CHAPTER 37
Jasper hurried down the hospital corridor, scrolling through lab results on his tablet. He was almost at the staff elevator when noise erupted from the ER—shouting, hurried commands.
“Careful! On three—one, two, three!”
Jasper turned.
A gurney. Blood. Medics running alongside it.
He would’ve kept walking—until he looked closer at the patient.
She was unconscious. Her face was battered, blood streaked along her temple.
Jasper froze.
That wasn’t possible.
Why was Nina here?
“Stop!” He roared the word, lunging forward and grabbing one of the orderlies by the shoulder. “What happened to her?!”
Daniel stared at him, stunned.
“Car accident. The ambulance brought her in five minutes ago. She’s critical. We suspect internal bleeding. She’s unconscious—we’re taking her straight to surgery.”
Jasper’s heart slammed up into his throat. His body went numb, but his mind sharpened, cold and clear.
“OR Three. Move!” he barked. “Where’s Dr. Moore?”
“He’s still in the surgical wing.”
“Run. Get him. He drops everything. You’re responsible for her, understood?” The fury in his voice surprised even him.
Jasper ran alongside the gurney.
“Nina…” he breathed, barely audible. “Hang on. Don’t you dare give up now.”
They burst into pre-op. Jasper couldn’t take his eyes off her—blood on her face, swollen lips, closed eyes.
“You’re going to be okay,” he murmured, forcing himself to breathe. “I promise.”
He stood by the glass doors as the team prepped her for surgery. His fingers cramped, his jaw locked tight.
“Dr. Garth?” an assistant approached. “Your surgery starts in ten minutes. Anesthesia is ready.”
Jasper turned his head.
“Cancel it,” he said hoarsely. “Tell them it’s an emergency.”
“But—”
“I can’t do it,” he confessed flatly. “A surgeon needs a clear head. And mine isn’t.”
She nodded and left. Jasper turned back to the closed OR doors.
The next three hours crawled by. He sat in the residents’ lounge, paced the corridor, sat again. Every fifteen minutes he stopped a nurse.
“Just check. Everything on track?”
“I’ll find out, Doctor,” Lila replied—for the third time—her worry palpable.
And Jasper was alone again. Walking in circles. Opening and closing his phone. Trying not to think—and failing.
Finally, he snapped and walked to his office.
He slammed the door, but the pressure didn't ease. His temples throbbed like his skull might split open. He crossed to the coffee machine, hit the button, waited for it to hum to life. He wanted a cigarette, even though he’d promised his daughter he’d quit.
When the coffee was ready, he lifted the cup and forgot it was hot. Burned his tongue.
For the tenth time in half an hour, he checked his phone. Nothing.
He grabbed a paper cup of water and hurled it at the trash can. Ran a hand slowly down his face.
He was a doctor. He was used to acting. And right now, nothing depended on him—and that pissed him off more than anything. He opened his contacts, found the name he needed. Hit call. Nolan answered almost immediately.
“Jasper? If you’re calling to lecture me again about scheduling surgery, pick another day. Today’s already crap.”
“Nina was in a car accident. She was brought in just now.”
Silence.
“How bad?”
“Critical. She’s in surgery.”
Jasper took a breath and finally said what he’d been holding back.
“I need you to use your channels. Find out everything about the accident. The other driver. Where they came from. What actually happened. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“You think it wasn’t an accident?”
“Knowing her husband? It’s possible.”
“Alright. Give me some time.”
“Make it fast, Nolan.”
“Got it. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”
Jasper clenched his jaw and sat on the edge of the desk—just as the door opened.
“It’s done,” Lila said. “The surgery was successful. She’s in ICU. Stable.”
For the first time all night, Jasper exhaled.
Air, absent for hours, flooded his lungs.
“Thank you,” he said, exhaustion crashing down on him like concrete.
***
He woke to the sense of someone nearby. His neck ached. But he hadn’t been able to leave. Something had kept him there, unwilling to let her be alone.
“Dad, have you completely lost your mind?”
Lynn’s voice. A second later she was setting breakfast containers and a cup of coffee in front of him. The smell of warm pastries filled the office. “Why didn’t you come home? You’re not even on night shift.”
Jasper rolled his neck, rubbed his face, and frowned at her.
“And why aren’t you at the university this early?”
“Because the entire hospital is whispering about how you lost it over some patient last night,” she said, sliding the coffee closer, her eyes sharp. “You even canceled a surgery. I was worried, actually. What’s going on, Dad? Who is she?”
Jasper took a sip of coffee. Exactly what he needed. He looked out the window, avoiding her gaze.
“Just someone I know,” he said. “I decided to personally handle her case.”
Lynn studied him skeptically. He wasn’t going to explain—and truthfully, he didn’t fully understand himself why Nina’s appearance at the hospital had hit him this hard.
“Fine,” Lynn sighed at last. “Your call. But did you even sleep? Why didn’t you use the staff lounge? The couch there’s decent.”
“I’m fine,” Jasper snapped. He stood and changed into a fresh white coat. “Thanks for breakfast. Go—before you’re late.”
She smiled, but the worry in her eyes didn’t fade.
“Alright. I’m going. But don’t think this conversation is over. I fully intend to find out who this woman is—the one you’re so worried about.”
Jasper smirked, walked her to the door, and gently nudged her out.
“Being an adult doesn’t cancel the fact that I’m still your father and you still have to listen to me,” he said. “Drop it and go study.”
Lynn left.
Jasper let out a heavy breath and finished his coffee.
He glanced at his phone. No message from Nolan yet—meaning no information on the accident. That unsettled him. He had to see Nina with his own eyes.
Rounds would start in ten minutes.
After that, he’d go check on her.
Or… maybe that would be a mistake.