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Fiona nodded, her face buried in the woman’s shoulder.
“He’s in surgery. We haven’t heard from the doctor yet.”
“He’s a fighter, that one,” Teagan’s mother said, patting Fiona on the back and then pulling Julian and Diego into a firm hug.
“He won’t leave us,” she assured them.
“Let me introduce you to our security detail. They won’t be leaving us either,” Fiona said with a small smile.
Maria moved closer to the huddled group. “Ms. Tate? I’m Maria Ruiz, head of security for the band,” she said, waiting for some kind of angry accusation from Teag’s mom.
“Please, dear, call me Sandy.”
She took Maria’s outstretched hand and held her gaze. “Can you tell me anything?”
“A little, ma’am. Teagan had two female guests in his hotel room after the show. A noise complaint from Teagan’s floor came in at around 1 am. Hotel security informed me, and we went to investigate. There was no answer when we knocked or called the room’s landline. When I entered the room, I found…” Maria’s voice caught, and she cleared her throat.
Teag’s mom grabbed her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “It’s okay, dear,” she whispered.
Maria took a deep breath and continued. “When I entered, I found that all three people had been shot. The women were dead.”
“Oh, dear lord. Those poor girls,” Sandy said.
Maria knew Sandy would have more questions as soon as the shock wore off, like how someone had entered a locked hotel room, and where the hell he or she had disappeared to so quickly afterward. Maria’s list of questions grew by the minute, but until she knew whether Teag was going to be okay, she couldn’t follow those threads.
Her mind replayed her last encounter with him like it was on a repeating loop. When she wasn’t picturing his hurt expression after she’d shut him down completely, she envisioned him lying unconscious on the bathroom floor.
As if sensing Maria was close to losing her composure, Sandy led them all back to the seating area. Wearily, Maria sank into a chair. No sooner had the room lapsed into a tense silence when the double doors to the surgical ward whooshed open. Everyone stood back up.
The doctor sported blue scrubs and cap, but her mask dangled off one ear. “Mr. Tate’s family?” she asked, surveying the crowded waiting area.
“I’m his mum,” Sandy said stepping forward. She gripped Fiona’s hand.
“Would you like to speak privately?”
“No. I’ll be telling these folks everything anyway, so maybe you’ll save me the trouble?”
The doctor gave a weary nod. “I’m Dr. Olivia Greene, chief trauma surgeon for the hospital. I operated on Mr. Tate. He’s made it through the surgery.”
Sandy gave a small cry of relief, and Fiona’s arm went around the woman’s waist.
Holding up a cautionary hand, the doctor continued. “I have to be honest with you. He is not out of the woods yet. He had a very serious condition known as cardiac tamponade caused by the bullet tearing the pericardium, or the sac around the heart. This means fluid, in his case blood, built up around his heart. In addition to relieving that pressure, we had to remove the bullet, which was lodged in the left upper lobe of his lung. There’s been significant damage to that area and surrounding tissue, so we’ve placed a chest tube in to keep the lung inflated.”
Her earnest brown eyes kept contact with Sandy’s as she finished. “He has a few things going for him. First, he was found immediately after the incident, care was initiated quickly, and we got him into surgery before he could incur permanent damage to his heart. Second, he is young and strong, and he’ll obviously be surrounded by people who care about him. I’ve been doing this long enough to believe that last part matters.”
“When can I see him?” Sandy asked.
“He’s in recovery and then he’ll be admitted into the ICU. Once he’s settled, you can go in. We’ll need to keep visitors limited.”
“Thank you,” Sandy said, her voice breaking for the first time.
“I’ll check in later in the day if you have any questions for me.”
“Dr. Greene,” Maria said, before the woman turned to leave. “He’ll need security, even in the ICU. I’d like to post someone at the door to his room.”
The doctor hesitated, and then nodded. “I’ll alert the nursing staff and hospital security.”
When she disappeared into the surgical ward, the whole room breathed a collective sigh of relief.
