Free Burnt by Karly Lane Page B

doesn’t give you the right to be obnoxious in a hospital ward. If she wants to see you when I’ve finished cleaning her up, then we’ll come and get you, but until the doctor has checked her out, you are not allowed to be in here.’
    â€˜Whaddaya mean if ? Of course she’ll see me. Why? Have you been telling them something stupid, Beryl?’
    Out of the corner of her eye, Rebecca saw the woman shrink even further, so she placed a hand on the woman’s arm in reassurance, standing her ground. ‘She hasn’t been saying anything – but if you don’t leave, I’ll be pressing charges against you myself,’ she snapped.
    For a minute, the man’s blurry eyes narrowed on Rebecca with thunderous fury, then a voice behind him said, ‘Come on, Dad. We can wait outside until they’re finished.’
    Rebecca shifted her gaze to the thin man who’d stepped closer to his father in order to intervene. She hadn’t noticed him before now. The older man, although still radiating hostility, headed back out to the waiting room, mumbling unpleasant expletives as he went.
    â€˜Sorry about that. I’ll keep an eye on him.’
    Rebecca sent a slight nod of thanks to the younger man. For a moment, an image of a face similar to his flashed before her eyes and she realised he must be Marty’s younger brother. She searched her mind for a name, but couldn’t seem to recall what it was. She couldn’t return the younger man’s reassuring smile. If she had her way, his father would be sitting in a cell at the police station overnight, maybe for a lot longer if his frightened wife ever summoned up the courage to report him to the authorities one day.
    â€˜It might be best if you took him home. We’ll call you when your mother needs to be picked up.’ Removing her hand from the woman’s arm, she reached across and grabbed the edge of the curtain.
    He paused as though he wanted to say something, but closed his mouth abruptly and followed his father out to the waiting room.
    With a quick flick of her wrist, Rebecca pulled the curtain back into place and faced her patient. ‘It’s all right. He’s gone now.’
    The woman lay back against the pillows behind her head with a sad sigh of defeat. ‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ she said in a tired voice.
    â€˜Would you like me to get you some help? You don’t have to go back home tonight.’
    â€˜And just where would you suggest I go, dear?’
    â€˜There are women’s refuges, where they have people who can help you,’ Rebecca said quietly.
    Beryl gave a bitter laugh, and winced as it pulled against her tender ribs. ‘I’m too old for it to make any difference nowadays.’
    The doctor came in through the curtain and began the examination, gently feeling for broken bones and categorising the injuries. Rebecca followed him out as he went to fill in the paperwork at the nurses’ station.
    â€˜Rick, can we put her in a bed upstairs for a night or two? I really don’t think it’s a good idea to just release her.’
    The doctor eyed her over the chart he was preparing. ‘Does she want to press charges?’
    Rebecca frowned. ‘No. But if she could just be in a safe environment for a few days, away from his influence, I think I can convince her to consider it.’
    â€˜Rebecca, what you want to do is admirable and I feel for the woman, but you know damn well unless she’s willing to make some radical changes, there’s very little likelihood of her actually pressing charges against him. Take a look at the file – these injuries go back decades. What do you think the odds of her doing anything about it now are?’
    â€˜So we just keep turning a blind eye?’
    â€˜There’s nothing we can do. Come on, you’re no first-year RN – you know the game by now.’
    Rebecca nodded: she knew the game