I nod.
Dr. Siegel waves me on and says, “Come with me.”
I follow as Rebel comes back.
“Well, Michael, you better get that jet ready. The girls wanna come back, just need to know when they need to be at the airport,” I hear Rebel say as Dr. Siegel and I walk away toward Hawk’s room.
I get to Hawk’s room, and as Dr. Siegel indicated, he’s asleep. He has all these tubes and monitors around him, and they all seem to be beeping at different intervals. He looks so weak and pale.I should be in that bed, not him!I walk to the bed and touch his hand. “You need to fight this, brother. You need to fight harder than you’ve ever fought before,” I say aloud, praying maybe he can hear me. “I can’t do this without you.”
A few minutes go by, and I return to the waiting room.
“Did you see him?” Michael asks.
“Yeah, he looks like shit.”
Michael chuckles. “Well hell, Ice, he’s been shot. What did you expect?”
“I know. I just fucking hate seeing him like this. He’s always been the strong one, the one I could always count on. I feel so fucking helpless.”
“I know. The only thing you can do now is to be strong for him and have faith.” He pauses then says, “By the way, Rebel and Ricco are working together, along with my pilot, to get your girls here. I’m guessing, as long as we get landing clearance from the airport, they will be here in the morning.”
“Thank you.” After the dust settles, I will owe Michael big time for all he has done.
“We got you.”
I hope he knows how grateful I am to him.
Rebel and Ricco return. “Everything is set. The girls should be here around eight a.m. tomorrow morning. I’ve also arranged for Gio to pick them up at the airport,” Ricco says.
“Good. Now let’s get these boys home. Hawk needs his rest, and so do you,” Michael says and pats me on the back. “He’s in good hands.”
I know he’s trying to reassure me, but it’s not working. I look back toward Hawk’s room for a moment and then reluctantly take Michael’s advice and leave.
The next morning, my boys and I head to the hospital as soon as we’re up and ready. The girls arrive around nine thirty, and they haven’t stopped crying. It’s making my head hurt. I’m so proud of Rebel and Spike. They are trying to be strong for everyone, including me. Dr. Siegel informed us as soon as we got here that they have been having an issue with Hawk’s blood pressure. It keeps dropping, and they can’t get it to stabilize. If they can’t get it under control, the prognosis goes from bad to worse. They’ve given him medication, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
The nurse steps out. “Caden?”
I look at her and acknowledge her.
“Are you Caden?”
I nod.
“He’s asking for you.” She turns, and I follow. As we walk toward his room, she stops and says, “He’s been in and out of consciousness all morning.” She stops and touches my arm. “So don’t be alarmed if he fades in and out on you. For now, it’s normal. He’s on a lot of pain meds.”
I nod.
We get to his door, and I step in when she opens it long enough for me to slip in. He looks so weak and pale lying in that bed. I am so pissed at him for stepping in front of a bullet that was meant for me. And before I think, my words come pouring out.“Why did you do it? Why did you have to step in front of that bullet? I know you thought you were doing the right thing.”
I don’t give him a chance to say anything, so he just looks at me as he always does when he’s waiting for me to get shit off my chest.
“I know you think your priority is to save a fellow brother, and frankly, I would have done the same thing. But I’m so fucking pissed at you right now.” I turn away from him. I can’t believe I am in a hospital in New York—fuck, I don’t even know the name—watching my VP and the best damn friend I’ve ever had fight for his life. He’s always been there for me, including taking my fucking bullet.
And then, instead of arguing with me, he says the one thing I don’t expect nor do I want to hear. “It’s my time, Caden,” he whispers.He called me Caden.This is bad. This is so damned bad. We’re losing him. He’s given up. Well, I got news for him; I refuse.
“You’re not giving up. I won’t let you!”
He doesn’t say anything, just listens.
