Chapter 35
thirty-five
SADIE
It’s four in the morning by the time I’m seen by a doctor, because this is a small hospital and they have what I heard one of the orderlies call ‘a major incident’ on their hands. It’s also swarming with police.
And not one of them will answer my questions about Zach. Is he hurt? Or something worse? I can barely sit still as the doctor reviews my notes and asks me questions about pain.
“I’m fine,” I say, as he checks my face and head for any cuts. “Is there any news on Zach Fitzgerald?”
The doctor swallows and I know there is. “I’m afraid I can’t share that information without his consent.”
I scrunch my face, because the man is hurt because of me. “Please?” I say. “I just need to know if he’s okay.”
“He’s stable.” A voice comes from the doorway. I look up to see West, filling all the available space there. He’s still wearing his tux, though his tie is gone and his shirt is unbuttoned.
“Do you know this man?” the doctor asks me. I nod quickly, because West has news about Zach and I’m desperate for it.
“I’m her lawyer,” West says. “I’d like to talk to my client alone when you’re done. There are FBI agents waiting outside.”
The FBI? I lift a brow. Jesus, Darien is in so much trouble.
The doctor shines a light into my eyes and it makes me wince.
After a few more questions he gives me a satisfied nod.
“Okay, you’re good to go. Any pain or nausea, call the hospital right away.
” He looks at West, whose expression is suitably intimidating.
Not that the doctor seems to care. “I’ll leave you two alone. ”
He walks out and West closes the door behind him. He has a bag in his hands and he pulls out a pair of joggers and a hoodie. “Eden’s,” he says. “She asked me to give them to you.”
My heart tightens. I don’t deserve this. I caused her brother to get hurt and she’s giving me clothes?
“Zach?” I say softly. “How bad is he?”
West pulls up a chair and sits next to the bed I’m being discharged from. “He’s still unconscious.”
“Is the bullet still in him?” God, let it have been a graze.
West tips his head to the side. “He wasn’t shot.
The asshole collapsed because he shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
” His eyes catch mine. “He was hit pretty bad on the head by your ex in his apartment. He insisted on going with Asher to the bookshop when he should have been taken to the hospital. And then he insisted on being on the damn boat even though the man’s a walking liability. He refused to listen to sense.”
“That sounds like Zach.” Tears start stinging my eyes, threatening to fall. “The head injury. It’s bad?”
“They’ve stabilized him. He’s getting a CT scan. And of course Hudson’s having the best neurologist flown in.” He takes a breath, like he knows I need the truth. “But until he wakes up we won’t know much more.”
I start to shake. I can’t help it. “Can I see him?”
“In a while. Once he’s situated in the ICU. Right now there are two agents waiting outside to talk to you and I need to make sure you’re ready to answer them.”
Oh, so he really is here as my lawyer. That makes my heart hurt even more.
“Do they want to know about Darien?” I blink.
“Is he here in the hospital too?” It was all such a blur after the gunshots.
I remember being taken by one of Asher’s men off the boat and onto land.
I heard a helicopter, I assume that’s how Zach got to the hospital.
As for Darien, I’ve not heard what happened to him.
“On the floor above, yeah. There aren’t a lot of choices around here. Asher shot him in the shoulder. His own bullet went into the fucking ocean.” West gives a little chuckle. “Apparently the asshole screamed like a pig.”
“Good.” My mouth wobbles. “You must all hate me for what happened to Zach.”
Two tiny lines appear between West’s brows. “Why would we hate you? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I took the painting. Which had a bank account number on the back.” I tell West about Darien dragging me there, taking the photo of the account number. “It’s Swiss, or at least that’s what he says.”
“I’m pretty sure the FBI will be happy to hear all about that.” He runs a thumb over his jaw. “Apparently Darien lost his phone in the ocean and that made him scream more.”
“He dropped his phone?” My eyes widen. “That was the only record of the number. He made me erase it off the painting.”
West’s lips twitched. “That’s a bummer for him.
And I’m guessing that’s what the agents want to ask you about.
Apparently, Darien was part of a bigger operation.
Some kind of international gang is involved.
