Colters' Woman (Colters' Legacy #1)(64)

He’d never seen her looking so vulnerable. Tears continued to seep from her closed eyes, and his chest tightened in response. He leaned forward and kissed her temple.

“I love you, baby,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry I never told you.”

As he and Ethan kept watch over Holly, she finally drifted off to sleep. Her breathing became more even, and the flow of tears finally stopped. Her head lay limply against the pillow, her face pale with red blotches from the crying.

A few minutes later, the same nurse Adam had gone up against came bustling in. She eyed him with a look of annoyance.

“I’ve been instructed to open up the cubicle next to Mrs. Bardwell’s. Since I don’t imagine you’ll agree to go home, I’m having a chair and a small sofa brought in as well.”

Adam eased his scowl. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “This means the world to us.”

The nurse’s expression softened. “I know you’re worried about her. But we’re doing our best to take excellent care of her.” Then she grinned a little mischievously. “Besides, chances are your brother would have ended up here anyway. The hospital’s pretty full, and he needs care beyond the floor, but he’s not a candidate for ICU. And from what I hear, he’s not exactly cooperative.”

Adam’s lips quirked into a smile. “Yep, that’s Ryan. But he’ll straighten up when he’s able to see Holly. He’s been pretty worried about her.”

Within the hour, the curtain between the two rooms had been pulled, and two orderlies hauled in a chair and a sofa and set them between the two beds.

Thirty minutes afterward, a nurse rounded the corner, pushing Ryan in a wheelchair. She looked less than happy with her charge, and Ryan didn’t look like he gave a f**k.

She rolled him toward the other bed, but he put his free hand down to jam the wheels. The nurse’s lips pressed together, and she shook her head.

“Into bed with you, Mr. Colter. You got your way. I took you up in a wheelchair when you shouldn’t be out of bed, but you’ll go now, or I’ll haul you back to the ER.”

Ryan ignored her, his haunted eyes stroking over Holly.

“Help me up,” he said hoarsely, his gaze going to Adam.

“Ryan, you should be in bed,” Adam began.

“I have to see her,” Ryan said.

Adam looked at the nurse who shrugged in defeat.

“Do whatever it is that will get him into bed the fastest,” she said.

“Give me a hand, Ethan,” Adam directed. “Let’s make this quick.”

Adam bent over Ryan, and Ryan curled his good arm around Adam’s neck and pulled himself upwards. Sweat broke out on Ryan’s forehead, and he trembled against Adam. Ryan’s face had gone pasty white, and Adam knew it had cost him dearly to expend so much energy.

He and Ethan helped Ryan to the bed where Holly lay. Tears filled Ryan’s eyes as he gazed down at her. He reached his hand out to touch her cheek then pulled it back to scrub the moisture from his own face.

“I’m so sorry,” he choked out.

She stirred in her sleep.

“Ryan,” she murmured. Then tears slid from beneath her lids once more.

Ryan finally lost the battle to stay upright. He sagged and Adam and Ethan scrambled to catch him. They hauled him over to the bed and with the help of the nurse settled him in. She then proceeded to lug in the IV poles and reattach the lines.

She fussed over him for a good hour before finally leaving them alone.

“Promise me, you’ll wake me when she does,” Ryan said as he stared at Adam in exhaustion.

“I will,” Adam replied. “Now get some rest. You aren’t any good to her in your present condition.”

Ryan nodded and closed his eyes. He was asleep before his head fully reclined against the pillow.

Adam turned and sank down onto the sofa while Ethan took the chair next to it.

“We came close to losing them,” he said quietly.

Ethan nodded. “Too close.”

“Something has to be done about the bastard.”

Again Ethan nodded.

Adam curled his fingers into fists then flexed them outward again. He repeated the action over and over. “I’ll kill the son of a bitch myself before I let him close to my family again.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Holly slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear the cobwebs. For a moment, she had no recollection of where she was or why she was in such an unfamiliar place. And when she did remember, pain the like she’d never felt crawled through her system.

Ryan.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember all that had transpired, but all she could conjure was the memory of Ryan falling, of her hand coming away from his chest covered in blood.

Hot tears filled her eyes and escaped from her lids. She felt the slow trickle as they trekked down her cheeks. A warm hand cupped her face and gently wiped at the moisture.

She opened her eyes to see Adam standing over her, a concerned look on his face. She blinked again to bring him into focus. She slowly became aware of the rest of her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. Her gaze darted to her other side where she saw Ethan slumped in a chair asleep.

Just the fact that Ryan was so conspicuously absent sent another slow crawl of agony through her heart. A sob welled in her throat—one that she tried to call back—it threatened to choke her with its intensity. She was finally forced to let it out.