by Christi Snow
“As far as I know, yes,” Austin intoned. “Why? What’s going on?”
“I just got a news alert on my computer. Austin, maybe you should sit down.” Prescott looked worried and sad.
Prescott ran a hand through his hair and took a shaky breath. Something big was wrong. Austin’s blood turned to ice. “Tell me,” he whispered. “What’s happened?”
Prescott visibly swallowed. “They’re reporting that a small plane carrying Daniel and Brady Gresham just crashed into the ocean. I knew Ms. Hodges married Brady Gresham...”
Whatever else Prescott said turned to white noise to Austin. He couldn’t hear anything outside the blood and panic swooshing through his bloodstream. Daniel had been in a plane crash. He might be dead.
And oh god, Emily planned on reconciling with Brady while she was in town. She’d be devastated.
“Do they know if there were any survivors yet?”
“No. I don’t know. It was a breaking news report. I’m not even sure if they’ve located the wreckage yet.”
Austin nodded and stood on shaky legs. “Okay. I have to let Emily know before she hears it from someone else.” Good, his voice sounded strong and resolute. He had to keep himself together for her sake. She needed someone who could be there for her. Austin just hoped he was up for the job, because if Daniel were dead...
No, he couldn’t even consider that.
AUSTIN TRIED TO QUAIL the shaking in his hands. No one knew about his tie to Daniel. He sat in the hospital waiting room as Emily’s family. As far as they knew, he was here for her.
Emily was Brady’s ex-wife, but the whole family knew her and accepted her presence here. They may not understand the circumstances of the odd marital status between her and Brady but on the surface she was part of the family, at least according to Lily, Brady’s mom.
That worked for Austin because it meant he got to stay right by her side, offering her comfort, even when he would like some comfort of his own.
And reassurances.
Those were in very short supply right now.
The Coast Guard had fished the two cousins out of the ocean, but they’d been in the frigid water for upwards of thirty minutes. No one knew anything about their condition or odds of survival.
Austin was realistic enough to realize that things looked grim. They were just all waiting now for some word, some hope.
Emily clutched his hand, but when she met a man’s gaze across the room, she stiffened. “I’ll be right back,” she said.
He nodded and watched the two exchange words. The man looked like Austin felt, completely shattered, and in that moment he felt a deep affinity to him, although he didn’t know who the stranger was.
A huge guy, with long muscular thighs spread out in front of him. He looked like a bodyguard, a gorgeous one with his dark hair and Italian coloring. But his expression emoted his devastation, more so than most of the family in the room. This was someone who was extremely close to one of the Gresham men, and he didn’t have the same hope that everyone else clung to.
As Austin covertly watched Emily and the man converse, he began to form a theory.
But then two doctors walked into the waiting room. “Daniel and Brady Gresham?”
Everyone in the room stood.
The older doctor cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I know the men are related, but I’m not clear on how.”
The man who’d been introduced as Brady’s father stepped forward. “They’re cousins. We’re Brady’s parents and...”—he motioned to Daniel’s parents who looked equally frantic—“this is my brother and his wife. They’re Daniel’s parents.”
“Okay.” The doctor blew out a breath and glanced worriedly around the room. “Would you rather have this discussion in private? Or—”
“No,” Brady’s dad said. “We’re all family here. You can tell us all at the same time. How are they?”
The doctor nodded and looked even more grim.
Austin tried to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Please don’t let either of them be dead.
“As you know, the water they were in was freezing. As a result, both men came in experiencing full cardiac arrest.”
Gasps rang through the room.
Austin wasn’t sure his legs would support him. He didn’t know how Emily remained standing. He checked her. She looked pale and terrified, but otherwise was holding strong.
“Normally, that’s a good thing when dealing with hypothermia,” the doctor said. “It’s the body’s way of dealing with the trauma and protecting organ function. Unfortunately, they’d also been in a plane crash, so the hypothermia wasn’t all that their bodies were trying to survive. Daniel withstood more initial injuries from the plane crash than Brady did. The plane crash resulted in partial amputation of both his legs. They’re prepping him for surgery right now.”
“Oh, no,” Daniel’s mother whispered.
“The blood loss combined with the head trauma and cold means Daniel’s body has had to work harder to compensate and try to recover from all the trauma. He’s dropped into a coma. It’s too early to tell if and when he’ll wake up and what his cognitive condition will be when that happens. We’re doing what we can to stabilize him in the meantime.”
Austin saw Emily grab hold of the hand of the man she’d gone to talk to and she clung to him. Both of them looked devastated.
Daniel’s mother devolved into sobs.
Austin could see both Emily and the man beside her were in shock over the devastating news. He needed to offer comfort to her. Austin joined her on the other side and took her other hand.
“Right now, Brady is holding his own,” the doctor continued. “We’re slowly bringing up his core body temperature, and he’s showing signs of awareness. This is a very gradual process, and it’s way too early to predict how his recovery will go. We should know more in a few hours.
