“They took him up to surgery,” she said, looking up at him with dull eyes.
He was instantly by her side, taking both of her hands in his. “He’ll be okay, Jamie. If his gut’s as thick as his skull, he’ll be just fine, in fact.”
She didn’t smile at the joke. “What if he dies?” she whispered.
“He won’t.”
They didn’t say much after that, just sat side by side in the room, as the clock hanging over the door ticked off the minutes. An hour passed, then two, and nobody came in with an update. Finn was still holding her hand, warming it between his fingers as ice continued to slither through her veins.
“He risked his life for me,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Finn squeezed her fingers. “He’ll be okay,” he reiterated.
It took two more hours before someone finally came. A doctor wearing a white coat greeted them with a tired smile, and Jamie jumped to her feet. “Is he all right?” she demanded.
“He’s going to be just fine.”
She sagged against Finn in relief.
“There was some internal bleeding caused by the bullet, and we had to give him three transfusions for the loss of blood, but he pulled through.” The doctor looked proud as he added, “Mr. Donovan is a fighter. A lot of patients display a will to live, but in this case, it was more than that.” He shook his head. “It was as if he simply refused to give up, as if there was no other choice.”
“Can I see him?” Jamie asked through her tears.
“He’s in recovery right now, and normally we only allow family members to—”
“I’m his fiancée,” she lied, ignoring Finn’s surprised gasp.
“Oh. Then I’m sure we’ll be able to accommodate you, Ms….?”
“Crawford. Jamie Crawford.”
“Come this way, Ms. Crawford.”
She followed the doctor down the fluorescent-lit corridor toward the elevator bank. As they rode up to the third floor, she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her blouse and uttered a silent prayer, this one thanking God for saving Cole’s life. Upstairs the doctor led her to a private room at the end of the hall and held open the door.
“He’ll be unconscious for a while,” he warned.
“I don’t mind. I want to be there when he wakes up.” She smiled, fighting a new batch of tears. “Thank you for saving his life, Doctor.”
“It’s my job.” His mouth tilted in a smile. “But it’s my pleasure.”
Unashamed of the tears sliding down her cheeks, she shook the doctor’s hand and walked into Cole’s room.
It felt like someone was hammering jagged nails into his stomach. That was the only thought Cole had as he navigated through a maze of unconsciousness and opened his eyes. Once the light assaulted his vision, he flinched and slammed his eyelids closed, growing nauseous as his head began to spin.
A husky laugh tickled his ear. “Seriously? You’re just going to open your eyes like that and then go back to sleep? You’re such a tease.”
His mouth lifted in a smile and this time he fought through the pain to pry his eyes open. And then there she was, her lavender eyes swimming with love and concern, that gorgeous auburn hair cascading over her shoulders like a silky curtain.
“Hey,” he said, wincing at the gravelly rasp to his voice.
“Hey yourself.” He felt her hand on his, and although her skin was cold, it brought a rush of warmth to his throbbing abdomen. “You had me worried there for a while. How dare you lose so much blood?”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’ll try to lose an acceptable amount next time.”
“Next time? I don’t think so, Donovan. You’re never getting shot again, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
A comfortable silence fell between them, as the teasing faded away and a serious air crept in.
“Ian?” Cole asked, closing his eyes in anticipation.
“He’s gone. Finn shot him.”
Despite all the turmoil Ian had caused, Cole still experienced a flicker of regret at the loss of his assistant. Ian had been invaluable to him for so many years, at least before Teresa had lured him to the dark side and corrupted his mind.
“I need to notify his mother.”
Jamie replied in a firm voice. “That can wait. Right now, you need to worry about getting better. You almost died.”
“You almost died too.”
“But you came to my rescue,” she said, her eyes glistening as she squeezed his hand again. “That was a dumb thing to do, by the way. Killers 101—never antagonize the person holding a gun.”
He laughed, and was rewarded by a jolt of pain. “I guess I missed the class.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything I know.” She cast him a faint smile. “In case you didn’t read between the lines, that means I’m not going anywhere.”
Something shifted in his chest. “No?”
“No,” she said softly. “I love you, Cole, and I don’t care how many issues you still have over your ex-wife. I’ll help you work through them.”
“There’s nothing to work through.”