Free Punishing for Pleasure by Avery Gale Page B

metal was what little was left of her car.
    When he glanced over at Ash, his friend gave a quick jerk of his head to their right and Dex caught sight of the unmistakable lights of a chopper moving off into the distance. They had evidently airlifted the driver away from the scene and that didn’t bode well for the man’s condition. They moved past the snarled traffic at a snail’s pace and Dex was relieved to hear Ash talking softly to Meri, reassuring her they would get her to her friend’s side as quickly as they safely could. Dex had no intention of making an already difficult situation even more so by taking unnecessary risks.
    By the time they reached the small trauma center their phones had been ringing almost continually as word spread that Meri’s car had been involved in a bad accident. Austin might be a large city, but the Prairie Winds community was much smaller and well connected enough that word had spread through the members like wild fire. Dex had been impressed the call that seemed to have settled Meri the most had been from Tobi West. Sure wouldn’t have predicted that. Dex's respect for his bosses’ wife seemed to grow each time he had an encounter with her. The way she had forgiven Meri unconditionally and defended her when other club members hadn’t been so charitable had spoken volumes about her character.
    Walking in to the small hospital’s emergency department made Dex think about all the old Carol Burnett Shows he’d watched on late night television as a kid. The entire area was filled with people in various stages of frustration. Dean and Dell West were standing at the nurse’s station and, judging by the look on the older nurse’s face, that conversation wasn’t going particularly well. A couple of reporters spotted Meri right away and made a mad dash in her direction. He and Ash moved to block the circling sharks and their snarling finally discouraged the news hounds. The reporters finally slunk back against the wall, but Dex knew they’d only won a small skirmish, the real war hadn’t even started yet. Turning back to Meri, he pulled her against his chest and just held her. He was stunned to feel her shaking to the point he wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to stand before her knees gave out.
    He and Ash had worked together so long their communication often required little more than a quick nod, so when Dex saw his friend’s eyes dart to the waiting room he began to lead Meri in that direction. Ash strode off toward the nurses’ station and Dex hoped his friend would summon some of the charm and tact he probably wasn’t feeling because pissing off the nurse Dean and Dell were already haggling with wasn’t going to be all that difficult. And getting kicked out wasn’t going to help Meri at all. Dex had almost gotten Meri through the sliding doors of the waiting room when they heard a loud shriek followed by a man’s excited voice saying, “Honey, if you plan to put your hands on me there , you need a mani. What do you do—sand wood with your bare hands?”
    Dex was grateful he already had an arm wrapped around Meri because he’d barely registered her softly whispered words, “Oh thank God” before her knees folded out from under her. Scooping her up in his arms, he quickly made his way to a chair and cradled her in his lap. It wasn’t difficult to determine the voice she’d heard was her assistant and if he was chastising someone for the condition of their hands, he probably wasn’t mortally injured.
    “Are you alright? I hope that was your assistant we heard, because I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to die from being chafed by someone’s rough hands.”
    “Yes, I’m fine, but thank you for not letting me make a scene by dropping like a stone. And yes, that was Tony, and I agree with you that he must be doing okay if he is saying things that are so typical of him.” He could almost feel her relief but her relaxed state was destined to be