Which was why he’d dropped everything to come here.
For reasons he still didn’t understand, Adrian Walker had broken into his apartment for the sole purpose of telling him Elle was in danger. Less than five minutes later, the phone call came about the accident.
If it really was an accident.
Either way, Gabe was bound and determined to find out what the hell was going on with his estranged wife. But first things first…
I need to make sure she’s okay.
It was going to be hard as fuck to see her again. To see and hear her again. To not touch her.
To not be able to hold her and tell her how much I missed her.
How much he still loved her.
That ship hadn’t just sailed. The fucking thing was drifting a world away, far out of his desperate reach.
But there was still one thing Gabe could do for her—one thing he’d always do—and that was protect her. So he’d focus on doing that.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
Not that he really had a choice in the matter. Even if he wanted to try and mend what he’d torn apart, it was clear Elle wanted nothing to do with him.
The papers he received two days ago were proof of that.
With that in mind, he put on the mask he was so good at wearing, lifted the strap of his large duffle over one shoulder, and walked through the doors and straight to the patient check-in desk.
He must not have controlled his emotions as well as he thought, however, because the young nurse sitting behind the table appeared alarmed when she spotted him.
Wide, round eyes stared up at him from behind the glass. “M-may I help you?”
“Ellena Dawson.”
The woman’s eyes grew a bit rounder at his gruff tone. “I take it she’s a patient of ours?”
No shit.
Doing his best to stay calm and not scare the girl even more, Gabe bit back the smart-ass retort and nodded. “Dr. Dawson was brought in a few hours ago. I’m listed as her emergency contact. My name is—”
“Gabe!”
He swung his head around in search of whoever had just said his name. His chest tightened a bit when he spotted a familiar face.
Wearing a pair of light blue scrubs, Jenna Shaw—an emergency room nurse and Ellena’s best friend—hurried toward him.
“I was told you were coming.”
“Hey, Jenna.”
Without hesitation, the woman reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pulled him in for a tight hug.
It felt a bit awkward given the situation, but Jenna had always been a hugger. She’d also been a friend of his, too, back when he and Elle were still together.
“Hey, Jenna.” Gabe gave her a little squeeze before pulling away. “How is she?”
She stepped back and dropped her arms at her sides. “Conscious, thank goodness. She took a pretty good knock to the head and her left shoulder had to be put back into place. But her vitals are stable, and she’s coherent and responsive.” The sweet nurse exhaled loudly, her concern for her friend obvious. “She was lucky.”
“What happened?”
