All That He Loves (Volume 2 The Billionaires Seduction) (37 page)

“I need to go in,” Johnny protested.

“Absolutely not.”

“There was an assassination attempt on his life,” Johnny snapped. “They could come back for a second try. And I think you want me to be there if they do.”

The doctor paused and seemed to think that over. “Alright, but you
stay out of the way.
And the rest of you, stay out here,” the doctor ordered.

Then he, Johnny, the nurses, and the EMTs wheeled the gurney beyond the sliding doors.

The last thing I saw was Connor’s hand held up in the air, weakly waving goodbye.

Sebastian and I stood there and watched him disappear, afraid it might be the last time we ever saw him alive.

It was the longest two hours of my life.

Sebastian talked to somebody. Once it was clear who their mystery patient was, they had us wait in a private lounge on the second floor. We drank bad coffee out of a vending machine, ate candy bars, and listened to police sirens go by in the night.

We didn’t talk continuously – we were too worried for that – but occasionally Sebastian or I would start a little fragment of a conversation.

“Did the plan work?” he asked at one point.

I looked over at him, jarred out of an anxiety-ridden daydream. “What?”

“Did the plan work?” he repeated. He looked at me, then made a rolling motion with his hand like
Keep up, Lily.
“The makeup, the hair, the seduction – ”

“Oh. Yeah… he… he was going to…”

I tried to keep it together, but as I remembered our last moment together at the elevator, I broke down into tears.

Sebastian let me cry for a minute and get myself back together before spoke again.

“I heard what he said before they took him into the ER.”

I looked at him blankly.

“The part about him getting his girlfriend back,” he said in a tone of voice that let me know he was annoyed with my being so slow.

“Oh. Yeah.” For the first time in an hour, a smile bloomed on my face.

Sebastian stretched out his 6-foot-5 frame in his hospital lounge chair, put his hands behind his head, and beamed a self-satisfied smile. “I’m so very,
very
good.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Connor just got shot… he’s possibly being operated on… and you’re congratulating yourself on the execution of your plan?”

Sebastian waved me off with one hand and a
Pfft
expression. “He’ll be fine. Besides, you could say that I gave him something to live for.”

“
You
gave him something to live for?!”

“Well, you played a
small
part, but…” He looked over at me, then rolled his eyes. “It’s called comic relief, Lily. Laugh so you don’t cry.”

“Oh…” I said, somewhat mollified.

He paused for effect.

“Although, you have to admit… I’m good.”

“I’ll admit that you’re an ass sometimes.”

“Well… that, too. Part of the job description.”

We exchanged a brief smile, then went back to sitting in silence, drinking the vending machine coffee, and waiting our way through the never-ending seconds as they clicked by, one by one.

At last a doctor walked through the lounge door. He was a Middle-Eastern-looking man dressed in pale blue doctor’s scrubs and glasses.

“Hello, my name is Dr. Sarpara,” he said with an incongruously flat, Midwestern accent. “Are you the people who came in with Mr. Connor Templeton?”

Sebastian and I both leapt up from our seats at the same time.

“Yes – is he okay?” I asked tearfully.

“How is he?” Sebastian asked at the same time.

“He’s fine,” Dr. Sarpara said. “He was shot twice in the lower left region of his back, but the bulletproof vest stopped the projectiles. However, it’s not like in the movies where the hero just rips off the vest and walks away. Even though the vest blunted the impact and helped distribute the force, it was basically like he got hit with a sledgehammer. We did x-rays, and he has fractures in the left floating ribs – those are the lowest two ribs, the ones that are only attached to the spinal column – plus a fracture in the left 10th rib, which is the bottommost rib in the ribcage. We were initially worried about internal bleeding or a ruptured spleen, but so far there’s no indication of that. We did a CAT scan, but we didn’t find anything alarming. There doesn’t seem to be anything other than a large hematoma – basically, a bruise – in the underlying tissues. He apparently struck his head in the fall, which caused him to lose unconsciousnees and gave him a mild concussion. We’re going to be monitoring him the next couple of days for possible damage to the kidney, and we’ll continue to watch for internal bleeding, but so far he looks good.”

