Chapter 2
Two
Faster, Mae. Run faster.
The rain poured down, stinging against her sensitive skin.
But she hadn’t even thought to grab an umbrella before she darted from her car towards the hospital, her face a ruddy mess from the nonstop sobbing she’d done while driving from Silver Springs to Dallas.
Fucking trauma hospital being over an hour away.
She was honestly surprised she made it in one piece.
There was no doubt in her mind. She should have listened to Hawk and waited for Gunner, or Nash, or Gage to drive her, but her heart wouldn’t even consider it.
Truly incredible, too, because it felt like it was barely beating in her chest. She could freak out later.
Right now, she needed to be calm. She needed to be level headed.
All that mattered was getting to him. Making sure he was still…
Making sure Stone was still alive.
God, she couldn’t stop thinking about the alternative.
The things she’d said to him in the darkness of those early hours that morning.
The things he’d said to her. The way they’d left things.
The way he’d shattered her heart so completely she couldn’t take a breath without her chest feeling like it might explode.
Fuck him. How dare he rip everything apart like that and then go and get himself shot? Shot! In the middle of the night. In the middle of the street. Who would be trying to kill him? Had the shooting been random? Or had they known it was Stone?
Her mind wouldn’t stop running through all the questions, over and over again. It was making her dizzy, and nauseous, but Mae didn’t have time to deal with what her body was going through. Her heart was pushing her to get to him. To get answers later.
The rain stopped its assault on her skin as she stepped under the large awning indicating she’d reached the entrance for the Emergency Room. She slipped her phone out of her back pocket.
Still no update from Hawk.
She was going to wring her brother’s neck for being the absolute worst communicator in an emergency.
Mae swept back her drenched hair, the sopping tendrils itching her face before moving off her skin.
She moved through the automatic doors, the scent of antiseptic assaulting her nose almost as quickly as the burn of the fluorescent lights seared her eyes.
A scan of the room showed a line of people waiting in front of a desk.
She wanted to barge her way in front of everyone.
Didn’t they know the love of her life was somewhere in that hospital fighting for his life?
Didn’t they know the way things had been left between Mae and Stone was the beginning of a tragedy?
Not the love story they deserved, but one that would haunt her for the rest of her life if he were to actually not make…
“I hate you! I hate that you’ve done this to us.”
The venom she’d screamed at him earlier that morning was etched painfully in her throat. Mae coughed, trying to clear out the memories that made her stomach ache, of a night she wished she could do over.
“I will never forgive you for breaking my heart like this. I am a strong woman and I let you break me!”
NO! Mae bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. There was no point in revisiting those thoughts. Hawk found Stone. She had to believe help got there in time…
“Next!” Finally!! “How can I help you?” A woman in bright blue scrubs asked from behind the counter.
“I’m looking for information on Stone Lawson. He was life-flighted here. Gunshot wounds, but I don’t know anything else.”
The woman didn’t even glance her way. No compassion. No emotion. Nothing. “Your name?”
“Mae, uh, Michaela Morgan. My brother Hawk came in with him, but I don’t see him waiting for me here.”
“And your relationship to Mr. Lawson?”
Wife! Say you’re his wife… or his fiance… they aren’t going to let you see him unless you lie. So lie. Lie and make sure he’s okay!
“I’m his girlfriend.” Ex-girlfriend. That was the way Stone had wanted it to be.
The woman finally looked away from her computer, not an ounce of care or kindness in her eyes. Shit. She should have lied.
“I’m sorry. If you are not the next of kin, then I can’t give you any information on him. You’ll need to speak with Mr. Lawson’s family.”
“Are you fuck—”
“Mae!” Her brother’s voice slammed into her before she even saw him.
The noise of the busy emergency room faded away.
Her body turned, but even blinking felt like it lasted for hours.
Her eyes bounced to a few random people, some with clipboards filling out paperwork, others holding conversations with the people next to them. And then, her eyes landed on Hawk.
The truth was written all over his face.
She’d never seen her brother so pale. So worried.
So completely consumed with pain that he didn’t crack a smile at her or try to make her laugh.
She faintly registered the fact that he was in scrubs.
There must have been so much blood. Blood that would have stained his clothes and his skin as he did everything he could to help save Stone.
Somewhere behind her, the strangest high pitched whine started. The eerie sound was otherworldly, and it worked its way down deep into her heart.
Hawk was three steps away from her when the room started spinning.
Two steps away when the whine stopped and was replaced with a pain-drenched sob as it tore free from her throat.
One step away when she started falling.
Mae collapsed into her brother’s arms. He didn’t speak. He didn’t try to tell her the worst of her fears weren’t true. He just held her.
And she knew. The truth soaked into her bones, and the world around her faded away.
“Breathe, Mae. I need you to not fall apart right now. So, just take a couple of deep breaths and pull it together.”
“Tell me he’s okay. Tell me he made it!” she screamed into his chest, not caring that the emergency room had fallen to a hush while other people watched her come apart.
“Shh. He’s in surgery. I don’t have any more information than that. But he’s here. The doctors have him now.”
“W-what hap-pened?” Her chest burned.
“I’ll tell you what I know, but we have to go upstairs. I was just coming to see if anyone was waiting down here.” His head swiveled around the room. “You came by yourself?”
“Y-yes.”
“Goddamn it, Mae. I told you to wait for someone else. You shouldn’t have driven—”
“I love him, Hawk. You think I-I’m waiting after you t-tell me he died in your arms? That his heart restarted but no one was sure it would stay beating?”
Hawk shook his head. “I don’t like that you didn’t listen to me, but I understand. We need to go upstairs. There’s a private room I was able to get for us.”
“What about everyone e-else?” She wiped at her eyes while her brother helped her stand. God, her legs were shaking. How the hell would she even be able to get upstairs?
“You good? Want to sit for a minute before we go?”
“No. We should go. What if they’re looking for you to give an update about him?”
“Okay. Let’s go.”