“Both men need all your positive thoughts and prayers. The next twenty-four hours will be the most critical.” He nodded toward the hall. “They’ll both be in ICU, which has very limited visiting restrictions. We can only allow two visitors once they’re in their rooms. For Brady, that should be within the next thirty minutes. We’ll let you know about Daniel after he comes out of surgery.” The doctor turned to Brady’s parents. “As the parents, you get first dibs. Would you like to come with me and I’ll show you the ICU procedures?”
They nodded and followed the doctor out of the room.
The man beside Emily turned to her. “I have to get out of here,” he said, his voice sounding choked.
She reached up and pulled him down into a tight hug. “He’s still alive. That’s all that matters now,” she whispered loud enough that Austin could hear.
The man nodded and rushed off.
“Who was that?” Austin frowned as the man fled the room.
“Brady’s bodyguard and friend, Luke Jacobson, but I think he and Daniel were involved at some point in time. I’m pretty sure Luke’s in love with Daniel.”
Austin tensed. He’d been right. That was the elusive Luke, and from what Austin had just witnessed, the man reciprocated Daniel’s same deep emotions. How did something so deep and real end up with them apart?
And now Daniel’s life—if he lived—had just been irrevocably changed. Would Daniel and Luke ever have a chance at a life together? The outlook seemed so bleak.
Austin’s heart hurt. Would the vital, energetic man he’d met just a few weeks ago ever be the same again?
Both legs. Shit.
Austin’s throat tightened at the depth of that kind of loss. It was fucking unfair and despite all his money and power, he couldn’t do anything but wait and pray that Daniel would recover.
LUKE
Luke squinted down at the text from Emily, trying to get the words to come into focus, as they swam through the alcohol numbing his brain.
Brady’s worried about you. Please call or come by the hospital.
Brady was still in the hospital while the
doctors ran tests to make sure he’d fully recovered all of his cardiovascular and neurological function. While still really banged up and slow to move, overall, he appeared to be in good shape. Emily had been texting regular updates to Luke about both Brady and Daniel.
Daniel. Even thinking his name made Luke’s chest ache.
The incredible, vivacious man wasn’t recovering.
It was day three of Daniel’s coma and with every day that passed, the doctors seemed less convinced that Daniel would ever wake up. His brain activity appeared to be slowing.
A life without Daniel?
Oh, god. He couldn’t breathe. It had been almost impossible from that moment on the highway when he’d felt the plane crash, even if he hadn’t realized that was what it was at the time.
Luke couldn’t even fathom living in a world without Daniel in it and refused to do so.
At this point, his goal was to stay just on the edge of drunk until he got the news. If it got worse—which seemed inevitable at this point—he’d go home and end it all.
He didn’t want to get so drunk that he’d fuck up his eventual suicide, but he also couldn’t deal with the reality that Daniel’s life was slowly slipping away while completely sober. He couldn’t give up the tiny sliver of hope that Daniel might somehow pull off a miracle.
So, he stayed here in this dingy bar and drank and tried to ignore the rest of the world. Something Emily really didn’t want to let him do.
His phone dinged with another incoming text. He may get to come home tomorrow, and he has some news. Please come by. At least tell me you’re okay.
Luke couldn’t completely ignore Emily’s pleas. She was good people and perfect for Brady, although he hadn’t seen it at first. If those two could sort through these first few months of the crazy start of their relationship, he knew they’d make it for the next fifty years.
I’m here, he texted back. Any news on Daniel?
He both needed to know and didn’t want to hear the news that would be the death knell on the only man he’d ever loved.
A man he’d loved and spurned.
God, he’d been such an idiot.
In more ways than one.
Yes, Daniel had fucked up, and that was hard to forgive, but that seemed so minor compared to losing him now.
He should have at least spoken to him before this.
If he hadn’t been such a coward and unwilling to face Daniel, none of them would even be in this place. He hadn’t wanted to go to Florida because it was such torture to be around Daniel, so he’d accepted the time off when Brady offered him more time to let him recover from his illness.
If Luke had gone along with Brady, they would have been on a bigger plane, less likely to crash into the ocean.
Daniel lay in the hospital dying right now because Luke had been too scared to face him, so he had entrusted Brady into Daniel’s security teams.
The plane crash was his fault.
He threw back the rest of his drink and lifted his empty glass to the bartender.
The bartender came over carrying the bottle just as Luke’s text notification chimed again. “Why don’t you go home and talk things over with your girl rather than sit here and drink yourself to death?” The bartender had tried to engage Luke when he first sat down, but Luke’s grunting answers had dissuaded him from trying more until now.
“There’s no girl,” Luke slurred out. “Just a guy who’s dying.”
The bartender paled and topped off Luke’s glass. “Sorry, man. That bites. This one’s on me.”
Glancing down at the text from Emily, he dreaded reading what it said, but he had to know.
No change. Family discussing organ donation.
Luke choked, desperately swallowing down the nausea. For a minute he was sure he would puke right here on top of the bar.
They were discussing Daniel like he’d already died. Oh, fuck.
When he was sure he could hold it down, Luke flung the drink to the back of his throat without even tasting it. He wasn’t here for the enjoyment of the liquid.
God, how could his heart still beat when it hurt this much?
