“I’m Doctor Barnett. I performed surgery on Ms. Meadows,” he says, his face giving nothing away. I clench my fists at my sides, bracing for whatever comes next. “She’s stable now. The surgery was successful.”
The breath I didn’t realize I was holding rushes out of my lungs. My knees nearly buckle from the relief at the doctor’s news.
“She had internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen that we had to remove, three broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and numerous contusions. There was also significant blood loss, but we’ve transfused her.”
I clear my throat and ask, “She gonna be okay?” My voice sounding strange to my own ears.
“Barring any complications, I expect her to make a full recovery. She’s young and appears to be in good health otherwise. She’s a fighter.”
“Damn right she is,” I tell him, watching him closely, sensing there’s something else.
“You should know, she coded on the table twice, but we brought her back. She’s being moved to the ICU, where they’ll monitor her for the next day or so. After that, they’ll move her to another room for a few more days. If all goes well, then she’ll be out of here in a week at most.” He pauses to take a breath. “I will warn you, the bruising is significant, and the cut on her cheek we had to stitch up to close it. There is a bandage over it for the time being.”
“Thank you, Dr. Barnett,” Maddox says, shaking the doctor’s hand.
I follow suit, but my heart feels as if it may shatter at the knowledge I did indeed lose her. Twice. But as the doctor said, my woman is a fighter. She fought to live.
She fought to come back to me. I take a deep breath as the doctor tells us someone will be around soon to get us, but only one at a time can be in the room with her and only for five minutes at a time. Fuck, five minutes, when I get in there, I wasn’t leaving her side. I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Della
“Come on, little mouse, it’s time to wake up.”
I hear the voice I know so well in the fuzziness of my head, but it’s hard to open my eyes. I try, but I can’t do it.
“I need you to open your eyes, baby,” Shadow says. From the gruffness of his voice, I know something’s wrong. He doesn’t sound like his usual self.
I struggle to open my eyes as he wants me to, only I fall back into the hazy abyss.
“You know you want to wake up, little mouse. I need you to open your eyes and show me the beauty of them,” Shadow’s voice filters in through the dark abyss. This time, though, it doesn’t feel as hazy.
“There are so many things I need to share with you, Della. So much I haven’t told you yet. But I need you to wake up so I can tell you how much I love you. How much you mean to me.”
Shadow loves me?
My heart skips a beat, and the beeping monitors I can hear change tempo ever so slightly.
“Yeah, baby, you heard me. I love you. Love you so damn much.” Shadow must realize I’m awake from the sound of the machines. There’s a scraping noise, then the bed next to my leg dips, and Shadow’s fingers stroke my cheek. “Open your eyes for me.”
I struggle and manage to crack open my eyes marginally at first, blink, and then open them wider. My eyes on Shadow and knowing he’s the first thing I see, I give him a weak yet happy smile.
“I love you too,” I croak out.
Never in my life have I said those words to a man who wasn’t my brother or grandfather. Even my dad, I hadn’t said those words to my dad since I was a little girl.
“Scared the shit out of me, woman.” Shadow leans in and brushes his lips over mine.
“What happened?” I ask as Shadow pulls away.
“You don’t remember?” he asks.
It takes me a minute to mull over his question. Then it hits me like a freight train. The men. Dylan being hurt.
“Is Dylan okay?” I blurt out, eyes widening in horror. “Please tell me he’s okay.”
“Dylan’s good. Arm’s in a cast, can’t ride for a while, but he’ll be all right,” Shadow answers. “He’s worried about you. Told your brother that you had them take you to save him.”
