He shook his head. “She never changed her name when we got married. For professional reasons.”
The nurse nodded. “This is going to sound insensitive, but if it wasn’t an amiable split, she doesn’t need to see you right now. With the brain injury, she needs to maintain a calm environment and avoid agitation. I can’t have you cause her distress.”
“We’re cool,” he said, though they really weren’t. They were an emotional tangle of a mess, yet they still loved each other.
The nurse tilted her head. “Let me just check with her, okay? See if she wants to see you?”
“Sure,” he said, because he was positive she would say yes.
“Wait here.” She turned back into the ICU pod, and he had to fight not to barrel in after her.
He couldn’t stand still so he started pacing, counting the floor tiles while moving back and forth. He’d reached 253 when the door swung open. He shot a look at the nurse. Her mega frown said it all. Addy had turned him down.
“I’m sorry. They’re doing some additional testing right now, and I couldn’t disturb them.” She gave a tight smile. “It’s well past visiting hours anyway. Maybe come back in the morning.”
No way. He wasn’t leaving. Not by a long shot. And especially not without getting more information on her status. “They brought me up to date on her condition in the ER. Has anything changed? The swelling increased?”
She scratched her neck. “I checked her patient record while I was back there. You’re not listed as her emergency contact or family. Means I’m not at liberty to share anything with you.”
“Please.” He sounded pitiful even to his own ears. “Can’t you just tell me if she’s stable or has gotten worse?”
She eyed him for a long time. “She’s stable.”
“That’s good, right? Means the swelling hasn’t reached that unsafe level.”
“Yes. Now head home.” She widened her stance and made a shooing motion with her hands. “Come back at nine when visiting hours start. I’ll still be on duty, and if she agrees to see you, I’ll let you go on back.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He firmed his stance. “I’ll be hanging in the lobby for the night.”
Shetsked and shook her head. “You won’t sleep well, and it’s in Addison’s best interest for you to be well rested.”
“No matter where I lay my head tonight, I won’t sleep.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Not with Addy in the ICU. And besides, I live in D.C. Flew in just an hour ago.”
“Oh, I see. But the lobby isn’t meant for overnight guests.”
“I get that, but I’m going to stay anyway.” He forced a smile. “I need to be close by. If you’d take pity on me and let me know every few hours how she’s doing, I’d appreciate it.”
“I can’t—”
“Tell me anything. I know. Just say stable or worse. That’s all I need to hear.” He gave her another smile. “And between updates, I’ll be praying to hear only the wordstable.”
In the ICU, Addy shifted in her bed, careful not to disturb the wires and tubes running from her body or make her head hurt any more than it already did. She looked around the room but couldn’t remember a single detail of her day before arriving at the ER and going in and out of consciousness. Not one thing. The nurse had told her that she was involved in a car accident, but Addy had no idea where it happened, where she was going, or why. Her mind just blanked it out. The doctor told her this was normal, but it was anything but normal to her.
The door opened, and Gala Harris stepped in. “Thank goodness you’re alive. I was concerned when you blew off our meeting, and then a Detective Palmere called to tell me you were in a car crash.”
“Meeting? What meeting?” Addy asked.
Harris rested her hands on the back of a nearby chair. “You were going to update me on your investigation this afternoon.”
Addy quickly explained as much as she’d been told about the crash.
Harris narrowed her eyes. “At first I thought this was just an accident, but when Palmere informed me you just drove off theroad without braking, I questioned it. Especially with what’s going on with Razo.”
“Razo?” Addy blinked, searching her memory for the name. “Who’s Razo?”
Harris’s eyebrow went up. “Why would you even ask that?”
“My memory. It’s more than the accident I can’t remember. I don’t know what I was last working on. Or that I had a meeting with you.”
