Wanted (Addicted Trilogy Book 3) (18 page)

Alek

 
Images of Sara in distress kept
flashing through my head. For a brief moment, I saw her slumped in her chair,
barely having enough strength to sit upright. Blood oozed from a pretty nasty
cut on her arm, dark liquid torturing me as it fell from her body. Her eyes
were hazy at best as she tried to take in the scene around her.

Then I saw Megan. And the knife. Allowing my rage to take over
like a beast I’d tried to keep at bay for far too long, I lunged forward with
no regard for my own safety. My only goal was to ensure Sara made it out of
there alive.

Thankfully, Brian had been able to at least untie her, even
though she could barely keep from falling over. Whatever that bitch gave her
was enough to slow down any natural reaction she would have normally had. Her
body wasn’t her own, and I was sure she was terrified.

I never made eye contact with her as I rushed to put an end to
Megan’s crazy rant. Knowing the pain and worry in her eyes would make me
falter, I focused on one thing and one thing only.

Removing the threat from my woman.

So many thoughts ran through me, almost like a bombardment of memories
since the first day I’d officially met Sara. They were all jumbled together,
though, and I couldn’t make sense of any of it.

A searing pain shot through my stomach and I tried to clutch the
area with my hands, but I found I couldn’t reach it. In fact, there wasn’t a
single part of my body following my brain’s instruction to move.

A faint noise sounded somewhere in the background, the odd pitch
of the beeping confusing me as to where I was.

Is my alarm going off?

Then I heard the sweetest voice.

My Sara.

“Doctor, when do you think he’ll wake up?” I heard her say, the
fear in her voice instantly making me nervous.

But why?

I was only sleeping.

Wait, why was there a doctor in my bedroom?

Where the hell am I?
All
of a sudden, everything came crashing back full-force, images hitting me so
fast I couldn’t differentiate what was real and what wasn’t.
 
I remembered busting down a door, my eyes
flying to Brian and Sara, before rushing forward. The next memory which
strangled me was being on my back and glancing at something sticking out of my
stomach. A silver handle, but I had no idea what it was. I didn’t remember
feeling anything. No pain.

My body reacted to the intrusion all the same. Tunnel vision
racked my sight and before I could open my mouth to say anything, the cruel
grips of darkness dragged me under.
 

Wherever I was, I was okay. At least I could still hear her
angelic voice, the lilt of her tone soothing my frantic nerves. Realizing Sara
was not only alive, but unharmed enough to speak on my behalf, gave me comfort.

“It’s hard to say. He had a close call, Miss Hawthorne. The
surgery went as planned, but now it’s up to him. Sometimes, a trauma such as
his causes the body to go into shock to protect itself.” There was a brief
silence and I swore I heard Sara crying. “We’ll have to wait and see what
happens. The good news is he’s stable and we’re keeping a close eye on him.”

He must have walked out of the room because the only sound I
heard was the incessant beeping near my head.
I’m obviously lying in a hospital bed.
I wanted so badly to wake up
and hold her in my arms, professing everything would be all right. I wanted to
tell her how much I loved her and I would gladly risk my life over and over if
it meant protecting her.

 
But no matter how hard I tried,
I couldn’t move one single muscle. It was a funny thing to have your own body
betray you. Frustration mounted, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about
it.
 

I was tired, even though I wasn’t technically awake. Using what
little mental energy I had sapped all of my strength. Instead of focusing on
the fact I couldn’t wake up, I chose to concentrate on Sara’s breathing.
 
Her fingertips drew nervous circles over the
top of my hand. All I wanted to do was grab her and pull her close. But I
couldn’t.

Over the next couple of hours, or it could have been minutes for
all I knew, quite a few people came into my room. Some of them I recognized but
some I did not.

Sleep took hold when I couldn’t will myself to stay alert any longer.
Alert. I was far from it, but inside my own head, I was aware of everything
going on around me. Sara’s sadness washed over her. I swear my heart picked up
pace, but there was no outward indication of such. No monitors going off around
me to let her know I heard her voice or felt her sweet touch.

I can hear you, baby
.

Since I was powerless inside my own body, I gave in to the calm
and drifted off into dreams of holding Sara close.

Sara

I was going out of my mind. I prayed every day Alek would wake up,
and each day I was let down. I’d cried so much over the past week, helpless as
I saw him lying there, I didn’t think I had a single tear left.

I was done. For the rest of my life, I would never be able to cry
ever again.

So many emotions whirled through me, threatening to take me down
if I didn’t get a grip. I was fearful I would never be able to tell him I loved
him again. Shutting down inside, I couldn’t face the fact I might never feel
his touch again. The only realization to come out of the situation was I knew
exactly how he felt when I’d jumped in front of him when Samuel had pulled the
trigger. He was so angry with me for putting my life in danger, an emotion I
returned ten-fold. I wanted him to wake up so I could tell him how upset I was with
him. I wished for him to argue right back with me. Giving anything to hear his
voice again, it would make me the happiest woman alive.

