by Marla Monroe
“Okay.” He grimaced then nodded. “I’m going to examine you to see how you’re healing. Then we’re going to have a talk about the extent of your injuries.”
River wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. He appeared much more worried about the talk than he was about examining her. She followed his directions, looking up and down, squeezing his hands, deep breathing, and moving her extremities when he told her to. After a good twenty minutes of performing like a trained seal for a bucket of fish, the good doctor seemed satisfied with her progress.
He pulled up a chair and nodded at the nurse to do the same. The woman sat on the edge of the recliner next to her bed. River noticed she kept her gaze either on the doctor or her hands. It didn’t bode well for what they were going to say.
“Just tell me whatever has you so tied up in knots. I’m an adult. I can deal,” she said, hoping she wasn’t overstating her bravery.
“It’s obvious by your injuries that you had been beaten on more than one occasion. I’d say over several weeks’ duration by the many different stages of bruising on your body. You’d been starved. I expect they gave you very small amounts of food and just enough water to keep you alive. You became dehydrated quickly once you were free of them.”
“You’ve told me this already,” she pointed out.
“I wasn’t sure how much you would remember from our previous conversations. Today is the first day you’ve appeared completely awake and coherent,” he said.
“Is there more?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “River, there was evidence of traumatic sexual activity as well. Since you don’t remember anything, I assumed you didn’t remember that as well. We didn’t find any physical injury that might cause you problems with a normal sexual relationship or with having children.” He waited while that sank in.
River forced herself to remain calm and to keep her facial expression relaxed. She had no doubt now why she couldn’t remember what had happened to her. If she’d been raped, it would have been more than she could have handled at the time. Her past would have reared up and reminded her of the ugly truth. No, she was thankful that she didn’t remember. It was for the best.
“What about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases?” she finally managed to ask.
He cleared his throat. “There doesn’t seem to be any evidence of sexual diseases. You were thoroughly tested for everything and were already on some major heavy duty antibiotics anyway that would cover anything minor. You will, however, need to continue to be tested for HIV for another six months to be safe. Most people develop antibodies that can be detected within the first two to eight weeks. However some people take longer to develop them. In rare cases it can take up to six months to develop the antibodies for HIV.”
“There’s no way to find out sooner? I have to worry about it for six months?” she felt as if the room was closing in on her now. She wasn’t as brave as she’d thought.
“There is another test called the RNA test that will detect the virus directly within nine to eleven days, but they are more expensive, so most people choose to be tested every three months for six months or even a year to be safe. You will need to inform any future sexual partners until you’re cleared of the possibility and they need to wear condoms,” he said.
“I want the RNA test as soon as possible. I don’t want to have to wonder every day for the next six months. I want to put this behind me and forget it ever happened. I’ll go crazy if I have to think about it all of the time,” she confided softly. “Can you do it here?”
The physician nodded. “Actually, we draw the blood and send it off. You would have the results back in three or five days.”
“I have insurance, but I don’t care how much it costs, I want that. When can you draw the blood?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “Well, you’ve been here for three days now. I would feel safe in saying that we can feel confident of the results if we wait to draw the blood in another seven or eight days. I’d say a week from tomorrow would work. You can return here or go most anywhere in the United States.”
“I–I’ll stick around here for now. I need to decide what I’m going to do next. I’ll come back here. What is today?” she asked with a frown.
“It’s Tuesday, September 13. If you’re still doing well and don’t develop any complications from those broken ribs, I’ll release you on Friday.” He continued to stare at her as if waiting for her to say something.
Finally he spoke up again. “Do you have any questions, River? You told us there wasn’t anyone to call, but you could really use the support of your family, or at the very least, a friend.”
“There’s no one I want to call right now. Maybe later,” she said. “I know I’m in Texas, but where exactly?”
He smiled. “You’re in Sky. It’s about thirty minutes from Reo, which is where those men live.”
“Thanks. I’ll stick around here and come back next Wednesday for that test, then.” She smiled at him.
“Fine, fine. I’ll give you instructions on your injuries and the medicine I’m going to send you home on closer to Friday. If you need anything at all, be sure and let the nurses know. They can get in touch with me at any time, day or night.” The doctor stood up and scooted the chair back to the other side of the room.
“Get plenty of rest and remember to eat well. The nurses are keeping up with how well you’re doing for me.” He winked and nodded at the silent nurse before turning and walking out the door.
River watched them leave, and the moment the door closed behind them, she dropped her head back against the hospital bed and let the tears fall. She didn’t sob or anything, just lay there and let the silent drops roll down her face. She didn’t remember any of it and was so thankful, but just knowing it had happened hurt. Why? Why had she ended up kidnapped in the first place? It wouldn’t have been to ransom her since her parents didn’t have much money. She wasn’t anyone important and didn’t use her parent’s last name anyway.
