At the hospital, they whisk her away from me, and I’m left pacing the hallway, alone with my fears until Rod and the guys arrive. Rod takes charge, getting us moved to a private waiting room, away from prying bystanders. I’m going out of my mind with worry, and no one will tell me a fucking thing.
When Noel arrives with a tall boy I’m guessing is Wilder, I rush toward him. “They won’t tell me anything. I don’t know what’s going on!” My voice is cracked, my emotions veering all over the place as my mind wanders to places I don’t want it to go to.
Tentatively, he places his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll see what I can find out. I know it’s hard, but try to keep calm.” He looks at the boy at his side. “I know this isn’t the time or place, but your brother wanted to come. This is Wilder. Wes has gone back to the hotel with my wife.”
I swallow hard, looking at my brother for the first time, urging Noel to leave with a flash of my eyes.
“I’m sorry about what happened, and I hope Zeta’s okay,” he says in a surprisingly deep voice.
“Thanks. I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.” I scrub a hand across my chin. “What were you all doing there?”
“We came to watch the show.” His eyes light up. “Man, you were fucking awesome. My mom started crying when you sang that song for Zeta.”
“I’m glad you came,” I say, surprised at the honesty of my response. “Next time, you let me know, and I’ll get you VIP tickets and backstage passes.”
“For real?” Boy looks like he might collapse with excitement.
“Of course. What good is it having a brother in a band if you don’t get special treatment?”
A strangled sound alerts me to Noel’s presence. He has tears in his eyes as he looks at both of us.
“Did you find anything out?”
He quickly composes himself. “She’s in surgery, and while she’s in critical condition, she’s stable. The doctor will come speak to you when he can.”
“And the baby?” I whisper.
His face softens. “The baby was in distress, from Zeta’s body going into shock, so they had to deliver him.”
“What? She’s only twenty-eight weeks along! Is—”
He clamps a hand on my shoulder. “Your son is a fighter, Ryder. He’s in ICU, but he’s doing as well as can be expected. You can see him now if you like.”
I burst out crying. My shoulders heave as sobs wrack my body. Noel pulls me into his arms, and I let him hug me, sobbing into his shoulder as pain and relief wash through me.
“Ryder, what’s happened?” Scott asks, and I look up into the troubled faces of my bandmates and best friends.
“I have a son. Want to come see him with me?”
Noel leads us outside where a nurse escorts us up to the baby unit in the ICU ward. Gar, Micah, Scott, Noel, and Wilder surround me as I take a first look at my son. We’re not allowed into the room because they are still performing some checks, but we get to watch my little boy through the glass as he sleeps in an incubator. I press my nose to the window, taking in every little perfectly formed part of him. He is so small and so fragile looking, but as I watch the tiny rise and fall of his chest, I know he’s a fighter, a survivor, and that he’ll pull through. I’m overwhelmed with a love that’s so powerful it’s like being hit with ten thousand volts. The only other time I’ve felt such intense love, such an immediate bond, is the moment I laid eyes on his mother. I wish Zeta was here to share this experience with me, and I hate that that bastard robbed her of this moment.
Forcing all thoughts of Ren from my mind, because that asshole isn’t going to take up anymore of my headspace, I refocus on my son. While I hate seeing his tiny body hooked up to so many tubes and wires and it’s not the way I wanted our first born to come into the world, I’m so grateful he’s alive, and my heart is swollen with love for him.
Three hours later, the doctor finally appears in the waiting room, and I hold my breath, bracing myself for what I might be about to hear. Kayla hooks her arm through mine, her lower lip wobbling as she fights to hold her emotions at bay. I cling to her arm, needing to lean on her for strength.
“Your wife is out of surgery and in a stable condition,” he says, and a sliver of hope flares inside me. “We’ve removed the bullet, drained her chest, and we’re treating her with intravenous antibiotics to ward off infection. She’s going to make a full recovery.” He smiles. “She’s extremely lucky. It’s almost miraculous. Someone up there was looking out for her.”
Grateful tears leak out of my eyes. “Thank you, Doctor. Thanks so much. When can I see her?”
“She’s in recovery right now, but when we’ve moved her to her private suite, I’ll get one of the nurses to come for you.”
The nurse pops her head in the door forty minutes later, and I follow her lead like an excitable puppy. Before we enter the room, I take hold of her elbow, stalling her. “Can our son be brought here in his incubator? I know my wife will want to see him.”
“I doubt that will be possible, Mr. Stone, but I’ll ask.”
“Or else can you arrange for my wife to be brought to him. She needs to see her baby.”
“Leave it to me. I’ll see what I can do.”