Hope he would wake slowly diminished with each passing day, but I
kept on trudging through. I would never give up on him. Not as long as his
heart beat in tune with mine, or breath still filled his lungs.

The doctor told me they had to remove his spleen because the
knife had caused too much damage. There had also been some damage to his large
intestine, but they were able to repair the tear rather easily. Then, when I
thought he was out of the woods, an infection took hold, but thankfully they
were able to control it.
 

I was constantly reassured his stats were stable. He just wouldn’t
wake the hell up. Only he could decide when it was time to come back to me.

It was all a waiting game.

Matt had been a dream. Not only had he spent countless hours at
the hospital with me, but he was running the shop all by himself in my absence.
We had some part-time helpers who also stepped up, working more hours to make
sure the business wasn’t negatively affected. When I told him I would have no
problem closing the doors of Full Bloom until Alek was better, he told me I was
crazy. He said he welcomed the distraction, a far-off look sweeping over him
before he pulled me into one of the many hugs we’d shared over the weeks.

Everyone had stopped by the hospital countless times to check on
his progress, but the diagnosis remained the same. No change. Alexa was there
by my side more often than not, sometimes bringing Braden along with her for
her own support. It was all too familiar, because it wasn’t all that long ago I
was the one lying in the hospital bed.

When I laid eyes on Katherine as she walked through the door, I
about lost it. Not like it was a hard thing to do, given the situation. Her
kind eyes and warm smile made me think of my gram. My heart ached as she pulled
me into her embrace, stroking my hair and telling me everything was going to be
okay.

Kael and Adara visited their friend often. On many occasions, I
had to excuse myself because Kael’s grief was too much for me to handle.
 

Brad and Natalie Collins, his parents’ friends who I’d met at the
charity gala, stopped by as well, making me promise to call them as soon as anything
changed.

When everyone had gone, and it was only Alek and me in his
hospital room, I gave in to my grief. Holding his hand in mine, I laid my head
down on the edge of his bed and prayed God would answer my prayers and bring
him back to me.

Sara

“Alek, can you hear me? Please, baby. Move your finger if you can
hear me.” I said the same thing day in and day out, but the results always remained
the same. Nothing ever happened. I wasn’t even sure if he heard my words.

Hardly ever leaving his bedside, I’d become a permanent fixture
there at the hospital. But the staff didn’t mind. In fact, it was the wonderful
nurses who gave me the extra strength I needed, their words of encouragement
boosting my saddened spirit.
 

As my head rested on the edge of his bed, I heard someone walk
into the room behind me.
 

“Sara? Are you awake?” Alexa whispered as she stepped closer.

Picking my head up, I gingerly glanced to my left and saw my best
friend standing there, a change of clothes for me in her hands. I was a mess
and she knew it, eating and showering only when people vehemently urged me to
do so.
 

My eyes were red and puffy, my hair its usual tangled mess. Sure
I was quite the sight; I couldn’t garner enough strength to care.
 

“Unfortunately, yes, I’m awake.” Without warning, I burst into
tears. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. All I wanted to do was
join Alek in his coma, only awakening when he’d finally come back to me. My
heart broke a little bit more each day he stayed wrapped up in whatever world
held him captive.

Alexa immediately approached, seized my shoulders and gave me a
big hug. “Come on, Sara” she pleaded, trying her hardest to convince me to
stand. “You need a break.”
 

“No,” I said, fighting against her. But it wasn’t much of a
struggle. I barely had enough strength as it was.

“Yes,” she demanded more sternly. “I brought you a change of
clothes, and some toiletries. You need to take a shower and get yourself
together.” She plopped a bag full of stuff onto the chair behind her. “Is this the
first sight you want Alek to see when he opens his eyes?” she asked, waving her
hands up and down my body.

“I’ll take one later, Lex.”

“No the hell you won’t. You’ll take one now. All you do is sit by
his bed, Sara. You don’t leave except when you’re made to. You don’t eat or
drink anything unless you’re forced.” She placed her hand on my arm in comfort.
“You’re not taking care of yourself, and it needs to stop.”

Before I could protest, she grabbed my arm and forced me to my
feet. Snatching the bag she’d brought with her, she dragged me into the small
bathroom, placed my necessities on the sink and pulled the door closed behind
her as she left me by myself. I heard her say something from the other side but
I couldn’t quite make it out. Maybe something about keeping watch until I was
done?

I was hesitant to leave his bedside, but I knew if Alexa had gone
through so much trouble, I surely looked a fright. Glancing into the mirror, I
had my answer.

Holy hell! I look like
shit!

