“Serenity,” I say, rushing down the stairs and falling to my knees at her side. “Don’t you dare fucking leave me!” I yell, patting her face.
Her eyes flutter, but she doesn’t open them. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I call 911, somehow managing to stay calm as I tell the woman on the other end what has happened.
“Baby, stay with me,” I say, rubbing my hand over her chest, barely listening to the dispatcher on the other end. “He shot herin the leg,” I say, finding a gunshot wound on the back of her thigh.
My hands roam over her. “She may have hit her head. It looks like she fell down the stairs, and her face is bruised,” I continue, doing everything I can in the moment to help the situation. “Yeah, she’s breathing, but she’s unconscious.”
I press my fingers against her neck, feeling her pulse beat slowly beneath my fingertips. A little too slow for my liking. “Please tell them to hurry.” My voice is broken because I feel the thread loosening between us. “Don’t let go. Damnit, Serenity, don’t fucking let go.”
As soon as help arrives, everything happens at warp speed. My mind can’t keep up. Everyone is asking me questions, and all I can think about is that I might lose Serenity. Mila might lose her mother.
I barely remember texting Cole, telling him to get her to the safe house.
Eventually the cops allow me to go with Wolfe to the hospital, but only after they’ve watched the camera footage and saw I was telling them the truth. It’s the first time an officer has ever looked at me with sympathy. They even gave us an escort into town.
“Cowboy got Peanut over to the vet,” Wolfe leans over, nudging me in the arm.
My gaze roams over the club members who are quickly beginning to fill into the waiting room.
“Is he ...?”
He waits until I look at him, and then he chooses his words carefully. “He’s still fighting, and so is she,” he says, shaking his finger at me. “So don’t you go giving up on them now, you hear?”
I nod, turning away from him. I’m trying to stay strong, but my fucking brain is torturing me with images of a future without them.
When the doctor walks into the room, I can’t even focus on what he’s saying, but the somber looks on my brothers’ faces tells me everything I need to know.
“Chase, her prognosis is good. She’s young. We just need to give her body a break and manage the pressure from the swelling on her brain. It usually peaks within seventy-two hours, so we’ll see where we’re at then.”
“How long will you keep her asleep?” I can’t bring myself to use the word coma.
“Let’s just take it one day at a time.”
My heart doesn’t know what to do with his endless timeline. It wants to know the exact moment she’ll open her eyes again. I want to know too.
The doctor pats my hand. “Someone will come and get you as soon as they have her settled in a room.”
“Thank you,” I say, looking to Wolfe to ask any relevant questions before we let the man leave. I know it should be my job, but my brain isn’t functioning.
“What about the gunshot wound?” he asks.
“Her leg looks good. I don’t have any concerns there. It’s the hit she took on the head that we need to focus on right now.”
“When she wakes up …” Wolfe begins, but the doctor stops him.
“There are a lot of possibilities, but with time we’ll know more. For now, she’s good. I don’t have any major concerns. I promise to keep you updated, but please feel free to call me.” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a card, handing it to me.
He shakes my hand, tipping his head at Wolfe. I’m so fucking glad he’s here by my side. His character is the exact opposite of the man I killed today.
By the time the nurse comes to get me, I’m at the end of my rope. I need to see and touch Serenity. Anything physical thatmight get through to her. I want her to know I’m here, waiting for her to come back to me.
I stop in my tracks just inside the door. The nurse places her palm at my back. “She’s comfortable, I promise. It looks scarier than it is.”
Wolfe grabs my shoulder, reassuring me I’m not alone.
I step away from them and lean over her face, gently taking her hand in mine. “Don’t you dare let go,” I whisper before kissing her on the forehead. And then I park my ass in the chair beside her.