Dane's Storm(75)

Noise, cold, pain, pressure.

Then falling, quiet, blankness. Warmth.

“Get Harding in here to look at that leg—”

Voices, beeping, music. I was dreaming . . . dreaming. Yes.

“No frostbite that I can find. I have a new respect for garbage b—”

Who was talking? So far away . . .

“One hell of a story to tell when—”

Light. Too bright. It was day. Pain bit into my head and I groaned. A wolf. It was a wolf and my head was in his jaws. I ripped him open, his guts spilling out in a slithery mess of blood and steam as I vomited in the snow. The smell. Oh God. The smell. I vomited again as I fell over the edge of a cliff, falling, falling into a deep, dark void.

“Can you hear me, Dane—”

Dustin.

How was Dustin here?

“Let him sleep. His body needs time to recover. Did you hear how they found Audra?”

“Yeah . . .” The voice. Whose? “. . . frozen.” So quiet and filled with sadness.

Audra! Audra! I moaned, fighting my way to her. I’d been dying but I’d curled over her, around her. She was right under me. Why couldn’t I feel her?

“Shh. Relax, buddy. I’ll get the nurse. Dalila, tell the nurse he needs more pain medication.”

No, no, no medication. Audra!

I moved toward the steady beeping noise, pulling myself through the snow, my legs so heavy, the world blinking in and out around me. Help. I had to . . . had to . . .

My eyes opened and I blinked, moving my gaze around the room, my heart lurching as I realized I was in the hospital. How? How? The beeping sound next to my bed increased with the anxiety that coursed through my system.

Oh God. I . . . I searched my memory, wincing with the effort. I hadn’t been able to go on. I’d tried. I’d tried, but my body wouldn’t work anymore. But then . . .

“You’re awake.” I heard the creak of a chair next to me as someone stood and I turned my head to the side, my eyes searching. My grandmother. She took the couple of steps to my bed, looking at me with tears in her eyes. “You’re awake,” she said again. “Let me call the—”

“Audra?” My voice was hoarse, so scratchy that the word came out sounding like sandpaper.

Her eyes moved over my face and my heart dropped, but then she smiled, a small one and said, “She’s down the hall. She’s going to be okay.” I let out a gasp, stark relief filling my chest. “Do you want some water?” She began to turn and I grabbed her hand, pulling her attention back to me.

“See her . . . now.”

“Dane, dear, you can’t. She’s still sleeping. She lost so much blood, and she only just got out of her second surgery this morning.”

“I want . . .” I took a deep breath, trying to clear the cobwebs from my throat. How long was I out? I had a million questions, but they all could wait. I needed to see Audra more than I needed anything else on the face of this earth.

“It’s absolutely not possible—”

Rage filled me. No one was going to keep me away from Audra. Not another living soul.

I ripped at the needle sticking out of my hand, slapping tubes away, moving the blankets back so I could get out of bed. Nothing would stop me. I’d damn well get to Audra myself.

The room spun, turning sideways, as I fell back on the pillow, pushing off it again in an effort to get up. My grandmother held my shoulders to keep me steady. “Dane, you’re going to hurt yourself!”

I pushed at her. “Goddamn it, get off me. This is your fucking fault.”

She stepped back immediately, her face stricken. I shouldn’t feel bad. This was her fault. She’d started everything that led us to this hospital. “Help me up or get out,” I grunted, pulling myself to a sitting position and waiting as the head rush cleared. My body ached everywhere, especially my leg, which felt extra thick with some sort of bandage wrapped around it.

Luella nodded, her eyes filled with something that looked like remorse. I couldn’t be sure, as I’d never seen that particular expression— Fuck if I cared anyway. Audra! “I’ll call the nurse so she can help you into a wheelchair.” She leaned over and pressed a button.

“I don’t need a damn wheelchair,” I said breathlessly, moving my legs off the side of the bed as the room tilted again.

“Please, Dane. I won’t keep you from her, but please don’t hurt yourself more than you already are. I think Audra would tell you the same thing.”

“As if you would fucking know what Audra would or wouldn’t say,” I bit out. When her face blanched, I took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Fuck,” I muttered, just as a nurse came in the room.

“Gail, will you get my grandson a wheelchair so he can go see Audra?”

Gail gave me a small smile and a nod. “It’s nice to see you awake, Dane. We’ve all been waiting.”

Once I was situated in a wheelchair, Gail wheeled me the short distance to Audra’s room. Outside her door, Gail began to push it open when I turned, putting my hand on hers and halting her. I cleared my throat. “Is she . . . I mean, her legs . . .”

But Gail smiled kindly, placing her hand on my shoulder and leaning forward. “The trauma of her fall, combined with several broken bones and nerve injury caused the leg paralysis. She’s showing signs that it was temporary and the nerve function tests are positive.”