The Boss's Love (17 page)

Darren rarely left the hospital. The few times he stepped out the door were to rush home to shower and change his clothes. Apparently when he left
, a male doctor and nurse, who weren't part of his wife's staff, always used those times to visit. His men informed him of the occurrence after the first time he dared to leave. Of course he became livid but as long as Courtney remained in the hospital under his watchful eye, he let it go until necessary. He ordered his men to find out about the two unknown men but had no luck. It turned out the hospital staff grew unusually silent when questioned.  

Meanwhile
, Jack made it his personal mission to track down the female agent and John Marshall. Darren’s men put in long hours to find out as much as they could about the woman and the man who had escorted Courtney into the bar. According to Darren's eerily accurate suspicions, they went with the thought John was working with the woman. And he used Courtney and her unborn child to try to get to Darren.  

Seated next to Courtney, her hand held firmly in his, Darren listened to the quiet sounds of the heart monitor while lost in his own misery. How much longer would he have to
endure her unconsciousness? He felt himself driven to the brink of madness. How long could he keep his sanity?

His dark, wandering thoughts were interrupted by a tiny moan.

Jumping up from his chair, he perched on the edge of the bed. He lifted her hand and kissed her palm.

“Courtney, honey, wake
up please," he pleaded. 

She moaned again. 

“Darren,” she mumbled, her voice hoarse.

“I’m here, baby
.” He brushed the hair off her washed-out face.

“No,” she said, her head fell to the right. “No, please no.” 

Was she having a nightmare? Darren squeezed her hand in support. 

“He wouldn’t,” she gasped. 

Darren stiffened, realization hitting him. She was reliving what she'd seen at the bar. He needed to wake her from her nightmare.

“Courtney, honey, wake up. You’re having a nightmare,” Darren said, his voice forceful, demanding. 

Her eyes squeezed, tears fell down the sides of her pale face. Her head rolled to the left. Her eyes flickered, trying to open. 

“Come on, baby, come back to me,” Darren’s voice hitched. So close.

Slowly blinking her eyes open, the look of fright evident in those dull, lifeless big blue windows. She stared at him for the longest time but didn't speak a word.

“It’s okay, honey. You’re in the hospital and you’re
fine,” Darren assured her. He kissed her cheek. “I’ll get the doctor.” 

He rushed to the nurses' station
. “My wife’s awake,” he barked.

One of the nurses picked up a phone and paged the doctor.  

When he rushed back into the room, he found Courtney running a hand over her now flat stomach. She looked up at Darren, whose face fell grim. 

“It’s okay, honey, we can have more babies. They were able to make sure you didn’t have a hysterectomy. We just have to give it time,” he reassured her. He stepped to the side of the bed.  

The doctor entered the room with a nurse and student.  

“Mrs. Murphy, welcome back. How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.    

Her blank stare didn't leave Darren. She didn't acknowledge the doctor's inquiry while those lost eyes stayed locked onto his.  

The doctor tried again, “Mrs. Murphy, how are you? We need you to let us know how you’re feeling.”

“Get out,” Courtney rasped. 

Everyone in the room halted. They looked to Courtney then focused on the object she was staring.

Darren took a step forward and pleaded, “Court—"

“Get. Out,” she gr
ound her teeth.

“Mr. Murphy, maybe give us a minute with your wife so we can find out how she is feeling,” the doctor said sympathetically.

The nurse stepped in the line of fire. Darren glanced at the staff. His heart shattered into a million pieces. He lost his wife. His second worst nightmare had come true. Somehow he avoided the first with her survival but hadn't been fortunate enough to evade the second. 

Wordlessly,
he left the room. He went to the waiting area and slumped down in a chair. His head fell into his hands. There was no meaning to his life now. If he lost his Courtney, he lost everything.  

As if on cue, Derrick strolled in
, caught sight of his brother, and rushed over. He took a knee in front of him.  

“Darren, what’s the matter? Is it Courtney?” Derrick demanded.

“She woke up, but told me to get out. The staff asked me to leave,” Darren’s voice cracked.

Derrick looked towards the entrance that led to the rooms.  “They can’t keep you from seeing Courtney.”

“No, but she can. They were just trying to keep her calm. They don't want her upset,” Darren said. He looked up from his hands, eyes filled again with unmanly tears. Fuck. “What do I do, Derrick? I can’t lose her. I almost did. I lost our baby. I can’t lose Courtney. I just can’t,” he rambled. His head fell back into his hands. 

Derrick took the seat next to his brother, wrapped a supportive arm around his shoulder and squeezed tight. “We’ll figure it out. Courtney's too in love with you to leave. We have to make her see what happened, but not until her health allows it. We don’t want to hurt her.” 

Appreciating the fact his brother used the term "we," if anyone might be able to help him get his wife back it would be Derrick. Courtney loved Derrick. Their close bond worked in his favor.    

Darren nodded. “Okay.”

The doctor appeared in the waiting area and motioned to the corner of the empty room to speak privately.   

“Physically she is doing well, Mr. Murphy. Mentally, well, we’re concerned. She's very distraught. We had to
slightly sedate her. We’ll wean her off the sedation as she calms.” The doctor eyed the two brothers. “Mr. Murphy, I hate to suggest this but I’m going to because I am concerned about your wife's health. I think it would be best if you did not visit her for the time being. At least until we know she stays calm. If you want to stay here in the hospital, that’s fine, but I might suggest giving her some time.”

Darren jolted up to confront the doctor, but Derrick grabbed his arm and gave a small shake of his head.  

