“Theo? Theo!” I let out a choked cry as I shook his shoulder. His body felt unnaturally heavy against me, slumping in my arms as he passed out.
There was so much blood everywhere. It coated my arms, soaked through Theo’s shirt. It gathered on the asphalt under him, slowing growing into a dark pool.
I sensed that a small crowd had gathered around us, but I couldn’t care. I held Theo close, feeling his shallow breaths against my arm. They were too faint. I was terrified that each breath would be his last.
“Theo, wake up,” I whispered hoarsely. “Stay with me.”
My eyes were strangely dry in my panic, and I never took them off Theo’s face. Within seconds he had gone completely ashen. Of all the times, my irrational mind decided now to remind me of the day Theo had fallen asleep in the watchtower. He looked just like that now, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, hair tumbling over his forehead.
I brushed his hair aside with clumsy, stiff fingers.
Should I give him CPR? I didn’t know how to do it, didn’t know if it would worsen his wound. I was completely useless, and the thought that he might never wake frightened me.
“Stay with me,” I begged, not daring to take my eyes off Theo even for a second in case he slipped away. “Please stay, please…”
I clung on to him even after the ambulance arrived, my fingers cramped and unable to let go. The paramedics had to pry my fingers off before they could put him on a stretcher and transfer him to the back of the ambulance.
I clambered on, anxiously staying close behind. An oxygen mask was put over Theo’s face while another medic cut his shirt open.
I let out a cry before I could stifle it.
The wound in his side was not a slit like I had seen in movies. It was an ugly, gaping gash, torn around the edges and seeping blood, so much blood. It seemed to flow in time to the beating of his heart.
“Ma’am, please stay back.”
The medics applied pressure to the wound, reading out numbers from the machines they’d hooked him up to. The numbers made no sense to me, and yet they summed up all the life that was left in Theo.
“Blood pressure severely low. Patient losing large amounts of blood, going into cardiac arrest. Requesting immediate surgery upon arrival.”
I pressed my hands over my mouth to hold in my cries. The tears that had been absent in my shock earlier was now pouring out with everything the medics were saying.
“Prepare the defib.”
“Clear.”
Theo’s torso jerked when they applied the metal paddles to his chest, but he remained unconscious.
“No response, recharge.”
“Clear.”
Theo never moved a muscle. I forced myself to stay out of the medics’ way, praying to every god and deity that we reached the hospital soon.
The last I saw of Theo when we got to the hospital was him being taken through to the operating theatre, the light above the doors turning on as he disappeared through them.
“You can’t go that way, ma’am. Please come with me.”
I followed numbly as a nurse took me into a medical room to check my pupils and temperature.
“Please drink this.”
My hands were shaking so badly I nearly dropped the paper cup they handed me. “Is he going to be okay?”
“We can’t say. Please rest here for now, you’re in shock and in need of sugar. A doctor will be with you in a minute. You may wish to contact your family.”
The nurse thankfully left me alone after that. I focused on my breathing to get my emotions under control before taking my phone and calling the only person in the world I could think of now.
“Allie?” I croaked when the line connected.
“Heya, baby sis, you’re just in time! Ryland and I just got back from the airport.”
Oh god, I had forgotten that they were returning today.
“I brought back so much junk for you,” Allie continued. “There’s a purple pigment paint made from seashells, oils from—”
I choked at the sound of her voice. “Allie, I’m at the hospital.”
“The what? Oh my god, are you okay? Which hospital, we’re on our way.”
“I’m fine. It’s—” Tears filled my eyes again, and I blinked them away. Crying wouldn’t help anyone now. “It’s Theo.”
“Theo Valentine?”
“He’s in surgery now. H-he was stabbed. We were together in town and there was this man—”
“You were with him?” Allie yelled. I heard Ryland’s voice in the background, sounding none too happy about it himself.
“I’m okay,” I pleaded. “I’m not hurt at all, I swear. I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
“You better.” Allie’s voice was unsteady. “And you’ll start with what you were doing with Theo Valentine in the first place.”
After the call, a doctor came and treated the scrapes on my arms, then got me to fill out a form in the waiting area.
“We’ll need the patient’s particulars for administration. Any family or next-of-kin who needs to be informed?”
