Hell And Back(44)

“What the fuck are you asking right now?” I let go of Bella’s hand, turning to look at Mick.

“Where the fuck is your head right now?” His stance sets off warning bells in my mind.

“Mick, cut the shit.”

“He’s gone. Slipped out during shift change. Cameras caught him walking out. Dressed in scrubs. Stumbling.”

My hands clench into a fist. The hatred makes my body shake, the anger making me see black. I start for the door.

“Your head better be on straight right now. You have one girl fighting to come back, and you have another girl hoping you bring her momma home, so lock that shit down. And lock it down now.” Mick doesn’t give me a chance.

“I want security on Lilah and Brenda. I want guards outside this door twenty-four seven. I don’t give a shit if I have to pay for it. No one touches her. No one gets close to her. NO ONE!” I yell out the last words.

I hear groaning coming from the bed, and we both turn our heads to Bella. I see her hand twitch.

I rush to the bed while Mick yells, “We need a doctor in here!”

The nurses rush in, pushing me away from her side.

“Bella, Bella, I’m here, angel.” I hold her hand while the nurses work around me.

The doctor walks in. “We need you to step outside, Jackson, just for a minute, okay?” Charlene, the head nurse, tells me.

I shake my head no, so she grabs me by my shoulders. “I promise you I will not let anything happen to her, but you need to let them do their work, for her.”

Mick grabs my shoulder, turning me toward the door. “Just let them work. We will stay right outside this door.”

My eyes never leave her as they close the door. My heart is pounding, hoping, praying.

I lean against the wall to hold me up for support. I can’t lose her. I can’t and I won’t.

I ask God or whoever is listening to not take her from me, to bring her back to me. I close my eyes, leaning my head back when the door opens and the doctor steps out.

“She’s coming around. She opened her eyes. We’re taking the tube out of her throat. It will be sore for the next couple of days. We are going to monitor her vitals for the next forty-eight hours. We will also start weaning her off the morphine. It’s a good day, Mr. Fletcher, it’s a good day.”

He turns and walks away, leaving me feeling lighter than I have in a week. She’s back. She’s come back to me. She’s come back to us.

I laugh finally, a nervous laugh mixed in with tears. “She’s going to be okay.” I look at Mick, where he just nods and smiles at me.

“Your woman is the strongest woman I know.”

I just nod in agreement. She is the strongest woman, she’s the bravest, and most importantly, she’s mine.





Chapter Twenty-Nine


Bella





The light is shone bright in my eyes. “Ms. Cartwright? I’m Dr. Robinson. Can you hear me?”

I turn my head, trying to get away from the light, my throat burning. The movement of my head makes me groan out loud.

My head hurts. I gasped when they removed the tube from my throat but then I’m finally able to lick my dry lips.

The first thing I feel is the stitch in it. “Water,” I whisper hoarsely.

I raise my hand to touch my lip, noticing one arm with a cast on.

“Lilah?” I’m trying to get someone to answer me instead of poking and prodding.

“You’ve been through quite an ordeal, Ms. Cartwright,” the doctor says while continuing to examine me. “You have a concussion, and you were in a coma. Do you understand what I’m saying, Ms. Cartwright?”

I nod, the movement making me want to vomit. “Lilah? Please, my daughter?”

The nurse with the blonde hair looks at me. “Your daughter is fine. Your husband hasn’t left your side.” The minute she says those words my heart rate spikes. The machines start alarming.

“Ms. Cartwright, you need to relax for a bit. Someone get Jackson!” I hear the blonde-haired nurse say.

I see someone walking to the door, opening it, and saying something, but I can’t hear. The next second, I feel a hand holding mine.

Turning to look at him, all that plays in my head is the dream I had. Adam and Jackson are brothers. It isn’t a dream. It’s a nightmare.

“Angel.” He leans down, kissing my forehead. “You had us so scared. Don’t you ever do that to us again!” he says, trying to smirk at me, but my eyes are watching his.

The blue eyes that kept me safe all this time are the blue eyes I have to run away from again.

“Lilah. I want Lilah,” I ask him, closing my eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling for him.

“I’ll call Brenda, and she’ll bring her, okay, angel?” He leans in, kissing me on the lips, careful not to rip my stitch.