SWNOVELS Sinful: Chapter 62
She wasn’t better.
She was still just a shell, lying in my bed with her eyes wide.
Her pretty, lifeless eyes.
I’d fucked into her body when I’d brought her upstairs, weeping over her with each thrust. Begging her to return to me. To us. I needed her like I needed my next breath.
“OK,” I said into the phone later that morning as I spoke to O’Brien. “I’ll be there soon. Sully is off campus?”
“Yes. He left this morning. Atkins is still here.”
“He’s not an issue,” I said, staring at Sirena, who lay like a perfect doll in my bed. I hadn’t slept last night. Mirage had gone back to sleep on the L of the couch while Sin and Bryce curled up on the other side. Ashes and Stitches had sat in my room with me. We’d watched Sirena all night and talked about nothing and everything.
Now, it was time to get her some help since my brand of help wasn’t cutting it.
Gently, we washed and dressed her before Ashes went downstairs and started my Bronco.
“Dante?” Stitches asked after whispering something into her ear I couldn’t hear.
“Yeah?”
“Will you promise she’ll be OK?” The note of fear in his voice made me look at him.
“She’s going to be fine. She has been before. When things are too much, she checks out. She always comes back,” I said thickly. “She always comes back to us.”
He nodded and didn’t say anything. Instead, he followed me downstairs as I lifted her into my arms.
Sin came out of his bedroom wearing different clothes, his hair a mess, and his eyes rimmed in dark circles from having a shitty night of sleep.
“Hey.” He crossed the room quickly and stopped in front of me, his face pinched with worry.
“She’s the same,” I answered. “I’m taking her to O’Brien. We’ll take turns watching over her like before. I’m taking the first watch.”
“OK.” He nodded tightly before brushing his lips across hers. “I love you, siren. I’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll call if anything changes,” I said as Stitches opened the door. The plan was for him to go with me across campus to the facility and drop her and me off before returning home with my Bronco. If anything changed, I’d call the guys to come help me. It was unlikely I’d need help, but we had to stay open to that possibility.
We rode in silence, Stitches driving and me holding Sirena on my lap. When we got inside, the wards were already waiting with a stretcher at the door. They took her to her room, Stitches following us.
“So, no improvement?” O’Brien asked as he stared down at her in the bed. A nurse bustled around setting up an IV. I watched as she inserted the catheter and hooked Sirena up to the bag of fluids.
“No,” I answered.
“She did blink this morning for me,” Stitches said. “I-I asked her if she knew where she was. She blinked once for yes.”
I hated that he was so damn hopeful because if she didn’t come back, he’d be fucking crushed, and we might lose him too. Knowing that made everything that much worse. In fact, I was sick to my stomach over this shit. While I wanted to kill Adam since I thought he was a prick to begin with, I knew my specter needed me right now. Adam’s time would come soon enough.
“Well, let’s keep her here and see what happens. I’ll give her some meds. Make sure she’s got some fluids, and we’ll watch. Dante, watch some TV. Hang out. I’ll make sure there’s food for you. You have a private room here with everything you’ll need. I’ll be in and out. Press the button if you need me or anything. Got it?” O’Brien looked me over.
“Yes,” I said. “And remember, this doesn’t get out to Sully or my father.”
“I’ll do what I can. I only have my trusted ones working with me today. I can’t guarantee anything, though. You know that. This place has people we think are allies when they aren’t.” He looked disgusted as he said the words.
“I’m aware.” My answer came out dry and just as disgusted.
“Malachi, stay out of trouble,” O’Brien warned before leaving us.
“I’ll be fine,” Stitches said, looking at me quickly. “I won’t fuck up.”
“I know you won’t. Too much is riding on all of this. We’ll get it sorted. I promise.” I hugged him to me before releasing him. “Go home. Try to rest. Eat. Shower. Keep Sin in line. Make sure Ashes doesn’t burn the damn house down. He was really twitchy last night.”
“I know.” He let out an exasperated breath. “I’ll make sure Cady doesn’t know either. She’s like gasoline on an already blazing fire.”
“Truth,” I mumbled, putting my focus back on Sirena.
“I love you,” Stitches said to her before kissing her once more. “And I love you, man. Call me. Text me. Please.”
“You know I will,” I said, watching as he went to the door.
He cast one final, heartbreaking look at Sirena before leaving us in silence.
I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze before pressing my lips to her knuckles.
“What movie do you want to watch?” I asked, sliding into bed beside her, the remote in hand. “What was it you liked? Lord of the Rings?”
I found it on a streaming channel and hit play before kissing her temple and setting in completely, my eyes heavy. I prayed she’d be back to normal when I woke up.
Fuck, god, please.