Page 47 of The One for Forever

“I’ll check in with Danny,” she says softly. “See if he can find out anything more about Quinn’s status. He knows a lot of the ED nurses. If Quinn’s in surgery or anything like that, maybe he can find out.”

I thank her, half in a daze. Quinn could be seriously injured. Head injuries are incredibly dangerous. I had teammates die from them in the Army. A TBI could change Quinn’s life forever, alter the course of her career and her future…

She has to be all right. I can’t live with anything else.

But I can’t just wait around. I need to do absolutely everything I can for Quinn. I’m no doctor, so I can’t be in there healing her right now. I have my own skills though. Contacts.

So I take out my phone, and I call Detective Angela De Luca.

Finally,we get an update. Quinn is conscious and in stable condition. Since Cliff is apparently her emergency contact, the nurse lets him in first, and he agrees to let me come as well. If he knew what happened between Quinn and me earlier, what I did, he’d probably never let me speak to her again.

We walk inside, Cliff leading the way and me hanging back.

“Q! Never been so glad to see your face.” He hugs her, taking a seat right beside her on the mattress. “How you feeling?”

“Not great.” She’s resting against the pillows, her golden skin too pale. It makes me want to go over there and just…hold her. Wrap her up so she’s safe.

But I stand at the end of the bed. I’m not sure if she wants me any closer. She glances at me, and too many things bubble up within me. All that I need to say, but can’t in front of my son.

“Did you know I’m your emergency contact?” Cliff asks. “That kinda blew my mind.”

She laughs weakly. “Yeah. I didn’t have anyone else to put down when I filled out those forms, so I went with you.”

Shit. That admission strikes me in the chest. For a bunch of reasons.

“It was process of elimination?” Cliff rolls his eyes. “Just when I thought I was special to you.”

She goes quiet.

I stick my hands into my pockets. I’m still wearing most of a suit, though I tossed my jacket in the back seat of my truck earlier. “What have the doctors told you?” I ask.

“They’re running tests. They think I have a concussion. My head and my neck are killing me. My memory of the last few hours is pretty fuzzy.”

I give her an update on what I’ve learned so far. That her attacker was a crazed fan of Amber Printz.

“The guy filmed himself tagging your door,” Cliff says. “It’s on Insta.”

She pales even further. “Am I on the video?”

Cliff nods reluctantly. I wish he’d held back this development, because she’s already dealing with a lot. I don’t want Quinn stressing about how the entire internet could be talking about this. The very idea pisses me off enough to storm down to West Oaks PD and take off her attacker’s head.

But Cliff is right. Quinn deserves to know.

“I saw some of it happen,” I say. “I was bringing dinner when I heard you shout. I’m sorry I wasn’t there in time to stop the guy from injuring you.”

Her mouth twitches. I wish I could tell what that means. Whether she’s thinking of all the other apologies I’ve issued today.

“Do you remember anything else about the attack?” I ask.

“I…” Her eyes narrow. “I’m not sure.”

“That’s all right,” I assure her. “The memories will probably come back soon.”

Quinn winces. “I hope so. I saw what amnesia was like for Lark, and it didn’t seem fun. At least I remember my name.” She points a thumb at Cliff. “And I remember this idiot.”

“Hey!” he protests. “Do you remember the fact that you owe me fifty bucks?”

“Uh, nice try. You’re the one who owes me.”

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