“Stop,” Adam commanded, his tone sharp. “It’s not your fault, Fletcher. The officers I spoke with said that the other driver blew a stoplight—andhe was driving under the influence. You couldn’t have changed the outcome, baby. No matter how you look at things. I’m just thankful you’re both alive. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I lost you…”
I gazed up into soulful eyes, sniffling. Adam handed me a tissue, and I awkwardly blew my nose with one hand, then balled it up in my fist.
I paused.
“Adam, the other driver…”
Adam was quiet. “He didn’t make it,” he murmured. “He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and died on impact. I’m sorry, Fletcher.”
I sagged there, absorbing this. So we survived, but someone else died. “Damn it…” I uttered, swallowing hard.
My mind flitted back to the oddities shop, the tarot reading, and the “dark spot” in Sky’s future. Did that witch foresee this? Did she even have that ability?
I sighed softly. “It can’t be helped, I guess. I’m just worried about Sky.”
“Me too,” Adam agreed. “I want to wrap you both up in bubble wrap and take you home, where it’s safe, and I can’t. I hate it.”
A nurse knocked on the door before poking her head in. “Mr. Rose? I’m afraid visiting hours are over. Time to say your goodbyes.”
Adam sighed, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, but stood. He kissed me first on the forehead, then on the lips.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, kitten, I promise. I love you,” he said, his thumb skating over my jawbone.
“I love you too,” I whispered, watching him go with sadness creeping into my heart.
I didn’t really want to be alone. Not right now, not knowing that Sky was lying in a bed drugged, just like in the facility, and that the driver who blew a stoplight had lost his life because of it.
A tear slipped free. I let it fall. Some days, life just sucked, and there wasn’t a damn thing you could do about it.
32
ADAM
When they movedFletcher into Sky’s room, things became a little smoother. At least then I wasn’t running back and forth like a chicken with its head cut off.
I was exhausted. Between splitting my time sitting vigilant by Sky’s bedside and visiting Fletcher, then going home to shower, eat and try to sleep, my battery was running on empty.
But my mates needed me, and I needed to be here for them. That was the most important thing. Their needs were more important than mine, and besides, the doctor said they’d be released soon.
Soon couldn’t come soon enough.
I sat in the chair beside Sky, holding his hand. The sedatives they had him on kept him too doped up to do much of anything—including fight the nurses or try to escape, which was a good thing, I suppose, but damn.
I hated seeing him like this. Laid up in bed, staring at the wall with slitted eyes, barely responding to me when I spoke to him. I wondered if he’d remember this at all.
I hoped he wouldn’t, for his sake.
On the plus side, the nurses said he was healing faster than expected.
Fletcher, on the other hand, was struggling a bit with the pain. I could see it in his eyes, even when he tried to smile through it.
Being the driver, he’d taken the brunt of the damage. Along with some bad bruising, his arm and shoulder had been broken from the wreck, as well as several ribs. He had internal bleeding, which was why he’d been in the OR for so long. He’d also suffered a concussion with his head wound, although the doctor assured me he was out of the woods with that.
Fletcher got lucky. They both did, to walk away from a crash like that. I saw the wreckage of the car. I was just thankful that my partners were okay.
Nearly a week after being admitted to the hospital, they were finally talking about discharging them.
“They’ll be more comfortable in the convenience of their own home, and that will aid healing,” the nurse told me that morning. “I will talk to Dr. Braxton and see about getting things going for you.”
