Page 58 of Wicked Flirt
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“Jen Moore. I’m the one who found your mom collapsed on the sidewalk. We’re in the emergency room of Eastman Hospital. She’s conscious now and asking for you. The doctors say she might have a concussion. That’s all we know so far.”
Pure terror gripped him for a moment before he leaped into action. “I’m on my way.”
He left the apartment, racing down the hallway. What was his mom doing outside by herself? She should’ve called him if she was going to attempt her first outing in months. She had a serious condition. What was she thinking?
Lexi stepped into the hallway. “Marcus, I—”
“Not now. My mom’s in the hospital.” He brushed past her and rushed downstairs.
“Wait!” she called from behind him. “Let me get my shoes and I’ll go with you.”
He ignored her, running at top speed to his car. He got in, started it, and peeled out of the lot. Nothing could happen to his mom. It had always been the two of them against the world. He hadn’t been there to protect her. Instead he’d been fighting a losing battle with Lexi, who’d turned on him. Obviously Lexi didn’t love him. If she did, she would’ve heard him out, taken his side.
He rubbed his stinging eyes. Fuck. He couldn’t think about Lexi.
He broke all the speed limits, roared into the hospital parking lot, and parked. Then he ran through the lot, through the busy emergency room, all the way to the front desk.
“I need to see Lia Shepard right away. I’m her son.”
The receptionist took way too long to look up the particulars and sign him in. Finally, he was allowed back into the emergency room full of people on stretchers and in hospital beds with white curtains drawn around them for privacy.
He found her in a bed near the end of the ward, looking frail and beat up. The curtain was only halfway drawn around her bed. Her eyes were closed. Her right eye was black and blue and swollen, her cheek badly bruised with several scrapes, and she had a cut lip.
“Mom, I’m here.”
Her one eye opened, the other nearly swollen shut. It killed him. “Marcus,” she whispered.
A young woman in a T-shirt and leggings sitting on a chair next to his mom spoke up. “Hi, Marcus, I’m Jen, the one who called you. You sure made it here fast.”
He nodded once. “Thanks for bringing her in. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course. We’re just waiting for the doctor to return to see if she needs some tests.”
He stared at his mom, his gut churning. “Okay.” He spared Jen a quick glance. “I got it from here.”
Jen stood and touched his mom’s arm. “Feel better, Lia.”
“Thanks,” his mom said softly.
After Jen left, he pulled the curtain all the way shut for privacy, though there were plenty of nearby patients and there was no real privacy.
He pulled the chair close, took a seat, and held his mom’s hand. “What happened?”
Her voice was whispery soft like she was shrinking into herself. “I want to go home.”
“What did the doctor say?”
She pulled the cover up to her chin and whispered some more. He had to lean down to make out the words. “I might have a concussion,” she whispered. “They were talking about an X-ray in case I broke my cheekbone.”
“How did this happen?”
“It’s so noisy in here, Marcus. The lights are too bright. Can you take me home?”
“Let me check with the doctor.” He stood to go, and she grabbed his arm.
“Don’t leave me alone.” Her eyes shifted nervously around.
