Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“I need in there,” I protest. “I need to help.”
Logan pats my cheek to get me to look at him. “Her heart is beating again. Dr. Whitman is in there with her. I’m going back in to evaluate her head wound, and her ankle. The good news is that her pupils are reactive, Gaines.”
I scrub both hands over my face. “Let me in.”
“Jordan is one of the best,” Evan reminds me. “He’ll figure out what caused this. He’ll determine if it’s related to her heart.”
I pull on my hair. “I need you to listen to me.”
Both men step closer to me. Evan lowers his voice. “I called her cousin. They are on their way here, now. You need to get out to that waiting room to tell them what’s going on.”
“I can do that,” Logan offers. “Gaines isn’t in any shape…”
“I’ll handle it.” I growl at him.
His gaze catches mine. This is all too fucking familiar. The two of us in an ED. Someone who doesn’t deserve it is facing death.
His jaw stiffens. “You love her.”
I hang my head. “I fucked it up so bad with her.”
He taps the back of my neck the way he always did when we were kids. “There is never a fuck up that’s so bad that we can’t come back from it.”
Those words hit hard.
I glance up at him and make a decision that could impact the rest of my life. “Tell Jordan she’s at risk for CPVT.”
Evan pats my shoulder. “Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia? You think that’s what caused her to collapse?”
I nod. “I think there’s a very good chance that’s what caused this.”
“That’s hereditary,” Evan points out. “Have one of her parents been diagnosed?”
I shrug and answer honestly. “I have no idea.”
Logan and Evan exchange glances. “A sibling?”
I look straight into Logan’s eyes. “Trust me. Tell Jordan. I realize she can’t be tested right now, but there are treatments until she can be. He’ll understand.”
“I’ll tell him now,” Logan assures me. “We’ll get her through this, Gaines.”
A repeat of what happened the last time we faced down death together can’t happen. I won’t allow it.
“Wait.” He slides his hand into the pocket of his pants. He flashes me a small zip top bag. “These are Eloise’s things. I think you need to be the one holding onto them. She had a purse with her, too. I’ll go get it.”
I greedily take the bag and cradle it against my chest.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to save your girl,” Logan promises.
“I need her.” My voice breaks. “I’m going to marry her.”
“You will,” he assures me. “You will.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Gaines
Astrid rests her head against her husband’s shoulder as they sit in a private waiting area I directed them to.
“I don’t understand.” Tears stream down her cheeks. “You’re saying that she went into cardiac arrest? Is that a heart attack?”
“No,” I explain. “They’re different.”
I tack on more to offer her the hope that my colleagues have offered me. “She’s receiving the best care possible.”
“She’s not,” Astrid argues. “You should be in there. Why aren’t you in there?”
Berk pops a brow, silently asking the same question.
“I want to be,” I tell them both as I sit across from them. “It’s hospital policy not to work on someone you know. Someone you love.”
Berk gets it first. His eyes widen. “Gaines.”
Astrid gaze volleys between us. “What? She’s part of the family. He loves her just like he loves all of us.”
“No,” I say in a deep tone. “It’s not that kind of love, Astrid. I’m in love with her.”
“What?” Her voice rises. “Since when?”
“For years,” I answer honestly. “It’s a lot to explain, and I will, but suffice it to say I am head over heels in love with your cousin.”
She leans forward to wrap her arms around my neck. “How can I feel so much joy and be so scared at the same time?”
I pat the center of her back. “She’ll get through this.”
Clinging to me, she sobs. “We need her to.”
I agree with a silent nod of my head.
“Her parents and brother are on their way,” Berks fills me in. “I called them. I told them she was stable because that’s what the woman at the reception desk in the ED said before you found us.”
I pull back from my embrace with Astrid so I can address both of them. “She is stable.”
“I texted Pen to tell her,” she whispers. “I think she’s coming with Dax. She’s become important to Eloise.”
I nod.
“I’m going to go back in and check on her status.”
That loosely translates to I’m going in to hold her hand and kiss her.
I stand but before I do I point at the purse I set down next to Astrid. “That’s Eloise’s. She had it with her when she collapsed.”
She drags it closer to her but it tumbles off the chair, spilling the contents on the floor.