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“He’s going to be okay,” Sandy said, her voice filled with a confidence Maria didn’t yet feel.
**
Their whole party, which now included the band’s manager and a few roadies, migrated to a waiting room closer to the ICU. When a nurse announced that Teag had been settled into a bed, Sandy and Fiona went in first to see him. Maria received a text from Cam letting her know that he and Jake were boarding their flight and would call when they touched down in Miami.
Maria felt stuck in limbo. She was so tired, she could barely form a coherent sentence, yet she didn’t want to leave the hospital. The urge to be close to Teagan was a visceral thing. He was alive, but she needed to see his face, touch his skin. Tell him she was sorry.
First she needed to do her job, though, and right now, her job was to keep Teag safe and to make sure nothing terrible happened to Fiona, or Julian, or Diego. She gathered her team and issued instructions. “We need someone guarding Teagan at all times, and someone with the rest of the band. Cam and Jake will be here later today, and we’ll regroup, but for now, let’s work out a schedule and figure out how we can all get a little sleep.”
Once they had worked out their schedules for the next few hours and Maria met with hospital security to clear her plan with them, she introduced herself at the nurses’ station in the ICU. The charge nurse raised an eyebrow and gave her a quick once-over.
Still dressed in the clothes she’d thrown on at the hotel hours ago, Maria probably smelled as bad as she looked. When she glanced down at her worn Marine Corps sweatshirt, she realized it was splattered with dried blood. Teag’s blood. Maria swallowed hard and her eyes stung.
“Would you like a set of scrubs?” the nurse asked, her voice gentle.
“Please,” Maria answered.
She hustled into a bathroom to change and stuffed her dirty clothes into a plastic bag, which the nurse had also thoughtfully provided. When she returned, the same nurse pointed to a room. Maria took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and made her way there.
All the rooms in the ICU surrounded a central nursing station. The front facing wall was made of clear Plexiglas, likely so the nurses had an unobstructed view of their critically ill and injured patients. Dark-blue curtains provided a measure of privacy if they were pulled closed, which they were in Teag’s room.
Tapping softly on the side wall, Maria pushed the curtain aside, and her breath caught in her throat. She froze, staring at Teag’s still form on the bed. It was Fiona who stood and gently led Maria to him.
“I know it looks scary,” Fiona whispered. “When Jake was injured overseas, I remember walking into his hospital room and feeling absolutely devastated. I couldn’t imagine him coming back to me. But he did, and I know Teag is fighting to come back to us too.”
Maria nodded her head vigorously, willing herself to believe Fiona’s words. Teag looked so still, so pale, so lifeless on the bed, with tubes and wires snaking from his body, that Maria couldn’t imagine him ever waking up.
Teag’s mom sat at his side, her small hand clasping his larger one. She met Maria’s gaze with tired eyes. “Hello, dear. Why don’t you have a seat? I wouldn’t mind stepping out to find a cup of tea.”
“I, um, sure,” Maria stammered. She did want to have a moment with Teag. She had things to say to him.
Sandy Tate stood and gently touched Maria’s shoulder. “I’m sure he’ll want to know you’re here.”
Fiona padded quietly out of the room behind Sandy, leaving Maria alone with Teag. She sat in Sandy’s vacant chair, on Teag’s left side. Tentatively at first, she reached for his hand. When she felt his warm skin, she closed her eyes and gripped him tightly.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know who did this to you, but I’m going to find out. I’m so, so sorry, Teag.”
Maria sobbed openly now, aware that she should be guarding Teag’s room, on alert for any danger to him. But guilt, fear, and regret overwhelmed her, and she gave herself this one moment to let the emotions wash over her.
Her head dropped onto the bed and her shoulders shook. When she finally came up for air, swiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
“I need to tell you something, Teag. I was afraid of how I felt for you,” she confessed. “You were honest and real with me, and I was afraid. If you wake up, I promise to tell you why. I promise to give us a chance. That is, if you still want to try. Teag, please, please fight hard.”
She broke off when she heard Fiona’s soft voice and light footsteps approach. Clearing her throat, she stood and moved to take up her position just outside the room. Sandy Tate brought her a cup of tea, which Maria gratefully accepted.
“Thank you for being here tonight,” Sandy said, peering at Maria with soulful blue eyes so similar to Teag’s that Maria couldn’t look away.
“I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I should have…” Maria began.
“That’s utter rubbish,” Sandy said, holding up a hand. “Would you normally be in the room with my son during one of his trysts with the ladies?”
Maria nearly dropped her tea. “No.”
“Or outside his hotel room door in the middle of the night?”
“No. We escort the band members to their rooms, see them safely inside, and then go to bed,” Maria admitted.
“Maria, something terrible happened. An evil person hurt my son and killed those poor girls. The police are investigating, and I trust you and your team to keep us safe while they do.”
“This still happened on my watch,” Maria argued.
Sandy shook her head. “I understand why you feel responsible, but the only person responsible for this terrible violence is the one who pulled the trigger. I’ve learned that guilt doesn’t change a thing that’s already happened, but it certainly wastes valuable energy and precious time right now.”
With those words hanging between them, Sandy took up her vigil by Teag’s bed, leaving Maria alone with her thoughts.