His text chimed again.
Brady could really use the support of his friends right now. He’s worried about you.
Guilt swamped Luke, but it still wasn’t enough to budge him from this seat. Not until he heard. He desperately wanted to go to Daniel to see him one more time, but he didn’t get that luxury now. He’d turned Daniel away when he had the chance. And life had proven to him over and over that there were no second chances.
He’d sit here and drink through his misery until he heard that Daniel had breathed his last breath and then Luke would take his own.
He just had one more thing he had to take care of because he loved Brady too much to leave him like that. But Brady had Emily now. He’d be okay, eventually.
“Hey,” Luke squinted at the bartender’s nametag, “Marshall, do you have a piece of paper I could use?”
The bartender gave him a look of confusion, before he nodded and turned to the computer at the other end of the bar. He came back with a blank piece of computer paper and a pen.
“Thanks,” Luke said as he mentally added a huge tip for the guy.
Then he put the pen to the page.
Dear Brady, By the time you read this, I’ll be gone, and that’s the way it has to be. I can’t go on without Daniel. I was stupid when he was alive and now it’s too late...
AUSTIN
Austin leaned up against the wall just around the corner from Daniel’s private ICU room. Because of their family wealth and notoriety, the Gresham family had tight security and a private wing of the hospital for Brady and Daniel with a specialized medical team. But family and security had cleared him to be here because of his tie to Emily.
And yeah, Austin definitely wanted to support her. He brought her clothes and toiletries and kept her fed as well as maintaining a steady stream of full coffee cups in her hand. So far, she hadn’t stepped outside the hospital doors since they had brought in Brady and he doubted that wouldn’t change until Brady went home.
But he wasn’t just there to support Emily.
No one knew he’d been using his security clearance to visit Daniel’s room for a couple of days now.
He’d heard what the doctors were saying about Daniel’s condition, and couldn’t accept that.
No. There was no way that the vivacious, in-charge man he’d met just a few weeks ago would give up like that, no matter how bad the odds were against him. He had more life to him than that.
So, when his family left Daniel alone, Austin took over his bedside vigil.
Daniel’s parents spent an hour late every afternoon consulting with his medical team, searching for any treatment they hadn’t tried yet.
As they walked past Austin today, Daniel’s mother, Stephanie, openly wept. His chest clenched at what that might mean.
After they disappeared around the corner, Austin squared his shoulders and steeled himself for seeing Daniel again. He slid into the hospital room.
His throat tightened when he saw Daniel. No matter how much time he spent in here, it was a shock every time he got his first glimpse of the ailing young man lying so pale and still in the hospital bed. He had a livid purple and green bruise that discolored one whole side of his forehead with black stitches in the center. If it weren’t for the monitors telling them otherwise, Austin would think the man could already be dead. Austin avoided looking down at Daniel’s missing legs.
Right now that didn’t matter. Daniel had to wake up first, and then he’d learn how to deal with the rest of it.
Austin sat down beside him and lifted his hand, threading Daniel’s fingers through his own. How could he feel so warm, but look so close to death?
“Daniel, I know you have to wonder why I keep coming in here. Fuck, you barely know me, but I can’t forget you and I can’t...” Austin had to look away and swallow as his voice cracked. “I can’t let you go. I k
now it makes little sense, but I feel like I need to be here. You need someone to tell you that you need to wake up. Your family needs you. Hell, Luke needs you.”
Austin closed his eyes as he remembered the devastation in the other man’s eyes. “I know it probably hurts you that he’s not here. Emily has been talking to him. He asks about your condition at least once an hour. I saw him when he didn’t know whether you were alive or dead, although I didn’t know who he was then. He looked like he wanted to die. I’m worried about him, Daniel. If you die, I’m not sure he’ll survive it. You need to come back to us. Come back to Luke. He needs you.”
Austin gulped in a breath trying to control the devastated emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He didn’t know Luke at all and barely knew Daniel, but somehow knew the love between them was the purest kind out there. The kind that everyone else hoped and dreamed about. He’d seen it in both their eyes. The idea that they wouldn’t get that fairy tale, Disney-esque ending hurt him on a physical level.
He needed to believe that they could overcome the odds and that love would win. Because if it didn’t, then what really was the point?
“Luke loves you, and Daniel, I know you love Luke. Come back for him.”
An alarm started blaring.
Austin’s gaze caught on one machine flashing red.
His heart rate took off in panic.
No. Daniel could not be dying. No!
Austin stood and scrambled out of the way as the medical personnel rushed into the room and surrounded Daniel. He couldn’t see Daniel anymore and didn’t understand what was happening except that it seemed bad.
A nurse noticed him standing in the corner. “You need to leave,” she instructed. He didn’t want to go. Where was Daniel’s family? He should have someone with him if he was dying.
But when the nurse shot him another warning glare, he slunk out of the room. Oh god. His legs shook. He didn’t know where to go.
Just then, Daniel’s parents and brother rushed down the hall. They too were barred from the room. They didn’t notice him lurking nearby because they were too focused on what was happening behind the closed door to that room.
