Daddy’s Little Runaway by Lila Fox
Chapter Four
Devon lifted her and grabbed a few towels before going to the other side of his bed. He decided to put her in his bed so he could keep an eye on her, and he’d be able to hear her if she called out. The blanket was already pulled back from his mad dash out of the apartment, so all he did was set her down, lay the towel on the pillow, so it didn’t get damp from her wet hair, and then get her comfortable.
The other towel, he laid under her injured arm with the wet bandage.
“I want you to go ahead and sleep. I’ll be right here and take care of you.”
He thought she tried to nod, but then her eyes closed, and her breathing instantly evened out.
He walked a few feet away and dialed Cason’s number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, man, I need your help.”
“Do you realize it’s not even four in the morning?”
Devon ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, Cason, I’m sorry, but this is important.”
“Okay, hold on. I don’t want to wake Lacey up.”
Devon stared at the young woman in his bed and waited.
“Okay, what’s up?”
“I found Emma.”
“No shit. That’s great.”
“Yes, but she’s exhausted, underweight, stressed, and on top of that, she injured her arm.”
“Fuck, how bad?”
“I’m not sure because I haven’t unwrapped it yet, but she hurt it a few days ago, and it’s seeping. I don’t know if it’s blood or puss, but either is bad.”
“Are you taking her to the ER?”
“Not unless it’s essential. She was terrified when I suggested it, so I’m being cautious until I get all the information. Do you happen to know a doctor who would make a house call?”
“I don’t, but I can ask Kane or Travis.”
“Would you do that and then call me back?”
“Yeah. I’ll call now. Tell me if you’d like me to come help with anything.”
“I will. Thank you.” Devon hung up and went back to check on her before getting what first-aid supplies he had. He’d left the ceiling light off in the room but had enough from the bathroom and hallway to be able to see her enough to see she was sleeping peacefully.
When he got back to the bed, he set everything on the nightstand and turned on the lamp before he started cutting the bandage. He could tell right away it was stuck to the wound. Fuck. He cut as much off as possible and then went to get a bowl of warm water and a cloth.
He wet the cloth, set it over the wound, and held it there for a minute. He did that several times before he attempted to pull on the torn bandage.
His phone vibrated with a message from Cason.
Doctor on the way. His name is Alex Pratt. I’ll let him in when he gets here.
Devon typed a thank-you and went back to Emma’s wound. He still hadn’t got the whole bandage off when he heard voices headed down his hallway.
Cason introduced them.
“Hey, Devon. This is Dr. Pratt.”
He came forward and shook his hand.
“Just call me Alex. I hear we have a wounded bird?”
“Yes. I’ve been trying to get the bandage off.”
“How long she’s been injured?” Alex asked.
“She said it happened when she was going through her window a few days ago.”
Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “I’ll want to hear that whole story later. Let me check her out. How long has she been asleep? It bothers me that she hasn’t awoken with men talking close to her.”
“Not long. She’s exhausted and stressed.”
“Yes, I can see the fatigue.”
It was hard to miss how pale her skin was and the dark bruises under her eyes.
Devon reluctantly stepped back and then walked around the bed to be closer to her, so he could see what was happening. The doctor pulled out some things from his black bag. First, he took her temperature, blood pressure, and pulse.
“She’s got a slight temperature,” Alex said. “Is this the only injury she has?”
“No, she’s got scrapes and bruises all over her body.”
“I’m going to check her over to see if there are any other places we need to be concerned about.”
Devon nodded. He heard Cason curse when he got his first look at her legs. Alex didn’t make a sound as he checked over her legs and arms before pulling the blanket up to her waist and unbuttoned her shirt to check out her torso.
He caught the look in Cason’s eyes and could see the concern his friend had for Emma.
“Help me roll her to her side so I can see her back.”
Devon crawled onto the mattress, knelt, put his hands on her hip and shoulder, and gently rolled her toward him.
“I don’t see anything concerning besides her arm. Can you get me a few towels, please?”
“I’ve got it, Devon.”
He nodded at Cason but kept his attention on Emma.
Devon laid her on her back but stayed right beside her. He watched the doctor put the towels under her arm, then pulled on gloves, and started working on the bandage.
Within a minute, it was off, and the wound made him cringe. It was about three inches long. She had tried to put butterfly bandages on it to pull it together, but it was too deep and would need stitches.
Devon heard her whimper when the doctor poked around the wound.
Alex scowled. “I know, honey. I’m sorry.” He looked up at the guys. “I’m going to have to stitch it.”
“I figured,” Devon said.
“Do you want to hold that side of her, and then Cason can hold her legs and the hand of her injured arm? I don’t want her thrashing around.”
“Yes.”
Alex took a syringe and a small bottle out of his bag, then filled the syringe. “Okay, hold her.”
Devon lay beside her and put his leg over hers and his hand on her chest. His torso had her uninjured arm pinned, so she wasn’t able to use it.
He cringed when the doctor started pressing the needle into her skin to numb the area.
“It’s a good thing you caught this. It’s already starting to get infected.”
Alex gave the shot time to work before pulling other shots out of his bag.
“What’s all that for?” Cason asked.
“One’s a strong antibiotic, and the other is for the pain. She’s so tired I’m not going to sedate her unless she starts thrashing.”
“I’ll hold her.”
Alex nodded.
Devon watched as the doctor thoroughly cleaned the wound until bright red blood started to ooze out of it. When that was done, he pulled the needle and thread through her skin to close it.
“Devon?” she murmured. “It hurts.”
He didn’t think she was awake. “Shh, I’ve got you, pet. There’s a doctor taking care of your injury, and then we’ll let you rest.”
Her eyes squinted, and she stared at him. “You won’t let them take me, will you?”
“No, baby. No one is going to take you away. Just rest. I’ll be right here.”
“And you won’t leave?”
His heart twisted painfully as the tears slid from her eyes. He wiped them away with his thumb. “No, I’m not going anywhere.”
She studied him for a moment, nodded, and then closed her eyes. “Okay.”
“That’s good that she trusts you already, man,” Cason said. “She needs someone to take care of her.”
“Yes. She’s been on her own too long.”
“All right, I’m done,” Alex said as he put antibiotic cream over the stitches and then bandaged it before he pulled off his gloves. “Keep it dry, and I’ll come back tomorrow to check on it and re-bandage it.”
“Thank you, Alex. What do I owe you?”
Alex smiled and put his things away in the bag. “Nothing. I owe Kane big time.”
Devon reached out to shake his hand.
Cason cleared his throat. “I’ll show him out and come back.”
“Thank you, Cason.”
Devon watched them walk out of the room and rolled out of bed. He took care of all the dirty towels and garbage before turning off the bedside lamp on her side and making sure the blanket was up to her chest.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Devon turned toward the door when Cason spoke.
“It’s crazy how quickly your feelings grow. It happened that way with Lacey and me.”
Devon stared down at her. “I’ve got so many questions.”
“They’ll wait until she wakes up. Get some rest and call me when you get up.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
“Anytime.”
Devon turned off the hallway light, closed the door and the drapes, and then slid into bed beside her. He thought he’d put her in another room but decided it was best to be near her if she woke up scared or needed something.
The light from the bathroom made it possible for him to see her face. She looked so peaceful right then, and he hoped he’d be able to keep it that way.
He was determined to take care of her problems, for her to be happy and not fear for her life every day. He wanted to tell her that the monster was in prison and could no longer do her any harm, but it would wait until she was fully awake.
He set one hand on her uninjured arm closest to him, closed his eyes, and fell asleep. His last thought was that they would have plenty of time together. He’d make sure of it.
