“I love you,” she whispered, her words seeping into my skin, cleansing my dark soul with her light. A sound left me, and her lips touched mine gently. “Shh, it’s all over. My sweet, sweet Col. It's all over,” she rasped against my mouth. I kissed her again, more fiercely than before. She broke away after a moment, but our heads remained together, and her hands rested on either side of my neck.
“Your pulse is a gift,” she whispered a few minutes later. Or hours. I didn’t give a fuck. She was here with me, safe in my arms and that was the only thing that mattered to me.
My brow furrowed. “So I’m not dead?”
“No, Mr. Stevens. You are very much alive,” a male voice said. Kay scrambled off me, and I already missed her warmth.
Who the fuck is taking my angel away from me?
My hand reached out and caught her wrist. She turned to me, and I shook my head.
God, she looked like she had been to hell and back…forme. I swallowed, needles stuck in my throat. “Don’t go, Karina,” I whispered hoarsely. There was someone to the left of me, checking the monitors I was hooked up to, but I didn’t give a damn about that.
I needed her near me.
Her face broke into a bright, broken smile. “I’m never leaving your side.” I tugged her to me, and she stood at the end of the bed as a man in a white coat came to stand at the end of the bed. He looked up from the tablet in his hand with a kind smile.
I suppressed the urge to tell him to fuck off so I could be alone with my baby. “Mr. Stevens, my name is Dr. Derik Stevens, and I am the cardiologist who has been handling your case.”
“My case?” I drawled.
He looked from my face to my chest. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit rolled over, doc.”
He nodded and tapped the screen. “Collin, you suffered a gunshot to the chest three days ago without an exit wound. You were placed on life support until I arrived.”
“Until you arrived?” I asked, my eyes dropping to his credentials on his coat.Dallas, Texas.
“A friend called in a favor on your behalf, Mr. Stevens. I performed surgery twenty-fours ago. The bullet is embedded in your right ventricle, but your heart remains intact and functioning. I repaired the damaged tissue around the bullet, but it would have been more of a risk for the bullet to be removed,” he explained, holding my eyes.
“Who called in the favor?” I demanded, my stomach feeling uneasy as the organ in question began beating faster. Themonitor beside me made a noise I didn’t quite register. A favor? For me?
A soft vanilla scent surrounded me as a hand cupped my cheek. "Hey, look at me,” she said gently. “It’s okay.”
I shook my head. “Who called in the favor, doctor?” I asked, looking back to him.
“I did.”
My head turned towards that voice. There in the doorway. stood a tall figure.
Dean.
Dean Connors.
Called in a favor for me?
“Why?” I asked. There were so many emotions swarming around me, and I had no idea which one would strike me first.
Dean stepped over the threshold, Gwen Davenport behind him. Her eyes avoided mine, looking to Karina first. “You good?” she asked her softly.
“I am now,” my angel rasped. Then, Gwen’s eyes were on me and before I could stop them, memories of her and I came rushing forward, crashing over me like a wave, of us in Lovejoy Library, of us at the coffee shops, at the parties, the bars. Suddenly, I felt the need to say it…
“You need to know that I regret it, Gwen,” I said. The doctor shifted and moved towards Dean out of the corner of my eye. They spoke briefly, and then Dr. Stevens took his leave.
The curly haired woman before me held my gaze as she lifted her chin slightly. “Is it true?”
I stared, and Kay’s hand wrapped around mine tighter. “We don’t have to do this now, G.”