If Darien’s lost the account number, he’s going to have a lot of unhappy people to deal with. ”
“Good.”
“Mr. Abbott? Are you ready to meet with us now?” A man puts his head around the door. He’s neatly dressed in a shirt and trousers. A cop if ever I saw one.
West looks at me and I nod.
“Yeah. Let my client get dressed and we’ll answer all the questions you have,” he says, giving me the softest of smiles.
“And then I’ll be able to see Zach?” I ask him, my chest tight.
“As soon as possible,” West agrees.
“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “Then let’s do this.”
ZACH
Bright lights pierce my closed eyelids, making my head throb. My teeth hurt too, for some bizarre reason. Letting out a groan, I open my eyes to complain about the moon, only to find that I’m not still lying on the deck of a boat moored up at the ferry port.
Instead, Hudson is staring down at me.
“He’s awake,” he announces. That’s when I realize that the rest of my family is here. Or at least most of them. Wyatt lets out a “Thank fuck” from the other side of my bed, Autumn leans forward to squeeze my hand. And Eden lets out a soft sigh, like relief has gotten the better of her.
I’m in the hospital. That much is clear. The rest is still a haze. But I can think clearly enough for the panic to rise through me.
“Where’s Sadie?” I ask. And it all comes flooding back. Darien. The gunshot. Then nothing. I sit straight up, pulling the IV they’ve put into my hand with me, and then let out a low oath because shit, my head is pounding.
“Hey,” Hudson puts a calming hand on my shoulder. “Sadie’s fine. She’s been checked over, and now she’s answering some questions for the police.”
I blink. “Why are they interviewing her? Does she have a lawyer?”
“She has the best,” Eden says proudly. “West is with her.”
“She’s not in trouble,” Hudson adds. “They’ve arrested Darien. They just need to tie up some loose ends before they send him back to where he belongs.”
A nurse walks in, muttering about there being too many people in here, and starts to take my vitals. Autumn makes a phone call – I’m assuming to Parker, and then Eden calls somebody else.
“Wait, where’s Asher?” I ask, realizing he’s the only one of my siblings not in the room. The gunshot. Shit. “Is he okay?” I ask fast.
If he isn’t, it’s my fault. Like the rest of this is. I lie back, nausea pushing up from my stomach. Why the hell didn’t I stay back? I insisted on being there on the boat. I couldn’t let her go without a fight.
And of course, Asher was in the line of fire.
“He’s fine. He’s also talking to the cops. Autumn’s letting him know you’ve woken up.”
I gingerly reach for my temple. There’s a bandage there.
“Try not to touch it,” the nurse says to me. “We just stitched that up.”
Hudson’s mouth twitches. “Only you could manage to injure the same side of your head twice. The first time was the bruise, the second time you cracked it as you collapsed. Managed to get a three inch gash.”
“No wonder it hurts,” I mutter.
“I’ll get the doctor,” the nurse says. “He can determine if you’re ready for more pain medication.”
“Wait, no.” I shake my head. I need to be able to think straight. I look over at Autumn, who’s finished her phone call. “What happened to the gala?” I ask her. “Did you raise enough money?”
She stares at me as though I’m asking her if the sky is green. Then her face crumples and she starts to cry. “You idiot,” she says, her breath ragged. “I don’t give a damn about the gala. We almost lost you.”
“It’s just a flesh wound,” I murmur, trying to figure out why they’re all staring at me like I’m on the edge of death.
“You’ve been unconscious for hours,” Autumn sobs. “Do you know what it’s been like waiting to see if you’ll wake up? All the stupid tests they ran, all the talk about brain bleeds and swelling and neurosurgery. And all you can do is ask me about the stupid gala?”
I blink. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well next time you want to play the hero, give me some warning, okay?” she says, using the back of her hand to wipe her tears. “Is it too much to ask to have at least one brother who doesn’t have a death wish?”
Wyatt’s eyes meet mine. He winks at me.
“Okay.” I nod. “But can I see Sadie?”
“Soon, when she’s done talking to the FBI,” Eden says softly.
Hey,” Asher says, walking into the room. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah, I am.” I look him over, trying to see if he’s hurt. Because the last thing I remember was shots being fired. “Are you okay?”
