Chapter Thirty-Eight
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C assie’s eyes snapped open when the O.R. doors parted, and a staff member wheeled out a patient. Not Tristan.
Gavin’s arm tightened around her shoulders. She’d been using him as a pillow. “Not him.”
She sat up, put a hand to the back of her neck and tipped her head back to relieve the ache there. “How long was I out?”
“Maybe thirty minutes.” He removed his arm. “I’m gonna go grab another coffee and check in with the others down in the cafeteria. Can I get you anything?”
“I’d just about kill for an herbal tea.”
“Whoa, can’t have that. Anything in it?”
“Bit of honey if they have it. Thanks.”
“Sure. See you in a bit.”
She sat alone in the hallway, staring at the O.R. doors. The past few hours had been a continuous, horrific blur that kept playing over and over in a loop in her head.
The initial terror when she’d heard Tristan being ambushed.
Racing over there, fearing she would get there too late and find him dead.
Facing down and killing Rob. Finding Tristan badly wounded.
The shock that had taken hold after. Then having to deal with the police when all she’d wanted was to be beside Tristan at the hospital.
But seeing that name and number on Rob’s call log in the ambulance haunted her every bit as much as the rest of it.
She’d handed the phone over to the cops and used Gavin’s phone here at the hospital to contact Ivy.
She hadn’t told him why, but Ivy was quietly doing her thing, doing her own investigation without alerting anyone else.
Cassie didn’t want anyone else to know her suspicions until they were confirmed.
She blew out a breath, rubbed at the top of her right shoulder where the knots were worst. She wished someone would give them an update. Was Tristan still in the operating room? They’d taken him into surgery more than an hour ago.
“Hey, there you are.”
She glanced up to find Bristol walking toward her with a familiar pale blue pastry box in her hands. “Hi.”
“Brought you something.”
“What? When did you have time to go all the way to our pie place?”
“I didn’t, TJ did. And he got me a piece too, so move over.
” Bristol shimmied in beside her on the short, padded bench set against the wall and opened the box.
“Here you go. Lemon sour cream for you, French silk for me. Because I’m an addict and not ashamed to say so.
” She handed her a fork. Leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“Love you. Now eat. You’re pale as a sheet. ”
She wasn’t hungry. Her appetite had disappeared, and food was the last thing on her mind. But it was her favorite pie, and Lord knew she could use the sugar rush. “Remind me to thank TJ.”
“You like him now, right?”
She gave a nod. “The pie sealed the deal.” Well, that plus the way he treated Bristol. The man clearly adored her, and Bristol deserved nothing less.
It made her think of Tristan and the way he looked at her. The way he’d continually shown up to be there for her since they’d met. And how close she had come today to losing the first man she’d truly trusted.
“I knew it,” Bristol said excitedly. “It was just a matter of time before he won you over.” She took a bite of her chocolate pie and glanced toward the double doors down the hall. “He has to be in recovery by now. They got a room ready for him yet?”
“Still waiting to hear.”
“I’m sure it all went fine. He was stable when they took him in, vitals were good. Where are the others?”
“They’re in the cafeteria taking a break.”
“His family’s awesome.”
“I know.” Every one of them had shown up here at the hospital, even Carly. They’d sat with her until the medical team had come to say Tristan was in surgery, and then there was nothing left to do but wait.
“And your bosses are great too.”
“Yeah.” Ryder was still meeting with the sheriff. Callum and Walker were here at the hospital somewhere. Ivy was at home, working away in the privacy of her lair, and wouldn’t say a word about it to anyone except maybe Walker.
But if Cassie’s suspicion was correct...
She forced the mouthful of pie down her suddenly dry throat, trying not to think about it anymore. She had enough on her mind.
A nurse with dark brown corkscrew curls and gold-green eyes stepped out of the Emergency area. “Cassie? Hi, Bristol.”
“Molly, hi.” It was so good to see a familiar face. She was married to Jase, one of Beckett Hollister’s right-hand guys. “Any news yet?”
Molly smiled gently. “The surgery went great. He’s out of recovery and being moved up to the ward now. You can go and see him in about ten minutes. Room four-twelve.”
“Thank you.” Cassie shoved the box at Bristol, texted the others to give them the room number, overwhelmed by relief and fighting the urge to cry.
“See, he’s fine,” Bristol said, giving her shoulder a pat.
Cassie nodded but didn’t answer, not trusting her voice.
“Want me to update your mom for you?”
Her mom had wanted to come up and wait with her, but Cassie had asked her to wait at home for now. “I’ll do it.” She shot off a quick text to her once she had contacted Gavin and the others.
After ten minutes, Gavin and the others met her and Bristol, and they all took the elevator up together. On the fourth floor, Gavin stopped in front of Tristan’s room and opened the door gingerly, poked his head in to check if he was awake before walking in. “Hey, man. How you feeling?”
