Chapter 72
SPOV
I was pleased to see Carlos come back into the room, though for some reason he looked annoyed. As soon as he saw me, he replaced that look with concern. Following him into the room was my father, but he was smiling widely at me.
"Pumpkin I'm pleased to see that you're awake. Carlos here tells me you came out of it with some serious bruising and a cracked rib?"
"Yeah, it could have been so much worse"
"So I heard"
It was then that I noticed that he was already wearing a Rangeman uniform under his jacket.
"Have you started work already Dad?"
"This morning, I met with Tank and a lovely lady called Ella who set me up with uniforms"
"How did Mum take it?"
"I met her here but she was so busy talking with Morelli she never even noticed"
"Morelli! He was here?"
"Yeah, came with your mother. Don't worry everyone knows it was his fault that you got hurt, even your mother"
"How did that go down?"
"I'd say she was taken aback by it. I gave her a choice, so we'll see how she comes around"
I wasn't really sure what he meant by giving her a choice but no doubt I'd hear about it soon enough.
"I hear you two eloped and got married?"
I stared back at my father not really knowing how to answer him. Would he be annoyed with us for not telling him?
"Pumpkin don't look so worried I'm really pleased for you. You did the right thing as far as I'm concerned. All that matters is that the two of you are happy, no one else"
"Does Mum know?"
"Oh yeah, though between the revelation that Morelli was responsible for you being attacked and hurt and Carlos here announcing he's your husband, she was looking a bit shocked"
"We're having a celebratory evening on Sunday, that's when we were planning on announcing it"
"That should be good then, maybe I should ask my new boss to put me on rota for that night?"
"Dad!"
"Joking, I wouldn't miss it for the world"
"Yeah well, I'll need you there to manage my mother"
"I need to go. I'll tell everyone you're sleeping. That way you don't have to put up with any visitors"
"Thanks Dad"
He came and kissed me on my forehead before walking out of the door. Carlos went out with him but came back in a few minutes later. As he sat on the side of my bed he gently kissed my eyelids.
"Go back to sleep Babe, you're tired. I'll be here with you"
I was pleased to follow through with that suggestion. I did feel really tired but I was sure that the drugs I was on were probably responsible for that. Once I woke up again, I felt better in my head, but the pain was more intense. I had the choice, endure the pain and be clear headed or take the pain killers and feel dopey. I went with trying to manage the pain, but I know I was bad tempered with it. I hated being stuck in the hospital and made sure everyone knew how I felt. In the end the doctors relented and said I could be discharged the following morning, which suited me even better. It also meant I didn't have to think about the idea of visitors coming in and asking questions.
I was soon dressed in loose clothes courtesy of Ella and with the help of Carlos. The hospital insisted on me leaving the place in a wheelchair but at least we left by the back door to avoid bumping into anyone. Moving was painful on my ribs and stomach and Bobby insisted I had something to take away the worst of the pain. As I arrived at Rangeman the garage seemed to fill with Merry Men. Les opened the door for me and helped me out while Carlos walked around the car.
"Les, thanks for getting me out of there"
"Anytime Beautiful"
Tank was the next person to come up to me, but instead of picking me up he bent down and kissed the top of my head.
"How's it going Little Girl?"
"Better now I'm home. Tank, you got Carlos out of that building, didn't you?"
"I was there"
"Thank you"
"Anytime, but only because it was for you"
I smiled at how he'd said that. I knew that Carlos was the one to first find me and that he'd gone for Dempsey while Les carried me out. Les also said that it wasn't long before Carlos had come out of the room, so I knew that he'd killed Dempsey quickly. That his body had burnt in the building didn't worry me at all, I just worried that Carlos had to kill someone to save me.
By the time I'd arrived on seven I was exhausted and couldn't even summon up the energy to shower. Instead I pulled back the covers and as elegantly as I could, crawled into bed. I must have been asleep before Carlos came in behind me because when I woke up the covers had been tucked up around me and he was sat on the bed against the headboard working on his laptop. I must also have rolled over onto my back at some point which wasn't my usual sleeping position.
"Hey sleepy head, how are you feeling?"
"I'll tell you when I wake up"
"Okay, how about something to eat?"
"Only if it's soup made by Ella"
"Only for you, I think that was on the menu anyway"
"Okay, I'm gonna try and shower"
"You need any help?"
"Nah, I'll manage"
Manage was being optimistic due to way my side hurt but 20 minutes later I'd managed to wash my hair and most of my body. My head and neck hurt as did my cheek, but the worst of the pain I was experiencing was from my side and stomach. I was standing in the bedroom with my towel open to inspect the bruises I had. I was surprised when Bobby told me about the plaque stopping the bullet.
In some ways Adrian Buckley had saved my life again. I would need to take a look at the plaque and see how bad the damage was. My ribs and stomach were now turning an ugly black and were still tender to touch. Apparently, the rib would take the longest to heal, between 3 to 6 weeks and I had a list a mile long from Bobby as to what I had to do. I saw in the mirror as Carlos came up behind me and sighing, I started to pull the towel back around me.
"Don't be embarrassed just because you have bruises"
"They're ugly, I mean look at me"
"You're still beautiful"
"I'll have to think carefully what I wear for Sunday, we are still doing the celebration aren't we?"
"Definitely. I think for the moment we have a free run on a peaceful existence"
"Hell I hope so. What happened to that man Jones that you were worried about?"
"We followed him out of the state, then I had an enquiry from one of the private mercenary units on his suitability"
"You tell them you were sorry to see him go?"
"Something like that. I said he didn't really take to some of the mundane work we do"
"Good, so now you have my Dad and his three friends you must be nearly fully staffed"
"Yes. I've asked Zeph if he wants to stay with us"
"What did he say?"
"He'd love to, if he could have some time to decompress after being around you"
"Me?"
"Yes, but then he went on to say he loved working with you, so I thought maybe he could be someone you could partner with once you're cleared"
"Have you spoken with Vinnie?"
"Tank has and Vinnie was keen to have us take on the mid-level skips. Seems Lula isn't very reliable and has been moonlighting at that place she goes to for her hair and things"
"That's one of the people I feel sorry about, that we've moved apart"
"I think it's for the best Babe. I know she was a close friend but maybe you've both outgrown that type of friendship"
"Yeah, there's still Connie. By the way who else does Vinnie have working for him, is Joyce still there?"
"According to rumors she's found her next husband so isn't working"
"So who's doing the low-level skips?"
"Vinnie. You always said you came across some strange people so he's enjoying meeting them. Connie is doing more of the admin work and bonding out at the courts so he's paying her a bit more"
"Well I may not be able to do anything physical but I can do the searches for any files we get in"
"Let's ease you into that okay?"
"Okay"
"What are the rules Bobby gave you?"
"Take the painkillers, try using an ice pack on anywhere that's still swollen. Rest but walk around regularly and move my shoulders. Breathe normally, but take 10 slow, deep breaths every so often"
"I think he's concerned about you getting mucus in your lungs especially after the bout of pneumonia you had"
"I hadn't thought of that"
"Get dressed and then we'll have something to eat"