The very fact that her parents hadn’t bothered to call her back when she’d left the message on their answering service that she was checking in proved that they hadn’t been contacted for ransom. It made no sense to her. Deep down, did she really want to know the reason? Wouldn’t she be better off forgetting that any of it had ever happened in the first place? Once she’d gotten the blood test along with the results, River would move on and put it all behind her. And still the tears fell.
The whoosh of the door opening startled her. River quickly brushed the tears away and met Merrick and Cassius’s gazes. From the way their expressions changed, she knew they had picked up that she’d been crying. She prayed they would leave it be.
“I’ve got to get back to work,” Merrick said. “Cassius is staying with you for a while.”
“Oh. He doesn’t have to stay with me. I’m fine. I’m going to get cleaned up some. I figure I’ll feel better,” she all but babbled.
“I’m staying,” the other man said with a wide grin. “Can’t wait to see you in that gown Raven sent.”
“Um, really. You don’t need to stay. I’m sure you have plenty to do without sitting in a hospital staring at me,” she said.
“No arguing, River. Cassius is staying,” Merrick said gruffly.
She watched as the big man walked over to the bed and bent down to stare into her eyes barely inches away. He rubbed his nose against hers.
“Rest and let Cassius help you if you get up. I’ll be back in the morning.” He brushed his lips across hers before she realized what he was going to do. Then he straightened up and took a step back.
Merrick knocked knuckles with his brother and walked out of the room without a backward glance, but River could still feel him on her lips. The way his eyes had stared into hers gave her the impression that he’d known why she was crying. She suspected that no one had secrets around that man. He saw everything. It didn’t scare her, but it worried her. What did he want from her? Because no one spent t
ime with a stranger in a hospital room without wanting something in return.
She looked back to where Cassius had taken a seat on the recliner and was watching her face with a curious look in his eyes. What did he see when he looked at her? She had no idea what she looked like yet, but expected that she was a sad excuse of a woman with the way she felt and the fact that she’d been found on the side of the road like resurrected road kill.
“It’s okay to cry, River. No one thinks you’re weak because you cry. You have a reason to need to,” Cassius softly told her.
And just like that, River burst into tears once again.
* * * *
She was breaking his heart. Every tear that fell seemed torn from her as if she tried so hard to keep from letting it go. Cassius held her against his chest and gently smoothed her hair down her back. He didn’t want to hurt her by holding her too tightly, but the need to comfort her was too great. Each soft sob sent another dart into his heart.
What was it about the rag of a woman that he felt connected to her? Was it just that he felt responsible for her since he and Merrick had found her? The quote that when you save a life you become responsible for it crossed his mind. It wasn’t a true proverb, though it was often credited to the Chinese. Cassius slowly pulled her away from his chest and thumbed a tear away.
“How about a shower? Since they untethered you from that machine, it won’t be so hard. I’ll cover your hand where the port is so it doesn’t get wet.”
“I’d like that. Thanks,” she said, pulling farther back from him.
“I’ll put everything in the bathroom for you. Sit still ’til I get back,” he said.
Grabbing the bag from Raven, Cassius walked into the bathroom and laid everything out to make it easier on her. Then he turned on the water and adjusted the temperature to make sure it wouldn’t be too hot. When he returned to the room, he pulled out a plastic Ziploc bag and a roll of surgical tape he’d snatched from the nurse’s station while they’d been waiting on the doctor to see her. Her mouth formed a weak smile with a disbelieving look.
“We’ll MacGyver it,” he said with a grin. “It’ll work. I promise.”
“You watched MacGyver?” she asked.
“Every time it was on. Got the DVDs, too,” he confessed.
Cassius couldn’t believe he had told her that. He hadn’t seen that one coming. Something about her had him revealing secrets he swore he’d take to the grave with him. Yeah, sure. It was just an embarrassing obsession with the series, but no one other than his brother knew about it.
“Okay, let’s get you taped up.” Cassius covered her hand and wrist with the gallon-sized bag then wrapped the surgical tape around it to seal it tight enough that hopefully water wouldn’t seep inside. Even if it was a bit too tight, it would only be on for a few minutes.
“Ready to try standing up now?” he asked.
“They had me up walking around the room earlier. I’m pretty steady,” she told him.
“Good. Here we go.” He helped her off the bed, noticing again how small she was next to him. Of course, most women were tiny compared to he and his brother, but she seemed so fragile to him.
She wavered a bit when she first stood up but it didn’t last long. He followed close behind her as she walked into the bathroom. When she turned around to shut the door, he grinned.
“No. Out. I’ll be fine,” she said with narrowed eyes.
“Fine. Be that way,” he told her with an exaggerated pout.
She rolled her eyes and pointed to the door. “Out.”
“I’m going,” he said with a smile. “Call out if you need help. I’m going to be standing right outside the door.”
“I’ll be fine, but thanks.” She closed the door once he’d crossed the threshold.
“Don’t lock the door in case you need help. I promise not to come in, River.” He waited, and when he didn’t hear the lock click, he relaxed.
