Tyler (Blue Halo Book 6)

Tyler’s fists clenched as he walked the length of the waiting room. He checked on Emerson for what had to be the hundredth time. She was sitting with the women, watching the hall, waiting for a doctor or nurse to come talk to them.

Agony. It was all over her face.

A nurse passed, and Emerson straightened, but when the nurse didn’t stop, her shoulders dropped.

What took place tonight shouldn’t have happened. Any of it. An innocent woman shouldn’t have had a gun pressed to her head. That scumbag shouldn’t have shot Levi when he’d been about to lower his weapon. Hell, he could have missed and shot the woman!

The guy was in police custody now. Everyone had given their version of events, and Tyler could only hope the man paid for his stupid decision.

Jason entered the doors of the hospital. He’d just stepped out to call his sister, Sage. She was a doctor. Her partner, Mason, was like them, as were all his friends. She’d been that team’s doctor for years, and she knew their altered DNA. If anyone could help Levi, it was her. Problem was, she lived in Marble Falls, Texas.

His friend stopped beside him. “Spoke to Sage. She and Mason already booked a flight and will be here early in the morning.”

He gave a small nod. It was something.

Callum was the next to come through the door—and he didn’t look happy.

“How’s Fiona?” Logan asked before Tyler could.

Callum ran a hand through his hair. “Shaken, but all right. I wanted to stay with her, but she insisted she was okay and that I should go.”

He seemed frustrated by that.

“I’m sorry, Cal,” Tyler said quietly.

“We’re seriously lucky she didn’t get hurt.”

He wasn’t wrong. Between the gun pressed to her skull and the bullet that had hit Levi, they were damn close calls.

Callum’s jaw tightened. “At least we have Levi. No one else will be hurt.”

Liam blew out a breath. “There were demons in his eyes. That guy’s as unstable as they come.”

Tyler’s attention returned to Emerson. Deep, dark circles shadowed her eyes. He moved across the room and crouched in front of her. “Hey. How are you doing?”

“No news is good news, right?”

He swiped some hair from her face. “Right. Do you need anything?”

She shook her head, her gaze sweeping across the waiting area. “People should go home, though. I feel bad having everyone here.”

“Honey, we’ll stay as long as you’re here,” Courtney said gently from beside her.

Emerson’s eyes softened.

“Family for Levi Campbell?”

Emerson shot to her feet, and Tyler followed her as she moved over to the elderly doctor in a white surgical coat.

“I’m his sister. Is he okay?”

“For now, yes.”

The air whooshed out of Emerson, and she leaned against Tyler heavily. He held her close.

“Fortunately, because of the velocity of the lower-caliber bullet and the fact it traveled along the left side of his brain, he’s alive. If it had passed through the center or even a centimeter or two over, it would have been much worse, likely fatal.”

Tyler’s grip on her tightened. Luckily, the asshole in the bar hadn’t been able to shoot worth a damn.

“Thank God,” she breathed.

“Similarly, if the bullet had hit any deep structures, like the brain stem or the thalamus, he probably wouldn’t be with us. They control breathing and heartbeat. The bullet also missed the major blood vessels that bring oxygen to areas of the brain where it’s needed.”

“So he’ll be okay?” She sounded unsure, like she was scared to ask.

“The prognosis is good. The swelling is usually worse around day three, although with his altered DNA, he may heal faster. We just don’t know how fast. Regardless, when it goes down, we’ll be able to perform surgery to remove the damaged bone in his skull. A gunshot wound can also bring bacteria, so we’ll want to be certain there are no infections before we install any plates.”

It sounded like her brother was pretty damn lucky.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “Can I see him?”

Tyler’s gut coiled. He wanted her to see her brother, but the man was still dangerous, bullet to the head or not.

“You can. He’s on some medication so he can rest before surgery, and so that he doesn’t…” He cleared his throat. “Doesn’t escape. Police have also cuffed him to the bed.”

Handcuffs wouldn’t stop him. Unless they’d been specially made for his kind.

She gave a quick nod. “I understand.”

“Usually, it’s family only, but—”

“I’m her protection,” Tyler interrupted. He was more than that. But he’d say whatever he had to say to remain with her.

The doctor nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

The doctor led them down the hall before stopping in front of a door where Blake and a couple of local police officers stood. His friend dipped his head as they passed.

Emerson stopped just inside the room. Her sharp inhale was loud. For a moment, she was still. He didn’t push her to move closer. Instead, he stood quietly, hand on her back. A gentle reminder that he was here.

Eventually, she stepped forward, slowly drawing closer to her stepbrother. When she stopped beside him, she took hold of his hand. Levi had a bandage around his head and an IV in his hand, but other than that, he looked exactly the same.

“He was going to lower the gun,” she whispered. “I saw it in his eyes. He trusted me to help him. If that guy had just waited another second…”

“I know, honey.” He pressed a kiss to her head.

“But I don’t know if he would have shot her before that. I want to believe it was just for show. Just a means to get me out of there. But the truth is…I don’t know who he is anymore.”

“He’ll wake up and we’ll find out.”

“But what if he’s beyond redemption? Beyond saving?”

She knew the answer to that. But she didn’t want to hear it. “We’ll tackle that when we get there. And I’ll be with you the entire time.”

She gave a slow nod, then leaned back into him, all the while never releasing Levi’s hand.

Emerson let tears fall onto Levi’s chest. Endless tears that fell like a waterfall from her hollowed eyes. There were so many wires attached to his body. So much bruising on his skin.

Because of her.

He was here, hurt, because of her. Because of what her father had done to him for protecting her.

She should be in this bed.