“Thank you, doctor. We appreciate your help,” Derrick said firmly. He stood and pulled Darren away from the doctors, who hastily left the area.

Jack and Carl slid into the waiting room.

“Darren, I’ll go in and talk to her. Obviously the sight of you right now is distressful. If you love Courtney, you must listen to the doctors. I know it's going to kill you, but give it time. You have time. For Court, you have all the time in the world. Be patient and she will come to you, I promise. Just don’t make this hard on her. If you love her, help her.” Derrick sounded almost pleading.

Darren sank into the nearest chair, deflated. “I’m going to lose her.”

Derrick knelt down in front of him again. “No, you’re not. You will never lose Courtney. The two of you have a bond like no one else I know. You will get past this and when you do, you'll both be closer and stronger than ever.” 

Darren nodded, numb from head to toe. He couldn’t take in anymore or think about anything else. He felt his life spiraling downward. How did he stop
the undesired trip?

Derrick

“I’m going to go in to see her now,” Derrick said. He stood and placed a supportive hand on his brother’s shoulder.

The
state Darren was in made his brother vulnerable. Now he understood why the FBI focused in on Courtney. She was his Achilles heel. And it could bring him down. Derrick gave the agency credit for figuring out and going after his brother's greatest weakness. They'd severely pay for it, but he gave them credit for the plan. 

Stepping through the drawn curtain to Courtney's room, he found her staring at the heart monitor. Absently she ran a hand over her stomach. Those normally brilliant eyes looked lifeless. She looked terrible. Her skin no longer luminous, instead
was dull and sickly. Her sunken facial features looked almost skeletal. He felt his heart clench for his beautiful sister-in-law. She had been convinced her baby was a boy. She'd been right. Was it a woman's intuition? Now, here she was in a hospital bed having lost that son. What had they done to her? 

Derrick inched closer to her left side. Courtney noticed him but remained mute while she watched him approach. He bent over and kissed her forehead.

“Hi, beautiful. How are you feeling?” he asked. He grasped her left hand and noticed she wasn’t wearing her wedding rings. Had Darren noticed? It would be hard not to. 

Courtney eyes automatically flickered to her flat stomach. 

“I know, sweetheart. You’ll be able to have more babies. I know you don’t want to talk about it, but some day you'll change your mind,” Derrick said. 

“What was it?” she whispered.

He stiffened. Darren hadn’t told her? Then again, it sounded as if he hadn’t gotten the chance. Derrick hesitated on whether he should be the one to give her the news. But she asked and he never denied or lied to her. Never would.

"It was a boy.” 

Tears glistened those eyes. She looked away from him. 

“I should have been stronger. My body should have been stronger for my son. How could I have allowed Darren to take my son from me? How could I have allowed him to betray me and then react so horribly knowing my health?” she questioned,
but not necessarily him.

Derrick clutched her hand. “Honey, it will all come out what
actually happened that night. I promise. I’m not going to get into it now, but your husband, my brother, would never do anything to hurt you. He's been a wreck, afraid he was going to lose you. He ordered the doctors to save you any way they could, even if that meant taking away the chance of having another child. He could live the rest of his life without having children but there is no way he could live without you.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. “I completely understand why. I see what he sees.” He smiled warmly. “I love you too, Courtney. I want to see you happy. I know, deep down, you know the truth.” He leaned over and kissed her nose. “Get some rest and when you feel better everything will be explained to you.”

She snorted. “You mean your version of what happened?”

Derrick smiled, appreciating her bite. “Yes, my version, which happens to be the truest one you'll receive.” 

He saw a small sparkle in her eyes light up just for him
and confirmed the place she held for him in her heart.

"Thank you, Derrick,” she said.

“No, thank you for staying alive, sweetheart. Darren’s heart wouldn’t be the only one destroyed if you left this world,” he said sincerely. 

He stood and left Courtney to rest. The moment he stepped through the waiting room threshold, Darren was all over him. 

“How is she?”

“She’s doing good considering what she’s been through. She’s feisty, but that’s your Courtney, isn’t it?” Derrick sighed. "She's blaming you.”

“As well she should,” Darren agreed.

“You're both placing the blame on the wrong people. The agency or whoever is in charge of this is to blame. You need to concentrate on Courtney first then put an end to this investigation
,” Derrick snapped. He lowered his voice and placed a heavy hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I'll try to find out what I can. I still have people inside.” 

Darren nodded. “I’ll pay whatever it takes.”

Derrick grinned. “That a boy.”

***

Courtney

Over the next couple of weeks Courtney spent her time rapidly recuperating in the hospital. Placed in physical and a short stint of cardiac rehab, she started a program to get her back on her feet. Her gynecologist explained the surgery went well but also stated it would take months before she was cleared to resume sexual activity. Not that she cared. 

Courtney still refused to allow Darren to visit but couldn't keep him from staying in the hospital. Her parents questioned
her, clearly not happy about her unwillingness to speak to her husband.

“Darling, you should talk to him. He’s your husband. He's hurting as much as you are,” her mother pleaded.

“Mom, please stop,” Courtney snapped.

“Do not speak to your mother that way, Courtney,” her father barked. “I know you're tired and not feeling well but that doesn’t give you any right. Your mother and I are concerned for you. He
is
your husband. He doesn’t beat you, he takes care of you, and he loves you. What the hell more do you want? Women would give their right arms to have your husband.” 

“Apparently,” she muttered.

“Speak to him, honey,” Courtney’s mom whined.

She chuckled. “Mom,
did you whine?”

Her parents laughed, lightening the mood. For the first time in weeks Courtney felt a bit of life return to her soul.