CHAPTER FIFTEEN
T eddy looked at his watch again. Where on earth was Summer? Twenty minutes his ass. She’d been gone almost an hour now. After forty minutes he’d tried to call her, only to realize she’d left her phone there. In her purse. Then he’d tried calling her landline. Then the bar. But nothing. No answer. Seeing as she’d taken his truck, he was currently considering some sort of smoke signal.
“You look like you’re about to give the buffet table a beatdown, man, you okay?” Jake collapsed into the seat next to him.
“Yeah. No. I don’t know.” Teddy scrubbed his face in frustration.
“Well, that clears that up.” Jake continued to eye him cautiously.
Teddy’s gaze went back to the house. His eyes had been straying there for the past hour, hoping to get a glimpse of Summer swaying back over to him. Maybe then the roiling in his gut would stop.
“Sorry, man, it’s just Summer’s supposed to be back by now ... she took my truck to go pick something up from the apartment and then she was gonna come straight back.” He flicked his eyes back to Jake. “I’m worried. I can’t get a hold of her.”
Understanding, Jake nodded before reaching into his back pocket. “Here, take my truck.” Teddy caught the keys tossed at him. “Go check on her.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, man. Go check on your woman. Hell, you don’t even need to bring it back—party’s almost over anyways. Keep it and I’ll pick it up tomorrow. Lily and I will hitch a lift with Ali and Brady.”
Teddy was out of his seat before Jake had even finished talking. Grabbing Summer’s purse, he offered his friend a chin lift and was on the move.
Thankful he’d only indulged in one drink; he climbed into Jake’s truck and started the engine. His mind was still all over the place and his stomach continued to flip. Something was wrong. He could feel it.
The longest ten minutes of his life ensued as he envisioned everything from a car accident to Summer falling down the stairs and breaking her ankle.
As he finally drove down main street, it didn’t take him long to spot his truck. That had to be a good sign. Surely. It meant Summer was still at the apartment. Then why didn’t he feel better?
“Keep it together, man,” he mumbled as he parked and jumped out. Headed straight to the bar, it took no time at all to reach Mickey's.
The bar was locked, dark, and empty. After switching on the lights, he rounded the bar and headed for the back stairwell leading up to Summer’s apartment. Even though he was mildly relieved not to find her injured at the bottom of the staircase, he was all too aware of how quiet it was. And dark. If she’d have been there, she hadn’t switched on any lights.
Taking the stairs two at a time, he unlocked the door only to find more darkness. Cursing under his breath, he flicked them on and did a quick check of the apartment. Empty.
Damnit. Where is she?
Now he was starting to panic. This wasn’t some bad movie. People didn’t just disappear. Something bad had to have happened. He knew it. Every hair on the back of his neck pricked up. Every muscle tightened. His heart began thumping for freedom.
Minutes later, he was outside Mickey’s, phone in hand. He stared intently at the glowing screen as if it had all the answers. No calls. No messages. And still no freaking clue. Trying to decide who to call first, the police or the hospital, he began to pace the street. His foot froze mid-step as he got to the side alley. A splash of blood on the concrete caught his attention.
No. No. No.
As he crouched above the red stain, his body began to shake.
Please don’t let that be her blood. Please let her be okay.
Scrambling to dial the hospital, he didn’t take a single breath until he’d hung up. And even then, he wasn’t sure how he was still managing to get enough air into his lungs. The sympathetic receptionist’s words, “unconscious,” “brain injury,” and “ICU” flashing through his mind at a million miles an hour.
I never told her that I loved her.
The drive to the hospital happened in a daze. To keep him focused, he called Brady. First and foremost, he wanted the local deputy to call the sheriff and find out what the hell happened. Secondly, he entrusted the man to let everyone know what happened and where he would be.
Storming reception like a bat out of hell, the teenage-looking receptionist shrank into her seat as he approached the desk.
“Summer Willis.” He grunted. “I was told she’s in ICU. I want to see her ... talk to her doctor. Get an update.”
“Uh, are you family?”
