Colters' Woman (Colters' Legacy #1)(63)

Adam pulled the chair up so he faced Ryan and sat back down. Ethan snared the only remaining chair and positioned it at the foot of the bed.

“Tell Holly…tell her I love her,” Ryan slurred out.

“I will,” Adam said quietly. “Now get some rest so you can tell her yourself.”

Ryan’s head slumped and his eyes closed.

Adam leaned back in his chair and laced his hands behind his head. He stared at the ceiling, the tiles swimming in his vision. He was so tired. He’d aged a decade overnight. Had it only been last night that he’d sat in the living room reflecting on how good life was?

Things had changed in an instant.

He and Ethan sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. Ethan looked every bit as tired as Adam felt. But neither would rest until they saw Holly.

He must have dozed momentarily because the opening door startled him.

“Are you Adam and Ethan?” a nurse asked.

Adam scrambled up. “Yes, ma’am, that’s us.”

She motioned for them to follow her outside.

Once in the hall, she turned concerned eyes on them. “We’ve moved Mrs. Bardwell from recovery, but she’s quite distraught. She’s asking for you. We don’t want to have to sedate her so soon after coming off the anesthesia. Maybe your presence will calm her.”

“Let’s go,” Adam demanded.

They followed the nurse and Adam had to check his stride in order not to pass her. His impatience nearly boiled over as he allowed her to lead them down the twisting halls to the elevator.

A lifetime later, the nurse entered a large room that housed several smaller cubicles. In the center stood the nurses station where two other nurses walked briskly to and from the cubicles.

“Mrs. Bardwell is at the end,” the nurse said.

She walked down and shoved aside the curtain and gestured Adam and Ethan in. Adam shoved past her. He sucked in his breath as he saw Holly lying in the bed, a multitude of tubes and wires coming from everywhere.

Quiet sobs emanated from her, and tears spilled down her cheeks. She faced away from him, and he surged forward.

“Holly. Holly, baby, I’m here,” he said as he approached the bed.

Ethan followed closely, going to Holly’s other side.

She closed her eyes and turned further away from Adam.

Ethan slipped a hand to her hair and bent to kiss her.

“You’re breaking my heart,” Ethan said in a hoarse voice.

“Ryan,” she whispered. “Oh God, Ryan.”

Adam bit the inside of his cheek to keep from breaking down. He leaned forward, needing to touch her, reassure himself she was alive. “Baby, Ryan’s okay, I swear it. He’s down in the ER waiting for a room.”

She shook her head and moaned, the agony spilling from her throat.

“Doll, listen to us,” Ethan pleaded. “It’s not good for you to be so upset.”

Adam watched her, panic rising fast within him. The nurse hovered in the doorway, concern etched in her face.

Holly wasn’t cognizant of her surroundings. She was too caught up in her grief. She thought Ryan was dead.

Adam turned to the nurse as Ethan continued to comfort Holly. “Our brother, Ryan Colter is down in ER waiting for a room. Have them bring his bed up here.”

The nurse’s brow crinkled. “Absolutely not. We aren’t set up for a double room here. This is a step down unit. We have to be able to closely monitor our patients.”

“And I’m telling you the only way you’re going to calm her down is to bring him up here,” Adam gritted out. “I don’t care what you have to do to make it happen. Just do it.”

“I don’t have that kind of authority,” the nurse protested. “I’ll have to call the doctor in and risk sedating her.”

“And I’ll turn this damned hospital upside down if I have to,” Adam snarled. “Don’t f**k with me. Not over this. He needs a room. He needs the care. He can come here. There’s room for another bed. Hell, you could put him next door and take down the curtain. I don’t care how you get it done, just do it!”

“I can’t authorize something like that,” the nurse said. “Only the attending physician can.”

“Then call him up here,” Adam demanded. “I want to talk to him. Do it now. We’re wasting time.”

The nurse retreated, and a few seconds later, Dr. Phillips stuck his head in the door.

“Mr. Colter, what’s going on in here?”

Adam quickly explained his request. As he spoke, the doctor hustled to Holly’s bedside and took in her quiet sobs. He glanced around the room as if considering Adam’s request. Then he sighed.

“I don’t take well to bullying, Mr. Colter. What you’re asking is highly irregular. However, I tend to agree that perhaps the best thing for this young lady is to see your brother. Maybe it will calm her. I’ll have to call the ER physician and arrange it with him, but I don’t see why we can’t make an exception this once. Much will depend on how stable your brother’s condition is. I understand he suffered a gunshot wound.”

Relief flood through Adam. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Adam resumed his position next to Holly’s bed, his hand curling around her uninjured one. Her left arm was surrounded by a cast and her entire chest and left shoulder were swathed in heavy bandages.