Chapter 35 #2
“We can only transfer blood that won’t trigger a reaction,” the nurse explains. “This antigen combination is inherited and uncommon. None of you are biologically related, so the likelihood of a match is very low.”
“Fuck,” Rudy whispers, stuffing both hands into his hair.
“We’ve contacted regional banks. The important takeaway here is that she is stable, and the moment we have blood, we can operate. I’ll update you when I have more information.”
And then she’s gone, disappearing into the hustle and bustle of hospital life, taking the fragile thread holding me together with her.
We sit. We wait.
Ten minutes drag by.
No updates.
No news.
Rudy bounces his knee hard enough to shake the plastic chair under him.
Bella looks exhausted, bags under her eyes, hair spilling out of her bun, and barely holding herself together—she and Brodie raced over as soon as I called them.
The second I told Bella, “Erin’s mom is here,” Bella’s breath hitched like she’d been punched.
Then she punched me—square in the jaw.
I deserved that.
Hell, I probably deserved worse.
Before I could blink, she crashed into me, sobbing. I could only hold her and apologize over and over.
Again.
I didn’t tell Bella about Erin being there the night her dad died. That’s not my story to give away, and I won’t take that from Erin.
Coach Avery drops into the empty seat beside me with a grunt.
“You’re gonna take some personal time when she pulls through,” he says, leaving no room for argument. “Help our girl get back on her feet. Understood?”
Hayes snorts on my other side. “Fat chance. She’ll tell him to leave her with her books and an endless supply of tacos and blankets so she can comfortably watch Pretty Boy goof off on the ice.”
I force my lips into a fleeting curve, but it’s nothing more than an empty motion.
The nurse from earlier approaches, and an involuntary tension grips every muscle in my body.
“We’ve located a compatible donor,” she says, her voice calm but urgent. “She’s receiving a transfusion now, and we’ll prep her for surgery as soon as that’s complete.”
Air rushes out of me. I thank her before she disappears again.
Almost three and a half agonizing hours later, a doctor in navy scrubs steps into the waiting room. Everyone is on their feet.
“She did incredibly well,” he says, and the reassurance in his voice slams into me.
“The bullet came close but didn’t touch any major arteries.
We removed it without trouble. She’s stable and out of danger.
She’ll be sore and groggy when she wakes up, but a full recovery is expected.
” He gestures around us. “You can breathe now.”
And we do—for the first time since we got here.
My legs nearly give out from how fast the relief hits.
“You can see her, but not all at once,” the doctor says, his eyes scanning the group.
Rudy doesn’t hesitate. He looks directly at the doctor, then gestures to Bella, me, and himself.
“This is her sister, that’s her boyfriend, and I’m her brother.
The rest of these guys, they’re her family, too.
” He takes a step closer to the doctor, voice unwavering.
“So, either step aside and let us through, or I’ll move you. ”
Oliver snorts, the tension breaking for a moment, and I find my own lips twitching, too.
“Down, boy,” Hayes says, his tone amused. “He’s just doing his job.”
Rudy’s expression hardens. “And I’m doing mine. She’d want us all in there. Her entire family.”
“I’d let us through, Doc,” Austin adds with a playful smirk. “Before the kid throws a hissy fit.”
“And terrorizes the nurses,” Oliver chimes in. “He already broke the vending machine.”
The doctor shakes his head. “Fucking hockey players.” He steps aside then, giving us the room number as he sends a glare in Rudy’s direction.
A minute later, we walk in and find Erin sleeping peacefully, but when my eyes lock on the angry marks against her skin, anger flares hot and fast. Not at her, but at the world that keeps hurting the girl I love.
The cuts on her face are cleaned up, covered and stitched now, but even bruised, she’s still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
Bella sits in the chair on Erin’s left, and Rudy takes the one on her right. He empties his pockets and carefully places the Jelly Tots he bought under her pillow.
