The woman who had him tied up in all sorts of knots turned her frantic gaze his way, and when she did, her chin began to quiver. “They had to shock him, Slade.” Shadow had never sounded so small. “She said he went into v tach shortly after the ambulance got there, so they had to…oh, God. What if he?—”
“He won’t,” Slade promised despite having no control whatsoever when it came to his boss’s fate. But the woman was on the brink of falling apart and…selfishly…that was something he didn’t think he could bear to see.
“You said Ashley told you they took him to Mercy?” Falcon double-checked on their way out the door.
Shadow’s long ponytail bounced up and down as she nodded, her short legs working overtime as she practically ran down the porch steps.
“We’ll follow you there,” Bones announced, the four of them splitting off to their respective rides.
The first several miles of the drive passed by in relative silence. When Slade did speak, it was to offer the woman next to him lame platitudes and more empty promises he couldn’t guarantee.
To her credit, Shadow never fully broke down or told him to take a flying leap. The truth was, Slade would have welcomed that far more than the stark silence coming from the passenger seat.
“He’ll be okay, Shadow,” Slade told her again after more miles passed without a single shared word between them.
When she didn’t respond, he found himself reaching a hand across the console to cover her knitted fists twisting together in her lap. Her movements froze, and for a moment, he thought he’d made yet another mistake where the amazing woman was concerned. But then she slowly turned one of her hands palm-up and linked her fingers with his.
“I can’t lose him, Slade.” Her voice was soft and filled with a worry he’d do anything to take away. “He’s the only family I have. If I lose him, there won’t be anyone left.”
“You’re wrong.” He gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “We may not be blood, but me and the team…we’re your family, too, sweetheart. And we’re not going anywhere. No matter what.”
* * *
Shadow racedinto the emergency room entrance at Atrium Health Mercy. She didn’t stop until she was standing in front of the intake desk connected to the ER’s main lobby.
“Rafe Owens,” she blurted her father’s name as if that explained everything.
The nurse behind the desk glanced up from her computer monitor and smiled. “Hi, can I help you?”
“Rafe Owens,” she bit out the repeated name, barely holding on to the last strings of her patience. “He’s my father. I got a call he was brought here with a suspected heart attack.”
Between the unending tension that had been present since that confusing night with Slade, the mess with Stanton, and now this…
A woman can only take so much before she loses her shit and goes full-on postal.
“Let me see which room they’re treating him in.” The young nurse’s fingers began to fly over her keyboard. “You said the name was Owens?”
“Yes.” Shadow spelled out both her father’s first and last names.
The other woman frowned. “I’m sorry, but I’m not seeing him in our system.”
“What do you mean he’s not in your system? He was just brought here by ambulance less an hour ago.”
“Maybe it’s a glitch in the system,” the well-meaning nurse offered. “Let me check again.” A few seconds later, she shook her head, the look of sympathy in her eyes making Shadow want to scream. “I’m sorry, but there’s no record of a Rafe Owens being brought here. Are you sure this is the right hospital?”
“Yes, I’m sure!” She turned to Slade who hadn’t left her side. “Ashely told me it was here. She specifically said Atrium Health Mercy.”
“Is there any way you can check to see if he’s at another Atrium hospital?” Bones chimed in with a belatedly added, “Just in case Ashely was mistaken.”
There were several Atrium medical facilities scattered in and around Charlotte, so maybe Ashelyhadgotten it wrong. Maybe the ambulance took him to one of them, instead.
But with the next shake of the nurse’s head and the regret filling the woman’s brown eyes, Shadow knew the answer before she parted her full, pink lips.
“I’m sorry, but that name isn’t showing up anywhere in our system. I wish there were something more I could do to help.”
Shadow’s heart dropped into her churning stomach as she and the guys stepped out of the way of another incoming patient.
“This is ridiculous.” She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out her cell. “I’m calling Ashley. Hopefully she can straighten this whole thing out.”