Estelle wouldn’t leave her safehouse and risk herself. I didn’t even know if she was behind this yet, and aside from her, there was no one else.
“No. He has no family.”
“Then any close friends who can be here?”
Mrs Smith was the only other person I could think of, but she was halfway across the country by now. “N-no. I don’t think so.”
The doctor frowned. “Isn’t there anyone who can sign on his behalf?”
“I’ll do it.” I took the clipboard and filled in as much information about Theo as I could, then signed my name on the form.
Ryland and Allie arrived soon after that. My sister’s hand flew to her mouth when she saw me.
“Oh my god, you’re bleeding!” She stared in horror at my bandages. “Oh my god. Oh god!”
I had never seen my sister in such a panic before, and I hastened to reassure her. “I scraped my hands on the asphalt, that’s all.”
Allie pulled me into a gingerly hug, brushing her hands down my body. “You sure you’re okay? There’s so much blood on you.”
I swallowed. “It’s Theo’s, none of mine.”
Ryland looked just as on edge as Allie. “What exactly happened here?”
I reached into my pocket, producing the flash drive that Theo had given me that morning. Our disagreements over it all seemed so petty now that he was lying in the surgery room with no sign of gaining consciousness.
“Estelle's confession is right here, from start to finish.” I swallowed. “And that’s not all. She’s still here in New York, and Theo gave me her location too.”
Ryland took the flash drive with a look of disbelief, while Allie went still as a statue. Instead of looking relieved, her face went white, which meant that she was really upset. “K, you agreed you wouldn’t be involved in this!”
“I’ll handle matters with the police,” Ryland muttered. “Cam and Gabriel will be here soon. You two talk in the meantime.”
“I can explain.” I grabbed Allie’s hand, desperate for some comfort. “Theo isn’t what you think he is. He protected me earlier when…” I drew a deep breath when my voice broke, before trying again. “We were out together, and this man came from nowhere with a knife. He stabbed Theo before turning on me, but Theo held on to him.”
“I told you to stay away from him!” Allie’s eyes were stark. “Theo has nothing but enemies, and now he’s dragged you into his mess!”
I swiped my tears away impatiently. “It’s not so simple, Allie. He regrets everything. He wants to make amends.”
“Because he’s tried everything else! K, he’s the son of our father's murderer!”
“He’s also lying in that operating theatre after he protected me, so please don’t say that about him. Not when he’s in there.” My nose stung. “Allie, he refused to let go of the man even for a second. He held onto that knife like it was his last mission to keep me safe, and now I don’t even know if...if he’s…”
Allie was stunned. “You’re in love with him.”
“I’m sorry.” I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. “I’m so freaking sorry…”
There was a long silence, then Allie cursed and pulled me to her. I cried harder into her shoulder, letting all my fear out.
“Only you could love a guy like that,” she muttered, patting my head like she used to when we were kids. “I’ll hold myself back for now, but only until he’s out. Then all bets are off.”
I waited outside the operating room all through the night. Allie brought me clothes to change into, food to eat. Ryland handled the police, and Cam and Gabriel took turns to stay in vigil with me.
I went through the motions like a zombie, my mind unable to process anything that wasn’t Theo. I tried to recall memories of our times together to bolster myself, but it only made it worse. If Theo didn’t make it, I didn’t know what I would do. I’d wasted so much time with him—ten years of misunderstandings and grudges when we could have had so much more.
He would live. He had to.
It was almost eight hours later when the light above the surgery room turned off and the doctor emerged.
All of us sprang to our feet despite being exhausted to the bone. I hadn’t expected Cam or Gabriel to care, but they looked as disquieted as Ryland as we waited to hear what the doctor had to say.
“The patient’s condition is stable for now.”
A ragged sob escaped me. Allie caught me as my legs buckled, and Ryland supported my other arm.
“That said, he’s not completely out of danger yet. He’ll be kept under scrutiny in the critical care unit under sedation. You may visit during hours, but one at a time only and in intervals. It’s the crucial period for his recuperation, and we’ll keep monitoring his progress.”
The doctor's words dampened my initial relief. I had wanted to know that Theo was definitely alright.
Allie put her arms around me and squeezed, guessing what was on my mind.
“He’ll be fine,” she whispered. “Bad guys like him don't die that easily. That’s just how unfair the world is.”