Turning Payne (15 page)

Every step was filled with agonizing dread as Riley followed Chase through the old building towards the medical facility. She had to sprint to keep up with him, but Lora held her hand, pulling her along when her legs faltered. They found Jacob pacing outside of a room marked
surgery one.
The two men whom he had been speaking with took one glance at Chase and scurried away, their expressions morose.

"Where is he?" Riley demanded, breathless and numb. When Jacob didn't answer right away, she moved to push past him.

"You can't go in there." Jacob gently grasped her shoulder stopping her, then held out his hand when Chase growled and moved towards the surgery room. "Either of you."

"I have to stop him. I can't let him do this," Riley choked out.

"It's already done. They took what they needed. They're starting treatment on Kiera as we speak." Jacob looked stricken and pale, and she saw how much the man cared for Turner. "The next few hours are crucial—for both of them."

Riley's throat constricted, rendering her incapable of speech.

"How is he?" Chase asked the question she was too afraid to ask.

"He's being monitored." The muscles in Jacob's jaw twitched. "As expected, he's in hypovolemic shock. He's been intubated and given fluids."

Riley could hear the
but
at the end of his sentence, even though he didn't say it. "Please, let me see him."

"He's not conscious," Jacob said softly. "Let the doctors do what they need to do."

Jacob placed an arm over her shoulder and guided her to a chair that sat against the wall. She sat, despite the desire to fight him. He knelt in front of her, took her hands, and lifted his haunted golden gaze to her. Riley shuddered, seeing the defeat in his expression.

No, no, no.
She closed her eyes. Her voice was a hoarse whisper when she spoke, "Why would he do this?"

Jacob sighed. "You're his mate, and Kiera is a part of you. He knows how much she means to you. He's not just trying to save your sister, he's saving you."

She shook her head, not fully understanding. "But to risk his life?" She sucked in a deep steadying breath and fought the tears that threatened to spill. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"Would you have stopped him if you'd known what he planned on doing?"

She bit her lip, unable to answer. 

Jacob's lips twitched. He started to say something, but the door beside them flew open, and a young woman dressed in scrubs and a mask burst into the hall. Both Jacob and Riley stood as the woman rushed past them.

"What's going on?" Chase snarled, catching the woman's arm when she came back, carrying what looked like a blanket made out of foil.

The woman raised her eyebrows at him, looked down at her arm where Chase held her, and gave a little snarl.

Jacob cleared his throat. "Are there any changes in his condition?"

When Chase released her, she answered, "He has marked hypotension, pronounced tachypnea and tachycardia, as well as cellular dysfunction and lactic acidosis." Her voice and demeanor was brisk. "I can't tell you anymore right now."

Riley glanced at Jacob when the woman disappeared into the surgical room. "What does any of that mean?"

"It means his organs are starting to shut down," Chase growled, slamming his fist into the wall.

Riley froze as icy fear gripped her. Jacob started pacing the hall, and Lora pulled Chase into a far corner, cradling his injured hand and whispering to him. With her back to the wall, she slowly crumpled to the floor. She pulled her legs up to her chest, and placed her forehead on her knees.
Please, please, please be okay
, she pushed into the void.

I'm sorry
, came the response. It was faint, broken, and barely a whisper in her mind.

A soft sob escaped her lips as she realized he had heard her.

She jumped to her feet. If he was awake, she needed to be with him. She made it to the door and had her hand on the latch before Jacob was on her.

"You can't go in there."

"He needs me." A noise between a cry and snarl vibrated through her chest, startling both of them. "I can feel him. He's awake. I can't let him be alone.
Please
, Jacob."

He ran a hand over the dark scruff on his chin and looked over his shoulder at Chase, who gave a clipped nod. With a huff, Jacob opened the door and followed her into the preparation room.

"You need to wash." He grabbed a surgical gown and mask, and placed them on the counter beside the sink.

Riley couldn't take her eye off the pale, motionless form in the opposite room. There was a tube down his throat, one in his nose, and another in his arm. Multiple wires ran under the foil blanket that draped over his body.

"Riley," Jacob said tightly, making her head jerk up to meet his stern gaze. "If you go in there you need to keep your head, no matter what happens."

He helped her into the gown and pressed the intercom, letting the doctor and nurses know she was coming in.

Her fingers shook as she approached the bed. His eyes were closed, and there was a sheen of sweat on his ashen face. There were so many tubes and wires that she was afraid of getting too close.

One of the nurses pulled a stool over and motioned for her to sit.

"Has he woken up?" Riley asked, positioning herself where he could see her if he opened his eyes.

The nurse shook her head and walked to the other side of bed to check the monitors.

Leaning towards him, Riley placed her hand on his forehead. His skin was cool, clammy. She closed her eyes and concentrated on reaching him
. I'm here. I'm not leaving you.
Her throat constricted.
I won't leave you.

Why had she told him that she would? The thought of losing him, of being without him for even a day was torture. The possibility of losing him forever, unbearable. She couldn't lose him when she had just found him. He might be her mate, but he was also the most selfless, caring, stubborn man she'd ever met, and she was in love with him.   

"Wake up," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his. "I love you, Turner Payne. I promise when this is over, I'll be yours completely. I'll move in with you, or we can buy our own place, somewhere out by Chase and Lora, where we can raise a family together. I want that with you. Only you."

His eyes opened sluggishly. She could see how difficult it was for him, as he tried to focus on her. His mouth twitched around the ventilator tube.

"Hi," she said softly, keeping her hand on his cheek, and trying to still the panic in his eyes. "Don't try to speak."

His hand twitched and grasped at the air until she reached for it, pressing his fingers against her lips.

