Total pages in book: 150
Estimated words: 136791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Fuck. No wonder my girl likes this chick. She's kind of a badass. And she's right.
January isn't dying. I'm not fucking letting her die. She needs me, and I'm not letting her go. Not today. Not any day.
"Agent Kincaid?" a doctor says what feels like another four damn years later, stepping into the waiting room wearing a paper cap and booties. He's older, with weary lines etched into his ebony skin. His expression is severe, his eyes giving nothing away as they scan over the room.
I jump to my feet and pace toward him with Mariah and Roman hot on my heels. The rest of the room falls silent. I don't even know half the people here. They're cops and federal agents, neighbors, and January's coworkers…all here just so we don't have to go through this waking nightmare alone. They just keep showing up.
I'm humbled and a little taken aback by that…by the fact that people we don't even know are here to lend their support anyway.
"Miss James suffered a single gunshot wound to her abdomen," the doctor—Dr. Becker, like the fucking TV show—says when I step up in front of him. "She lost a lot of blood."
Mariah grabs my hand, her nails digging into my skin as she clings to me.
"Is she-?" I can't even ask if my girl is dead. The word refuses to form.
"She's alive," he says.
A murmur goes through the room as thirty different people all sigh in relief and send up quiet prayers of thanks. My legs tremble beneath me, but I stand firm as relief slams into me, loosening the vise around my heart.
"The bullet punctured her kidney," he says, holding my gaze. His voice is firm, though he talks softly. "We were able to block the arteries in the kidney that were impacted through a procedure called embolization. The damage to the adrenal gland on that side was extensive. We had to remove it."
"Is she going to be okay?" Mariah asks.
His gaze shifts to her before moving back to me. He gives it to me straight, no bullshit. "It's too early to tell. We were able to get the bleeding stopped, but she's in critical condition," he says. "Her vitals aren't where we'd like them to be, but if we can get her through the next few hours, I think she'll be okay."
Mariah's nails dig deeper into my hand. The small pain keeps me focused when all I want to do is put my fist through the wall. She's alive, but he's not sure if they can keep her that way. It's not enough.
"Do whatever you have to do to save her life," I demand, my voice a rough rasp.
Dr. Becker nods once. "We'll keep her under sedation for now. We've got her on a ventilator to allow her body time to heal. She's trying to take breaths over it, which is a good sign. But we'll know more as the night progresses."
"I…thank you," I whisper, pushing a hand through my hair like it'll give me comfort. It doesn't, though, because it's not January's hand brushing through my hair like my mom and Ma Lucia used to do when I was a kid. When she does that shit to me, I feel like I'm home and everything is right in my world. Right now, it's far from right. It will be, though. I'm not letting her die.
"Can I see her?" I ask, hoping like hell he doesn't tell me no. I need to lay eyes on her, even if only for a minute. I need to see for myself that she's breathing. Maybe that'll erase the memory of her lifeless body in my arms as the paramedics took her from me.
"She's in recovery right now. As soon as we have her situated in the ICU, someone will be out to let you see her." His gaze sweeps around the room, taking in the number of cops sitting in the small waiting room. "Ordinarily, we only allow immediate family back there, but I understand Miss James doesn't have any immediate family."
"I'm her family," I practically growl at him. There's no way in hell they're keeping me out of that room. "That girl is my entire fucking world. I'm going to see her. Mariah is, too."
"I understand." His stoic expression doesn't waver despite the anger and aggression I know are rolling off me in waves. "We'll let the two of you back to see her, one at a time. Once she's more stable, we'll evaluate whether additional visitors will be allowed."
"Thank you."
"I'll be keeping a close eye on her, Agent Kincaid," he says, his expression softening incrementally. "I promise you, we'll do everything we can for her."
I jerk my chin in a nod and then shake his hand.
"She's going to be okay," Mariah whispers.
She has to be. There isn't another option.