Page 101 of Fragile Sanctuary

I shook my head quickly. Hospitals were not my thing. Not since I’d spent so much time in one all those years ago. “No.”

That muscle along Trace’s jaw fluttered wildly. “You have a concussion.”

“A small one,” I argued. “And Susie can put some of that fancy glue on my forehead to get me all stitched up. Right, Susie?”

She looked back and forth between Trace and me as if scared to speak.

“She’s not supposed to,” Shawn muttered. He was older, in his late forties, with some salt and pepper in his hair and beard.

Susie, on the other hand, was younger than me and in PA school. Which meant she knew all about this sort of stuff. I would totally be her practice dummy if it got me out of going to the hospital.

A blacked-out truck skidded to a stop outside the fray. Its sleek lines and faint design detailed in black on black were familiar.

Fallon jumped out of the passenger seat, running toward me as Kye followed quickly behind. “Are you okay? What happened? Someone forced you off the road? What the heck, Rho?”

Kye’s hands dropped to her shoulders, squeezing gently. “Breathe, Fal.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaled deeply, then opened them again. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, instantly regretting the action as it pulled on my wound and made my head ache. “I’m fine, promise.”

Fallon scowled at me. “You’re bleeding from the head. That’s not fine. And let me guess, she’s refusing to go to the hospital?”

Trace jerked his head in assent. “Stubborn as hell.”

Fallon huffed out a breath. “I knew you would, so I picked up Dr. Avery on the way.”

I glowered at her. “You kidnapped a doctor?”

Kye’s lips twitched, but I still saw a hint of concern and maybe even fear swirling in his eyes. “She’s slightly terrifying when riled.”

“I’ll agree with that,” Dr. Avery, a man in his early sixties, said. He’d been my doctor since we moved here when I was a kid, just like he was for most of the rest of town. He moved purposefully through the crowd of emergency services. “Rhodes, I don’t like meeting like this.”

My mouth curved. “You and me both.”

Biscuit let out a low growl as Dr. Avery got closer.

The doctor eyed my protector. “We might need to have him moved first.”

“Good luck,” Trace muttered. “He’s like her bodyguard now.”

“Think he’ll come with me?” Fallon asked.

“We can try,” I said, scratching behind Biscuit’s ears. “You gotta go with Fallon for a minute, okay? I’ll be right here.” God, I was glad he was all right. It could’ve been so much worse, but we both seemed to have escaped without any major injuries.

Fallon took Biscuit’s leash and lifted him to the ground with a grunt. “I gotcha. Gonna give you all the cuddles while your mom’s getting fixed up.”

The moment Biscuit was out of his path, Dr. Avery got to work. He did the little penlight test and examined my wound. “This would be a lot easier at my office,” he mumbled.

“Better to just get it done,” I said quietly. Even being in his office was hard for me. Checkups were one thing, but something like this? Just seeing some of the instruments he pulled out of his travel bag had my breaths coming faster.

Dr. Avery frowned down at me. “I can close this with medical glue, but you’ll need to keep it dry for at least four days.”

“I can do that.”

Dr. Avery glanced at Susie. “Would you like to assist?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

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