“Like I got shot,” a deep, groggy voice answered.
Cassie filed in behind Gavin, her heart clenching at the sight that greeted her.
Tristan lay propped up slightly in the bed in a light blue hospital gown, his heavily bandaged left arm immobilized across his chest. There was a dark blue-purple diagonal line across his collarbone that disappeared beneath the scooped neckline of the gown, marking where the seatbelt had stopped him when his truck hit the tree.
His face was pale and covered in nicks and bruises.
His gaze locked with hers the moment she entered the room, and his relieved smile flooded her with tenderness. “Hi,” she said, her voice a little rough. Keep it together, Cass.
Gavin stepped aside to let her past him. She went straight over to Tristan and leaned over to carefully embrace him, swallowing against the giant lump in her throat as she pressed her cheek to his.
She held onto him and squeezed her eyes shut against a sudden sting, the swell of emotion in her chest so painful it hurt to breathe.
It terrified her to think of how close she’d come to losing him today.
Filled her with a howling grief and regret when she thought of how bleak and empty her life would be without him.
Gavin was standing behind her, and the rest of the family was in the room, but she didn’t care. Couldn’t let him go.
She kissed Tristan’s forehead, his cheeks before kissing his lips, on the verge of losing the battle against the tears. Her heart pounded out of control, the pressure in her chest unbearable.
She’d held back from him for too long. Couldn’t contain it another moment.
She had to tell him. Right here and now. “I love you, Tristan. I love you so much.”
He stilled. His expression changed. And the look in his eyes... Then he started blinking. His lips quivered, and she realized his eyes were filling with tears too.
“Oh no,” she cried, bending close to hold him again. “No, please don’t—”
“Everyone out,” Gavin ordered suddenly behind her.
Cassie glanced back to see a flurry of motion as Gavin herded everybody else out into the hall and shut the door. Tristan’s hand sliding around her nape brought her attention back to him. She raised her head.
He gazed up at her, eyes still wet with tears. “Please don’t cry,” she whispered in distress, her own eyes filling.
“I was starting to think you might never say it...” He pulled in an unsteady breath. Swallowed. “Do you mean it, Cass? Don’t say it just because I’m lying here like this.”
“I mean it. I’ve never meant anything more in my life.” She gave him a tremulous smile, her pulse galloping with a dizzying blend of terror and elation. “I’m in love with you, Tris.”
“Oh my God,” he whispered, and drew her close with his good arm. His face was buried in her hair. “I’m in love with you too, Cass.”
She laughed softly, her tears slipping free. But she’d suspected he loved her. Had for a while. “So why are we both crying?”
“I dunno. But I’ve never been this happy. Maybe that’s why.”
“Yeah, maybe.” This was what love was supposed to feel like. So huge it hurt—in a good way.
“You’re really mine,” he said, a touch of awe in his voice.
She nodded. “That goes both ways, you know.”
His deep chuckle made her smile. “I’ve been yours for a long time now.”
Oh, damn... When he said things like that it pierced her heart. She kissed his mouth gently. Paused to kiss every cut and bruise she could see on his face. “Any better now?”
“A bit.” He shifted, grimaced.
She helped shift the pillows behind him. “Molly was downstairs. She said the surgery went well.”
“Happy to say I don’t remember any of it.”
Ha. “Did the surgeon talk to you in recovery?”
“Said it was a complete fracture, but both ends of it weren’t displaced, so she didn’t need to use any hardware to set it.”
“She? Nice, and that’s great news. What else?”
“The bullet didn’t actually hit the bone, and I’m lucky it didn’t, or my arm would’ve been mangled. The shockwave as it traveled through the back of my arm was enough to break it clean through.”
She winced. “So what’s the prognosis?”
“Hopefully, six to eight weeks for the fracture to heal. A few months more until the bone is full strength again. The doc said my radial nerve was affected, so I’ll have some weakness and numbness in the back of my arm and hand. Hopefully not permanent, but no triceps dips or pushups for a while.”
“I’ll take it.” She leaned down to rest her head beside his on the pillow. Curled her fingers around his right hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“What about you?”
“I’m all right,” she murmured.
“I couldn’t get to you.” His voice roughened. “I could hear you, but I couldn’t get to you, and I was out of ammo.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Tris. And I’m glad he’s dead.” She ran her fingers through his hair, her heart turning over. Why the hell had she waited so long to let him in? “It’s over now. But you and I are just beginning.”
He nodded. Pulled in an unsteady breath. “You and me, Cass.”
She squeezed his hand. “You and me.” She smiled, loving the sound of that. “Want me to let your family in now?”
“You ready for them?”
They were a huge part of his life. She would never get in the way of that. And, bonus, she actually liked them all. “I’m ready.” For his family. For him. For their future together.
For all of it.
Bring it on.