Doris O'Connor (18 page)

Oh my God
!
Alex!
She
groped for the phone, blinded by the curtain of tears, until she
once again had Mac’s voice in her ear.

“
Kitty, Kitty, are you there?
Kitty?”

“
I-I’m here, Mac. Where have they
taken him?”

Was that frightened squeaking really her
voice? She tried to listen to what Mac was telling her, but the
only thing that she really took in was the fact that Alex was hurt
and was on his way to hospital. “Kitty, get here fast!” Mac’s
urgent words finally galvanized her into action. She threw some
clothes on and hammered on Gwen’s door. The elderly woman took one
look at Kitty’s white face and called her a taxi.

“
No way are you driving in this
state. Noah needs one of his parents in one piece at
least.”

She sat in a taxi, drumming her fingers on the
window sill, urging the driver to blasted well drive faster, whilst
having to endure his attempts at making small talk. Her heart all
but stopped when she saw the fire engine outside the hospital.
Alex’ men hung around looking lost, some of them smoking, all of
them grave and silent.

No, please, no!
She threw the money at
the taxi driver and ran toward the little group of men, dread
filling every step she took.

Mac threw his cigarette on the floor and
walked up to her when she approached. The other men watched her
warily.

“
Kitty, glad you made
it.”

“
Where is he, Mac?”

Mac’s voice was carefully controlled as he
grabbed Kitty by the shoulders and made her sit on the side of the
fire engine.

“
Sit down, Kitty.”

“
I don’t want to sit down, Mac. I
want to know where Alex is.”

“
He’s in theatre,
Kitty.”

Kitty was getting light-headed again.
Oh
yes, breathe. She had to remember to breathe!

“
Theatre?” she echoed, her voice
sounding strange and faraway to her.

Mac grimaced. “Are you sure you’re okay,
Kitty? You look as though you’re going to pass out. Put your head
between your legs for a minute, and remember to
breathe!”

His strong arms surrounded Kitty, and he
forced her head gently between her legs. “Breathe, Kitty, in, out,
in, out. That’s it; keep going.”

“
I’m all right, Mac. Let me go.”
Kitty straightened, still feeling slightly light-headed, but she
kept breathing. “What happened, Mac?”

The burly Scot shut his eyes for a minute
before kicking the side of the fire engine and then focusing all
his attention on Kitty.

“
We were on our way home from a
shout. Chip pan fire, nothing major, we managed to control it.
Spirits were high. We were all looking forward to getting off soon,
and then this car in front of us suddenly lost control. Spun
around, turned over. We managed to stop. Alex was the first one out
of the pump, ran over to the car, trying to get the driver out. I
was just behind him, the rest of the guys trying to cordon off the
road, calling it in, the usual drill for an RTA. And then another
car came round the blind bend, skidded on the same patch of oil,
and—” Mac shook his head, the color draining from his face, tears
in his eyes.

Kitty grabbed his hand and squeezed, and Mac
nodded grimly.

“
The car just missed me, but
careered straight into Alex. He didn’t even see it coming, never
stood a chance. He got pinned between the two cars. We had to cut
him free. He arrested on the scene and then again in the ambulance
on the way over.”

Kitty heard her own voice from very far away.
“But he’s going to be all right, Mac, right? Please tell me he‘s
going to be all right. He’s got to be all right. He’s a fighter; he
will pull through, right?”

She could feel the bubble of hysteria rise
deep within her as she looked round Alex’s men, none of whom would
look her in the eye.

It was Mac who took her hand and pulled her in
a hug. “I don’t know. Kitty, he’s a right mess. He was badly
crushed, lost a lot of blood, and well, you’ll see. He’s in theatre
now. I’ll take you up. His family is all gathered. You ought to be
up there with them.”

Kitty was crying again, vaguely aware of Mac
steering her along the corridors, the smell of hospital assaulting
her nose. It brought back memories of her stay with Noah. Oh my
God, Alex had to be okay; he just had to be. She had promised Noah.
He’d only just got to know his father, damn it.

Mac stopped outside a room, and Kitty
struggled to focus on the scene in front of her. Sure enough,
Alex’s immediate family was there. His mother, her usually
well-ordered hair hanging loose around her white face, rocked
backwards and forwards on one of the plastic hospital chairs. Irene
sat staring into space, clutching a coffee cup, and Alex’s sisters
sat in a huddle. It was Francesca who spotted her first and came
over to pull Kitty into a fierce hug.

Irene jumped up. “What the hell are you doing
here? We didn’t call you! Go away. You aren’t wanted
here!”

“
Irene! She is Noah’s mother. Of
course she needs to be here. Mamma, tell her she’s welcome to
stay.” Francesca glared at her mother, one arm still round Kitty’s
waist. Kitty leaned on her, grateful for her support.

Stella slowly focused on Kitty, her blue eyes
turning ice cold.

“
You.
Who called you? This
is your fault! If you hadn’t turned up, filling his head with
nonsense he would have given up this damn job by now.
Get
out.
”

Francesca gasped, and Kitty stepped away from
her, only to collide with Mac’s burly frame. The Scot filled the
entrance to the relatives’ room, his arms crossed on his
chest.

“
You stay right there, Kitty. I
called her, and anyone who wants to throw her out will have to go
through me first. The last thing Alex said to me before he passed
out was ‘Ring Kitty!’ So with all due respect, Mrs. Giovanni, she’s
staying!”

****

“
Thanks, Mac.” Kitty managed a
tired smile as Mac handed her yet another coffee. Bless the man.
He’d hovered close to her ever since the show down with Alex’s
mother. Stella had been throwing dagger looks at her ever since,
but Kitty stayed. Everyone in the room just sat quietly, watching
the door, waiting for news.

