Free Because of His Name by Kelly Favor Page B

shrank back from his mistrustful
stare.   “I’m sorry, I just—“
    Red silenced her with a look and turned
to Liam.   “She did the right
thing.   You don’t look so hot.”
    “That’s a nice first assessment,” Vogel
said, as he moved closer to the bed.   “But we need to dig a little deeper.   Why don’t you tell me what happened
today.”
    Liam shook his head.   “I’m fine, guys .   I just need a little surgery.”
    Grace blinked.   “Surgery?”
    Vogel and Red exchanged glances now.    “You say you need a little
surgery?” the doctor asked, as he opened his medical bag.
    Liam sighed, resting on the bed once
more.   “I said I just need a little
sleep is all.”
    Dr. Vogel turned and looked at Red and
then Grace with a somber expression.   “Would you two mind stepping out of the room for a moment?   I’d like a little privacy to conduct my
examination.”
    “Sure thing, Pat,” Red replied, and then
ushered Grace out of the room.   He
closed the door behind them.  
    “Want some coffee or something?” she
asked him, not knowing what else to do.
    “Sure,” he said, giving her a kind smile.
    They went downstairs and Grace busied
herself making them a pot of coffee.   It felt good to have something to do instead of just waiting for the
result.   As she made it, she found
herself rambling, as Red sat and listened patiently.
    She explained about the fight and how
well Liam had handled himself—how he’d come back like Rocky, eventually
winning.
    “Sounds exciting,” Red told her, smiling
as she handed him a mug of coffee.
    “It was exciting,” she admitted.   “But now I’m worried.   He doesn’t seem right, does he?”
    Red’s smile faded as he sipped from the
mug.   “It’s too early to tell.   Sometimes, after a hard fight, guys can
act a little loopy.   But you did the
right thing getting him some help, Grace.”
    She stood near the counter and sipped her
coffee.   It tasted a little bitter,
and she felt bad that this was the best she could offer Red Jameson.   He was the type that probably got
special grounds flown in from the Swiss Alps or something.
    “I just hope he’s okay.   I really like him.”   Grace was surprised that she’d just said
the words aloud—and to Red Jameson, of all people, whom she’d only just
met.
    But Red didn’t seem shocked by her
admission.   “Seems like a nice kid,”
Red agreed.   “And pretty tough, if
today’s situation is any indication.   He’ll be okay.”
    That made her feel better.   Liam was tough.   She just hoped he wasn’t too tough for
his own good.
    They’d only been sitting in the kitchen
for a few minutes when Red got a text from Dr. Vogel asking them to come back
upstairs.
    Grace was starting to imagine the doctor
explaining to her that Liam was lucky, and although his face looked bad, he was
actually okay.   And then explaining
how he was leaving a prescription for some painkillers and that within a day or
two, Liam would be healing up and ready to get back to his normal life.
    But when they got upstairs, Dr. Vogel was
waiting for them with a grim expression.   “An ambulance is on its way,” he said.   “I’m concerned that he’s got more
serious head trauma and we need to get him in for a scan.”
    “Really?” Grace said, shocked that it was
actually that serious.  
    “And now if you’ll excuse me, I want to
go back in the room and attend to him,” Vogel said.   “He shouldn’t be left alone.”
    The doctor opened the bedroom door and
went back inside.
    Red put a hand on her shoulder.   “We should contact his family now,” he
said softly.
     
    ***
     
    Red drove her to the hospital, while Dr.
Vogel rode in the ambulance with Liam.
    As they drove in silence, she kept
picturing the way Liam had argued and almost gotten physically violent when
they’d put him on the stretcher to take him out to the ambulance.
    Now all she could think about was that he
might actually be