A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

reconnected with his brother, helped his friend who was more of a brother to him, and he wouldn't have met Jessie.
    Jessie. The one man who seemed to calm his inner storm.
    Sometime later, Julian stood and looked toward the hallway. Aidan followed Julian's line of sight, spotting Cole's older sister wearing hospital scrubs walking toward them alongside another woman with rich brown skin, high cheek bones and closely-cropped, curly hair.
    "Hi, J," Carmen said to Julian with a hint of mischief that immediately faded once she shifted her green-eyed gaze to Aidan. "Cole called me and said you were here with Jessie. This is one of my affiliated hospitals so I came right over to find out what was going on."
    Aidan nodded, for once, happy to see a bossy Renzo steamroll their way into a situation. "Thanks."
    "He's in surgery. Ryan Green's an excellent surgeon so he's in good hands." She placed her hand behind the other woman's back. "Emma will provide you with periodic updates. I'm heading back in there just in case Ryan needs a secondary, but trust me when I say he won't need me."
    Aidan nodded. "Thanks."
    "Emma will give you the details and an update," Carmen said, squeezing Aidan's shoulder and giving Julian a quick peck on the cheek before racing back down the hallway.
    "I'm Emma Sinclair," the nurse said, extending her hand. "The trauma to Mr. Vega's spleen was so severe surgery was the only option. It's taking a little longer because we had to remove the organ."
    Aidan inhaled sharply and swayed, suddenly unsteady on his feet. Julian immediately took a step closer to his side, silently offering support.
    "He has several bone fractures. His two fractured ribs will have to heal naturally, but other than that, we'll be able to set most of the bones with casts in a few days after we've confirmed any necessary surgical sites and incisions are healing properly. His wrist and leg require the most attention. He'll need the aid of screws and plates to set the bones, but it'll heal faster. Right now, we're most concerned with the injury he sustained to the head."
    Aidan tried to focus on the words and not jump ahead and speculate, hoping to keep himself centered and steady, but he couldn't stop the room from warping in and out of his vision.
    "Aidan, ask what you need to know while she's here," Julian said.
    He mentally ran through the list of injuries again, matching each with what he remembered from the scene, trying to determine if anything hadn't been mentioned. He ran his hand through his hair, forcing his mind to focus on the list and not the visual of an injured Jessie. Shit . What had the nurse said? Injury to his head . "Is that why he had trouble seeing?"
    Emma nodded then reached out and placed her hand on Aidan's arm. "He woke before we administered the anesthesia. First word out of his mouth was your name. He said we were to treat you as his next of kin."
    "Emma, you're killing him," Julian said.
    Aidan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying with every ounce of strength he had to remain standing. He reached up and rubbed the hollow ache that tightened his chest.
    "He wanted to make sure we kept you updated. He was … insistent. He said you would storm in there waving a gun at us if we didn't," she said, slowly raising a thinly tweezed, judgmental eyebrow. "He'll need some support to get through this and the recovery. I'll make sure to keep you updated once he's out of surgery." She squeezed Aidan's arm in a comforting gesture then smiled before finally walking away.
    Aidan blew out a deep breath and plopped himself on one of the stiff plastic chairs, resting his head back against the wall and stretching out his legs.
    He closed his eyes and sat there as the time passed, hyper-aware of each voice and step in the room, hoping the pain in his chest would lessen.
     
     
     
    Aidan sat in the hard plastic chair with his arms crossed, staring at the closed doors, waiting for Emma to return with an update. Over three hours