Chapter Seventeen

Caden burst through the ER doors. "Where is she?" he bellowed.

A lady at the counter scowled at him. "You don't have to yell, Sir."

"My woman was badly hurt. I need to see her with my own eyes. Her name is Bella, and she has a cut on her side."

"Hey, man," Link called out to him. "Come this way."

"Hey, wait…" the woman said.

They ignored her.

"How bad is it?"

"She had to have twenty staples put in."

Caden wiped a hand down his face. "How much pain is she in?"

Link smiled. "None. The doctor put her out. She fought it at first, but Jake shut her up."

Caden nodded. "Good. Take me to her."

"It's this way. They are about ready to head up to a room."

"Why does she have to stay?" Caden's fear came back.

"Because she lost a lot of blood, she has to get some kind of IV for the night to help build it back up."

"Has she asked for me?"

Link snorted. "If you mean yelling that she needs her master, then I'd say yes."

If she could yell for him, she would be okay. His first look at her made something in his heart feel heavy, and his stomach cramped.

She looked so tiny and very pale in the bed with the white sheet pulled over her. He saw Jake in the chair with his eyes on Bella, talking quietly on the phone.

Jake caught sight of him. "Hey, Baby. I have to go. Caden is here."

Jake stood and came to him and gave him a hard hug. "She's good, Caden. Her side looks a little gross, but that's because I hate the staples. I'd rather have glue or thread."

"That's because you're a pussy," Link said.

Caden rolled his eyes and walked to her. He smoothed the hair from her face. "Hey, Little Sub. Your master is here for you."

The monitor bleeped, and she moved her hands. "That's a girl."

"Fuck. The doctor said she would probably stay asleep until morning," Jake said and snorted when she started to rouse.

Her eyes fluttered open, and it took her a moment to focus on him. When she did, she started crying.

"Master. I got cut."

He pressed his face against the side of her head. "Shhh, I know. We'll figure out what happened. I'm just glad you're okay."

"You won't leave?" she asked and wiped her eyes.

"No, Baby. You're stuck with me."

She smiled, nodded, and closed her eyes.

"That's it. Just relax. Your master will take care of you."

He made sure she was asleep before he walked to his friends. "Tell me what happened?"

Link shrugged. "No one knows. Macy said Hannah was walking her to the bar. She screamed to get his attention. He could tell right away that something happened because she was pale."

Caden never took his eyes off her.

"He called for me," Jake said. "I was only a few feet away. When I got to her, Cat was helping her onto a stool. I could see the blood, so I pressed a rag to it. As you can imagine, it hurt her, but I just kept explaining until we got here."

"Sir," a man said behind him. "I'm here to take the woman up to her room."

"Good. I want her more comfortable."

Caden watched carefully as the man undid the brakes on the table and started rolling her out of the cubicle and toward the elevator. They were all silent on the ride, and as they transferred her over to the bed. A nurse was present working with the IV bags. She showed him where the button was to call them if Bella needed anything.

"You men can stay in here as long as you don't talk loudly or cause a ruckus."

They all nodded at the nurse before she turned and walked out of the room.

Caden pulled up a chair to sit as close to her as he could and reached for her hand. "I want us to go over the security videos from last night. We might get lucky and see something."

Link leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "Macy and Daniel are doing that. They said they'd call if they found anything. Daniel told us he would be here later in the morning to ask her questions."

Caden nodded. "I'll see how she feels. If she's not up to it, he'll have to come back."

The three lounged around the room, talking softly. Not once did he release his hold on her. He was terrified she'd be taken from him. Who could have hurt a sweet thing like Bella? Maybe it was a mistake, and she got cut by accident. He wouldn't stop looking until they figured it out.

For the next few hours, he watched over her and had his head on the side of the bed by her hip when he needed to rest. The other two left to take care of their subs but would be back.

Later that morning, the door opened, and Daniel walked in.

"Hey. How's she doing?"

Caden nodded. "They say she's fine, but she hasn't woken yet. They don't seem concerned. The doctor will be in shortly."

"Has she said anything to you about what happened?" Daniel asked.

Caden shook his head. "She's been unconscious the whole time I've been here except when I first got here. She woke up when she heard my voice and told me she got cut. I reassured her that everything would be okay and promised I'd be here the whole time. After that, she went back to sleep and hasn't woken up since."

They both turned when the door opened, and the doctor and a nurse walked in. The nurse immediately went to the IV tube and added another bag of fluid.

The doctor nodded to Daniel. "Good morning, Sheriff."

"Good morning, Tom. How's our girl doing?"

"Fine, as far as I know. I need to check her vitals and the wound."

"What's that?" Caden asked and pointed to the IV stand.

"It's more medicine to help her. She's so tiny and has lost a lot of blood. I'm still concerned, so I'm keeping her another night," the doctor said.

Caden was happy about that, although he'd rather have the two of them home in their bed. However, at the hospital, the staff would be feet away if something happened.

"How much longer will she be asleep?" Caden asked.

The doctor glanced up from the chart at the end of the bed. "I'm not sure. It could be an hour or several. It's up to her body and healing. Each person is different. They gave her a strong sedative because she was so distraught. She kept asking for her master, and I assume that's you?"

Caden nodded.

"I was told she woke up for a minute when you got there. That's a powerful connection the two of you have because no one I know has been able to awake from the drug."

"She's my life," Caden said, staring at her.

"I wish there were more people like you. I think there would be less violence between people. Now, let me check out the wound."

Caden stood down at the bottom of the bed and gripped her feet. He flinched when he got his first look at it. The cut was longer than he had thought. He'd seen decapitated people when he was in the Navy, but this hit him much harder.

"It seems to be improving. That's good. Now, if we can get her awake and eating, she'll be able to go tomorrow morning."

"Can I wash the blood off of her?" Caden asked.

"I'll bring in what you'll need," the nurse said and walked out.

"I'll be back to check on her this afternoon unless you need me before."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome, Sir. I don't think I have to tell you to watch over your girl. You haven't taken your eyes off her."

"I'll be right beside her until she wakes up. I don't want her to be afraid."

"She's in good hands," Tom said. "Take care, Sheriff."

"You, too, Doc," Daniel said. The door closed. "I'll head out, too. Call me when she's ready to talk."

"You got it, Daniel. Thanks, man."

Daniel slapped his back and started to walk out of the room. "She's going to be okay."

Caden nodded. He'd make sure of it.