Wilde at Heart (Wilde Security, #3)(76)

Progress.

Now he had to get some of the drug out of his system before he passed out or he was toast.

The toilet was about a foot in front of him and he dragged himself over, pulled himself up. Leaning over the bowl, he jammed a finger down his throat. His gag reflex kicked in, his stomach emptied. He gagged until there was nothing left, until his throat was raw and his stomach spasmed with cramps.

Body heavy, he slid to the floor again, the tile a wonderful relief to the internal combustion going on inside him. Fire blazed just under his skin even as shivers wracked his body. There was a sudden burst of noise, but he couldn’t pinpoint where it was. What it was.

Didn’t matter.

He had to focus, stay awake.

Shelby.

Yes. Had to focus on her. She was his wings. She helped him fly when he hadn’t even known he could.

And he loved her. No matter what she’d done, he would always love her.

Light pooled around him, and there she was, hovering over him, her face streaked with tears, her hands cool on his cheeks.

He must be hallucinating. Dying. Still, he reached up for her, and her hand closed around his. She felt so real. She had to be real.

Her lips were moving, but her voice sounded far away. “Reece. Reece, can you hear me?” When she blinked, he felt the saltwater of her tears splash against his face.

Wait.

She was real.

“Shelby?”

“Yes, I’m here. We’re here, and the paramedics are on their way. So hang on, Hershey.”

His head lolled, heavy on his neck. There was something he needed to say to her. He mustered every drop of energy he had and wrangled his tongue into submission. This had to come out clearly. She had to know…

“I love you,” he managed. “Stay with me. Please.”

And then he drifted away.





Chapter Twenty-Nine


“He’s going to be okay.”

Shelby gazed up at her sister standing in the door of Reece’s hospital room. In her leather jacket, jeans, and boots, she looked every inch the kick-ass cop that she was.

“Docs say he’ll be out of here in a few days,” Eva added, rocking a little on her feet, hands stuffed in her pockets.

“I know.” She returned her gaze to the bed, where he’d been drifting in and out of consciousness since the doctors treated him for the Xanax overdose. “But he asked me to stay with him, and I just can’t bring myself to leave until he comes around.”

Eva nodded and stepped into the room. “Shelby, I’m sorry. I was pissed when I found out about you and Reece, I’ll admit it. Reacted…” She winced. “Badly.”

“To say the least. You punched him, Evie.”

“I was afraid for you. I thought, how can this possibly work?” She looked at the bed, heaved out a breath. “But, you know, I was wrong. It does work. For the two of you, it does. Cam said he’s never seen his brother so…at ease. Even with the shitstorm flying around him this past week, Reece has been happier. You do that for him.”

“Not after yesterday.”

Eva came the rest of the way into the room and sat down in the chair next to Shelby’s. “Yeah, well, he had a right to be pissed off. You f*cked up, Shel. Why didn’t you ever tell me about this Jason Mallory character?”

“I didn’t want you to be ashamed of me. More ashamed of me,” Shelby blurted, unable to keep the truth from slipping out when all of her emotions were so close to the surface. She stared into her sister’s eyes, saw tears there, and her own vision blurred. “I see how you are with Mom, and I’ve always been afraid I’ll just keep doing the wrong thing and someday, I’ll reach for you and you’ll turn your back on me like you have her. I’m terrified of that.”

“Oh,” Eva breathed and closed her eyes as if in pain. She leaned over and wrapped Shelby in a hug. “That’s not going to happen. I will always be there when you reach out, no matter what. And I might get mad and I might say things I shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop loving you. Ever. Until Cam, you were all I ever had. Nothing can break that bond, okay? So tell me when you get in trouble from now on.”

Sniffling, Shelby drew away. “I don’t plan on getting in any more trouble.”

“That’ll be a nice change of pace.” Eva straightened her shoulders, whisked away tears with impatient wipes of her hands. “Okay, enough waterworks.” She stood. “I’m gonna go, but when that man wakes up”—she indicated Reece with a jerk of her thumb—“you make sure he knows how you feel about him. Life’s too f*cking short to miss out on spending it with the man you love.”

Shelby gazed over at Reece. He was pale, so still under the bleached white blankets of the bed. Her heart clenched. Life was short—and his had almost ended far too soon.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Eva said from the doorway and tossed a small padded envelope to Shelby. “Thought you might want that back.”

Heart thudding, she waited until her sister was gone before opening the metal prongs that held the envelope closed. She dumped the contents into her palm…

And wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

Her wedding ring.

She slid it onto her finger and immediately felt whole again. A sob caught in her throat. Okay, the tears were going to win out, as they had so many times in the last few days. She loved this ring, loved what it symbolized.