“We’re here, Goose,” Rudy whispers. “You gotta wake up soon or your boyfriend is gonna blow a gasket.”
All eyes in the room shift to him. We all know it’s Rudy who lost it a minute ago with the doctor. The man just came out to tell us our girl’s doing well, and Rudy went a little nuclear. But I can’t blame him. He’s hurting and afraid, doing his best to lighten the mood.
“You gotta wake up before they restrain Pretty Boy, okay?”
“You’re kidding, right?” I say to him as the others shake their heads and let out a chuckle at Rudy’s antics.
“When are you gonna learn to not throw yourself in front of people, huh?” Rudy croaks, ignoring me.
My mind volleys back and forth to Erin’s stupidly heroic act.
Because this time, it was for me.
Hayes rests a hand on Rudy’s back, and that’s all it takes for him to break. He crumbles into our captain’s arms, an emotional mess.
“She got hurt because of me. Again.”
Hayes shushes him. Seeing Rudy fall apart and Bella crawl into Brodie’s lap, his eyes bloodshot from his own emotion, destroys me.
“No one could have stopped her,” Hayes says firmly. “This is no one’s fault but her mother’s.”
“Yeah, well, she’s grounded till she’s thirty,” Bella adds. “You hear me Erin Silver Callahan? Your ass is grounded for the next decade.”
An easy laughter bubbles in the room. It’s exactly what we need.
My girl’s going to be okay.
We spend another hour together—talking, laughing, waiting—while filling the room with positive energy for Erin.
Eventually, visiting hours come to an end. The nurses bring in a cot. I expect Bella or Rudy to take it, but they each hug me and say I’m who Erin will want to see when she wakes up.
I felt like an ass grinning, but I can’t help it. It’s reassuring that others know I’m who Erin will want.
I take a seat next to my sleepy girl when everyone leaves and hold her hand, bringing it to my mouth and placing a kiss on the inside of her palm.
“Don’t listen to Rudy. He’s the one that was getting worked up.
Me? I’m as cool as a cucumber,” I say, hoping she can hear me.
“And when you wake up, we’re gonna have a serious talk about you trying to be the hero.
That’s meant to be my job. So, I need you to wake up now, baby, because I really need to see those pretty eyes smile at me.
” My voice is desperate. “I need to hear your voice, sweetheart. Please?”
A knock at the door pulls my attention away from my girl. I look up and find Brax standing in the doorway, a rumpled shirt covering his torso and his hair sticking up in every direction.
He looks as if he’s been fighting ghosts the whole way here. That two-day stubble shadowing his jaw doesn’t help.
“How’s she doing?” he asks, shutting the door as he steps inside.
“She’s out of danger,” I say as he lowers himself into the seat on Erin’s right side. “The surgery went well. I just…need her to wake up now.” I brush my lips across her knuckles, still grasping her hand. “Brodie called you?”
He shakes his head. “Hayes. But I was already on my way.” He shifts his gaze to Erin’s monitor.
“I’ve been tracking Clarissa Rose’s movements.
I figured out she’s been staying in a motel.
One of my confidential informants was keeping an eye on her.
He notified me when she checked out. I went through her room and found a few things.
Everything pointed to her heading to California.
I was half way here when I got Erin’s text about being at your away game, and it wasn’t looking like a coincidence. ”
My brows knit. “What did Erin’s text say?”
“She said she wanted to talk to you. And wanted me there.”
The locked door.
“How bad is it?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer.
“Brax,” I press. “How bad is it?” I repeat.
He drags his hand through his hair and sighs. “Chase, there is a lot to explain. The three of us need to have this conversation together.”
“I’ve been patient,” I say, trying to keep my voice in check. “I’ve been waiting for you to share whatever you’re hiding—ever since we watched the café footage. I know there’s more. I don’t want to go into this blind. Please, Brax. Throw me a bone.”
He studies me for a long second, then sighs.
