Natalia sat alone in one of the hospital’s private waiting rooms, trying hard not to lose her shit. Jagger was supposedly being treated by the best emergency doctor in the city. For all she knew, he could actually be dying alone in a small, sterile room.
Please, please, don’t be dying.
She’d be with him right now, holding his hand and telling him he was going to be fine, if not for the detective who’d given her the ride here. The well-meaning man had called her a witness in front of the nurse in charge of Jagger’s care.
From that moment on, the stern woman had refused to let Natalia into his room. Family only, she’d said, using HIPPA as her impenetrable defense.
Enter Ryker.
Her mentor and boss had arrived a few minutes ago, having been locked away in a closed door, no-phones meeting when the explosion had occurred. Currently, Ryker was somewhere in the hospital working his magic, hopefully getting them the access they’d previously been denied.
Until then, she was stuck here. Alone and waiting. Hoping and praying the man she was falling head over boots for was going to be okay.
The past few hours had been some of the longest of her life. Second only to those spent waiting for the official word of Julian’s death. Because as much as she wanted to deny the truth, Jagger was right.
There was more between them than one night of amazing sex. Much, much more. And thanks to the asshole who’d wired her car to blow, they may lose it forever.
“Talia!”
Natalia blinked, looking up from the magazine she hadn’t been reading to see Megan Hunt bursting into the room.
“Megan?” She put the magazine on the empty chair to her left and pushed herself to her feet.
Within seconds, the entire waiting room was filled with all of Jagger’s friends. His teammates. Their wives. Even Liam’s adorable stepdaughter-to-be was there.
“W-what are you?—”
“How bad is it?” Christian’s dark eyes searched hers.
Matching expressions of concern were etched on each of their faces. It was clear they were all every bit as worried as she was. Probably more, considering they played a far bigger part in Jagger’s life.
I’m so sorry.
“He’s, uh…” She cleared her throat. “He was unconscious the last time I saw him.”
A tall, sandy-blonde woman she recognized as Dr. Kerrigan Ellis—Cade’s physician wife—came to stand by Christian’s side. “When was that?”
“Right before I called Christian to let him know what happened.” Her throat worked a hard swallow. “They, uh…they won’t let me see him, and no one’s been in to give me an update, so I don’t really have any answers for you yet.” Natalia crossed her arms tightly across her chest. “Ryker got here a few minutes ago. He went to find the hospital’s director. Hopefully he’ll be able to get us back there so we can see for ourselves what’s going on.”
“So you’ve just been sitting here by yourself this whole time?” Another blonde moved in closer, her big, blue eyes staring back at Natalia with a hefty dose of sympathy. “That’s awful.”
Allison Cutler.
Liam’s fiancée, and mother to the little girl currently keeping a tight grip on her hand.
Natalia nodded. “And no one has come out to give me any sort of update.”
“She’s right.” Kerrigan spoke up again. The woman was clearly displeased. “Three hours with no update is totally unacceptable.” She placed a loving hand on Cade’s arm. “I have a few contacts here, myself. I’ll go see what I can find out.”
“Thank you.” Her husband leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on her lips.
“I’ll be back soon.”
As she left, the others settled around Natalia, some choosing to remain standing while others took a seat in the room’s cushioned chairs.
“So, no word on Jagger yet,” Brody’s deep voice began, “but what about you?” His dark gaze gave her an assessing once-over. “Are you doing okay?”
“A few new bruises and minor cuts and scrapes, but nothing a few days won’t cure. I got lucky. I landed in the bushes. But Jag…” Her voice cracked with a fresh onslaught of emotions she barely managed to keep in check.
