“Drive faster,” he growled at Colton for roughly the ten thousandth time since they’d left his house. They were still fifteen minutes away from the transplant center, and if things were on schedule with the surgery, then she would be going into pre-op soon.
And once that happened, he wouldn’t be able to see her until afterward.
The thought of her going into surgery without knowing how much he loved her made him want to puke. Or maybe that was Colton’s driving stirring up the remnants of last night’s liquid dinner. He grabbed the oh shit handle above the passenger door and held on as Colton screeched from lane to lane to get around traffic.
The Russian moaned in the back seat. “I am feeling carsick.”
“Open a window,” Mack said next to him. “Breathe in and out through your nose.”
“If he pukes in my car, I will kill all of you,” Colton said. He whipped into another lane and back again. A minivan blared its horn.
“There’s no point to any of this if we die before we even get there,” Mack grumbled.
Noah closed his eyes. “Just fucking get there.”
* * *
A nurse walked into the room and introduced herself. She ran through the standard safety protocols—verifying Alexis’s name and birth date, quizzing her on why Alexis was there and all the things that were meant to prevent the wrong person getting the wrong organ removed, or something. She explained that they’d be moving into pre-op soon with Elliott.
Candi bit her lip, hands knotted at her waist. Alexis opened her arms, and Candi let out a relieved breath as she leaned down into the embrace.
“Thank you, Alexis. I won’t ever be able to repay you for this.”
“Just get me something good for Christmas.”
Candi’s surprised laugh broke the tension in the room. She gave a final squeeze and then straightened to leave. “See you when you wake up.”
An orderly wheeled Alexis’s bed down a long hallway and through a set of automatic doors. Down another short hallway, they turned the corner and then backed into a room twice the size of the one she’d been in before.
Elliott was already there. He was half reclined in the bed, arm extended as a nurse checked his blood pressure. He hadn’t shaved, and the salt-and-pepper whiskers made him look older than his years.
He smiled when he saw her. “There she is.”
“Were you afraid I wouldn’t show?”
“Not for a minute.” He held out his hand. Alexis stared at it for a moment, speechless and emotional in a way she never expected. She reached over and let him wrap her fingers within his.
* * *
Colton screeched to a stop in front of the hospital entrance. “Get out. I’ll park the car.”
Noah was out and running before Mack and the Russian had even slammed their doors.
“We can’t run in a hospital!” Mack argued, catching up just before the double doors slid open.
Noah flipped him the bird over his shoulder. “People run in hospitals all the time. There are emergencies.”
The Russian’s feet sounded like cannon booms on the floor. “And this is grand gesture! We always run for grand gesture!”
Noah’s sneakers skidded on the slick floor as he came the end of the hallway and turned the corner. He careened into the wall, rattling a framed drawing of some dude who’d donated a bunch of money to have the wing named after him. Mack grabbed Noah and tugged him upright before giving him a shove to keep moving.
An orderly pushing a cart of dirty towels yelped and jumped out of the way. “Hey! You guys can’t run in here.”
“It’s grand gesture,” the Russian said, panting. “We have to run for grand gesture.”
“We need to get to the fourth floor,” Noah said, racing past the elevator because it would take too long.
Mack whined when he realized they were taking the stairs. “Dude, really?”
Noah took the stairs two at a time. Behind him, he heard someone fall, and the Russian swore in his native language. Mack wheezed as he tried to keep up.
At the landing for the fourth floor, Noah threw open the door and stumbled into a bright hallway.
He flattened his palms on the counter and tried to catch his breath. “Alexis Carlisle,” he panted. The nurse typed something into her computer, and Noah bit his tongue to keep from cursing. He knew before she even looked up that it was too late.
“I’m sorry. She’s in pre-op. No more visitors.”
Noah’s knees went weak. “No. You don’t understand. I have to see her.”
Mack finally caught up, sweaty and out of breath. “It’s true,” he wheezed. “He screwed up really bad because he’s total tool and he has to tell her he’s sorry.”
The nurse’s mouth dropped open. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but I can’t let you see her.” She pointed to a large waiting room on the opposite side of the nurse’s station. “You’re welcome to find a seat, and we will provide regular updates.”
Mack grabbed Noah’s elbow and tugged him away from the counter. “Come on. We might as well sit.”
The elevator dinged, and when the doors opened, Colton walked out holding an ice cream sandwich.
He approached the group, oblivious. “Dude, they have an ice cream vending machine.” He blinked at everyone’s silent stare. “What? Were we too late?”
Noah clenched his fists at his sides. “Yeah, we were too late.”
“That sucks. We should’ve taken my helicopter.” He once again blinked at the silence. “Now what?”
“You have access to a helicopter?” Noah barely recognized his own voice.
“Yes,” Colton said slowly.
“And you’re just fucking telling me this now?”
“You asked me to drive you.”
Noah’s expression must have been murderous, because Mack immediately stepped in front
