28. Gage
28
Gage
Having Lori live with me was just as wonderful as I’d imagined. She wasn’t messy, she loved cooking with me, and everything felt right. Everyone knew we were getting married and had promised to be there. I just hoped nothing would pull me away. Sean knew I didn’t want anything interfering with my wedding day.
But on Monday, he called.
“There’s no one else available, Gage. I need you to guard this actress for two days.”
I promised Lori I’d be home by Wednesday. Gideon was with me, which was good—this actress always had a crowd around her.
Then, on Wednesday, I got the call.
“Gage, Lori wasn’t feeling well, so her dad took her to the hospital,” Sean told me.
My stomach dropped. “What? What happened?”
“She’s been sick since Tuesday morning. She couldn’t get out of bed. Her dad came over and decided she needed to go in.”
“What did the hospital say?”
“River and Kat are there with her now. I don’t know if they’ve heard anything. Why don’t you give them a call?”
I immediately turned to Gideon. “We’re leaving— now. ”
We booked an earlier flight, and my phone rang as I was gathering my things. The call startled me so badly I fumbled and dropped it. I snatched it up.
“Hello? River?”
“Gage, Lori is sick. I mean, she’s really sick. When will you be here?”
“Thirty minutes. Tell me what’s going on.”
“They’re still running tests. As soon as you land, I think we take her to a better-equipped hospital.” River’s voice was tense. “See you soon.”
“River—thank you for being there with her.”
“Hey, what are friends for?”
I hesitated. “Do you think she’ll be well enough for the wedding on Saturday?”
River sighed. “Gage… they’re trying to keep her alive . It’s that bad.”
My chest tightened. “What? Are you saying she could die from this?”
“Yes. She’s on life support, Gage.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. The words didn’t make sense. Lori— my Lori —on life support?
I forced myself to focus. “I’m calling Griffin Anderson. If anyone can help, it’s him. Do you know if anyone’s spoken to him since we left the service?”
“I think he’s up in Oregon with SEAL Security. I’ll reach out and see if I can track him down.”
“I need him to look at her. I don’t want just anyone treating her. No quacks . This is Lori’s life we’re talking about.”
“I get it,” River said. “I’ll find him for you.”
“Why the hell did they put her on life support?”
River exhaled. “They’re trying to keep her stable. Just get here, Gage.”
When I arrived at the hospital, I was on the phone with Ryker, updating him as I made my way to the ICU.
“Graham said he’ll get back to you in about two hours. He’s not far from where you are,” Ryker explained.
“Good. Can you have him call the hospital directly?”
“He said he would. He’s probably already getting the medical reports and ordering additional tests.” Ryker hesitated. “Because Lori was overseas, right?”
I nodded, though Ryker couldn’t see me.
Something was very wrong.
And I wouldn’t stop until I knew exactly what it was.
“Gage, can you hear me?”
“Yes, she was in Afghanistan and Iran.”
“That’s what I thought,” Ryker said. “She may have picked up something over there. A lot of people are getting sick right now. Stay strong for Lori.”
“I will. Thanks, Ryker.”
I ended the call and pressed the ICU buzzer. A moment later, Lori’s dad walked out. His face was pale, his eyes red from crying.
My stomach clenched. Why the hell is he crying?
“Is Lori…?”
“No,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “She’s just so sick. I don’t like seeing her like this.” His voice broke. “Go on in. I’ll hold the door for you.”
I was shaking so badly I could barely move past the curtain. My breath caught when I saw Lori lying there, pale and lifeless. Sammy sat beside her, holding her hand.
I walked up and kissed Lori’s forehead. “Has the doctor said anything?”
Sammy looked up at me, worry clouding her eyes. “He thought it might be malaria.”
I frowned. “Malaria? She was in the desert, not the jungle. Were there even mosquitoes where she was?”
“I don’t know,” Sammy admitted. “But she got worse fast.”
I exhaled sharply. “I have another doctor coming—Graham Anderson. He specializes in cases like this. He’ll find out what’s wrong with her.” I hesitated, then asked, “Why did they put her on life support?”
“I don’t know,” Sammy said. “She was already like this when I got here. Do you think she stopped breathing? Or did my dad say she was still breathing when he brought her in? Yes, she was breathing when Dad brought her in.”
“She was just sick, ” I muttered, trying to wrap my head around it.