Is she all right?
Turner's thoughts filtered through her mind like a wisp, so faint she barely heard it.

It took her a moment to realize he meant Kiera. Even now when he was fighting to stay alive, he was thinking of others.

"I don't know. I haven't heard anything."

You should go to her. She'll need you when she wakes up.
His eyes drifted shut and then open and his thoughts became more distant.

"I'm not leaving you."

He strained to keep his eyes open, blinking sluggishly. She thought his lips tilted up slightly.

I love you, Riley.

An alarm went off on one of the monitors and his eyes drifted closed.

"Turner?" she cried.

"You need to get back," one of the nurses ordered, rushing to Turner's side. "His vitals are dropping."

A medical team poured into the room, crowding around him, pushing Riley back.

"He's coding," someone yelled.

Riley stumbled back and would have fallen if a pair of powerful arms hadn't caught her. She looked up to find Chase's grief-stricken face. He pulled her tight against his chest, his arms crushing until she could barely breathe.

They were trying to resuscitate him. A doctor was doing chest compressions, while another inserted some sort of medication into his IV.

"We're losing him," someone growled.

"No." She tried to push away from Chase's restraining hold, but he held her tight.

"Get her out of here," someone screamed.

Chase dragged her forcibly from the room.

"I can't leave him. I promised I wouldn't leave him," she shouted, trying to fight him off.

Jacob and Lora waited for them in the hall.

Lora opened her arms, and Riley fled into them. All of her pent up emotion poured out in convulsive gasps and they both sank to the floor.

Chase sat down beside them and buried his face in his hands.

Jacob paced.

None of them spoke.

The tension and grief was almost tangible. Minutes ticked by slowly.

She closed her eyes, tried to reach for him, to test their connection, but every time she did, her mind was flooded with images of Turner's listless body. Her thoughts were chaotic, drifting between the nightmares of the past week. But she wouldn't change any of it if Turner would be all right.

When Riley didn't think she could take another second of not knowing, she glanced up to see one of the doctors emerging from the surgical room, his expression grim.

He cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Riley. "He's asking for you."

Turner's head hurt.

Shit, his whole body hurt. But he needed to see Riley, ease the pain he could feel radiating off  her. From the moment he'd regained consciousness, she was all he could think of. He'd tried to push into her mind, but grief was so tightly coiled within her, he couldn't penetrate her thoughts.

The glass door slid open, and Turner's breath caught in his throat when Riley walked through. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, her face pale, hair tangled, but she was still the most beautiful person in the world to him.

Relief blazed in her eyes when her gaze fell on him. Despite the exhaustion that enveloped her, she rushed to him, threw her arms over his chest, and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Hey," he said gently, stroking her hair. "I'm fine."

She lifted her head and her lips trembled when she spoke. "Your heart stopped. I thought—"

"I know." He'd felt his body give out. The darkness looming over him, stealing his breath, his life energy. It would have been so easy to give into it, to drift off into the abyss, and let death wrap its gentle arms around him. But he'd felt the tug to stay, to fight—heard Riley beg him not to leave her, telling him she loved him. "Say it again."

"What?"

He smiled and caressed her cheek. "That you love me."

Tears gathered in her eyes. "I love you and I want to be with you. Always."

He closed his eyes and savoured her words. When he opened them again, she met his gaze. Her eyes shone with love, so much love that there was no mistaking it for anything else. She was his. His mate. His life. And he would do everything he could to make her happy.

"I love you, too, Riley."

She leaned down and placed her lips on his. Her tears dampened his cheek as she kissed him, gently at first, then with a desperation that nearly undid him.

The door slid open and someone cleared their throat.

"Glad you decided to stick around awhile longer," Chase said from the door, his voice clogged with emotion. He looked drained, completely worn out. 

"You're not getting rid of me that easy."

His brother exhaled loudly as he crossed the room. When he reached the bed, he gripped Turner's elbow and shoulder hugged him. Chase pulled back and swiped at his eyes.

"Don't tell me you're getting sentimental in your old age," Turner teased.

Chase huffed, and Turner could tell his brother was desperately trying to maintain his composure. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and looked up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly.

"Lora and Jacob are waiting outside. They'll want to know," Riley said, starting to move away.

Turner grasped her hand, not willing to let her go, even only to the next room.

"I'll let them know," Chase said, his expression finally relaxed.

Turner gave his brother a grateful smile, which Chase returned before leaving them alone again.

His body felt like it was filled with lead, and his eyes were heavy. He blinked several times, trying to push past the exhaustion that plagued him. The doctor had warned him not to push himself, but there was still the matter of Kiera.

"Is there any news on your sister?" he asked, pulling Riley to his side, so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Did the treatment work?"

She bit her lips and looked down at their conjoined hands. "We haven't heard anything yet."

The adrenaline they had given him was starting to wear off. He could feel the cold sweat breaking out of his body, and he fought to control it, to control the overwhelming need to sleep.

"You need to rest," she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Stay with me."

She nodded. He inched over so that she could crawl in beside him. She curled up on her side and draped an arm over his chest. He pulled her close, anchoring him to his body, and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you," she whispered. "No matter what happens with Kiera, I know you did everything you could."

He found her hand, entwining his fingers in hers. It should be him thanking her. Twice she'd pulled him from the darkness. He'd held onto bitterness and revenge for so long that he hadn't realized how dark his life had become. But with Riley there was no darkness, only light and love.

There were so many things he wanted to tell her, promises that he wanted to make.

"Rest," she whispered. "I'll be here when you wake."

With that promise, he closed his eyes and slept.