Dee, Lavada - Nothing to Lose [Blackhawk Brothers] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Read Free

the rest of the trip to the clinic in silence. Cooper nervously watched her as he drove. If she passed out, he would change direction and go directly to the hospital emergency.
    As he pulled the truck up next to the back door of the clinic, it opened and his brother stepped out. Cooper threw the truck into park and reached the passenger door before Grant could open it. The woman hadn’t said a word or moved, but she was still conscious, thank heavens. “What’s the story, an automobile accident?” Grant asked.
    “I don’t think so. There were no skid marks where I found her, and the bruises on her face and neck look like they’re a few days old.”
    “Okay, Coop. Let’s get your lady into the clinic and see what we can do.”
    Cooper didn’t argue with Grant’s “your lady” as he opened the door. Unlike earlier, the woman let him help her out of the truck and meekly allowed herself to be showed into an examination room.
    Francis, Grant’s nurse, followed right behind them. Her tone conveyed she was a friend as she helped the woman onto the table. Turning to Cooper and Grant, she gave them the look that said,
I’ve got it taken care of, and I’ll call you when she’s ready for you to examine her
. Turning back to her patient, she said, “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.” She laid a gown on the examining table. “Can you manage, or do you need help?”
    “I think I can do it.” The woman toed off her shoes and Francis reached down to remove the soaked socks.
    “What’s your name?”
    “Lynn. Lynn Moore.” Her mother had called her Lynn, and more often “Lyndie.” She’d never talked about her childhood to Mick, so when she bought the false identity, the name worked for one she shouldn’t have any trouble answering to.
“Address?”
    “Uh, I’m just passing through. I don’t have an address right now.”
    “Okay, last address?”
    Galynn stopped trying to get her sweater off. She put her hand to her temple and massaged it.
    “Do you have a headache? I wouldn’t wonder if you do.”
    “Yes, but not too bad.”
    “Let’s skip the address for now since it isn’t current, anyway. How about age?”
    “I’m twenty-five. My birthday is May 16 th .”
    The nurse went down a list of questions. “Do you smoke? Are you allergic to anything?” After a few minutes, she smiled and said, “Good. You’re doing great. Let me help you get into this dry gown, and I’ll take your blood pressure and temperature.”
    Galynn was glad for the nurse’s help when she tried to take off her T-shirt. The wound on her back hurt when she tried to pull it over her head. She knew it must have looked as bad as it felt when the nurse hesitated.
    “This will be easier if I get the scissors and cut it off.”
    Galynn bit her lip to keep from crying out as the nurse tried to ease the fabric away from the wound. Her voice shook. “It’s okay to cut it.”
    The shirt proved to be the worst of it, and a few minutes later she had everything off and the gown on. She’d wanted to keep her panties on, but the nurse had said “everything,” and it was more embarrassing to ask than to just do it.
    She knew that she’d been running a temperature for the last few hours. But when the nurse said it was almost 102, it surprised her. As would be expected, her blood pressure was also elevated. Francis patted her shoulder as she took the pressure cuff off. “It’s high, but the doctor will take care of you. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
    Galynn didn’t think so. It would take a whole lot more than good health for everything to ever be okay again.
    * * * *
    Cooper sat across from his brother in his office as they waited for the nurse to finish with the woman. It wasn’t hard to see the two men were brothers. Cooper was seven years younger, but they looked enough alike to be twins. Grant played a pencil through his fingers, waiting for Cooper to say something. Finally exasperated, he pushed his chair