Cassius pulled the straight-back chair over to the door and sat down to listen and wait. He hoped he would hear if she had any trouble or fell. If she had been anyone to him other than a woman he found on the side of the road, he’d have insisted on being in there helping her. She’d only been up once after nearly having died.
Although he and Merrick didn’t know the particulars of what had been done to her, they both did know that she’d been raped. The bruising and scrapes on her inner thighs that they’d seen before being kicked out of the exam room in the ER that night had pretty much screamed it. Hell, there’d been bruises in the shape of fingerprints where they’d held her legs apart.
Just remembering them had his blood heated with the need to beat the hell out of something all over again. Women should never be treated like that. He didn’t know how Rhodes and Vernon had been able to deal with what had happened to Jessie. He would have tracked Ray, the vice president of Satan’s Sons, down and beaten him within an inch of his life before handing him over to the cops. Ray would never have gotten away with it for as long as he did.
He purposely changed the direction of his thoughts so he didn’t get all worked up over it again. Instead, he thought about Merrick’s reaction to River. His brother played things close to the chest and rarely said much, but with River, he’d been pretty talkative. Not only that, but he’d pretty much made it clear, to him at least, that he was interested in the woman. It surprised him. He normally only messed around with women who knew the score. They weren’t looking for anything serious. Yet without even really knowing anything about her, Merrick had pretty much staked his claim.
They both hoped to find a woman one day who was intelligent and interesting but would be willing to live a biker’s life with them. They preferred the life with its simplicity and ever-changing days. Sure, they lived at the clubhouse in Reo, but they made frequent runs that kept them from getting antsy. It was either that or live on the road and neither one of them really wanted to do that. This satisfied their itchy feet.
Though they both liked the same type of woman, sharing hadn’t really been something they’d considered until the others in the club had started sharing their woman. Now it didn’t seem all that strange. They made it look so easy. He wasn’t stupid. Not with as many degrees as he had. Cassius knew it wasn’t a piece of cake, but outside of the usual arguments, they didn’t seem to have problems with jealousy or anything. Other than the women fussing that they ganged up on them when it came to something they wanted to do and didn’t need to, they all seemed happy.
He shook his head. Why was he even thinking about it? River would be leaving soon. She’d go back to wherever her home was and forget all about them. More than likely she’d make it a priority to forget about anything that would remind her of her ordeal. They were part of a nightmare for her.
The shower shut off in the bathroom. Cassius listened closely to make sure he didn’t miss it if she fell or needed help. No sound came from the other room for a long time. Then he heard the water in the sink turn on. When it turned off and a few minutes later the door opened again, Cassius stood up to help if she needed it. River walked out of the room wearing the knee length gown, her hair towel tousled down her back. She looked a different person already. Her eyes, a light brown, milky like a doe’s eyes, shone from her pretty oval face. Despite the bruising, she was a pretty woman with an engaging smile.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Much better. Thanks.” She drew the brush down her hair then let her arms drop for a second before she did it again.
“Let me brush your hair for you. I can tell your arms are still weak. Have a seat.” He pushed the chair over by the bed. “We can watch TV while I brush it.”
She hesitated for a second then nodded and sat in the chair. He grabbed the remote and handed it to her. Then he took the brush from her hand and started drawing it through her long brown hair. The more he brushed, the lighter it grew as it dried. They watched an old Mel Gibson movie while he brushed her hair. By the time it was over, her hair had turned a
soft mink color that shone from the brushing. He had thoroughly enjoyed doing it, watching the transformation from dark brown to soft strands of a lighter brown.
It wasn’t lost on him that he was becoming attached to her. Nothing good would come of it, but he didn’t have the strength to pull back. He liked being around her. She was intelligent and funny. That made her very dangerous, but Cassius wasn’t going to walk away. Not this time.
A soft knock at the door had him standing up to put himself between her and the door without him even thinking about it. When a nurse walked in carrying a tray with dinner on it, he smiled his thanks and took it from her. Once she’d left, he set it on the tray table and adjusted it for her to be able to eat while sitting in the chair.
“Aren’t you hungry?” she asked.
“I’ll get something to eat when I leave. Eat up, princess. I’m paying attention to what you eat,” he said with a smile. “I’m playing spy for the doctor.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and picked up her fork. “Traitor.”
Cassius chuckled and leaned back in the recliner to watch her eat. It hit him that he wanted to stay the night and watch her sleep, make sure she didn’t have any nightmares. He stiffened. Fuck! He had it bad. She was already under his skin. What in the hell was he going to do when she left? Because he knew she would. She wouldn’t stick around to play in the sheets with a couple of bikers who would remind her every day of what had happened to her. He was screwed.
Chapter Four
Thursday afternoon, River could hardly be still. She was going to get to leave in the morning as soon as the doctor checked her out. Hospitals had always made her uncomfortable, and the fact that she’d seen more than her share of emergency rooms didn’t help. As a photojournalist, she ended up in a lot of bad situations, which meant she had a better than usual chance of injury than most photographers.