Chapter 36
Nikolai
“Isabelle Callahan,” I repeat breathlessly, swiping back my sweaty hair. “Where is she?”
The woman behind the counter looks me over, no doubt taking in the hockey uniform I’m still wearing, pads and all. I didn’t
want to stop for even a moment to change; I raced to the hospital as fast as I could without getting pulled over.
“They just transferred her upstairs,” she finally says.
“What room?”
“It’s family only.”
“I’m her— Please, I need to see her. Now.”
The woman glances at her colleague, who shrugs. She sighs again as she turns to me.
“She’s on the third floor. But—”
I sprint to the elevators. She shouts something, but I ignore her, slipping into the first one that opens before anyone can
stop me. I don’t give a fuck if they haul me out of the building in handcuffs, so long as I can see her first.
On the third floor, things are quiet, lights dimmed for the evening. I don’t see a sign of her or her family in the first
part of the floor, so when a doctor opens a set of locked doors, I slip by into the next section. A nurse pokes his head up
from a desk to the right. I ignore whatever he asks.
Further down, I see two guys—Cooper and Sebastian—guarding one of the rooms. Blood roars in my ears as I skid over to them. Cooper looks up when he hears me approaching, his eyes going wide. My stomach twists at the sight of the unmistakable pain on his face.
“Abney? What are you doing here?”
“You’re here,” Sebastian says. I catch the relief in his tone.
“I have to see her.” I take a step forward. “Let me inside.”
They give each other a look.
“Please,” I say, my voice breaking. “Please, Cooper, don’t keep me from her.”
I see the moment his bewilderment clicks into understanding. Betrayal. Sebastian dips his chin in a nod, and Cooper stands,
dragging a hand down his beard.
“Please,” I say again. “I’ll explain it all later. Just give me five minutes with her.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” he says. His laughter sounds harsh in the otherwise silent hallway. “I understand it all. I
thought we were teammates, Nik. Friends.”
“Coop,” Sebastian says, his voice low.
Before Cooper can say anything else, Penny walks over, holding a tray of coffees. She takes a few tentative steps forward,
her gaze darting between me and her boyfriend. “Honey? What’s going on?”
Cooper doesn’t look at her. He keeps his eyes, as piercing as they were that first meeting between us, trained on me. He looks
fiercely protective. Ready to tear off my limbs. I can’t even begrudge it, because it’s what Isabelle deserves.
“Cooper?” Isabelle calls from behind the door. “Sebastian?”
My knees nearly buckle at the sound of her voice. At least she’s awake, and aware of the fact her brothers are outside the
room. Whatever happened to her, it can’t be that bad.
Cooper’s expression doesn’t change, but he steps away from the door. “Five minutes. She has a concussion.”
I slip inside the darkened room before he can change his mind.
I notice her hair first, spread out on the pillow like a dark halo. She’s in a pale blue hospital gown, an IV attached to one wrist, a soft cast on the other. She looks tiny in the bed, tucked into the stark white sheets.
I realize abruptly that I haven’t been to the hospital since I was a teenager. Not since it was me in the bed, wincing as
the doctor told my mother that it was lucky the glass didn’t hit my eye. I can still picture her face in perfect detail. The
smeared red lipstick, the way her hand shook as she held it over her mouth, and above all, the blue-black bruise on her cheek.
I shove the memory away.
“Isabelle,” I whisper.
She turns her head slowly enough, I know it hurts. I yank off my sweater, my gear, dumping it all uncaringly on the floor
until I’m just in my under-layers. I ease into the chair next to the bed, reaching out to take her hand in both of mine. She
has stitches on her forehead, and the beginnings of a bruise extending from her temple to her cheek. I duck my head, willing
myself to breathe, as the tension in my body eases.
She’s safe. She’s looking right at me.
“Nik,” she says, her voice equally soft. “What are you doing here?”
“What happened, sweetheart?”
“My brothers know you’re here.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “Oh God.”
“It’s okay.” I force myself to stay relaxed, to stave off the panic. “Don’t worry about that right now.”
Tears spill down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize for anything.”
“You don’t have to be here, you had—”
“I know,” I interrupt. “I don’t care about that. Nothing mattered except getting here to see you.”
“But earlier...”
I brush my lips against her cheek, featherlight. “I was an asshole, earlier. You were right. It’s real, Isabelle.”
Her breath catches audibly. I kiss her on the lips, relief zinging through me when she kisses back.
“Are you okay?” she asks, rubbing down my bare arm.
Of course she’s asking me that, even though she’s the one in the hospital bed. I squeeze her hand, overcome with fondness.
“I had a panic attack.” She stays silent, taking that in. I swallow as I continue. “It happens sometimes, and I just...
I shut down. But it’s not an excuse, and I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’m so sorry.”
“Panic attacks?” She shifts closer to me, wincing.
“I’ll tell you everything. I promise.” As I say the words, I know they’re true. I’m scared out of my mind at the prospect
of sharing my past, but I’ll do it anyway, for her. Only for her. “But right now, you need to rest.”
More voices outside. She bites her lip as she looks at the door.
“It’s probably my parents,” she says, the words careful and measured. “If you want to go.”
Fresh worry slams through me as I take in—really take in—the depth of her injury. She’s going to have a scar on her temple;
there’s at least ten stitches there. Hopefully this is only a minor concussion, and she’s being observed as a precaution.
“No. I’m staying.”
Half a day spent thinking I fucked things up was more than enough for me. I might lose her one day, because a brightness like
hers can’t linger with my darkness forever, but today isn’t that day. Not yet.
I stand as the door opens. Isabelle’s mother stifles a small cry at the sight of her daughter and hurries for the bed. Her
father, flanked by her brothers and Penny, stops when he sees me.
“Nikolai,” he says. “What a surprise.”
I don’t hesitate before reaching out my hand to shake his again. “I didn’t introduce myself properly the last time we met, sir.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
I spare Cooper half a glance before answering, “I’m Isabelle’s boyfriend.”