Chapter 21 – Evelyn
EVELYN
The surgeon stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.
“She’s alive.” She didn’t waste time, and the entire room exhaled.
“The surgery went well, all things considered. The bullet entered her lower abdomen and passed through soft tissue. It narrowly missed any major vessels and organs, though there was damage to her intestines that we were able to repair.”
She paused, choosing her words carefully.
“She lost a significant amount of blood, and the risk with abdominal wounds is infection, so she’s not out of the woods yet.
We’re keeping her sedated for the next couple of days while her body stabilizes.
” Her expression softened. “I’m cautiously optimistic.
She has a long road ahead of her, but she should make a full recovery. ”
She glanced around the crowded room. “Two of you can go in and see her now.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” I said, my body sagging slightly.
Maya leaned back in their chair, rubbing their hand over their heart.
Izzy leaned against the table heavily, closing her eyes and rubbing her cross necklace while murmuring an unintelligible prayer.
Liam sank back in his chair for a moment before getting back to scrubbing the surveillance feeds.
Danny was frozen in his seat, eyes unfocused.
I cupped his cheek and brought his face up to mine. “Come on, let’s go see her.”
Alexander spoke quietly with the doctor as we passed.
His hand reached out and caught mine, squeezing my fingers briefly before letting go.
Sebastian sat at the table with Liam, scanning the footage as a second pair of eyes.
He looked up and flashed me a grin and wink before getting back to work.
Marcus and Adrian murmured quietly to each other.
Marcus nodded while Adrian smiled, and I took a breath.
They would handle things here while I went and saw my sister in every way but blood.
The doctor led us to a nursing station, and a friendly, middle-aged Hispanic nurse led us down a few hallways until we got to a different section of the hospital.
She stopped outside one of the patient rooms and knocked on the door softly.
She slid the door open with a soft click, and Danny and I stepped inside.
I sucked in a breath when I saw Grace. She was always such a strong, commanding presence.
Seeing her lying there, pale and unmoving, felt like getting punched in the gut.
Two chairs were pressed against the wall.
I dragged one to the side of the bed and sat heavily, taking her hand gently.
Her skin was cool under my fingers as I threaded them together.
Danny pulled the other chair to the opposite side and sank into it. He reached for her blanket-covered leg, hesitating a few inches above it. After a deep sigh, he let his hand rest there, bracing his elbow on the bed and rubbing his face like he was trying to hold himself together.
“It’s all my fault,” he said brokenly. “We fought because of me.”
I didn’t say anything. I doubted that was totally the case, but I also knew my cousin well enough that he needed time to get this all out.
“I just got so frustrated that she wouldn’t admit there was more than friendship between us,” he confessed. “I knew she wasn’t ready to admit it, but I got impatient and tired of waiting. I pushed her, and it caused her to run off. It’s my fault.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said firmly.
Grace and Danny had been dancing around this conversation for at least a year.
I saw the way the two of them looked at each other.
Everyone did. I was surprised Danny had waited as long as he had to bring it up.
He could be hotheaded, but he was different with Grace.
I didn’t know everything about Grace’s background, but from the little I did, she had been in a relationship with someone in her unit when she was in the service, and it had ended badly.
Badly enough that I knew why she had run away from their conversation.
But it wasn’t Danny’s fault she got shot.
“It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of whoever shot her.” And it was my fault.
Danny knew me too well, and he scoffed at me. “If it’s not my fault, it’s not your fault either. You can’t blame yourself.”
“I’ll get right on that as soon as you do,” I shot back.
His lips lifted in a half grin before it faded.
He reached out slowly and brushed a loose strand of hair back from Grace’s face.
The touch was reverent and carried more longing than words ever could.
I didn’t know if Grace would ever be ready, but if she ever was, there wasn’t a man more suited for her than Danny.
And there wasn’t a better woman for Danny than Grace.
They would sort it out. But I wasn’t above meddling to help things along.
“How long would you wait for her to be ready?” I asked him.
“I’d wait forever if I needed to,” he said.
“Then tell her that when she wakes up. Just be there for her, and it’ll all work out.
” I reached across the bed and squeezed his arm.
He covered my hand with his before I could pull away and squeezed it.
I settled back in my chair, hand still holding Grace’s, as the silence settled comfortably in the room while we sat in silent vigil for her to wake up.
A soft knock sounded on the door, and Izzy peeked her head in.
Alexander hovered behind her in the hallway, and I gently untangled my fingers from Grace’s before I rose from the chair.
Izzy squeezed my shoulder as I passed her, then she slipped into the room to see Grace. I shut the door behind her and turned.
Alexander stood there in a faded long-sleeved shirt and soft sweatpants, attire meant for home, not a hospital hallway.
Exhaustion suddenly tugged at me hard, slowing my feet.
He held open his arms, and I stepped into them.
I rested my forehead on his chest and slipped my arms around his waist. He wrapped one arm around my lower back and threaded a hand into the hair at the base of my skull.
His fingers massaged the back of my neck, and I groaned softly.
I soaked up his solid presence and strength, enjoying the bubble we found ourselves in for a few moments before the sounds of the hospital started filtering back through my mind.
The beeps of machines in the rooms, the chatter of nurses at their workstation, the squeaky wheels as carts and patients were wheeled down the hallways.
Reluctantly, I lifted my head to meet Alexander’s blue eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered. I still defaulted to handling everything on my own, but he was always there—they were always there—reminding me that I wasn’t in this alone.
“Of course,” he said, cupping my cheek and resting his forehead against mine. “It’s not your fault,” he whispered, staring into my eyes like he could push those words deep into my brain. If only it worked like that.
My lips twitched, but I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t the one who had shot Grace, but I still should have been there. Grace and Danny had fought before, and I was always the one Grace called to vent. But instead, she had gone to the train tracks because I wasn‘t there. But I could be there now.
“Let’s go catch the bastards who did this.”