Chapter Sixty-One Ella
Chapter Sixty-One
Ella
The doctor’s tall frame exudes an air of quiet authority.
For some reason, my attention snags on his silver-streaked dark hair first. It’s neatly combed back from his forehead. Good. He has experience. He’s not a rookie performing his first surgery.
I avoid meeting his gaze, afraid of what I might find.
“Miss O’Neil?” he asks softly.
I nod. My throat is too tight for words.
When I finally look at him, the seriousness of his expression makes my stomach drop.
Oh God. Please. No.
The floor seems to drop away beneath me, my stomach pitching into free fall.
Rhia and Claudette rush to my sides, their arms wrapping around me. It’s the only reason I stay upright.
“I’m Dr. Benjamin Hartley, the lead surgeon,” he says, his eyes briefly scanning the room. “May we speak somewhere more private?”
My gaze finds Lex’s as we follow Dr. Hartley out of the waiting room.
This is bad. Isn’t it?
Everything inside me coils tight, like a spring wound too far.
Footsteps shuffle behind us. I glance over my shoulder. Antonio is trailing us. Roberto and Franco too.
No. Absolutely not.
I stop and fix Antonio with a glare. Despite the panic roaring through me, I manage to speak.
“Stay here.”
He shoots daggers at me, but I don’t care. If my world is about to crack open, I won’t have him watching it happen.
Dr. Hartley steps in before Lex can say a word.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he says calmly, pointing back toward the waiting room. “I need you to remain here. This is for family only.” His gaze shifts. “And anyone Miss O’Neil chooses to have with her for support.”
Antonio turns back with a murderous scowl on his face. Franco and Roberto, of course, keep shadowing us from a few feet behind.
Dr. Hartley raises an eyebrow. “They’ll be waiting outside the room,” Lex says smoothly.
The walk down the corridor feels like a march to my execution.
Is Tiero alive? Did he make it through the surgery?
My footsteps echo too loudly, each one hammering against my nerves. My heart beats faster with every step, a frantic rhythm chasing my thoughts.
Dr. Hartley closes the door to his office and turns to face us.
“Your fiancé’s surgery was successful,” he says. “But I won’t sugarcoat it. He’s in critical condition. The next few hours will be crucial while we monitor his response.”
“He’s alive.”
The words tumble out of me before I can stop them.
Then the rest sinks in.
Critical.
“A bullet penetrated his left ribcage,” Dr. Hartley continues. “An inch higher and it would have been fatal. It missed his spine, but it punctured his stomach and left lung.”
I barely breathe.
“There was extensive internal bleeding. We were able to stop it, but we nearly lost him twice. He’s unstable.”
The floor gives way again. My nails dig into my palms as I fight to stay upright.
“A senior trauma surgeon with thoracoabdominal expertise from Calgary is being flown in and should arrive shortly,” he adds. “We’re doing everything we can. And he is fighting.”
I don’t know what to think. Or feel. It all seems a jumbled mess.
“Can I see him?” I whisper. “Please.”
Dr. Hartley hesitates, then nods. “Briefly. Just a few minutes.”
He leads the way, and I focus on his back to give my mind an anchor. With every step, the world narrows to what waits ahead. Everything else fades, the corridor, the voices, the people around me.
“Only one person at a time,” Dr. Hartley says quietly when we reach the ICU. “He’s heavily sedated.”
A hollow weight opens inside me as a nurse slips a thin disposable gown over my shoulders, the material crinkling softly as I step inside.
In my periphery, I see Lex, Rhia, and Claudette move to the observation window.
I force myself forward.
Tiero lies motionless on the bed, surrounded by tubes and machines. My hand flies to my mouth, the sound caught before it can escape.
I move closer, my legs weak. Pushing back the tears at seeing my love like this, I take his hand. It’s cold.
Tiero’s hands are never cold.
I lower myself into the chair beside him, pressing my palm to his, willing warmth into him.
“Tiero,” I whisper. “I’m here, my love.”
The machines answer with their steady, merciless rhythm.
I stare at our joined hands, at the man who held me only this morning, full of plans and promises.
“Please,” I whisper, the word barely a sound. “Please don’t leave me.”
The tears break, one by one.
“Please stay with us. Peanut and I need you.”
A soft knock comes from the door.
“I’m sorry,” the nurse says, already moving toward the bed. “The trauma surgeon has arrived. Would you please step outside so he can examine your fiancé.” She gestures toward the hallway. “If you like you can wait by the observation window.”
As if I’d go any farther away from him than I have to.
“I’m here, my love,” I tell him. “Just outside this door. And I’m not going anywhere.”
I bend to kiss his cold fingers, lingering for a few more seconds before I let go.
With one last look over my shoulder, I move outside. The door closes between us, the click landing heavy in my gut. I rush to the window, pressing my hand against the glass and staring at Tiero from this side.
Dr. Hartley enters with another man in scrubs. A nurse follows, already pulling on gloves.
They move with quiet urgency, checking monitors before one of them lifts the edge of a dressing at Tiero’s side. Dark red has already soaked through the gauze.
Fresh bandages are brought out. Pressure is applied.
My stomach twists violently. I turn away, bile burning at the back of my throat.
I can’t watch this.
The sight of Tiero’s injuries is tearing me apart.
My legs give out and I sink into a chair. Claudette sits beside me and takes my hand. I rest my head against her shoulder and close my eyes.
Everything feels unbearably heavy.
The sound of hushed voices from behind me drifts into my awareness.
“Everything is set. We need to get her out of here,” Lex whispers.
I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right where I am.
It’s what I told Tiero.
“She won’t leave him behind, Lex,” Rhia says quietly. “Don’t ask that of her.”
Thank you, Rhi. That’s why you’re my best friend. You know me.
“She’s not safe here—”
“I know,” Rhia cuts in. “But we need to get them both out.”
I turn around, fixing Lex with a steady stare.
“Rhia is right,” I say, my voice low but unyielding. “It’s both of us, or I stay. I will not abandon him.”
My gaze shifts to Claudette, who has stayed silent through the entire exchange.
She studies me for a long moment, then nods.
I have no idea what that means.
Her eyes move to Lex, and something unspoken passes between them. Another silent exchange. What is it with those two?
Lex exhales slowly. He steps closer and pulls me into a hug. I don’t resist. I lean into him, drawing strength from the solid reassurance of his arms.
When he lets me go, his phone is already in his hand. Without a word, he turns and steps away.
I watch him go, my chest tight.
Let’s hope it’s to call off whatever he’s already set in motion.