“I’m her fiancé,” he ground out through clenched teeth. It wasn’t technically a lie. He planned to be just that very soon if he had his way.
If she gets through this.
“Okay, sir, if you want to make your way up to the second floor and take a seat, I’ll let the attending physician know you’re here.”
Teddy thanked her and made his way upstairs. Plastic seats weren’t going to cut it right now though. But he couldn’t exactly pace around the waiting room like a caged animal either. Instead, he found a spot to wring his hands against the wall. Next to a coffee machine.
He checked his phone again. Still no word from Brady.
Why the fuck didn’t I tell her I loved her? What if I never get another chance? Oh God, please let her be okay.
He let his head fall into his hands. He was a goddamn Navy SEAL and he’d never felt so helpless in his whole damn life.
“Willis family?”
Teddy’s head lifted, his gaze finding a graying, pudgy man in a white coat. “Yeah,” he croaked as he made his way toward the doctor. “Teddy McCallen, Summer’s fiancé.”
The older man took his outstretched hand and shook it. “Teddy, I’m Dr. Burke. If you’d like to follow me, I’ll take you to see Ms. Willis. I can then give you an update on her condition.”
“Is she awake?” He couldn’t stop hope from blooming.
“No.” Dr. Burke started toward the corridor; Teddy followed behind. “She’s stable but hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”
Hasn’t regained consciousness. I don’t need to be a doctor to know that’s not good.
“Do you know what happened?”
“According to the man who brought her in, she fell headfirst onto the ground. Concrete I believe.”
Wait. What? “The man who brought her in? Is he still here? Do you know who he was?”
Teddy followed the doctor into the sterile white room. The smell of antiseptic immediately seeping into his skin. Even knowing what he did, he felt utterly unprepared for the sight of Summer. Hooked up to a series of tubes, wires and cables, steady beeps interrupting the sudden ringing in his ears.
“I’m afraid I don’t have a name or any more information. Now.” Dr. Burke gestured at the bed. “According to her CT scan, the fall caused some minor swelling on Ms. Willis’s brain. As she is yet to wake up, we want to monitor her blood and oxygen levels overnight.” Okay. The ringing in Teddy’s ears was back. “We’re hoping that it will go down naturally over the next few days and there won’t be a need for surgery.”
Surgery. Jesus. “Brain surgery?” Even the words made him gulp.
“Yes. To relieve the pressure. But for now, we want to wait. See if the swelling goes down on its own.”
Teddy slumped into the chair next to Summer’s bed. Reaching for her hand, he was careful of the wires as he placed his big hand over her small one.
“Now, technically visiting hours are over. But ... in this case, I think we can make an exception.”
Teddy nodded at the doctor in thanks before retraining his eyes on the fragile form before him.
“I’ll be back later to check on her.”
Teddy didn’t look up again but heard the door close behind him. She looked so frail. So breakable. How could things go from so good to so, so bad in the span of only a few hours? And why the hell did he still not have any answers as to how they got this way?
Scooting his chair closer to her bed, he scraped along the vinyl until he couldn’t go any further. This is where he needed to be. Beside her. Holding her hand. Until she wakes up and he sees those beautiful hazel eyes, he wasn’t going anywhere.
“I love you, baby; I love you so fucking much. Come back to me, okay? We’re gonna get through this.”
***
T eddy jolted awake to find Brady standing at the end of Summer’s hospital bed, frowning.
“Hey,” Teddy wheezed as he sat straighter in his chair, “what time is it?”
“Seven.” Brady cleared his throat. “Sorry, I couldn’t get here earlier, I was down at the station.”
That woke Teddy up. “You find out what happened? How my woman ended up in a damn hospital bed?”
He watched as his friend’s hand ran through his messy dark hair. He looked just as rough as Teddy felt. Clearly Brady hadn’t slept. He hadn’t even changed, still wearing a now-creased suit.
“Yeah, man, I did.” He sighed and shot Summer another look before turning his attention to Teddy. “We have her ex in custody, a Ben Davis. According to our witness statement, he was caught struggling with her in the alley next to Mickey’s.”
