Chapter 47
Gable
“Ella!” I bellow her name as I shoulder down the front door. The house is quiet. Z is breathless as he appears next to me.
“Where could she be?”
I search my mind and try not to let the burst of panic in my blood cloud my thoughts. But since that phone call from Guy, all I’ve felt is terror and determination. A desperate need to get to Ella before—
“Stars. She said she saw stars.” I race for the back of the house, for the doors that lead to the pool. The ballroom is dark, and the doors are open to the elements.
One body is inside.
Two bodies are on the patio.
“Ella.” I rush to her. She’s lying next to Monty, the two holding hands—both soaked in blood. “Ella, baby.” I cup her face, my voice breaking. “Wake up.”
“Shit.” Z breathes out the word from behind me.
I lift her into my arms, her body limp and cold, and go for the car. It’s a blur of movement, of fear, and I’m not even sure how I get behind the wheel with her cradled on my lap. Z gets into the back with Monty, and I drive.
I don’t remember the journey.
I only remember talking to her.
Begging her not to leave me.
Lights blur as I speed down roads.
Lights and memories.
“Don’t you ‘what’ me, you sanctimonious asshole; I told you I need to speak to Barnaby, and I know he’s in there!”
I hold her closer.
“It’s everything I remember Asher saying about you. Is it okay that I did that?”
I kiss her head.
“You’re better than my imagination.”
“Please, God, don’t leave me,” I whisper. “Don’t leave me, Ella.”
I leave the car running at the front of the ER entrance. With Ella in my arms, I call out for help, and so does Z. Nurses rush toward us, and she’s taken from me.
Out of my arms.
To people who will save her.
People who have to save her.
“This one doesn’t have a pulse!” someone who is working on Monty calls out. Instructions are bellowed across the frantic ER, and my back hits the wall as I stare at Ella.
Someone is talking to me.
“Are you her partner?”
Yes.
“She needs surgery, do you—”
Do whatever you have to.
My hands and clothes are soaked in Ella’s blood, and I should’ve known it would end like this.
This is what happens in my world.
You fight, or you die.
Ella might do both.
I press the heels of my hands into my eyes, smelling her blood, and hating myself.
Hating myself for holding onto her when I should have let go.
Hating myself for putting her in this position.
Hating myself for loving her when it always leads to this.
“Where is she?” Guy’s voice echoes down the hall, his demands making me lift my head. Z stands, too. I hadn’t even noticed being moved into a waiting room.
“She’s in surgery,” I say, my voice raw.
He stares at me, breathing fast, his eyes wide with panic. “What did he do to her?”
The words break me. “Stabbed her.”
“Oh God.” He turns his back to me as he runs his fingers through his hair. Guilt pours through me, because this is my fault. He said I wasn’t good enough for her, and he was right. I should have left her the fuck alone.
“Are you Ella Gibson’s family?” a doctor asks from the doorway. He glances between us all, but Guy reaches him first.
“I’m her father. What’s happening?”
“We should sit down.”
“I’m not fucking sitting down; tell me about my daughter!”
The doctor takes a breath. “Ella has sustained massive injuries to her stomach and kidney. She lost a lot of blood. She’s stable but not out of the woods yet.”
“What does that mean?” I ask. “She’s going to be okay, though? If she’s stable?”
His look is sympathetic. “Her heart stopped during surgery. It’s under too much strain, so we have to wait and see if she’s stronger tomorrow.”
“But …” I swallow hard. “She won’t die.”
“All we can do is wait, sir.” His gaze glides over my face, and he frowns gently. “I’ll update you as soon as I know more. The other woman … we don’t have any ID for her.”
“Monty,” I say. “She’s a friend. Is she okay?”
“We completed her surgery successfully. It’s looking hopeful, but we’ll know more over the coming days.”
He leaves, and I lower myself back into my chair. Guy takes a seat on the far side of the waiting room, his head in his hands, and silence falls.
Ella will be okay. She’s strong; she’s a fighter. There’s no way she’ll give up the biggest fight of her life. The woman doesn’t know how to fail.
I don’t know how long I stare at the floor. Every squeak of footsteps has us all tense, but there’s no news.
So, we wait.
And we wait.
“Do you want a coffee?” Z asks quietly, and when I shake my head, he squeezes my shoulder and stands. I distantly hear him ask Guy the same thing, but I don’t hear Guy’s response.
We’re left alone.
Two men who love Ella the most.
So close to losing her.
Guy sniffs. “This is your fault.”
Words I’d expected, but they don’t hurt any less. “I know.”
“You’re never seeing her again. You stay the fuck away from her. You leave and you let her be happy.”
I lift my head to look at him, and hatred stares back at me. A father desperate at the thought of losing his daughter.
“I love her.”
“Then leave her the fuck alone,” he snaps back, his eyes shining.
The sound of heavy boots approaching has us looking at the door. I see the uniforms before I see the faces.
The doctor must have recognized me.
The young officer clearly thought it would be a false alarm, because his eyes widen when they land on me. He takes out his gun fast.
“On the ground.”
My eyes fall closed, and I breathe in deeply. Without argument, I get on my knees, then lower myself to the ground, holding my hands behind my head.
“Do not fucking move,” the officer demands.
He cuffs me, and I don’t fight.
He radios in that he has Gable Flynn in custody, and he reads me my rights.
As I’m hauled to my feet, I lock eyes with Guy.
“I only ask that you let me know how she is,” I say.
He stares at me, his expression cold. “Goodbye, Gable.”
The officer tries to tug me away, but I yank myself free. “Guy, please. You can’t expect me not to know how she is!” He remains silent, and the other officer grips my biceps and pulls me away. “Guy! Don’t fucking do this!”
But he says nothing.
He takes his seat again.
And he watches them take me away.