UNDER REVISION - Road Rage, Dark Shadows MC (Book 1)

Angry Cops - Silver

Silver

An hour later, I'm still sitting in that chair with my legs curled up under me. Chloe has barely moved, one nurse assuring me that they gave her a fairly strong pain relief that's keeping her under, and Ash has left to find us coffee–preferably stuff that doesn't taste like tar.

I'm shocked he's still here but every time I even started to suggest that he leave, he didn't move a muscle. He even turned off his phone when it started vibrating non-stop, murmuring that Dodger had everything under control.

He'd ignored my disbelieving look at that.

Things are still tense between us after the stand-off in the hallway and I know we'll have to have it out eventually but it's a relief that we're not doing it now. Guess there's always a silver lining, although I'm not sure Chloe would see temporarily avoiding my problems as a silver lining.

"Silver?"

The raspy voice is so quiet that for a second, I think I imagine it. Blinking at the bed, I meet Chloe's blue eyes, which look groggy and unsure.

"You're awake!" I lunge to my feet, quickly finding the call button. "Thank god, you're awake. How're you feeling?"

She lets out a weak laugh before it turns into a cough. I grab the control and lift the back of her bed before adjusting the pillow behind her head. When she stops coughing, I grab the cup of ice water on her bedside table and press the straw to her lips. She takes slow sips before pulling away and giving me a grateful smile. I put the cup down and sit gingerly on the side of her bed, careful not to jostle her leg.

"It's been a hell of a day," she starts, her hand coming up to prod at her forehead with a wince.

"You're telling me," I swallow hard before giving her an apprehensive smile. "The doctor came by earlier. She said that you have grade two concussion, bruising on your ribs and all sorts of other places, and a broken ankle." I bite my lip to stop the trembling but I can't seem to blink the tears away, the relief of her being awake and okay just too much. She was probably hurting but she was here, awake and talking to me. "She s-said... She said that you were lucky that it wasn't a lot worse. That'd you need to take it easy for two to four weeks for the concussion and that the ankle would probably take about eight weeks before the cast could off. You might have to do some physical therapy to strength it but she said you'd be as good as n-new. She wants to keep you overnight, just for observation, but you can go home tomorrow."

"Well... fuck." Chloe sighs, deep and long, leaning her head back into the pillow and shutting her eyes. After a minute of silence, she opens them and gives me a small smile. "It's not as bad as it could've been and it's okay." It feels more like she's telling herself that instead of me. "My head hurts but it's going to be okay. It's going to be fine." A tear tracks down her cheek and on the bed, her hand starts shaking. I grab it, pressing it tightly between both of my own palms.

"It's going to be fine," I repeat, trying to give her the biggest, brightest reassuring smile that I can but I'm not sure how well I succeed.

There's a quiet knock at the door and we both turn to watch as Ash opens it, holding two cups of coffee. He pauses when he sees Chloe sitting up, awake, and his lip lifts just slightly. "Chloe." He comes forward, handing one coffee to me, tipping his chin when I thank him. "It's good to see you awake and talking. You had us worried there for a bit."

"Hey, Ash." She watches him, her eyes narrowed but the suspicion that's usually there when she sees him or we're talking about him is missing. "Thank you for staying with Silver. I'm glad she wasn't alone through all... this." She gestures at her own body, her forehead furrowing. "This isn't what I planned when I woke up this morning."