“Thank God,” I whispered and started crying out of relief.

Sebastian put an arm around me, and I hugged him back.

“Is he going to be alright?” Sebastian asked. “Any long-term problems?”

“He’s in a great deal of pain – after all, the fractured ribs move any time he breathes – but we’ve got him on heavy pain medication. It’ll take about six to eight weeks for him to heal fully. Barring any complications with the kidney and nerve tissues, he should be back to normal after two months.”

“Can we see him?” I asked.

“Are you family?”

Sebastian spoke first. “I’m Mr. Templeton’s personal assistant. I help run his business empire.”

“I’m sorry, but he’s still in the trauma ward. No one but family is allowed while he’s in there.”

When the doctor said that, my stomach dropped. There was no way I could see him.

“But I’m one of his closest friends,” Sebastian protested.

“I’m sorry, it’s California law.”

“John Inaba got to go with your colleagues – ”

“If you’re referring to the gentleman with the gun, he insisted there was an assassination attempt and that he was guarding against a second attempt on Mr. Templeton’s life, is that correct?”

“Yes,” Sebastian said grudgingly.

“He had proper identification as a licensed bodyguard, and that’s why the doctor on duty allowed him to accompany them, but even then, he’s stationed
outside
the trauma room.” Dr. Sarpara turned to me. “What is your relation to the patient?”

As he asked, I could see him peering closely at my face. He’d probably seen my pictures on television.

Great.

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything –

“His wife,” Sebastian interrupted.

I stared up at him in shock.

The doctor frowned and consulted his clipboard. “We were told he was single.”

“It was a secret ceremony, which is why neither she nor Connor are wearing rings. In light of the sex scandal – I’m
sure
you heard about
that
– no one’s supposed to know about the wedding, so I hope we can count on your discretion,” Sebastian said with a great deal of solemnity.

The doctor’s eyes widened. “Of course, of course. Well, um… Mrs. Templeton, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to him. He’s unconscious right now because of the pain medication, but you can sit with him for a short while.”

“Can you give us a minute?” I asked, gesturing to Sebastian.

“Just a minute. I need to get back.”

“It’ll just take a second, thanks,” I smiled.

As soon as the doctor was outside the lounge doors, I turned on Sebastian.

“His
wife?! Really?!”
I hissed.

“They won’t let you in otherwise,” Sebastian whispered back.

“What happens when they find out we’re not married?!”

“By then he’ll be in a regular room. Go – I want somebody with him, now
go.”

“
You
get to explain this to Connor when he wakes up,” I whispered harshly.

“Fine!” Sebastian hissed as I walked out the door and found the doctor.

When we got to the trauma room, Johnny was standing outside, his face pale. As soon as he saw me, he beamed – and then, just as quickly, his expression grew bewildered.

“Lily, what are you doing here? They told me nobody but family could in.”

I went over and hugged him – mostly so the doctor couldn’t see my face, only a couple of inches away from Johnny’s. I widened my eyes and grimaced like
Dude, play along!

“It’s okay, the doctor knows about the secret wedding,” I said calmly. “He promised not to tell anybody that Connor and I got married in secret.”

Johnny looked at me, blank-faced… and then the light went off in his eyes. He looked over at the doctor. “You can’t tell
anybody,
sir,” he said sternly.

Attaboy, Johnny!

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Dr. Sarpara assured him.

“Okay,” Johnny said, then gave me a brief smile.

“Just a couple of minutes,” Dr. Sarpara said as he held the door open and I slipped inside.

I almost started crying again as soon as I entered the dimly lit room.

Connor was lying in a hospital bed, dressed in a flimsy hospital gown and his eyes closed. He was hooked up to a ton of machines, and the gentle
beep… beep
of an EKG machine filled the silence. There was an IV with clear fluid taped to his arm.

He looked peaceful. For that, I was grateful.

I sat down next to him in a chair and held his hand with both of mine.

“Connor, can you hear me?” I whispered.