I allowed the water to work its magic, washing away layer upon
layer of hurt and worry, pain and distress.
 
After ten long minutes, I finished up and
wrapped a towel around my thinner frame.

As I brushed my hair in the mirror, I thought about how Alek was
going to scold me for not taking care of myself. But those thoughts gave me
instant comfort. I would welcome every last worried word which fell from his
lips if it meant he would wake up and come back to me.

When I was finished, I headed back to his bedside.
 

Nothing had changed. Alek was still the same. Still lost to me and
everyone else who loved him.
 
Alexa was
sitting in the chair I had vacated minutes earlier, holding his hand and pleading
with him to wake up, that her best friend was broken and she didn’t know what
to do. It was then I realized I wasn’t the only person who was affected by what
had happened. I had a family of friends who cared about me as much as they
cared about him. They all saw how much I was hurting, and it was devastating to
them they couldn’t do anything to help ease my pain.

Alek

Dreams had quickly become my solace. In them, I would simply let
go and allow my unconscious self to run wild. I dreamt of when I was a boy goofing
off in school with my friends. But when the teacher turned around to scold us,
it was Sara. Then all of a sudden, the dream switched to my childhood home. Again,
Sara was there with me, holding my hand as we ran through the house. I thought
something was chasing us because I’d become panicky, clutching her fingers in
mine as I pulled her behind me from room to room.

She was in all of my dreams, some of them in the past while
others were in what seemed to be the future. I saw her pregnant with my child,
which was odd because I knew how adamantly she didn’t want to have kids. I saw
her dancing around our kitchen to some crazy song she liked. As I was about to
engulf her in my arms, she would slip further and further away from me, calling
out to me while she continued to laugh and sing her song.

But there was something wrong with her. She appeared to be in
good spirits, but her eyes told a different story. They were lifeless. All of a
sudden, my dream turned on me and I was the one sitting by her bedside, holding
her hand as I prayed for her to return to me.

Was it a memory or a premonition?

I heard her voice again, but I was no longer dreaming. I was
awake. Well…my version of awake, at least. Her smooth voice drifted over me as
she cupped my hand. Her touch was so cold I instantly became worried, but with
the state I was in, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

I overheard Alexa practically yelling at her to take a shower. I knew
she hadn’t been taking care of herself, and I was going to make sure to give
her an earful the first chance I got.

Hearing her friend plead with me to wake up was heartbreaking. She
whispered how afraid and worried she was about Sara, and assured me I was the
only one who could fix her. I wanted to scream that I was trying my hardest to
come back to her, but my treacherous body wasn’t listening to me.
 

“Everyone keeps telling me I need a break, that I need to go home
and sleep, but I can’t,” Sara whispered, running her thumb over the top of my
hand. “What if you wake up when I’m gone, then slip away from me again?” She
broke my heart with every word.

I tried to will my mouth to move, to allow words to pass over my
lips and give her comfort, but nothing happened. I attempted to force my body
to move, but it betrayed me yet again. My efforts soon exhausted me and I had
to rest. I needed my strength to try again soon.
 

~~~~

It was warm. I wanted nothing more than to throw the blanket off
me, but I couldn’t. I was restricted to endure whatever fate the doctors and
nurses deemed necessary. Being increasingly frustrated and angry was becoming
quite the norm for me now. If I didn’t wake up soon, I was going to be one
pissed-off man to contend with.

Deep down, I understood my predicament was my body’s way of
protecting itself, but fucking enough already. According to my sweet angel, it
had been a week since I’d been stabbed.

A week without touching her soft skin.

A week without tasting those delectable lips.

A week of not having her body wrapped around mine while we moved
in sync toward ecstasy.

Sara was in the middle of telling me how much she missed me, including
my overbearing ways, when I tried yet again to communicate with her somehow. I would
take a stupid wiggling of one of my fingers if it meant she would gain the
comfort she so desperately needed.

Then it happened.

A simple movement was all it took to break me out of my slumbering
world.
 

My left pointer finger rose off the bed an inch, but it was
enough to push her fears away, bringing all hope of recovery forward. I did it
again, and again, until she noticed. She was in the middle of a sentence when
suddenly she became quiet.
 

I’m coming back to you,
baby.

“Alek? Can you hear me?” she asked, hope laced around each word.
“Do it again. Raise your finger for me one more time.”

And I did. One more time.

She squealed so loudly that within seconds, there was a nurse
rushing into the room. She inquired as to what was wrong, and when Sara explained,
the nurse laughed, patted my arm and told her I must’ve been done with my nap.
 

She checked my vitals and reported everything looked good.
 
The next step was to wait.
More waiting
. But it was progress, and I
latched onto it with all I could.

All of the excitement quickly wore me out, pushing me back into
my dreams once again.