Crash Into You by Cara Ellison Read Free Book Online

friendly for his liking. No one challenged him drifting by like a big, quiet ghost.
                  If someone were after Lauren, he would have no trouble walking in like he owned the place and being directed to her room by a friendly receptionist.  Lauren had nearly killed herself trying to get away from him. Like a wolf chewing off its own leg to escape a trap.
                  Unbidden images of his sister danced before his eyes.  Maggie Spanner was one of the strongest, most self-reliant women he’d ever known; she’d been treated like one of the boys on the ranch and was capable of handling physical and tasks that would cower men twice her size.   But that didn’t add up to a hill of beans when her former boyfriend made the dire mistake of shoving her in full view of her brothers several Christmases ago.   A football tackle ensued, and the guy was eventually sent to the hospital with a broken wrist.   Since Mark had always been closer to her than the other siblings, she’d trusted him enough to reveal what was really going on in that relationship.   What she thought of as charming protectiveness devolved into a level of control she was not comfortable with.   Maggie swore he’d never laid hands on her before, and thank God for that because Mark would have killed the guy.
                  Mark felt that same murderous impulse toward the person menacing Lauren.  He despised men who used their strength against women.   Reminding himself that he wasn’t responsible for her didn’t stop the locomotive roaring in his chest.   He was free to leave, though he wouldn’t.   Not until he knew she was safe.
    There was something sweetly compelling about Lauren. Her vulnerability appealed to his desire to heal people instead of hurt them, a desire he thought he’d buried long ago in Afghanistan.   She made him feel compassionate and kind.  Like a good person.
                  Who are you fooling, man?  You can’t save her.  You can’t even save yourself.
    He had made a full circuit and ended up back at the waiting room.  He noticed a coffee station.  He poured himself a cup, mixed in some sugar, and tasted it.   The coffee was bitter, no telling how long it had been sitting out.  He added creamer and another teaspoon of sugar, then returned to his seat to settle in for a wait.
                 
    He had been in the waiting room for nearly three hours when a stubble-jawed surgeon walked out to meet with Mark. The surgery went off without a hitch; Lauren’s spleen was saved and would be completely fine when she healed from surgery.    Her lung wasn’t collapsed; it was punctured though, which would be eased by holding a soft pillow against the chest wall; it would splint the fracture and lessen the pain of each breath.
                  “She’s in recovery room four if you want to see her.”
                  Mark thanked the surgeon and walked back through the labyrinth of corridors to find the recovery room.  
                  He’d seen surgery patients before, of course.   He’d seen much worse –
    catastrophic car accidents, bullet wounds, industrial accidents—but he’d never been so relieved as when he saw her in that unconscious state that mimicked sleep, her body hooked up to monitors.   He was thankful for the oblivion on her face.   She wasn’t in pain.  Certainly not with that IV pumping painkillers and antibiotics through her veins.  
    “Are you her husband?”  The voice behind him startled him.   It belonged to one of those round, friendly looking nurses. 
                  “Yes,” he answered for purely bureaucratic reasons: he wanted to be able to stay past visiting hours.  It might also provide some protection from the mystery stalker.
                  He moved aside to allow her to record Lauren’s vitals into her