Fever (51 page)

did. What I did to you both.”

“You don’t know that,” Ash snapped. “Keep your shit together until we know what happened.”

“Kaden said she was barely breathing. He had to do mouth-to-mouth on her. The medics had to

intubate her. Kaden said it looked like an overdose. Now you tell me. After what you saw last night

when I lit into you both, how upset and devastated she was because I was a complete asshole. You

tell me I had nothing to do with this. This is on me, man. I left her this morning when I damn well

should have stayed with her to make things right. But I left because I wanted to give her some space. I

put a business deal before her and what she needed from me. I left her to think that I still didn’t trust

her. You didn’t see her. Eyes swollen and puffy from crying her fucking heart out last night. We went

to bed and she had her back to me all goddamn night. Fuck, she wanted to leave last night and I

wouldn’t let her. She wanted to sleep apart from me and I wouldn’t allow that either. So she laid in

that bed next to me last night and she cried because I’m an arrogant dickhead who lost his shit over

nothing
.”

“Man, you have to chill,” Gabe said grimly. He turned in the front seat so he could look at Jace,

and his eyes were hard. “You don’t know what happened. None of us do. Until you get there and she

explains it, you can’t jump to conclusions. You can’t do that to her.”

“She was barely breathing,” Jace bit out. “She may not even be alive when I get there. God, I can’t

lose her. Not like this. Hell, I’m not even good for her. She tried to tell me. I knew what our

relationship was doing to her. It almost happened before. She almost took a pill when I upset her last

time. But I hung on because I was too selfish to do anything else. I was only looking at my wants and

needs and I need her more than I need to breathe.”

“Pump the brakes,” Ash ordered. “Until we get the story, you can’t be making stupid, rash

decisions. She needs you, man. She needs you more than ever right now. Whatever happened, it’s not

good and she’s going to need you to be her rock. Whatever happened, you can fix it. But not if you’re

already checking out and being all noble and shit by saying she’s better off without you. Do you

honestly think she’s better off on the streets with fucking Kingston, who obviously doesn’t give a shit

about the kind of life she has? Hell, he was pushing drugs at her. Does that sound like the kind of man

she needs to be with?”

“I can give her a better life. I just don’t have to necessarily be in it,” Jace said bleakly. “I hurt her.

I’ve hurt her time and time again. No one should have to put up with that shit. I can give her a better

life and step away. Let her make her own choices. I’ll make damn sure she always has whatever she

needs, but maybe the biggest thing she doesn’t need is . . .
me
.”

“Swear to God, I’m going to beat your ass if you don’t shut the fuck up,” Gabe growled. “Now

isn’t the time for you to wimp out. Man up and be there for her. Find out what happened and then

work it out. Bethany is fragile, but now? She’s going to be even more so. We don’t know what drove

her to this. There’s a lot of questions we don’t have the answers to. And until we get those answers,

the thing she needs most is you. There by her side. Supporting and loving her.”

Jace went quiet. He closed his eyes, torturing himself with images of Bethany’s lifeless body. Face

pale in death, shadows from the night before still hanging permanently on her cheeks. Of her dying

thinking he didn’t love her or trust her. Or her thinking she wasn’t the single most important thing in

his life. Of her dying without him ever telling her how sorry he was and how much he fucking loved

her.

She was
everything
to him and he was goddamn well going to make sure she knew it.

Gabe was right. No matter what had happened or why Bethany had done this, she needed him. He

wasn’t going to let her go unless she convinced him she truly didn’t want him or his love. And even

then he’d make damn sure she was always provided for. Even if it ripped his heart and soul right out

of him not to be a part of her life.

“Going to marry her as soon as possible,” Jace said hoarsely. “Swear to God, if she survives this,

I’m going to marry her and spend every goddamn day making sure she knows where my heart is at.”

“Now that’s more like it,” Ash said.

Jace lifted his haunted gaze to Ash. “I’m sorry, man. More sorry than you’ll ever know. I didn’t

even think you did anything. Was just a shitty day and I went off without thinking. Just wanted to bite

at someone and you and Bethany happened to be there at the wrong fucking time.”

Ash made a sound of impatience. “We already went over this shit. You said what you needed to

say last night. It’s done. Won’t say I’ll ever tolerate that bullshit again, but it’s done. You just have to

make it up to Bethany now.”

“Yeah,” Jace whispered. “If I only get the chance. God, don’t let her die. She has to live. We have

to get through this. Please don’t let her die.”

Grief was choking, cutting off his air. It was a weight pressing down on every part of his chest until

it was unbearable. He couldn’t lose her. Not like this. Never like this. He’d never survive this if she

died.

“She’ll need help,” Gabe said in a low voice. “Counseling. If she tried to kill herself, she’s going

to need professional help.”

“She’ll have whatever it is she needs,” Jace said. “However long it takes. But I’ll be there with her

every step of the way. She’s never going to be alone again.”

The driver roared to a stop outside the emergency room entrance and Jace jumped out, running

inside, where he was immediately met by Kaden. Jace grabbed the much larger man by his shirt,

pulling their faces close together.

“Where is she?”

“They’re working on her now,” Kaden said grimly. “Doc came out briefly to ask about family. I

told him you were on your way. Said it was definitely an overdose but they can’t rouse her enough to

ask what she took or how much.”

“Fuck!” Jace exploded.

He dropped his hold on Kaden and then stalked toward the desk and the wary-eyed receptionist.

“Bethany Willis,” he bit out. “I want to see her now.”

She rose and walked around the desk as Gabe and Ash came up behind Jace.

“Sir, they’re working with her now. You’ll have to wait out here.”

“The hell I will! Take me back to her now. I have to see her. She’s not going to die alone. I have to

see her.”

