Fever (Breathless #2)(121)

“The hell I will! Take me back to her now. I have to see her. She’s not going to die alone. I have to see her.”

She looked helplessly at Gabe and Ash as if asking for their help in calming him. Thankfully neither did or said a word and stared the woman down to show her that Jace had their full support.

“Belinda, let him come back,” an older doctor said from a few feet away.

Jace immediately turned to the physician. “Is she okay?” His heart hammered and he staggered, struggling to remain upright. Icy fear gripped him. What if the doctor had come out to tell him she was gone?

“Come with me,” the doctor said in a quiet voice.

Jace followed behind, every step filled with overwhelming dread. He was led into a room where Bethany lay pale and quiet on a bed. Surrounding her was a bevy of doctors and nurses. There was a tube down her throat, and one down her nose. They were injecting some nasty-looking shit into the tube in her nose.

“Is she . . . is she still alive?” Jace choked out.

“We’ve managed to stabilize her but she still hasn’t regained consciousness,” the doctor said. “We don’t know what she ingested or how much so we’re treating her blind. We’ve tried to get her to rouse so she can tell us what happened, but so far we’ve had no luck. Maybe you can try to get a response from her.”

Jace surged toward the bed and one of the nurses stepped out of his way so he could get to Bethany’s side.

He picked up her limp hand and curled both of his hands around it. He brought it to his lips, pressing his mouth against it. Tears burned his eyes and he swallowed, sucking in deep breaths so he didn’t lose his composure.

“Bethany, baby, you need to wake up,” he said in a low voice.

“You need to speak louder,” the doctor advised. “I know you’re instinct is to be gentle, but she needs to regain consciousness.”

Jace leaned over and kissed her forehead as he swept one hand through her bedraggled hair. “Bethany, baby, can you hear me? You need to wake up and talk to us. We’re worried sick, honey. Come back to me. Please just come back to me.”

He broke off as a sob welled in his throat. She lay unmoving, all those damn tubes running everywhere.

“What about the tube in her throat?” Jace demanded. “If she wakes up, she’s going to panic. She can’t talk around that damn thing.”

“Right now it’s the only way she’s breathing,” the nurse said gently. “If she starts to come around, we can remove it. But we need to find out what she took and how much.”

Jace closed his eyes as tears ran freely down his cheeks.

“Baby, please,” he choked out. “Wake up and talk to me. You have to come back to me, Bethany. I’m lost without you.”

He pressed his forehead to hers and his tears seeped onto her skin.

“Please come back to me. I love you. We can work this out, baby. Just please open your eyes for me. I’m begging you. Don’t leave me. For God’s sake, don’t leave me.”

As he pulled back, her eyelids fluttered sluggishly. He could tell how hard it was for her to even open her eyes. And then he saw the brilliant blue and the constricted, pinpoint pupils. She was clearly disoriented and then panic surged into her eyes.

Joy flooded into Jace and he turned excitedly to tell the nurse, but they were already moving in, monitoring her vitals before taking the tube out. Bethany struggled, panicking and gagging. Jace gripped her hand and squeezed until he was sure he was hurting her.

“Don’t fight it, baby. Just give them a few minutes. It’ll be over soon, I swear it. They had to put a tube in to help you breathe.”

Tears filled her eyes and they widened and then focused on him.

“That’s it, baby. Just focus on me. Look at me and breathe. Just breathe for me,” he said brokenly.

A few minutes later when the tube was gone, Jace had to step back long enough for them to ensure Bethany could breathe on her own. They placed an oxygen cannula in her nostrils to replace the rebreather bag that had accompanied the tube in her chest. And then finally they stepped back to allow Jace access once more.

Bethany struggled to keep her eyes open. He could see the strain it caused her. Several times she blinked sluggishly as if she’d slip back into unconsciousness but he surged forward, demanding that she stay awake and stay with him.

“Jace?” she whispered, her voice nearly gone.

“Yes, baby, I’m here.”

He took her hand and put his face close to her so she could see him and feel him.

She weakly raised one hand, touching his damp cheek where his tears had been and she frowned.

“I don’t understand. What happened?” she whispered.

Confusion was heavy in her eyes and she glanced rapidly around, taking in the hospital environment and all the medical staff in her room.

“Baby, you overdosed,” Jace said gently. “We need to know what you took and how much so they can help you. You have to fight, Bethany. I can’t—won’t—give up on you or us. Whatever happened, we can fix it. I love you. We can get past this, I swear it. It doesn’t matter to me. Whatever happened, why you did it, it doesn’t matter. You’re the only thing that matters.”

Her eyes widened and she struggled against the sluggishness of her lids. Her mouth opened and she tried to speak. She closed her lips and then reached for him, urgent, frantic.