A sob released from her chest, and a new wave of tears fell. Desolation drowned her. She’d thought her father’s fists and that closet he shoved her into were the worst things in the world. They weren’t. This was. Watching another person suffer in her place.

Pain, she’d learned to deal with. Guilt, she had no idea how to navigate.

A hand touched her back. A small, warm hand. One she’d grown to know well over the last couple months. Only this time, she didn’t want to look up. Because the woman would hate her now. How could she not?

“Darling.” That voice…that soft, sweet voice. “Please. Will you look at me?”

Three more seconds. Three more breaths. Then, finally, she turned her head. Pixie’s eyes were red rimmed, but there were no tears. Maybe she’d reached her quota and had no more to shed. Emerson was starting to believe she had no quota. That her tears were endless, like a river of guilt that just kept on flowing.

She opened her mouth to apologize. To tell the woman how awful she felt. But just like every other time she’d tried to speak in the last twenty-four hours, her voice never made it to air. So instead, a fresh wave of tears flooded her eyes.

Pixie didn’t hesitate. She tugged her into her chest.

Emerson should pull away. She didn’t deserve the affection. But she couldn’t. Pixie was safety. She had been from the moment they met. Her softness. Her smell of peaches and sunflowers. And Emerson so desperately needed safety right now.

Pixie held her so tightly, and it was like the little pieces that had cracked and separated in Emerson were trying to slot back together.

“This is not your fault,” Pixie said forcefully.

Wasn’t it? Levi was here, unconscious, hurting, because he’d stepped in front of her father to protect her.

Like the woman had heard her thoughts, she pulled back and the softness disappeared from her features. “It’s not.” She said the words so vehemently that everything inside Emerson wanted to believe it. “I’m guessing that wasn’t the first time your father hurt you. I wish you’d told me. But that doesn’t make this your fault. It makes it his.”

She tucked some hair behind Emerson’s ear. The touch so soft, so gentle, Emerson wanted to lean into it.

“My son loves you,” she continued quietly. “You’re a true sister to him, just like you’re a daughter to me. I taught him that we protect the people we love. And if he was hurt protecting you, then even if I’m devastated that he was injured, I am so proud of his bravery.”

A fresh wave of tears coursed down Emerson’s cheeks.

“I love you too,” Pixie said softly. “And just like my son, I will do everything in my power to protect you.”

No one had loved her before. It felt as unfamiliar to her as Levi’s protection.

She dug her head into the woman’s chest and let her arms become a sanctuary.

Her eyes flashed open, the hazy glow from the salt lamp the only light in the room.

For a moment, she just breathed, a familiar ache at the memory of her stepmother filling her chest. The first woman to ever show her love. And she’d kept her word. God, she and Levi had done nothing but care for Emerson and protect her for years after that. The second her father had died, Pixie had adopted her, always treating her like she was her own.

Her words flashed back into her head.

We protect the people we love.

Yet, she hadn’t been able to protect Levi.

She turned her head, tracing Tyler’s features with her eyes. He lay on his side, his arm curved around her torso as he slept.

God, he was beautiful. How the world had deemed her deserving of a man like him, she had no idea. But she wasn’t letting go. She was holding onto him with both hands.

Her hand twitched to reach out. Touch him. Stroke his cheek. But she didn’t. They’d spent so long at the hospital, he deserved sleep. It was early enough that the sun wasn’t up yet, but she wouldn’t be getting any more rest.

A small light flashed through the room. She dragged her gaze from Tyler and turned to grab her phone from the bedside table.

Rowan.

Hey, I’m so sorry about the other day. I can’t leave knowing you’re upset with me, especially after hearing about what happened at that bar. Can we go for a coffee? Chat?

She huffed out a long breath. She didn’t feel like talking to him, but at the same time, they’d been friends for so long, and it would be good to at least clear the air before he left. Not today, but she’d find out when he was leaving and try to see him before then.

She went to slip out of bed, but the arm around her waist tightened, keeping her firmly in place.

“Where are you going?”

Wait…why didn’t he sound sleepy? “When did you wake up?”

His eyes opened, and there, in the dim glow of the light he kept on for her, were those beautiful blues. Blue eyes that looked wide awake. “When you did.”

Oh, the little phony. “Why didn’t you open your eyes?”

“Because I like holding you.” He swiped his thumb over her bare midsection. “And if you stayed where you were, why would I stop?”

Well, she liked him holding her, too.

“Something wake you up?” he asked gently.

She swallowed at the memory. “I just had a dream about the day Levi was in the hospital and Pixie came and talked to me.”

“Will you tell me about her?”

She smiled. A genuine smile that seeped inside her and lifted her spirits. “Pixie was the most beautiful soul I’ve ever met. She was the kind of person who just does the right thing because it’s what you should do. She used to make pancakes on the weekends and crank music so the three of us could dance around the kitchen. And she always said ‘I love you’ when she said goodbye. She said life’s too unpredictable not to.”

“She sounds like good person.”

“The best.” She traced her finger over Tyler’s chest. “I was so sure she’d hate me after what my father did to Levi, but she didn’t. Instead, she helped me heal and made me feel like I was hers.”

Tyler pushed up onto his elbows. “She’d be proud of you.”

Her brows twitched. “No. I haven’t—”

“You have. You’ve done everything in your power to bring him to safety. You’ve sacrificed and maintained an unwavering loyalty to him.” His voice lowered. “If she was here, she’d tell you the same thing. That this isn’t your fault. That she loves you. And she’s glad you’re watching over him.”

“Even if he doesn’t deserve it?” She’d meant for those words to be a whisper in her head, but they slipped into existence.

“One thing at a time, Amber Eyes.”

God…this man.

She looked at his lips, but he moved first, dropping his head and sealing his mouth to hers.