I nodded.
I couldn’t do much more than that.
I believed what Ronan was telling me, but I wouldn’t be able to function like a normal human being until I saw Reese for myself.
“We’ll come with you,” Vincent announced.
I knew that wasn’t part of the plan – I’d overheard Vincent and Nash talking right before takeoff. Vincent and Nathan were supposed to continue on to Seattle so Nathan wouldn’t be anywhere near the danger that still lingered and would remain until the shooter was found.
“No, you need to go,” I managed to say as I turned to face Vincent. “Get Nathan out of here,” I said firmly. “I’ll be okay.” Itwas Nathan’s twin, Brody, who Reese had saved, though he’d been shot in the shoulder trying to help Reese with his wounds.
“No, we—” he began, but I cut him off.
“Vincent, Nathan needs you,” I said quietly. I let my eyes shift to where Nathan was standing near the steps leading to the plane. He’d moved back to give us some privacy once Ronan had announced that Reese was out of surgery. “He needs his brother,” I added firmly. “I’ll be okay.”
I could tell Vincent was torn, but once he cast Nathan a glance over his shoulder, I knew he’d made his decision. But instead of turning back to me, he focused in on Nash. “You watch out for him.”
I would have laughed at the stern order if I hadn’t been overwhelmed by the emotion that welled up inside of me.
Pierce would just be so damn proud of his baby brother.
I wasn’t sure if Nash responded to Vincent because Vincent was addressing me next. “You call me every hour to let me know how things are going. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” I said, managing a weak smile as I spoke.
Vincent had never been a touchy-feely kind of guy, but I wasn’t overly surprised when he pulled me into a hug. He held me for a long time before releasing me. Nash took my arm to lead me away from the plane as its engines turned on. We didn’t wait to watch Vincent and Nathan take off. Instead, Ronan led us to a waiting SUV. I fully expected Nash to sit up front with the driver, but he surprised me when he climbed into the back seat.
Leaving Ronan to take the front passenger seat.
Nash’s big body pressed against mine on the bench seat as the car got moving and I found that oddly comforting.
Ronan began explaining things about Reese’s injuries, but it was hard for me to focus. I’d ask him to tell me everything again once I’d seen my son.
It didn’t take long to get to the hospital. I took the cap and sunglasses Ronan handed me as the SUV pulled along the back of the building. I wasn’t surprised that Nash had already handled the details of my arrival. The last thing I wanted was to deal withreporters or anyone else who might recognize me. I’d been out of the public eye for a long time, but I rarely managed to go anywhere without someone knowing who I was or asking for an autograph. On the rarest of occasions, a non-supporter would fling some ugly comments my way about how I’d fucked up the country, but fortunately those incidents were few and far between.
As I followed Nash and Ronan through the bowels of the hospital to a freight elevator, people looked at me strangely, but no one appeared to recognize me.
It took just a few minutes to reach a room on the third floor. A doctor was just coming out of it. The wall facing the main part of the floor was made of glass, but there was a curtain covering it so I couldn’t see Reese.
“Dr. Fields, this is Reese’s father,” Ronan said to the older woman.
“Mr. Starr, it’s nice to meet you,” the woman began. I flinched at the last name. It was my wife’s maiden name and the name Reese had chosen to go by after he’d walked out of my life. Apparently, the doctor hadn’t been clued in when Nash had told the hospital security staff about my arrival. On the one hand, I didn’t want to correct the woman, but I knew she’d find out eventually who I was. It wasn’t like I could walk around in a ball cap and sunglasses the whole time. Even now, I knew I looked ridiculous.
“It’s Shaw, actually,” I said as I took off the cap and sunglasses. “Everett Shaw.”
Dr. Fields recovered quickly from the initial shock as she recognized first my face, then my name. She was still holding my hand so she shook it again and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize?—”
“I’d prefer it that as few people as possible know,” I cut in. “I want the focus to be on my son.”
The woman instantly switched back to being a consummate professional. “Of course, Mr. President. Let me give you a quick update on Reese’s condition and then we’ll get you in there to see him.”
I listened with fake patience as the woman explained that Reese had been shot twice and that while they’d managed to remove bothbullets, one had been lodged near his spine and there was the potential for paralysis.
“I’m not going to lie to you, sir,” Dr. Fields said. “While we’re hopeful that any paralysis he experiences is temporary, it could very well be permanent. There’s just no way to know. If he wakes up without any feeling, it could take weeks to determine if the condition is permanent or not. If it isn’t, he’s potentially looking at intensive physical therapy for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we need to deal with the third-degree burns he’s sustained on his arms and chest. I’ve asked someone from the burn unit to consult to see if he’ll need skin grafts or not. Whatever the prognosis is, he’s looking at a long, painful recovery.”
With every word she spoke, I could feel tears threatening to overtake me. When she asked me if I had any questions, I wanted to tell her I had a million of them, but they were ones she couldn’t answer.
“Everett,” Ronan said as he stepped between me and the doctor and grabbed my arms. “He’s strong. When you walk in there, you remember that, okay? And remember that no matter what he says, he needs you.”