“Is there someone I can talk to?” I asked. “Someone who actually knows why they put her on life support? Sometimes, all these machines make things look worse than they are.”
“I’ll go with you,” Sammy said. “I don’t think this hospital knows what’s wrong with her. They’re in over their heads.”
I nodded. “I’m moving her to another hospital when my friend arrives. I’ll talk to him about it. We’ll take her in a helicopter.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Okay. Where are your girls?”
“Helen has them,” Sammy said. She exhaled, shaking her head. “I’m still in shock that my dad and Helen got married. But I’m glad he’s happy.”
We walked to the nurse’s station. I stepped forward. “I need to speak with Lori’s doctor.”
“I’ll call him for you,” the nurse said.
Before she could, another nurse approached. “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” I said. “I need to know why my fiancée is on life support.”
The nurse hesitated. “The doctor believed she was under extreme stress. She kept saying your name—Gage. I assume that’s you?”
I nodded.
“He decided to sedate her and place her on life support to stabilize her,” she explained.
“I’m taking her off of life support.”
The deep voice behind me made me turn.
Graham Anderson stood there, his presence commanding as ever. He clapped me on the back. “Where is she?”
“Wait,” the nurse protested. “You can’t just take her off life support.”
Graham shot her a sharp look. “I’m her doctor. Graham Anderson. I need everything you have on Laura Daniels. Now . ”
“Yes, doctor.” The nurse nodded and turned to retrieve Lori’s file.
Graham glanced at Samantha. “This is Laura’s sister?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
He nodded in greeting. “Hello, Samantha. If you two want to wait in the waiting room, I’ll update you once I’ve assessed her.”
“I’ll wait here,” I said firmly, not moving.
Samantha hesitated and then left to inform their father.
“When Laura was in Oregon talking to us, she mentioned getting bitten by a spider. She almost died from it,” Graham said.
“Did that happen in Afghanistan or Iran?” I asked.
“Neither—it was while she was home. I’m going to check her for a spider bite,” Graham said. “But first, I’m waking her up.”
I watched as he carefully removed the breathing tube from her throat and then unhooked the oxygen and IV drips. After pulling the sheet down to her feet, he began checking her body for any signs of a bite.
I wasn’t exactly comfortable with him examining every inch of Lori. Stepping forward, I started searching alongside him. We had been looking for a while when something on the back of her knee caught my attention.
“What’s this?” I asked, leaning closer. “I think I found it.”
Graham moved to my side. “Yep, that’s it. Look how swollen it is.”
He pressed the call button for the nurse.
“Yes, doctor? How can I help?” she asked.
“Bring me a scalpel and some towels,” Graham instructed.
As we waited, I glanced down at Lori. Her eyes fluttered open briefly before closing again.
“She’s waking up,” I said, heart pounding.
“She’s starting to come out of it,” Graham confirmed.
The nurse returned, handing him the supplies. “Here you go, doctor.”
“Thanks.” Graham turned to me. “I need you to hold her leg still. I don’t want her moving while I have a scalpel in my hand.”
I positioned myself and firmly held onto her leg as he made a precise incision in the swollen, red area. A thick rush of infection oozed out. Graham quickly pressed a heated washcloth against it, letting it drain before wrapping a towel around the wound.
“We’ll keep it open for now and let the infection drain,” he explained. “Hopefully, that’ll bring her fever down. She can’t take any penicillin-based meds. She told me she’s allergic to anything ending in ‘-cillin.’” He shook his head. “It’s almost like she knew this was coming. I’m glad you called me.”
“Thank God I called you,” I muttered. “What even brought up this conversation with Lori?”
“I was telling her about a patient I had who was bitten by a poisonous snake,” Graham said. “She mentioned the spider bite after that.”
A faint murmur came from the bed. “Can you at least cover half of me?”
I turned to find Lori blinking up at us, a weak smile on her lips.
Relief surged through me. “Sweetheart, I was so scared,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her skin burned with fever.
“I’m glad you called Graham,” she said softly, her voice hoarse. “And that I told him about the spider.” She paused. “This time, I got him.”
“What?”
“The spider,” she murmured. “He’s under a jar in your garage.”
I exhaled, shaking my head. “I’ll take it in to find out what kind it was. And I’ll have the house sprayed every week.”
Lori’s lips curved slightly. “I love you, too,” she murmured before drifting back to sleep.