She looked helplessly at Gabe and Ash as if asking for their help in calming him. Thankfully

neither did or said a word and stared the woman down to show her that Jace had their full support.

“Belinda, let him come back,” an older doctor said from a few feet away.

Jace immediately turned to the physician. “Is she okay?” His heart hammered and he staggered,

struggling to remain upright. Icy fear gripped him. What if the doctor had come out to tell him she was

gone?

“Come with me,” the doctor said in a quiet voice.

Jace followed behind, every step filled with overwhelming dread. He was led into a room where

Bethany lay pale and quiet on a bed. Surrounding her was a bevy of doctors and nurses. There was a

tube down her throat, and one down her nose. They were injecting some nasty-looking shit into the

tube in her nose.

“Is she . . . is she still alive?” Jace choked out.

“We’ve managed to stabilize her but she still hasn’t regained consciousness,” the doctor said. “We

don’t know what she ingested or how much so we’re treating her blind. We’ve tried to get her to

rouse so she can tell us what happened, but so far we’ve had no luck. Maybe you can try to get a

response from her.”

Jace surged toward the bed and one of the nurses stepped out of his way so he could get to

Bethany’s side.

He picked up her limp hand and curled both of his hands around it. He brought it to his lips,

pressing his mouth against it. Tears burned his eyes and he swallowed, sucking in deep breaths so he

didn’t lose his composure.

“Bethany, baby, you need to wake up,” he said in a low voice.

“You need to speak louder,” the doctor advised. “I know you’re instinct is to be gentle, but she

needs to regain consciousness.”

Jace leaned over and kissed her forehead as he swept one hand through her bedraggled hair.

“Bethany, baby, can you hear me? You need to wake up and talk to us. We’re worried sick, honey.

Come back to me. Please just come back to me.”

He broke off as a sob welled in his throat. She lay unmoving, all those damn tubes running

everywhere.

“What about the tube in her throat?” Jace demanded. “If she wakes up, she’s going to panic. She

can’t talk around that damn thing.”

“Right now it’s the only way she’s breathing,” the nurse said gently. “If she starts to come around,

we can remove it. But we need to find out what she took and how much.”

Jace closed his eyes as tears ran freely down his cheeks.

“Baby, please,” he choked out. “Wake up and talk to me. You have to come back to me, Bethany.

I’m lost without you.”

He pressed his forehead to hers and his tears seeped onto her skin.

“Please come back to me. I love you. We can work this out, baby. Just please open your eyes for

me. I’m begging you. Don’t leave me. For God’s sake, don’t leave me.”

As he pulled back, her eyelids fluttered sluggishly. He could tell how hard it was for her to even

open her eyes. And then he saw the brilliant blue and the constricted, pinpoint pupils. She was clearly

disoriented and then panic surged into her eyes.

Joy flooded into Jace and he turned excitedly to tell the nurse, but they were already moving in,

monitoring her vitals before taking the tube out. Bethany struggled, panicking and gagging. Jace

gripped her hand and squeezed until he was sure he was hurting her.

“Don’t fight it, baby. Just give them a few minutes. It’ll be over soon, I swear it. They had to put a

tube in to help you breathe.”

Tears filled her eyes and they widened and then focused on him.

“That’s it, baby. Just focus on me. Look at me and breathe. Just breathe for me,” he said brokenly.

A few minutes later when the tube was gone, Jace had to step back long enough for them to ensure

Bethany could breathe on her own. They placed an oxygen cannula in her nostrils to replace the

rebreather bag that had accompanied the tube in her chest. And then finally they stepped back to allow

Jace access once more.

Bethany struggled to keep her eyes open. He could see the strain it caused her. Several times she

blinked sluggishly as if she’d slip back into unconsciousness but he surged forward, demanding that

she stay awake and stay with him.

“Jace?” she whispered, her voice nearly gone.

“Yes, baby, I’m here.”

He took her hand and put his face close to her so she could see him and feel him.

She weakly raised one hand, touching his damp cheek where his tears had been and she frowned.

“I don’t understand. What happened?” she whispered.

Confusion was heavy in her eyes and she glanced rapidly around, taking in the hospital

environment and all the medical staff in her room.

“Baby, you overdosed,” Jace said gently. “We need to know what you took and how much so they

can help you. You have to fight, Bethany. I can’t—won’t—give up on you or us. Whatever happened,

we can fix it. I love you. We can get past this, I swear it. It doesn’t matter to me. Whatever happened,

why you did it, it doesn’t matter. You’re the only thing that matters.”

Her eyes widened and she struggled against the sluggishness of her lids. Her mouth opened and she

tried to speak. She closed her lips and then reached for him, urgent, frantic.

“Jace . . .”

“What, baby? Talk to me. Fight this. Please, for me. For us.”

“I didn’t do it,” she said fiercely. “I didn’t take anything. I wouldn’t. You have to believe me.”

He stared back at her in shock. “Baby, you passed out. You almost died. You have to tell us what

happened.”

“I don’t know what happened!”

Her voice rose, hysterical. She became agitated and an alarm went off, causing one of the nurses to

rush forward.

“Sir, you need to leave now,” the nurse said briskly. “She’s not getting enough oxygen and her

vitals are dropping.”

He was shoved aside as the medical team crowded in. They put a mask over her face, but she

fought it and them.

“Jace!”

“I’m here, baby. I’m here!”

“I didn’t do this! Please, you have to believe me,” she sobbed.

Then he was shoved more firmly from the room. Gabe and Ash were there to pull him back the

minute he was forced out.

The door was shut firmly in his face and he turned, putting his fist into the wall.

Gabe and Ash grabbed him, subduing him before he could punch the wall again. They forced his

back against the wall he’d just punched and Gabe got into his face.