There was no sound but the beeping of the heart monitor.

There were so many things I wanted to say to him… and now that he couldn’t hear me, couldn’t talk back… now was the only time I had the courage to say them.

“I just wanted to tell you… I love you,” I said, wiping tears off my cheek. “You don’t have to say it. You don’t ever have to say it. I just want you to know that I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I never stopped loving you. I’m sorry I walked out two months ago… I just… please…
please
get well…
please
… even if you and I don’t…”

I paused, not wanting to continue down that path.

“I love you, I’ll always love you, and I want you. I
need
you. Please be okay.
Please
be okay. And thank you… thank you for saving my life.”

I got up, leaned over the bed, and kissed him on the lips. They were soft and warm, but didn’t move to meet mine.

One of my tears fell from my cheek onto his face. I wiped it away, then kissed him again on the lips, then the cheek, then the forehead.

“I love you,” I whispered into his ear.

There was a light knock.

I looked over. The door opened halfway, and Dr. Sarpara gestured to me. “He needs to rest.”

I nodded silently, kissed Connor again on the lips, and quietly walked out of the room.

Once I was out in the hall, I asked, “Can I stay up here with Johnny?”

“Yes, that will be fine,” Dr. Sarpara agreed, “but if you go in there without permission – ”

“I won’t,” I promised.

“Alright. We’re clearing out a room upstairs for him, he’ll probably be moved within the hour.”

“Thank you.”

The doctor nodded and walked down the hall, then disappeared into another room.

“So… congratulations,” Johnny grinned.

“On what?” I asked, bewildered.

“The wedding.”

“…
oh.
” I started laughing, then shook my head. “Sebastian told them that, not me. They wouldn’t have let either one of us up here otherwise.”

“Why wasn’t I invited?” Johnny teased.

“You
were
– you were there, don’t you remember? You were the best man. Sebastian got one of those licenses off the internet and officiated the wedding.”

“Ohhhhh, yeah,” Johnny grinned. “Now it’s coming back. I must’ve had too much to drink.”

“Yeah, you got pretty sloshed.” Then I shook my head. “If Connor freaked out before about saying ‘I love you,’ he’s going to
love
that we’re married now.”

“Well, if the alternative was being married to Sebastian, I think he’ll actually be pretty happy about it.”

We both laughed. It felt good. I needed a release from the worry and the fear and the darkness.

Johnny grew more somber. “Does he look okay?”

“Yeah. He’s sleeping, but he looks good.”

He breathed out heavily and stared at the floor. “Lily… I want to apologize. I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“For almost getting you killed.”

I frowned at him in alarm. Did he know something I didn’t?

“What are you talking about?”

“There was
one other fucking guy
in the hallway. Just
one,
just
one fucking guy…
and I stupidly assumed because he had on a uniform… if I’d just been
watching
him – ”

“Stop it,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. “You saved our lives.”

“Yeah, after I let Connor get shot,” Johnny said savagely.

“Hey –
hey,
” I whispered, and hugged him. “It’s not your fault.”

Johnny hugged me back with one arm, but he still stared blankly into the distance. “I’m his bodyguard. I’m his head of security. I’m not supposed to assume – ”

“Who nagged him until he agreed to wear the vest?” I interrupted.

“Yeah, but – ”

“Every day I was with you, and I’ll bet a dozen times a day after I left, until he gave in? Who did that?”

“He could have been shot in the head – ”

“But he wasn’t.”

“But he
could
have been – ”

“
But he wasn’t.
He’s alive, and I’m alive, and we wouldn’t be if you hadn’t been there.”

For the first time since the conversation began, Johnny looked down at me by his side, his eyes misted up. “Thank God you saw the gun, Lily. Thank God you screamed, or I don’t know what would have happened.”

“If I hadn’t been there,” I said, my voice cracking with guilt, “Connor wouldn’t have been there in the hall in the first place, and he wouldn’t have been in danger, and he wouldn’t have gotten shot.”

Now it was Johnny’s turn to frown. “What are
you
talking about?”