55. Max
Chapter fifty-five
W hen I heard the gunshot, it felt like my heart jumped into my throat. When I saw her wrestling on the ground with Paul, my heart dropped into my stomach. And when she told us she loved us, her eyes shutting and her body going limp, it felt like I had died.
I watch her as she lays in the hospital bed. She made it through surgery and the doctor said she should wake up in the next few hours. That was two days ago. The doctor said we just needed to wait. She has good brain activity and isn’t in a coma, but we don’t know why she hasn’t woken up yet.
We’re all losing our minds. I’m afraid if she doesn’t wake up soon we’ll completely unravel.
The nurse comes in and sighs when she sees us all in her room again. “Boys, why don’t you go back to your hotel and get some sleep? I’ll call you the moment she starts waking up.”
“Nope, I’m not budging,” I tell her with the shake of my head, refusing to even take my eyes off of Mina.
“Well, at least some of you could go home and rest, then the others can switch out later? ”
“I’m sorry, Miss, but this didn’t work yesterday or the day before, and it’s not going to work today or tomorrow,” Tucker says, rolling his lucky coin through his knuckles.
“Very well, let me just do my check, give me a little space?” she asks me with a raised eyebrow. I huff out a breath of agitation as I move from Mina’s side so the nurse can check her vitals. “No change,” she says when she’s done. “That’s a good thing, boys. I’m sure she’ll be awake and complaining about your smell in no time.”
I watch her leave, a retort on my lips, but I don’t have the energy for it.
“Maybe it will help if she hears all our voices again?” I suggest. It’s something we’ve been doing a few times a day, taking turns to talk to her, in case she can hear us. We want her to know we’re here and to tell her to keep fighting to come back to us.
Dom moves in and kisses her forehead. “Hey, Kitten? Baby, you need to hold on, okay? Don’t go.” He rubs a finger down her cheek, then steps back as Atlas moves in on her other side.
“Malishka. You promised me. Promised you’d fight for us, don’t give up on me now.” He kisses her cheek, then watches her face for movement. With a sigh, he steps back.
Ben moves closer to her and grabs her hand and kisses it. “You got taken right out from under us… again.”
He kisses her fingers and waits, like each of us does, hoping our voice will be the one to wake her up. When nothing changes, he sets her hand down as Gideon moves in on her other side.
“Love? This wasn’t supposed to happen again. We were supposed to protect you. I don’t blame you for wanting to leave us. It’s just that I don’t think any of us will survive if you leave now.” Gideon has been so quiet, I think the only time he’s spoken the past few days has been to her.
Tucker sits on the edge of the bed as he strokes her face. “Oh, Sugar. We have to stop meeting like this. You’re one of us now, we’re not gonna let you go that easily. Do you hear me, Sugar?”
Jasper takes his place and watches her for a minute before speaking. “Oh, Mina.” He sighs, watching her like he doesn’t know how to continue. It breaks my heart to see him in such pain.
“I love you, Angel. I need you. I’m so sorry, please come back to me.”
I sit in the chair beside her and place my hand on hers. “Sweetheart, can you hear me?”
I watch her face for the slightest sign of movement under her eyelids, but there’s nothing. “You have to come back, you still owe me from our deal, remember? The one we made in Ben’s room when I saved you from Atlas?” I lick my lips before continuing. “Well, I’m gonna cash it in now. And it’s an easy one! You wanna know what it is?”
I squeeze her hand as I lean in and yell, “WAKE UP!”
“Max, what the fuck, man?” Ben yells at me.
But I ignore him. My attention is on the hand, gripping mine back. I stare at it as I whisper, “Mina? Sweetheart?” The room goes quiet. I squeeze her hand again and I definitely feel her squeeze back this time.
“I felt it! She squeezed my hand!” I tell them excitedly and they all move close, surrounding her.
“Angel?”
“Kitten?”
“Malishka, open your eyes!” Everyone talks over each other.
I lean forward to stroke her face and stare at her eyelids as I whisper, “Sweetheart, it doesn’t count if you don’t open your eyes. Come on now. You owe me. You can’t die with a debt to be paid, you don’t want to end up a ghost, do you?”
“Bloody hell, Max!” Gideon mutters.
Her eyelids flutter.
“That’s it, baby, open those beautiful green eyes and look at me. We need you to wake up… right now.”
And then the most wonderful thing happens, her eyelashes start fluttering. She blinks a few times and then her eyes focus on mine. “Max?” she asks, her voice a raspy whisper like the first time she woke up in a hospital bed.
I give her a huge smile and press my lips to hers. She sighs against me. “There you are. We missed you.”
“I… I think I was dead. You were all there, but I couldn’t touch any of you. It was torture. I think it was hell.” I chuckle as, after everything she’s been through, she thinks the worse form of torture is being kept from us.
“Sweetheart, I love you. You scared us to death, no more doing that, okay?”
She looks around at all of us. “I love you guys so much. Thank you for coming for me.” Tears stain her cheeks and everyone takes their turn kissing and hugging her.
She smiles at us all, gripping my hand still, like an anchor and asks, “so now what?”
Dom answers for us. “Now you heal. Then you can do anything you want.”