What took them so long? Alex had been in
surgery for hours.

“
No news is good news in these
circumstances, I think.” Mac smiled at her. Kitty made her lips
move into a semblance of an answering smile only for that to fade
when the man in theatre scrubs appeared, looking round the
room.

“
Mrs. Giovanni?”

Stella stood up, some of her usual spark
returning as she addressed the young man in front of
them.

“
Do you have news of my son? Is…is
he going to be all right?”

“
As to that, I’m sorry, only time
will tell. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are critical.
He made it through the surgery, but you need to prepare yourself.
His prognosis is not good. I’m so sorry.”

“
I see.” Stella’s voice was devoid
of all emotion as she sat down again. Alex’s sisters started to
cry, and Irene just looked stunned.

Kitty found her voice from
somewhere.

“
When you say his prognosis is not
good, what exactly does that mean, doctor?”

“
He has lost a lot of blood, and he
arrested again on the table. We got him back, but he’s very weak.
He could arrest again at any minute. His injuries were severe. He
has several broken ribs, his legs were broken, and there is severe
bruising to his spine, but the main worry is the head injury. We
have managed to relieve the pressure to his brain, but if he pulls
through there will be no telling how severe the damage is until he
wakes up.”

“
If he pulls through?”

The man’s eyes were full of pity when they
focused on Kitty. “I am so sorry to not be more positive, but his
chances are slim at best. I would suggest you all say your
good-byes.”

Chapter
Twenty-One

Kitty hung back, whilst one by one Alex’s
family filed into the little room. Alex lay wired up to all sorts
of machines. Kitty was more grateful than she would ever be able to
express for Mac’s quiet strength behind her. When finally it was
her turn, he gave her a gentle shove through the door, before
parking his bulk in front of Stella, his face grim.

“
Give her this, Mrs.
Giovanni!”

Kitty furiously blinked away the fresh tears
that were falling, and she stepped up to the man she loved. His
large frame lay unmoving, the ventilator helping him breathe, the
bandage starkly white against his tanned face. His legs were in
traction, more bandages wrapped around his torso, which was covered
in spectacular bruises.

Kitty took hold of his hand and raised it to
her lips, holding it there. She couldn’t lose him; she just
couldn’t. She bent forward and kissed one swollen eyelid gently.
Her heart breaking, she whispered in his ear.

“
I love you, Alex Giovanni. Do you
hear me? Don’t you dare give in. Noah needs you, and you have a
whole family out there waiting for you. Fight this, Alex, please.
Please come back.”

There was no reaction, of course. Alex was
sedated and deeply unconscious, and Kitty made herself step away.
Mac took one look at her and pulled her into a fierce hug before
going in and saying his own good-byes to his boss.

He put her into a taxi home, and his last
words to Kitty were, “If anyone can beat this, it’s Alex. The man
has a stubborn streak a mile long, and he has a lot to live for.
Don’t let his mother bully you. He will need you when he wakes up,
Kitty.”

****

Alex had indeed proved to be stubborn. He made
it through the critical forty-eight hours and was moved into a
private room under the best care that Giovanni money could
buy.

Brain scans showed the swelling to be
reducing, yet Alex remained in a deep coma and completely
unresponsive. Kitty took to sitting with him late into the night
when all the other visitors had gone. She had to reach him
somehow.

“
Ah, you’re here again, my
dear.”

The middle-aged nurse smiled kindly at
Kitty.

“
Can I get you anything? A cup of
tea, perhaps?”

“
A cup of tea would be lovely,
thanks. I wonder have there been any developments at all during the
day? Apart from the obvious.”

Kitty had been pleasantly surprised to see
that Alex had come off the ventilator. He was breathing on his own,
the steady up and down movement of his broad chest incredibly
comforting.

“
His mother doesn’t really tell me
anything, you see, and strictly speaking I’m not family, so none of
the staff will either when I call. It’s very frustrating to say the
least.”

Kitty sighed, taking Alex’s hand in hers. She
wished with all her heart for a flicker of anything from
Alex.

“
I can’t tell you anything, but I
will be bringing his notes in here after I have done my
observations. I may be called away and forget to put them back for
a bit, so if you happen to glance at them, my dear…”

Kitty could have kissed the woman.

Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.
Not only did the night nurse appear with a cup of tea, she also
left the notes open at the right page.

What Kitty read filled her with hope and new
anxieties all at the same time.

The latest sets of brain scans showed no more
swelling or bleeding or any obvious signs of brain damage.
Thank
God.
He tolerated the removal of the ventilator well. However,
he was in an unexplained coma, and there was a new concern. The
swelling and bruising around his spinal cord had not eased, but
increased. The words “possible permanent immobility” jumped off the
page at her.

“
Oh Alex, do you hear me? You have
to get well, and no matter what happens I’ll be here, baby. I love
you so much.”

Kitty started when the door opened, and one of
the SHOs walked in. He smiled at Kitty, picked up the notes with a
frown and checked the readings of the ECG machine.

“
Don’t let me stop you
Ms.—?”

“
Just Kitty will do.”

“
I have noticed you’re here a lot,
yet never when the family is around?”

Kitty gave a forced laugh, taking Alex’s hand
in hers again.

“
I wouldn’t be welcome. His mother
and I don’t exactly see eye to eye, and as for his
fiancée—”

The stocky doctor smiled at the expression on
Kitty’s face. “That’s the tall, dark-haired one with the bad
attitude right?”

“
I see you’ve met!” Kitty smiled
again when the man rolled his eyes.

“
Oh yes, between you and me, no one
here is that fond of her. So what’s the deal between you and him?
No, don’t tell me. Ex-lovers, right?”

Kitty blushed and nodded. “And mother of his
son.”