Collateral Damage

“We need to put pressure on it.” Dammit, it was killing him to see her hurt like this and not be able to help.

She shook her head. “I’m almost there. I’ll do it once I’m admitted.”

Apparently her stubbor

Liam set his jaw and shortened his strides to stay next to her, wanting to wrap a supporting hand around her elbow but he knew she’d wrench her arm away and that would only make her wound hurt more. “Is your nurse friend working right now?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t elaborate and he didn’t push for more because he knew it would be a waste of breath. The emergency room was busy with a flurry of new patients from the earlier attack. Honor didn’t even flick a glance at him as he pulled open the door for her. “You can go now.”

Not happening.

Ignoring her icy dismissal he stayed with her as she went to sign herself in. Liam stayed to the side of the room, leaning against the wall and never taking his eyes off her. He kept his arms folded across his chest and curled his hands into fists to keep from dragging them through his hair in frustration.

Fuck, okay, he goddamn hated seeing her bleeding and in pain she wouldn’t admit to. It made him edgy as hell with the need to do something, anything, to make it better. Even though he knew he shouldn’t because it might send mixed signals he still wanted to touch her, hold her. Something.

The admitting nurse called someone to the front and another nurse came out with some gauze bandages for Honor a minute later. Honor took them and started to shrug out of her body armor, trying and failing to cover a wince. Without even realizing he’d moved, Liam found himself halfway to her before his brain caught up.

“Here,” he said gruffly, unable to sit back and not help her a moment longer. Even if she hated being around him, she needed help and she’d just have to suffer his attention because there was no way he was leaving her side right now. He tried to tell himself it was solely in the interest of looking out for her, but deep down he knew it was because he wanted to be near her.

It wasn’t a comfortable realization. She’d left him. He had every right to feel the way he did after she’d abandoned him like that.

Stuffing the gauze into his pocket he brushed her left hand away from her right shoulder and gently removed her Kevlar vest before peeling the sleeve of her ACU jacket down her arm. She stood very still but he caught the way she sucked in a breath when the sodden material pulled away from her skin and he immediately saw why.

Shrapnel had torn through her clothes, burying itself into the flesh at the back of her right shoulder and upper arm. She must have hit the ground hard too because both her elbows were bleeding, already swelling and turning color.

Sweet pea…

Seeing those wounds in her soft, delicate skin made him feel helpless. Where else was she hurt that he couldn’t see? He battled against his instinct to comfort and soothe. Two years ago he would have automatically gathered her into his arms and stroked her back and she’d have come to him willingly. Now that he no longer had that right, he found he wanted it back. So much that it was a physical ache gnawing beneath his breastbone.

“You’re go

Liam frowned as he studied them. She was moving her arm okay so maybe there weren’t any fractures but if he’d learned anything over the past two years it was just how tough Honor was inside that feminine exterior. Wouldn’t surprise him if the shards had hit bone and she was merely putting on a brave face.

“They’ll have to do X-rays then pull the shrapnel out and stitch you up.” She’d be sore and bruised as hell afterward, even with only superficial damage. Goddammit, she could have died today.

Honor expelled an irritated sigh. “Great. Tell the general I’ll be in to see him as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry about that.” And I’m not going anywhere until you’re taken care of. He didn’t bother saying it out loud because there was no point. She’d just argue and he didn’t care what she said, he was staying. It didn’t matter that they’d broken up on far less than amicable terms. Seeing her hurt bothered him so much that he couldn’t walk away, no matter what had happened between them. It also made him feel like an ass for the way he’d treated her, ignoring her when she’d reached out to him before.

Liam wadded up her bloody ACU jacket and tossed it onto the body armor vest he’d placed at his feet. Hating that she was still doing her best to ignore him, he wrapped a hand around her left upper arm and guided her to a plastic chair set against the far wall. She was stiff and unyielding at first, then gave up and sat down, still studiously avoiding looking at him.

A wave of pure helplessness washed over him. He knew he deserved this, her indifference. But being reminded once again that he was no longer part of her life and never would be again made him feel cold and hollow inside.

He took the seat next to hers anyway and slid the gauze from his pocket. “I’m go

They didn’t speak as they waited for someone to come see her. He kept his attention on providing enough pressure to slow the bleeding while she watched the hustle and bustle going on in the room and hallway beyond them.

The first small pad was soaked through within a few minutes so Liam used another, wishing he could do more. He knew she was hurting even if she refused to show it and it didn’t help that he was basically shoving the shrapnel deeper into her flesh as they waited. If he could have taken the pain for her, he would have in an instant. It drove him crazy to see her hurt.

After another twenty-plus minutes a male nurse finally came out and called her into an exam room. Liam’s fingers had long since gone numb but he kept up with the pressure and thankfully she let him after one attempt to take over on the way to the room. When they entered the room she set her left hand on the gauze and twisted away.

Liam let her go and went to the sink to wash his hands, her blood staining the water pink before it swirled down the drain. He was thankful the wounds weren’t serious, otherwise he’d be losing his mind right now.

He wasn’t a fucking machine, couldn’t shut his feelings off no matter how much he wished he could. Maybe he wasn’t in love with her anymore, maybe he was still bitter about the way things had ended, but he still cared. More than he wanted to, he was slowly realizing.

“Thanks, I’m good now. You can leave,” Honor told him.

He shook his hands in the sink and reached for a paper towel to dry them with, replying without looking at her. “I’ll stay until your friend gets here.”

“Who’s your friend?” the male nurse asked.

“Lieutenant Kelly,” Honor said.

He smiled at her. “I’ll go find her. We’ve been kinda busy in here but if she’s free I’ll grab her for you.” He shut the door, leaving them alone in a vacuum of uncomfortable silence. Out in the main waiting area there’d been plenty of noise and movement going on to distract them. Now there was nothing but the quiet and the chasm of their past lying between them.

Honor cleared her throat. “Seriously, you don’t have to wait with me. I’m good.”

Damn it, no. “I’m not leaving, so just make peace with it.”