“Of course I am.” Asher shakes his head, looking way too smug. “Shame about Darien, though. He offloaded one bullet into the air, and then I shot his shoulder and he dropped the gun. You didn’t see that part, sadly. It was a beautiful aim.”
“Will you shut up about getting shot at?” Autumn mutters.
“How hurt is he?” I ask.
“Not enough. But that’s okay. He’s the FBI’s problem now. Plus, he seems to have lost some bank account numbers, which will piss a lot of people off.” He fills me in on the painting, on Darien losing the phone. On Sadie.
I’m asking more questions when there’s a tap at the door.
“Mr. Fitzgerald?” a low voice says.
And of course, all four of us answer. Wyatt and Asher laugh, Hudson shakes his head.
“I mean the one in the bed,” the man says, walking into the room. “I’m Dr. Johannsen.”
Hudson walks forward. “Hudson Fitzgerald, thank you for coming.”
He shrugs. “I was close by. And honestly, the team here has things under control.” He looks over my notes.
“There are a few more tests I’d like to run once you’ve been awake a while.
And of course we’ll need to keep you under observation for a bit.
But first of all, can I ask how your eyesight is? It says here you have RP.”
“What’s RP?” Hudson asks. “Is it a side effect of his brain injury?”
Wyatt clears his throat. “Guys, we should probably give Zach some privacy, huh?”
“They don’t know?” The doctor winces. Like this is all his fault. And not mine for keeping it a secret.
“They don’t,” I say. “But I guess they’re about to, right?”
Because it’s tomorrow. I think. The day I promised myself I’d stop hiding the truth from them. “Could you give me a moment alone with my family before we continue?” I ask him. “There’s something I need to tell them.”
“So there’s really no cure?” Autumn asks twenty minutes later, after I’ve told them about my near-miss in Rome, my meetings with the doctors, the subsequent diagnosis. “Are you sure?”
I nod, feeling sick, because I’m about to put a dark cloud over their heads. “Not at the moment. There’s a lot of research going on. And I’ve agreed to be part of a trial. But right now, there’s nothing that can cure it.”
“So you’re going to go blind?” Eden asks softly. There are tears in her eyes.
I swallow hard. “Not necessarily. We don’t know how quickly it will progress or to what extent.
Every case is different. But I’ll probably lose more of my vision.
It’s already started with my peripheral vision.
Hence the near miss in Rome.” And missing Darien right fucking next to me in my apartment.
I take a deep breath. “But there’s something else you need to know. And I’m so damn sorry. But the cause is usually genetic.”
For a second, no one in my family speaks. Which might be the first time in living history.
Hudson swallows hard. “Usually?”
“Again, there’s a lot to learn about the condition.
Sometimes it’s passed on, so it’s possible our parents were carriers.
You’ll all need to be tested. And your kids.
” I wince, because fuck, this is hard. I hate this.
“My doctor is sending swab kits over. They’re trying to narrow down the genetic cause from my tests, and then they can cross reference it with all of yours. ”
“Is that why you didn’t tell us?” Asher asks. There’s so much sympathy on his face it’s killing me.
Wyatt gives me a grim smile.
“I told Wyatt, mainly because I needed to tell somebody. And it was only a couple of weeks ago that I got the full diagnosis. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure.” My voice is thick. “And then there was the gala. I figured telling you once it was over would be a good time.”
“Is that why you came?” Autumn asks Wyatt. “To support Zach in telling us?”
Wyatt shrugs. “I figured a thumbs up probably wouldn’t help in this situation.”
“Does Sadie know?” Asher asks.
Every single member of my family turns to look at me.
I shake my head. “No, not yet.”
“You haven’t told her?” Autumn says, frowning.
And now I’m absolutely the biggest asshole in the world. “No. I wanted to tell you all first.” And isn’t that the coward’s way out?
“You need to tell her,” Eden says, looking at her phone.
“I know.” I nod. “And I will.”
She glances up from her screen. “That’s good. Real good. Because I just got a message from West. He and Sadie are finishing up with the FBI. They’ll be up here soon.”