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I’ll hang around until after the funeral. That should give Ryan Edwards enough time to prepare for his sister’s departure. As her father didn’t apply for her passport like I instructed, I arranged for delivery through a third-party company. I paid them enough to get it in less than a week.
The wedding will no longer take place as planned. There won’t be a white dress and a cake or a big celebration with flowers in the garden. That turned into a funeral. We’ll get married at the marriage office with my father and close relatives as witnesses. There won’t be a honeymoon like my mother wanted, but I intend on taking everything from Sabella Edwards that’s been denied me save for that one night when she turned eighteen.
My phone rings when I arrive at the hotel in George after dropping my father off at the airport. It’s Roch. My gut tightens as I take the call.
“It’s Sabella,” he says.
I grip the phone hard. “What happened?”
“She collapsed. An ambulance took her to the hospital. Her brother is admitting her as we speak.”
Little makes my heart speed up these days, but this news has that organ pumping. “Where?”
“Here in George.”
“Send me the details.”
I disconnect the call and head straight back to town.
The parking lot is almost full when I arrive at the general hospital. It’s the evening visiting hour. I park in the first empty spot and run inside the building.
“Sabella Edwards,” I say as I rush up to the receptionist. “I’m her fiancé.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile before checking her computer screen. “Room one hundred eleven. First floor.”
In too much of a hurry to thank her, I push a few people loitering in the corridor out of my way and take the stairs. When I exit on the first floor, I spot Ryan in the hallway, talking to a doctor. I stroll toward a vending machine, keeping an eye on them as I pop in a few coins and get a coffee.
Ryan nods at something the doctor says. The doctor leaves, and Ryan enters the room. Sipping my coffee, I make my way to the nurses’ station on the floor.
The nurse on duty looks up when I stop in front of the desk. “Can I help you?”
I smile. “Just waiting for family.”
“There’s a visitor’s lounge down the hallway.”
“Thanks,” I say, raising my cup.
She ducks her head and resumes her work. I saunter toward the lounge, taking stock of the rooms as I go. The door of one of the rooms stands open. A young woman in a hospital uniform is pulling the sheets off the bed and dumping them in a laundry trolley. When she leaves with the trolley, I slip inside.
The night is moonless. I look at the dark, star-studded sky through the window. My breath makes vapor against the cold panes of the glass. Taking my phone from my pocket, I send a message to my father. He’ll only get it when he lands in Marseille, and he won’t be pleased that I’m extending my stay. I don’t explain about Sabella. It’s best that we have that conversation in person. It’s not going to be easy. My father will never be able to look at her and not want to kill her. As I said, he’ll need time.
I wait until the bustle in the hallways grows quiet before I crumple the empty cup in my fist and chuck it in the trashcan. Pushing the door open, I look around the doorframe. The visitors are gone. People are no longer walking up and down the corridors with flowers and fruit baskets.
I’m not particularly cautious as I leave my hiding place, but the nurses’ station is empty. I open the door of Sabella’s room and step inside before closing it behind me. She lies small and pale in the bed, machines beeping around her. I’ve never seen her looking so vulnerable. So small. Frail.
Taking the chart from the file pocket at the foot-end of her bed, I read the doctor’s observations. I recognize Ryan’s signature at the bottom, authorizing the treatment.
Motherfucker.
I clench my teeth and return the chart. Then I round the bed and take her hand. Her skin is cold. I bend down and brush my lips over her forehead.
My promise is sweet. Ominous. “I’m here.”
I kick off my shoes and lift the covers. I’m careful not to disturb the IV tube, the nasal prongs, or the heart rate monitor when I get in next to her and pull her into my arms.
“I’m going to take good care of you,cara.”
ChapterSeven
