What it Takes (49 page)

“Kelsey,” said the stressed voice and she opened her eyes, looking up at Patrick’s tightened jaw. “Shh.” He began rocking her. “It’s over,” he whispered, then kissed her hair. “You’re both safe.” As he ripped the tail of his shirt, Kelsey looked back at the empty bed then turned to him, a question in her eyes. “He’s outside with Grayson,” Patrick soothed her as he wrapped the fabric over her wound and tied it tightly. She tried to pull away. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?” she asked anxiously, staring at his shirt. Patrick glanced down as she lightly touched a stain on his chest.

“I’m fine,” he replied quietly and took her hand in his.

“Richard?” She looked into the living room at the prone body of her brother-in-law.

He watched her eyes fill with tears. She shook her head and mouthed “no” repeatedly and began to shake with sobs. Patrick didn’t understand her reaction but realized that she had known Richard longer, and she never would have willingly given her child to the monster he’d known.

As the tears subsided, she slumped against him. Patrick looked down at her closed eyes and felt a new surge of panic. “Kelsey, honey, stay with me.” He shuffled her in his arms, lifting her body away from his so he could put both hands on her cheeks. She slowly lifted her eyelids. “Hey, baby,” he said, staring into her glazed eyes. “Hey, you’ve got to stay awake.” She took a long, slow blink as she nodded.

“Patrick! Kelsey?”

“We’re here, Nathan!” Patrick turned his head to yell toward the front door.

In a flash, Nathan was kneeling beside him, eyes full of concern as he stared at Kelsey. “She’s pale,” Nathan said.

“She’s lost a lot of blood. She’s fading on me,” Patrick answered, almost choking on the words and sparing a fleeting glance at Nathan.

Nathan looked around. “Is this where you found Zach?”

Patrick nodded and Kelsey perked up. “Zach?” She looked at Nathan. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” Nathan said reassuringly. “He’s being checked out by the paramedics now.”

Kelsey’s eyes filled with tears and Patrick kissed her forehead. “We need to get you out of here.”

He gently set her on the floor and stood up, then lifted her into his arms. As they followed Nathan through the living room, Patrick noticed the policemen taking pictures of Richard’s body and the surrounding room. He glanced down and was momentarily thankful to see Kelsey’s eyes closed.

Once they were outside, he placed a kiss on her cool forehead. “Open your eyes and talk to me,” he ordered her gently.

Kelsey looked up at him. “What would you like to talk about?” she asked, barely above a whisper.

He descended the steps. “It doesn’t matter, just stay alert until the EMTs can look at you,” he instructed as they approached the three ambulances.

“Where’d they come from?” she asked.

“I had Janelle call Nathan before I left the house.”

“You were at my house?” she questioned and he nodded. “Why?”

He glared at her. “Looking for you.”

“Oh. That makes sense,” she said quietly and he smirked. “I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes again as he reached a gurney and lowered her onto it. He put his hands on her cool cheeks.

“Open your eyes,” he whispered over and over again until she finally complied. “What’re you sorry for?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the paramedics examining her leg and she started to squirm. “It’s an EMT, sweetheart, calm down.”

“Where’s Zach?” she croaked.

“He’s in the other ambulance. They’re taking him to the hospital,” Patrick said calmly.

“No,” she snapped and sat up. Patrick straightened, surprised by her sudden strength. He gently put his hands on her shoulders and eased her down to the stretcher. “He can’t go alone. He’s been alone enough today,” she pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Please stay with him.”

The panic began to build in his chest again, worse than when he’d put her on the plane and watched her take off. “Kelsey, I
need
to be with you,” he argued. The thought of leaving her now gave him a cold sweat. She lifted her hand to his cheek and he took it in his. “I can’t leave you. I shouldn’t have let you go without me this morning.”

“Patrick,” she whispered, “don’t blame yourself for this. I knew what to expect. I was hoping . . .” Her face scrunched and his heart hurt to see her in pain. She looked up at him and continued, “We’re going to the same place, and he’ll be awake and conscious. I can’t guarantee I will be. He needs someone to be with him, and since I can’t do it, I want you to.” She pointed to her pocket. “Call Janelle and let her know what’s going on. She’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Your sister’s here and she’s going with Zach,” Grayson said as he joined them on Kelsey’s other side. “They’re ready to take him.”

“Grayson?” Kelsey said, closing her eyes as she turned her head to him. “What’re you doing here?”

Grayson smiled as he rested his elbows beside her head on the gurney. “Red, you know I love you, but that performance you gave at the party isn’t going to win you an Oscar,” he said softly and brushed her rain-soaked hair off her forehead. “We could see you were upset, and we couldn’t call ourselves your friends if we let you go it alone, could we?” He looked up at Patrick. “Either of you.”

“Thank you,” Kelsey mouthed more than said.

Patrick noticed how much paler she was and knew things were bad. He exhaled slowly, shakily. “It’s settled then, I’m staying with you.” She turned to watch them close the back door to one ambulance and drive off with Zach. Tears trickled down her cheek, and Patrick wiped them away. “I think they’re ready to take you too.”

Grayson kissed her cheek. “Stay strong, Red,” he whispered, stood up, and stepped away.

They loaded Kelsey into the ambulance and Patrick climbed in behind her. Her eyes were already closed. He took her hand as she faded into unconsciousness and felt utterly helpless. All he could do for the hour-long ride was sit beside her, fingers intertwined, and watch her breathe.

Kelsey’s heart had stopped.