“I met Erin when she was just a kid. I was seventeen. She would’ve been seven,” he says as he watches her.
“It was a little while after my mom died. I’d gone with Emma to watch The Reds play in Ohio.
We stayed the night at Erin’s mother’s hotel.
The next morning, while Emma was in the car, I found Erin crying outside. ”
My breath stalls. The hospital room tilts, and my body doesn’t know what to brace for next.
“We had ice cream,” he continues. “Sat on the wall until her mom came out.”
I remember that story. Erin told me while we were watching The Mighty Ducks. She never said who the guy was. Just that he was going to be a detective someday.
“I had no idea it was her,” Brax admits. “Not until her mom showed up and Erin told me her real name—that’s when it clicked.”
“Does Erin know?” I ask.
“I don’t think so. I told her my name was Langford back then. She knows me as Brax now. I don’t think she’s put together my last name is different from Brodie’s. And besides, I look nothing like I did at seventeen.”
“Why didn’t you tell her?”
“Because,” he groans, rubbing both hands over his face, “there are more important things happening than what my fucking last name is.”
“Like what, Brax?”
He lifts his head and looks at me. “Her parents are connected to The Octopus, Chase.”
Every ounce of blood drains from my face.
“The Octopus was there the night her dad was shot,” Brax says quietly. “She never saw his face, just the tattoo. I showed her a picture, and she confirmed that’s what she saw.”
My whole world tilts. I’m frozen, unable to think, move, breathe.
How is this even possible?
“Erin told me someone came for her,” I whisper. “But she didn’t tell me you told her it was The Octopus. Why didn’t you?”
“I’ve been trying to piece this together so she could come to you herself. She wanted to understand what she’d be telling you. And I wanted to honor her privacy. I could have told you. It would’ve been easy.”
“But it wasn’t your place,” I say quietly.
“It wasn’t but it’s more than that.” Brax leans forward. “Erin’s whole life has been controlled and shaped by the actions of her mother. You know that. I wasn’t going to be another person who took what little control she’d fought to have.”
“But I already knew, Brax,” I argue.
“No,” he says flatly. “You know of The Octopus. You didn’t know he and Erin had crossed paths. You didn’t know her parents knew him. The same way Erin doesn’t know that you know about The Octopus because of your brother and Laurel.”
The truth slams into me from all angles. I wasn’t honest with Erin, either.
“If I told you everything first,” Brax says, “it would’ve shoved Erin back into the box she’s been trying to claw her way out of. She was going to tell you.” He holds my gaze. “But be honest with yourself, if you were in her shoes, would you have shared what you knew?”
I sigh. “Not unless I had to.”
My hands shake. My eyes burn.
“This can’t be happening,” I mutter.
“What are you afraid of?” Brax asks.
“I’m scared that if I tell her Elliot and Laurel were involved with The Octopus, she’ll find a way to blame herself.
And she’ll run. She’ll run as far from my life as she can, thinking she’s bad for me.
” My voice trembles with the truth, spilling out before I can hold it back.
“I can’t lose her, Brax. I love her so fucking much. ”
The rawness surrounds me, and it doesn’t take long for that terrified streak to surge through me from start to finish all over again.
“This thing with Elliot and Laurel is already complicated enough. I didn’t want it anywhere near her.
I didn’t want her to be tainted by any of this.
I thought I could balance it. Protect her.
” I shake my head. “Erin has worked so hard to untangle herself from her mother. If Clarissa Rose is tied to The Octopus—if both of them are part of whatever Elliot and Laurel got caught up in—I don’t want Erin carrying that weight. ”
“Don’t spiral,” Brax demands. “I get you’re scared, but you have to trust she loves you enough to stay. If you don’t know by now that she’d walk through fucking fire for you, then you don’t deserve her.”
His bluntness lands exactly the way he intends it to.
He’s right.
I close my eyes and force my lungs to work.
I wanted to open that locked door.
I just never imagined all of this would be behind it.