Teddy’s chair screeched back as he pushed up, rising to his full height. He gritted his teeth. Adrenaline spiking his blood. “Her motherfucking ex did this to her? He’s here in Bluestone?”
“Easy, man,” Brady warned, “he’s in custody. Which means as much as you want to ... you can’t beat the shit out of him. Let us handle it, okay? He’s not getting away with this. I promise you that.”
Teddy’s chest heaved. Anger coursing through his veins, and the pulse in his neck threatening to explode. He was going to kill Ben fucking Davis. Rip him limb from limb. How dare he lay a hand on Summer? How dare he scare her? Hurt her? He would make him pay. Somehow. Someway.
“He hurt her, Brady. She’s fucking unconscious. Goddamn swelling on her brain! I swear to God, unless you lock him up and throw away the key, he’s a fucking dead man.”
“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that last bit, Teddy.” Brady placed his hands on his hips, looking every bit a cop. “Look, we got a witness. We’ll get Summer’s statement when she wakes up. And the dude has priors. Which means he’ll get jail time.”
Falling back in his seat, Teddy simply grunted and took hold of Summer’s hand again. Just as Brady went to leave, he realized there was one more thing he still hadn’t asked. “Who’s the witness?”
“Colton Brown. He got there just in time. Saw Summer hit the ground. Ben tried to run, of course, but Colt got him. Even roughed him up a little by the looks of it. Called the police and an ambulance. He did good.”
Well shit. Looks like he’d have to remove Colton Brown from his hit list.
***
I t had been two days and Summer still hadn’t woken up. In forty-eight hours, Teddy had gone through every emotion under the sun. Scans had shown the swelling had, in fact, gone down with the help of whatever the hell was in her drips. That was the good news. The bad news was she still wasn’t awake. And despite doctors and nurses reassuring him, he didn’t miss the concerned glances aimed Summer’s way when they came by to check on her.
“You stink.” Ivy sat back down in her chair on the other side of Summer’s bed.
To be honest, it was a fair assessment. Other than to go to the bathroom, he hadn’t left his woman’s bedside in two days. Jake, Lily, Brady, Ali, Ace, Ivy, and Laney would come and go, bringing with them food and drinks while they nagged him to go home to shower and sleep.
“Don’t start.” Teddy sighed, scrubbing his hand across his overgrown stubble.
“I’m just saying ... if you’re trying to wake her using the power of smell, then you might want to add some deodorant to the mix.”
“Funny.”
“Seriously, though, Teddy, you need to get some rest. Some sleep in an actual bed. You know I’ll call you if anything changes.”
It was that time of the visit already. “Ivy ... I’m not having this conversation again. Until she’s awake, until I know she’s okay, I’m not going anywhere. The idea of her waking up and me not being here ... it makes me feel sick. And don’t even pretend you wouldn’t do the same thing if it was Ace lying here.”
Ivy went quiet. Finally. He thought that might do it. There was no way in hell his sister would leave her husband alone for one second if the situation was reversed.
“I get it,” Ivy whispered.
“I don’t know that you do. I shoulda told her, Ivy.” His throat felt raw. “I shoulda told her every second of every day how I felt. How much I love her. That she’s the only one for me. I spent my whole life wanting her, wanting to tell her just how gone for her I am, and what do I do when I finally get her? I choke. That’s right, when shit gets real, I choke. And now she’s lying in that bed, fighting for her life, not knowing how loved she is.”
Ivy was up and out of her seat before he’d finished his last sentence. She crouched in front of him and dragged him into a hug he never knew he needed until now. It had been a long two days. Every time he closed his eyes he was back in Iraq, only instead of seeing Mason’s lifeless body, he saw Summer’s. Needless to say, he hadn’t slept much.
Teddy soaked up his sister’s comfort. Thankful that his punishing internal monologue had quietened down. At least for the time being. They stayed like that for a while. Enough for his heartbeat to steady.
All that calm lasted a total of two minutes, as the sound of Summer gasping beside him had his heart missing more than a few beats.