Read Online Tagan's Child by ammyford1 - Free Book Online Page A

have been working hard to stabilise Ms
Goodfellow. She has several cracked ribs, a broken wrist, severe
concussion and we think she’s suffered a stroke, probably brought
on by the trauma of the attack.”
    “Oh my God,” I
said quietly, my hand covering my mouth in shock.
    “We can’t be
certain about the extent to which the stroke will have affected her
but she should make a complete recovery from her other injuries,”
he continued.
    “Can I see
her?” I croaked, my mouth suddenly feeling parched.
    “Not tonight
I’m afraid. Ms Goodfellow has been moved into intensive care so
that she can be closely monitored, she is heavily sedated.”
    I wasn’t sure
what I had expected to hear, but Audrey’s condition sounded bleaker
than I had feared. I stifled a sob. Ahran stepped forward and put
his arm around me, I was grateful for the support.
    “Why don’t you
go home and get some rest and give us a call in the morning?” the
registrar suggested.
    I nodded barely
able to see the doctor through my tears. He gave me a sympathetic
smile.
    “Thank you,” I
said. He gave a curt nod in response and headed back towards the
emergency room.
    I turned and
sobbed into Ahran’s chest. I felt him tense and then he put his
arms around me. His embrace was reassuring and I forgave his
previous abruptness just a fraction as I welcomed his sympathy.
    “Come on, let’s
get you home,” he said gently. It was the nicest he had been to
me.
    I allowed him
to steer me out of the hospital. It was bitingly cold outside and
in stark contrast to the hot dry air of the hospital. I took a
couple of deep breaths welcoming the cold burn of it again. We
silently made our way to Ahran’s car. I sat in the passenger’s seat
and let my head fall back onto the headrest, the leather seat felt
cold. Ahran made his way around to the driver’s door. I took in a
deep breath, the car smelt of him. I closed my eyes and allowed the
events of the evening to sink in.
    Ahran started
the engine and the warmth of the heated seat began to seep through
my jeans.
    “Are you
alright?” he asked, the glow of the orange street lamp overhead
casting a funny light into the car.
    “I feel a bit
better now I’ve come outside,” I replied, turning to look at
him.
    “You’ll feel
better once you’ve had some sleep.” He had an odd look on his face.
It was a mixture of sympathy and puzzlement.
    I glanced at
the clock on the dashboard, it was gone ten. It seemed very quiet
and intimate in the car compared to the noise and bustle of the
hospital. “Ahran, I want to thank you. You didn’t have to come to
the hospital and I don’t know what you said to those nurses but it
had the desired effect.”
    Ahran gave me a
lop-sided grin, it was the first time I had seen him smile and it
did funny things to my insides. I struggled to tear my eyes away
from his. I really didn’t want to dwell on my reaction to his
smile. I was tired, I’d had a traumatic evening and my guard was
down, that was all.
    “It was the
least I could do, if I had been more vigilant I could have
prevented your friend from being attacked. At least now we know
that Bazeera means business and we cannot take any chances. I want
you to seriously consider coming to stay with my family, it is the
only way we can assure the safety of you both.”
    I knew this
evening had left me with little choice and I felt despair wash over
me. Toby and I would be safe from Bazeera if we stayed with Ahran’s
family, but I was also painfully aware that Toby was heir to a
large and wealthy kingdom, they would not let go of him easily.
    “Can we talk
about this in the morning?” I asked.
    Ahran hesitated
as if he wanted to say more, but instead he just nodded and
reversed the car before pulling out of the car park. He drove fast
and I willed myself not to look at the speed dial preferring not to
know what breakneck speed we were travelling at. A couple of times
I looked over at his profile, he was deep in thought.