Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
COLE
Heartbeats gone haywire
As I waited outside the door to the apartment above the barn, the loud warning pinging in my gut turned into a full-on fire station alarm.
“Adele?” I called through the door, trying to ignore the static in my brain, the churn of worry twisting through every thought. Her car was outside, so I knew she was here. But not a sound came from inside.
“Adele?” I repeated, curling my fingers around the doorknob. “I’m going to come in, okay?”
Still nothing. Carefully, I opened the door.
My eyes searched her out instantly. She was on the couch with her knees curled tightly to her chest, arms wrapped around them as if she was trying to hold herself together.
The door swung behind me as I crossed the room in a blink, dropping to my knees in front of her.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on, Adele?” I asked, scanning her face and trying to keep the panic out of my tone.
She sucked in a breath and blinked slowly as she lifted her head. Her skin was pale, too pale.
“It’s my heart,” she finally whispered.
Oh, fuck. I didn’t hesitate. I gathered her in my arms and stood. “What do you need? Do I need to take you to the hospital?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.
She nodded, quick and jerky.
“We have emergency supplies. Is there anything that will help on the way?” I said as I carried her toward the door. “I need to call the guys.”
Her eyes lifted, locking on to mine, wide and scared. “Not a whole crowd.”
“Okay, sweetheart. Just one. I don’t want to drive you in alone, okay?”
I knew us driving her into town was faster than calling for help because someone would have to drive out here.
“Okay,” she whispered.
I managed to tap my wristwatch to call Haven. “What’s up?” he asked.
“We need to get to the hospital. Adele doesn’t want a crowd, but I need backup.”
“I’ll be right over,” he said without missing a beat.
She tucked her head against my shoulder as I began to walk down the stairs. I heard her murmur something, but didn’t catch it until she spoke louder. “I’m sorry.”
“You do not need to apologize, Adele. What are you even talking about?”
“I’ve been avoiding you,” she whispered.
I adjusted her in my arms so I could check her pulse. It was there, but irregular, like a track skipping. I didn’t actually know the full details of what could go wrong with her heart. She hadn’t told me, and I hadn’t pushed.
“Your pulse feels off.”
“It’s…” Adele paused and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“I just need to get to the hospital. I probably need to go to Anchorage.”
“You think you need to go to Anchorage?” I stared down at her.
She swallowed. “Maybe.”
“Okay.” As I stepped outside, Haven came skidding to a stop in his truck, kicking up gravel. He was out in an instant.
“Let’s get you into the truck.” Blessedly, his tone was calm. Haven was rock solid in an emergency. We all were. Except my emotions were too involved in this. He scanned Adele in my arms and asked, voice low and direct, “What’s going on?”
That was when I realized just how deep I was with her. How gone I was. I was totally in love with Adele. I couldn’t think. Hell, I could barely breathe.
“My heart is fine most of the time,” Adele said, her voice thin. “So, I need—” She broke off.
“What do you need?” I pressed.
“It’s what she explained,” Haven replied, his steady presence soothing the static of panic churning in my own heart. “When we went on the trip, she told us her heart rate can get out of rhythm.”
Adele looked like she was holding on by a thread, her breathing shallow and her skin pale.
“We’re getting you to Willow Brook fast,” Haven said firmly. “They’ll stabilize you there, okay?”
Adele just nodded. We settled her on the bench seat between us. When I curled my arm around her shoulders, she leaned in without resistance. That alone scared the hell out of me. Her usual fiery spark was nowhere to be found.
“What can I do?” I asked.
She shook her head. “We just need to get to the hospital. It’ll be fine. I’m sure.”
Except she didn’t sound sure, and she had a subtle tremor running through her.
Her skin was cool. Haven drove like a man on a mission and broke every speed limit between here and Willow Brook, and I didn’t care.
We knew every state trooper in this part of Alaska.
Even if they stopped us, they’d have escorted us the rest of the way.
When we arrived at the hospital, Adele didn’t even argue when I lifted her into my arms to carry her inside. That twisted something in my chest. She would usually argue about that.
Inside, I was relieved to see Holly on duty at the nurses’ station in the emergency department. She was a good friend, and her husband, Nate, was a pilot we knew well.
“What’s going on?” Holly asked, swiftly ushering us into an exam room.
Thankfully, the hospital was quiet for now. Within moments, she had Adele settled and was taking vitals. As she listened to Adele’s heart, she didn’t flinch or panic. Instead, she held Adele’s gaze.
“Medical trauma,” Holly said simply.
Adele nodded jerkily. In a second, I realized this wasn’t just a heart issue. This was her years of bouncing in and out of surgeries and feeling helpless. A panic attack layered on top of a health scare. I’d never wanted to fix something for someone more in my life.