Free The Beast (The Bad Boys Series) by Tabitha Levin

even more complicated. I needed to separate my heart from my head.
    And fast before I lost everything I was beginning to care about.
     
     

Chapter 16
     
    The hospital waiting room was as sterile and stark as I remembered from the last time I was here. I sat on a hard plastic chair and focused on the orange painting on the wall in front of me with its swirls and waves. The only other decoration in this room was a large potted palm that stood in-between a water cooler and a vending machine.
    Three other people were in the room with me. An elderly couple in the corner, the woman knitting and the man with his eyes closed, snoring quietly. And a middle-aged woman reading an electronic device. None of them looked as nervous as I felt.
    The double doors to the operating theatre opened and I jumped up, my breath catching in my throat. The surgeon ignored the other people in the room and strode over to me. I could see a sparkle in his eye and his shoulders were thrown back. Good sign. “It was a complete success,” he said. “He’ll make a full recovery and will walk again just like nothing ever happened.”
    Immediate relief washed over me. All the tension in my body suddenly disappeared as if someone had undone a valve and let it all float away. Everything was going to be okay.
    Nick came up beside me holding a coffee in a white cardboard cup, he put his arm around me and gave it a small squeeze. “Told you he’d pull through. Owen is a strong boy.”
    The past two months had been a whirlwind and I almost couldn’t believe that my life was the same as it was just a few short months ago. Both Nick and my injuries had healed well. Nick limped for a while afterward, but you could barely notice that now, and I had a scar on my shoulder that Nick said made me look badass. I was right that no one was looking for him too. When am I ever wrong? In fact, he’d contacted the police department himself, and they didn’t care at all. He’d been hiding all this time for nothing.
    Not that we were hiding any longer. I slipped my hand in his and smiled.
    The cabin in the woods was still there even though we barely used it. One day we’d fix it up, but right now our focus was on getting Owen well again.
    “Can I see him? Can I see my son now?”
    The doctor nodded. “He’s still drowsy, but he’ll be able to talk, but only stay for a few minutes. He needs his rest.” He indicated the way to my son’s room, even though I already knew where it was.
    I opened the door and saw Owen on the bed, his leg without the braces that he’d had since his accident last year that shattered the bones. I didn’t have the money then to fix it right. I did now, thanks to Nick.
    “Mom?”
    “It’s me, honey.” I walked over to the bed and held his hand. His fingers felt cool, but I knew that when he got his strength back they’d be pulsing with energy.
    “Did it work? Can I walk properly?”
    “Doctor said it was a complete success. Looks like you’ll be able to try out for the football team this year after all.”
    “I was thinking tennis,” he said. “They make more money.”
    I laughed and ruffled his hair. “We don’t need the money anymore.”
    Nick came up behind me and placed his arm around my shoulders giving me a small squeeze. “The renovations on the summer house are coming along. We might be in there next month.”
    “Did you put a TV in my room?” asked Owen.
    “Sure did. Takes up nearly the whole wall.”
    “Awesome!”
    Owen yawned and I brushed his hair away from his forehead. “We should let you sleep, the doctor said you need your rest.”
    “Yeah, okay. I am pretty slammed.”
    “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t mess with the nurses while I’m gone.” I gave him a teasing wink.
    His mischievous grin was broken by another yawn. “No fun.”
    I laughed and kissed him on the forehead and said goodbye.
    Nick and I walked out into the corridor and shut the door. Nick took a sip of his coffee. “Our