“It looks that way. And that’s probably why she came after you. Edgar has refused to say much of anything, but I’m going to see what I can do to persuade him to talk once we know more about Luke.”
“Are you sure Pamela’s dead?” I hated to ask, but I needed to know for my own peace of mind.
“Oh, yes. I’ll tell you the details if you really want to know,” she offered.
“I think I need to hear them.”
Coal let go of my hand he was holding and put his arm around my shoulders, giving me his silent support.
“She had a bomb strapped to her. Luke pushed her in front of an armored truck, and the bomb went off when she was hit. There’s not much left of her.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
I sat quietly, trying to process my emotions. It felt wrong to be relieved about the death of another person, especially when that person was my mother. But that’s the only word that described how I felt. Relieved.
And then I started to feel guilty. Because the price of my relief may have been Luke’s life.
Surprisingly, it was Josie who pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. “Aspen, please don’t feel guilty about this. Luke wanted to make sure you were safe, and that’s what he did. He knew the risks and was still willing to take them.”
I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. “I can’t lose him. I was just starting to let myself love him,” I admitted.
Josie left her sister and moved to my side. She pulled me against her and held me while we both cried.
When my tears finally started to subside, I looked up to see Tatum wiping her own tears and glaring at Batta. “Your spawn is making me weak.”
I tried not to laugh and ended up snorting, followed by a choking sound.
“Look what you’ve done to Aspen,” Batta said, causing the rest of us to chuckle. It was exactly what was needed to break up the heaviness of the room.
We waited for hours for news.
Kathleen and her husband arrived, as did Phoenix and Annabelle. Copper and Layla also joined us.
Finally, a doctor appeared at the door and asked for the next of kin. I took Kathleen’s hand and stood. “I’m his daughter, and this is his sister.”
We stepped into the hallway and waited for him to tell us about Luke.
“He’s in recovery now and will be moved to intensive care. One of the bullets hit a major vessel, and he lost a lot of blood. We were able to repair it and stop the bleeding, but there’s extensive damage to the area. There’s a chance he could start bleeding again and will require more surgery. We’re going to monitor him closely for the next twelve hours. I’m sorry. I wish I had better news to give you.”
I stared at him, unsure of what to say. He was supposed to tell us the surgery went well and Luke would be okay. Instead, we were still in the same position we were in before he spoke to us—not knowing if Luke was going to make it.
“Thank you, doctor,” Kathleen said. “When can we see him?”
“As soon as he’s moved to his room. One of the nurses will come get you when it’s time.”
“What did he say?” Josie asked as soon as we returned to the waiting room.
I felt like I was in a daze and couldn’t find the words to speak. Coal reached for my hand and guided me to the seat beside him while Kathleen told her what the doctor said.
Tatum got to her feet. “I’ll be back,” she said and left the room like a woman on a mission.
She still hadn’t returned when we were shown to the ICU waiting room or when Luke was allowed to have visitors, though he could only have two at a time.
Coal and I went to see him first. I gasped at the sight of him and wished someone would’ve warned me about how he would look. He was unbelievably pale and covered in tubes and wires.
I reached for his hand and was shocked at how cool it felt in mine. Then, I leaned close to his ear and told him the words I should’ve said to him years ago. “I love you, Luke. You’re the closest thing to a dad I’ve ever had, and I don’t want to lose you. Please, please fight to stay with me.” With tears rolling down my face, I placed a kiss on his cheek and stepped back so Coal could have a moment with him. I didn’t want to leave him, but I knew we had to keep our visit short so everyone else could have a chance to see him.
Kathleen and Jeff went next. Then Batta went in with Josie. Once everyone had a chance to visit, I was ready to go back in and stay by his side until he was able to go home.