Page 44 of A Soldier's Destiny
“Where is it?”
“In the back of the van. It was secured pretty well, but I doubt it survived the collision with the dumpster.”
Steele opened the back of the van and stepped back so Jasper could see. The cake’s top slid off with the impact, but it didn’t look too bad. He’d expected to see cake plastered all over the inside of the van.
“Let me see,” Rori said as she squirmed to get up.
After all she’d put into it, he knew she’d drive herself crazy until she could see it. He helped her stand and supported her as she gingerly made her way to the van. His Angel was one stubborn woman.
“Oh no. It’s ruined.”
“Nah, it’s just a little lopsided. I bet no one will even notice.” When she turned to look at him, he winced. Anyone seeing her face would have figured she’d gone ten rounds and lost badly. Her left eye was swollen shut and it was hard to tell where her eye began, and her face ended. The whole left side was twice it’s normal size and had turned a purple-red color. It was painful just to look at it. He couldn’t imagine how much she was hurting.
“Let me try to fix it.”
“How about you let Steele and Ethan deal with getting the cake to Ruby’s and fixed up. You’ll take care of it, right, guys?”
“Sure.” But from the look on their faces, it was the last thing they wanted to do. There was no way Jasper was leaving Rori’s side again. He’d had to do it in Paris, but not this time.
“Chase, I think it might have been the guy hanging around the bakery yesterday. The one in the video I sent over this morning.”
“Alex is still working on trying to ID him. But maybe we’ll get some prints from the van.”
“Can you send it over to me, Chase. I’ll need it for the official report,” Steele asked.
“Yeah. No problem. But if we can’t identify him, I doubt you can,” Chase replied, never missing a chance to rib his brother.
“No, but if he did cut the brake line there might be prints, and it will help to have an ID for the APB. We’ll tow it to the garage and see what we find.”
“How much longer until the ambulance gets here?”
“I don’t need to go to the hospital. Let’s just go back to the apartment.”
“Nope, you need to be checked out.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“Humor me, Angel. You’re pretty beat up.” She tried to give him the stink eye, but with the condition of her face, it was plain pitiful. At least they’d both survived. His ribs were sore but nothing he couldn’t handle. She’d taken the brunt of it, and he’d have given anything to prevent it. It was pure luck he saw the alley and the dumpster in time for her to take the turn. Only a collision would stop the van, and this had been the best possible solution. Sometimes that’s all you got.
By now they had attracted quite a crowd. Surveilling the area, he saw the same guy who’d been in the bakery. With a nod of his head, he got Chase’s attention and nodded in the direction of the man. He must have realized he’d been spotted because he took off with Chase and Ethan on his tail.
Jasper would have preferred to be the one chasing the dirtbag and take the guy apart piece by piece. In his gut, he knew that he’d been the one tormenting Rori, but they still had no idea why. But that would have to wait. For now, his first priority was to get her to the hospital.
The ambulance finally showed up and he rode with her. There was no way he was going to let her out of his sight. When they arrived, the nurse took them into one of the curtained areas and took her information. It was another fifteen minutes before the doctor made it in.
Jasper had to threaten Rori to keep her in the bed. The doctor took one look at her and ordered x-rays and a CT scan of her head, then made him step out while he examined her. He didn’t want to leave, but if she wasn’t safe there, she wouldn’t be anywhere, and he left them to their work.
Twenty minutes later, the doctor came out to get him. “How is she?”
“She’s got a concussion, bruised ribs, and bruising around her neck and shoulders from the seatbelt. Luckily there are no broken bones, but she’s going to be in a lot of pain for a few days,” he said as he walked Jasper back to her room.
“He wants me to stay overnight, but I told him you’d take care of me at home.”
Jasper looked from Rori to the doctor and shrugged. He’d prefer to have her where he could watch over her, and if that’s what she wanted he was okay with it.
“Tell me what I have to do. I’ve had some field medic training, and I’ll make sure she follows your directions.”
The doctor didn’t look happy, but he knew a brick wall when he saw one. He wrote out a prescription for pain meds and the concussion protocol instructions.
