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“Bruised trachea, a bit of water in the lungs, but she’ll live,” the doctor says, putting his stethoscope away. He’s a private doctor, Joshua assures us. With wrinkles around his eyes and gray at his temples, he’s older and calmer. His calm disposition is welcoming in all the chaos.
“Where did you fall in the water again?”
“By the docks,” I rasp, still shivering underneath the big, fluffy bathrobe Gabriel wrapped me in. The fire behind me blazes, and it’s not the temperature of the room that chills me. It's warm and cozy in Gabriel’s house. I just can’t believe what happened, and every time I even think about it, I start shivering again.
Reaching into his bag, he pulls out two boxes. “Here. General antibiotic, and a wide spectrum antiparasitic agent, a seven-day regimen. Just in case.” He hands them to Gabriel as I pull the robe tighter and try not to think about what happened. I almost died. If Gabriel hadn’t pulled me out of the water and Joshua hadn’t resuscitated me, I’d be dead just like Holden is.
“What’ll it do to her?” Gabriel asks, pulling me back to the moment. He’s still shaken up, in sweats and a white tee thatclings to his shoulders, and clinging to me as if he’ll never let me go. He wraps an arm around me, pulling my chest to his front as he talks to the doctor and I lean into his warmth.
It’s over.He whispered to me the entire way back here.It’s over.
It’s really, truly over.
I can barely focus on the conversation at hand. All I can think is that it’s done. And we survived.
“Take these for now,” the doctor tells me, holding out his hand.
“Thank you, Doctor,” I rasp, taking the meds. One’s tiny and pink, looking almost like cake decoration candies, while the other’s a plain white tablet. Setting them on the table, I wait as Joshua escorts the doctor out, locking the door behind him.
“I’ll handle operations at the club tonight,” Joshua says. “I’ll also talk with Zander, explain to him the basics. Take a few days off. I’ll have people securing this place.”
“Joshua, no offense,” Gabriel says, “but can they be trusted? You trusted Holden.”
“And I’m going to be paying for that for a very long time,” Joshua says simply, looking at me. “Kiersten, you’re my business partner, yes. But you’re also like a little sister to me. That I fucked up this badly... I’m sorry.”
“We both fucked up,” I reply, getting up and approaching Joshua. “I trusted him too. There’s no guilt on your end. Let’s talk tomorrow, please,” I get out and then clear my throat. It hurts like hell.
Joshua nods, and a moment later, leaves. With the door closed behind him, it’s just Gabriel and me in his house, and the silence is heavy between us. Since pulling me out of the water, I haven’t said a word to him directly.
I don’t know what to say or what to think, even. He comes back into my life, and within weeks, my life is already in chaos again. And this time, I almost died over it.
But he saved me. And all of this happened because of me.
“Kiersten, if you want me to leave... I will,” Gabriel says quietly. “But if you’d let me stay, I want to stay.”
There’s so much concern in his voice, and while I’m still unsure of everything that happened, I know without a doubt that I love him. That I need him and that I’m grateful he’s still here with me.
I can’t help it. I love him. I’ve never stopped loving him.
“I need you to hold me and not let go. So don’t you dare think about leaving me right now,” I tell him in a cracked voice, and in return, he kisses me.
First, he’s gentle, and my lips mold to his. Then more fiercely.
He only breaks the kiss to whisper in the warm air between us, “I’m so sorry, Kiersten.”
His eyes are closed, and pain is clearly etched in his expression.
I can’t take it. This torture needs to end for both of us.
With both of my hands on his jaw, I wait for him to look at me and I whisper back, “Don’t be sorry, just love me.”
“I love you so damn much.”
“I love you too.”
His hands come to my waist, and I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him softly. He kisses me back, his chest hitching as he lets his emotions go, and I feel myself absorbed into him, not just his body but also his heart and soul.
It’s meant to be delicate, but my touch turns needy, desperate to have him and know that I am truly his in every way. That nothing will come between us.
