s not that sort of place. Meli doesn’t care about stuff like that. She’s a very down to earth woman.” I slide the food closer to her and watch her eat a few bites.
“This is fantastic. Please thank Meli for me, Ray. This is the best food I’ve had in a very long time.”
“I will. She’ll be thrilled that you enjoyed it. Cooking for others is an obsession for her.”
I give her time to finish her meal and wash it down with some ice water before pulling up a chair and getting right down to the important stuff. I want to know if me and my club brothers need to get involved, I know Conrad is dead, but she’s clearly hiding secrets about the family. “Let’s start with what happened the day you were shot.”
The smile drops off her face. “The police already came and took my statement. They said Conrad started shooting at them when they came crashing through the doors and windows.”
“The police had only one objective and that was to save you and your daughter’s life. Naturally, they would have preferred to arrest him rather than kill him, but he made that impossible.”
She swallows thickly and glances away for a moment before turning back to me. “You protected us, shielding us with your body.”
“My job was to keep the two of you alive until the police could disarm your husband.”
When her expression falls, I add, “Besides, you’ll always be my Prissy girl, my dear friend. You know that I’d take a bullet for anyone I care for.”
“Yeah,” she admits. “You always were a strong protector. Thanks for being there when we needed you the most.”
Obviously back when we were dating, I wasn’t a good enough protector which is why she left me. Or was it because I wasn’t rich? Whatever reason, back then I wasn’t enough. I ignore the insecurities racing through my mind and instead force a smile and say, “You’re welcome. Do you have any questions about your injuries?”
“The doctors explained everything. I remember I was bleeding a lot from the bullet wound and decided the best thing to do was put my finger in there to stop it from bleeding.”
“Yeah, about that. You didn’t stop the bleeding. I did that when I clamped off the bleed. What you did was cause yourself to bleed internally rather than externally.”
She pales at that knowledge, “You must have seen lots of injuries as a paramedic. How bad was the injury?”
“Um, it was pretty bad. You lost a lot of blood. It’s the reason I couldn’t wait on an ambulance.”
She nods, looking worried. “Yes. My doctor said blood loss is why I kept fainting.”
“You had a lot going on that night.”
“Thank God you were there. If not, my daughter would have ended up motherless.”
“Well, she’s accepted being fatherless without much fuss. Why do you think that is?”
She sets her water glass aside and wraps her arms around her stomach, careful to stay away from the wound on her lower chest.
“Conrad wasn’t her real father, and she was very aware of that fact,” she pauses, and I see something flicker across her face. “He was a good man, he wasn’t always like that, but things were difficult. His entire family was difficult. I guess for Mia being out of their grasp is probably a huge relief.”
By the look on Priscilla’s face, she clearly thought it was a huge relief too. “You realize this smooth sailing phase is not going to last, right?”
“I’m well aware of that. If she shows signs of not being able to cope, I’ll find her a counselor.”
“Might I suggest you go ahead and get her one now? There’s no sense waiting until she has problems, I doubt anyone could deal with what happened that night, let alone a kid.”
She nods, staring off over my shoulder. “Yes. Of course. I’ll start calling around.”