Patrick replayed the words over and over again. He’d been in the surgical waiting room with Janelle, Zach, and Grayson when Kelsey’s surgeon had come in to give them an update. Dr. Bradley had informed them that in the process of removing the bullet, Kelsey’s blood loss had become so great that her heart had stopped.

At that point, so had Patrick’s.

Everything that had been said before was forgotten and even though he was immediately reassured that they’d gotten her heart beating again, everything that was said after was a hazy memory. All that mattered was that for almost two minutes, Kelsey had been dead. For almost two minutes, he had lost her.

He never wanted to experience that again.

Patrick now stood in Kelsey’s hospital room, alone, waiting for her to come out of recovery, hypnotized by the downpour outside her window. In the two hours since the doctor’s unsettling report, Patrick had replayed everything that had occurred a dozen times or more. Everything had gone so well during the premiere, and he’d been ridiculously excited to take her home, to his house, afterward and never let her leave.

Now, when he closed his eyes, he saw her paleness again and the fear in her eyes after Janelle’s phone call had interrupted their celebration. He berated himself for not being more forceful with Kelsey, for not making her take him with her. If only he’d been at the cabin sooner, maybe she wouldn’t be laying in a hospital bed, recovering from a surgery for a gunshot wound that had almost taken everything from him. If Richard weren’t already dead, Patrick would’ve been tempted to kill him.

He needed Kelsey. He needed to reassure himself that she was still there. He needed to see her face again, even if she couldn’t respond to him. It had been almost eight hours since they’d arrived at the hospital, and each minute that passed had stretched his sanity a little further.

When there was a commotion in the hallway, he rushed to the door and threw it open. He glanced down the hall and saw a bed, pushed by a tall, burly male orderly, being wheeled toward him. A red-headed nurse led them both, guiding the bed through the hall as she kept an eye on the patient. As they got closer, Patrick’s heart skipped a beat.

It was Kelsey. He stood aside for them to bring her into the room. The orderly frowned at him as he wheeled Kelsey past, but Patrick didn’t care. His heart ached when he saw her lying so still on the bed, and he could only pace at the door as they got her set up in the room, moving her to the bigger bed, moving the IV bags, checking her monitor, and adding a shot of antibiotics. They moved quickly but not quickly enough for him.

When they finally left, Patrick walked to the bed and took Kelsey’s hand. He kissed her forehead and let his lips rest there as he inhaled. He could still smell the faint scent of strawberry and mint mixed with the gel or hairspray from the night before. He slowly sat and didn’t take his eyes off her. She looked pale and tired, as though she’d been through hell, which he supposed was only fitting.

“I love you, Kelsey,” he whispered. “I missed you.”

He would’ve sworn that she’d smiled at him and even if she hadn’t, she’d sighed and settled into the bed a little more. Patrick rested his head beside her and watched her chest rise and fall. Having her there had a calming effect on his nerves, and it wasn’t long before he was asleep beside her.

When she woke, Kelsey heard the muffled sounds of talking. The voices sounded so far away, she wondered if she was dreaming. The smells and sounds were unfamiliar, and she tried to remember where she was and what had happened. There was a dull pain in her left thigh, and something in her right hand was hot and heavy. Her eyes opened sluggishly and she blinked while she tried to focus.

There was a large, white dry-erase board on the wall with a name written on it. Beside it was a clock, showing her it was about six thirty, but she didn’t know whether it was morning or evening. A glance out of the long wall of windows didn’t help; it was gray and rainy outside. A bag of fluid hung to her left, and she followed the tube down her arm and stared at the needle. Slowly, she pulled the sheet back and saw a huge bandage on her thigh. She shuddered when she remembered how it had gotten there.

She looked across her body to her heavy hand. Patrick had her hand nestled in his and was sleeping in the chair beside her bed. He looked unsettled and, as she watched him breathe, she felt tears building again. Her eyelids began to feel heavy as she watched Patrick, and she shifted slightly to settle on the bed. When a groan of pain escaped her, his eyes popped open.

He rose to his feet. “Hey there,” he cooed, running his hand across her forehead. His lips turned up slightly, but Kelsey saw the worry that filled his eyes. “Are you okay? Do you need medication?” Patrick’s brows came together.

Kelsey shook her head and he relaxed a little. “I’m fine,” she replied quietly, her voice dry and hoarse. He wiped her tears away with his thumb and leaned closer to kiss her on the temple. “Where’s Zach?”

“Janelle took him home a couple of hours ago,” he replied.

She nodded slowly and took a long blink. “How is he?”

He stroked her hair and watched his hand as he answered, “He’s got a broken wrist.” Kelsey studied his troubled expression. “It’s not too bad, just a tiny fracture. They put a cast on it and sent him home.” He tried to smile soothingly as she nodded.

She shifted on the bed again and, for a moment, the pain became more obvious. She sharply sucked air in and he tensed beside her.

“I’m calling the nurse,” Patrick said, reaching for the call button.

Kelsey laid her hand over his. “I’m okay,” she reassured him after she was settled and the pain had started to subside. “Patrick, I’m sorry,” she said after another lengthy blink.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” he said calmly.

“Yes, I do,” she sobbed softly, staring into his big brown eyes. “This was all my fault.”

“No, sweetheart.” He laid his head on the rail of the bed and lifted the corner of his mouth, but his eyes remained troubled. “None of this was your fault.”

“But I put you in danger,” she mumbled as her eyelids closed again.

“Darling, I followed you on my own,” Patrick said with a harsh chuckle. He put his arm around her back, and Kelsey felt his warm body against hers as he gently moved her to the side.