“I’ll give you both a few minutes,” the nurse said. “And I’ll bring back what you asked for, Officer Wilde.”
“Thank you,” Hunt said to the retreating nurse, then rubbed his big hands up and down Cyn’s back. His warm embrace assured her that they were both alive and well and right where they belonged. With each other. “I didn’t want to leave you, but they made me come here to get checked out.”
She leaned back and looked him in the eye. “What did the doctor say?” She ran her gaze over his chest, but couldn’t see anything beyond the hospital gown he wore. Knicks and scratches marred both his arms.
“I’m fine.” He pulled down the gown to show her the bright red and purple bruises covering the left upper part of his chest, spreading up toward his shoulder, theworst of the bruising about two inches above his nipple where there was an open wound.
“Oh my God, Hunt. Did the bullet go through the vest?”
“No. That’s where the vest dented and the impact wounded me. The energy from the impact caused the rest of the damage. It’s not as bad as it looks. Yeah, it hurts like hell. And I have two cracked ribs, but they’ll heal with no lasting damage.” Hunt held up his right arm. “The rest is all shotgun pellets and glass.” Most of the wounds looked like small red holes that would scab and heal quickly. “There are a bunch on the back of my shoulders where the vest didn’t cover me, too, but they’re no big deal.”
He took her hand and held up her arm, examining the few scratches she had on her. “You were barely touched by all that, thank God. The paramedic said Lana wasn’t hit at all.”
“No. She’s fine. Out in the waiting room with your brother and Shelby.” She wanted to throw herself back into his arms but stopped herself before she hurt his chest. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. They’re releasing me in a few minutes. We can go home.”
“Yeah, um, Shelby’s place is a crime scene now.” She hated that her best friend’s home had been damaged and that any of this mess touched Shelby in any way.
“We’ll go to our place.”
She loved that he always let her know, and made her feel, that the house at the ranch was their place.
Hunt squeezed her hand. “I’m sure I’ve got a frozenpizza or two we can put in the oven. You must be starving.”
“I have no idea. I feel numb, like none of this can be happening. It can’t be real. I’ll wake up any minute. Hopefully in bed with you.”
“You will tomorrow morning for sure. But I’m sorry to say, this has all been way too real, sweetheart. How many times have I thought I could have lost you?” He kissed her palm. “I’m so glad it’s over now.”
The nurse walked in, followed by a man in a white coat. “As you requested, Officer Wilde.” To Cyn she said, “This is Dr. Sutton.”
Cyn looked to Hunt. “I thought you said you were okay. Why another doctor?”
“I’m not here for him,” Dr. Sutton said. “Officer Wilde thought it might be a good idea if you and I talked about what happened tonight.”
She eyed Hunt. “What? Why?”
Hunt pulled her a little closer. “Because my brother Chase has shown me the value in taking care of your mental health. Yes, Cyn, you made it out of there alive, but you didn’t get out unscathed. You shot someone, Cyn. You did it to save us. It was necessary because of the dire circumstances. But that doesn’t make it any easier to reconcile. It is not an insignificant thing. I know that. I’ve had to discharge my weapon a couple of times, but thankfully I’ve never killed anyone. I’ve seen Chase struggle with what he had to do serving our country. He was trained and still couldn’t handle it. You’ve never been in the position to have to defend yourself like that. I hope you never have to again. But I don’t want you tohold this inside and try to deal with it alone. I’m here for you. You can talk to me about anything. You can say anything to me. But I really think you need to talk to a professional who can help you cope with all the trauma you’ve suffered over the last several weeks.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him.
“Are you?” He held up their joined hands and showed her how she’d held on so tight her nails had bit into his skin and made him bleed.
She immediately tried to release him, but he held tight. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you.”
“You can hold on to me as tight as you need to, sweetheart. I can take it. What I can’t take is seeing the sorrow and fear and desolation in your eyes. Please, do this for me.”
“Of course I will. I’d do anything for you.”
“Then make sure you’re doing it for you, too, Cyn. Lana and I need you to be well.”
She nodded several times. “Okay. I will be. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Go with Dr. Sutton. Take as long as you need. I’ll change into the clothes Chase grabbed for me out of my car before we came to the hospital and meet you in the waiting room. Then we’ll go home.”
She reluctantly let him go and followed the doctor out of the ER.
“We’ll go upstairs to my office where it’s quiet and we can talk.” Dr. Sutton held the elevator door for her.