There was one last thing he needed to say. The only thing that mattered. As he fought to breathe, fought to speak, she was the only thing on his mind. He might not be able to see, but he could feel her there, her warmth, right by his side.
Stone smiled as Mae laid her hand on his cheek, kissing his forehead.
Come on, handsome. Let’s go home.Her voice sang out around him as the last, hardest working parts of his body finally gave up.
“Love you… always.”
Two
Faster, Mae. Run faster.
The rain poured down, stinging against her sensitive skin. But she hadn’t even thought to grab an umbrella before she darted from her car towards the hospital, her face a ruddy mess from the nonstop sobbing she’d done while driving from Silver Springs to Dallas. Fucking trauma hospital being over an hour away. She was honestly surprised she made it in one piece. There was no doubt in her mind. She should have listened to Hawk and waited for Gunner, or Nash, or Gage to drive her, but her heart wouldn’t even consider it. Truly incredible, too, because it felt like it was barely beating in her chest. She could freak out later. Right now, she needed to be calm. She needed to be level headed. All that mattered was getting to him. Making sure he was still…
Making sure Stone was still alive.
God, she couldn’t stop thinking about the alternative. The things she’d said to him in the darkness of those early hours that morning. The things he’d said to her. The way they’d left things. The way he’d shattered her heart so completely shecouldn’t take a breath without her chest feeling like it might explode.
Fuck him. How dare he rip everything apart like that and then go and get himself shot? Shot! In the middle of the night. In the middle of the street. Who would be trying to kill him? Had the shooting been random? Or had they known it was Stone?
Her mind wouldn’t stop running through all the questions, over and over again. It was making her dizzy, and nauseous, but Mae didn’t have time to deal with what her body was going through. Her heart was pushing her to get to him. To get answers later.
The rain stopped its assault on her skin as she stepped under the large awning indicating she’d reached the entrance for the Emergency Room. She slipped her phone out of her back pocket.
Still no update from Hawk.
She was going to wring her brother’s neck for being the absolute worst communicator in an emergency. Mae swept back her drenched hair, the sopping tendrils itching her face before moving off her skin. She moved through the automatic doors, the scent of antiseptic assaulting her nose almost as quickly as the burn of the fluorescent lights seared her eyes.
A scan of the room showed a line of people waiting in front of a desk. She wanted to barge her way in front of everyone. Didn’t they know the love of her life was somewhere in that hospital fighting for his life? Didn’t they know the way things had been left between Mae and Stone was the beginning of a tragedy? Not the love story they deserved, but one that would haunt her for the rest of her life if he were to actually not make…
“I hate you! I hate that you’ve done this to us.”
The venom she’d screamed at him earlier that morning was etched painfully in her throat. Mae coughed, trying to clearout the memories that made her stomach ache, of a night she wished she could do over.
“I will never forgive you for breaking my heart like this. I am a strong woman and I let you break me!”
NO! Mae bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. There was no point in revisiting those thoughts. Hawk found Stone. She had to believe help got there in time…
“Next!”Finally!!“How can I help you?” A woman in bright blue scrubs asked from behind the counter.
“I’m looking for information on Stone Lawson. He was life-flighted here. Gunshot wounds, but I don’t know anything else.”
The woman didn’t even glance her way. No compassion. No emotion. Nothing. “Your name?”
“Mae, uh, Michaela Morgan. My brother Hawk came in with him, but I don’t see him waiting for me here.”
“And your relationship to Mr. Lawson?”
Wife! Say you’re his wife… or his fiance… they aren’t going to let you see him unless you lie. So lie. Lie and make sure he’s okay!
“I’m his girlfriend.”Ex-girlfriend. That was the way Stone had wanted it to be.
The woman finally looked away from her computer, not an ounce of care or kindness in her eyes. Shit. She should have lied.
“I’m sorry. If you are not the next of kin, then I can’t give you any information on him. You’ll need to speak with Mr. Lawson’s family.”
“Are you fuck?—”
“Mae!” Her brother’s voice slammed into her before she even saw him. The noise of the busy emergency room faded away. Her body turned, but even blinking felt like it lasted for hours. Her eyes bounced to a few random people, some with clipboards filling out paperwork, others holdingconversations with the people next to them. And then, her eyes landed on Hawk.
