Resurrection by A.M. Hargrove Read Free Book Online

destroy Rayn. He could not wrap his mind around why Voldruk would want to do such a terrible thing.

Chapter 5
    The final assessment on Maddie’s injuries was extensive. She had suffered a severed femoral artery, and her carotid artery had been slightly nicked. The femoral artery was the one that nearly killed her. If it hadn’t been for Rykerian and Therron’s quick work in getting her to the Healer, she certainly would have died from the loss of blood.
    But that wasn’t the end of it. Maddie ended up with a ruptured spleen and kidney, which required a surgical procedure for the repair. Julian tried to do an external repair, but the damage to her kidney was too severe. Darryl Carter had proved his strength and that turned out to be his last calling card.
    Then there was the matter of Maddie’s left orbital socket. Apparently when Darryl Carter was on his beating spree, he kicked and backhanded her enough to almost crush that area of her face. Julian was worried about her vision in that eye. All the tests he could perform indicated everything would be fine. However, sometimes severe blows like that could damage the retina, and that might not show up until later.
    Julian ultimately had to do surgery on her face as well. The orbital socket could not be repaired externally due to the extreme bone fragmentation. He had to stabilize the facial structure and then apply the bone-mending device. Luckily for Maddie, the blows she took to the head only resulted in concussions and bruising, so any permanent brain damage was not an issue.
    Two days later, a bruised, battered, and bandaged Maddie was lying in her bed, with her head elevated. Rayn had been by her side during the entire ordeal. He refused to leave her, even during her surgical procedures. He forced Julian to allow him to remain with her through it all.
    Julian knew he was fighting a losing battle; therefore, he had a reclining chair brought in so Rayn could at least get some badly needed sleep. Maddie had been medicated with sedatives and pain eliminators, so she slept throughout the next couple of days, waking only for minutes at a time. Rayn refused to let go of her hand.
    Maddie tugged her mind out of the drug-induced haze it had been in for...she had no idea for how long. She felt bizarre—confused and a bit dizzy but sort of floaty as well. She felt her hand swaddled in warmth and turned her head in that direction. Sitting next to her was Rayn, sleeping soundly, his head lying next to her arm. His face looked so peaceful that Maddie didn’t want to disturb him. That was not to be, however, for he sensed her consciousness in his sleep. He lifted his head and flashed her one of his dazzling smiles, and he was rewarded with one in return.
    He leaped out of his seat and said, “I am so glad you are awake. How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Are you in pain? Shall I call Julian?”
    “Stop, Rayn! I can’t answer you if you keep asking me questions,” she mumbled, smiling in return.
    He placed one hand on her uninjured cheek. “Great Deity, I was so out of my head over you.”
    “Please, I don’t want to focus on that now. I just want to enjoy being here with you. There have been too many awful things that have happened lately. Let’s just live in the moment.”
    “As you wish. Is there anything I can get you?”
    She took a stab at sitting up in her bed, only to fall back with weakness. “Whew! I thought I was a bit stronger than I am. How long have I been here?”
    “A couple of days, but you’ve undergone some severe things to be sure. Julian and five robomedics had to do surgery on you. Maddie, you were...well, to be honest, you were at death’s door when you arrived here.” Rayn’s piercing gaze was telling her more than she wanted to know at this point.
    “Is there room for you in this bed here? I would sure love to feel you hold me right now,” she said with a slight smile. Maddie was feeling the need for him to soothe away her anxiety,