Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) (31 page)

Confused and concerned, she watched him stalk off, wondering what happened to her carefree brother.

For the second week, Gunther was still deep into some sort of coma. Henry and Quinn had been forcing one vial down his throat every day, along with three bags so far. Henry was determined to keep him alive.

Quinn cuddled up to him on the bed, running her fingers up and down his abdomen. There was no response to anything she did. She sang songs and even read chapters out of books to him. Anything to keep up his brain activity. At one point, she went as far as touching him sexually to see if that would make him stir.

Nothing.

She leaned into his ear and whispered, “Gun, where are you? Please, wake up. I have something important to tell you.” His lips smacked and Quinn sat up. “Gunther?”

She grabbed her Sig and hovered over him. She peeled back an eyelid to see a beautiful emerald green blank stare, figuring it had to be some sort of reflex.

“Gunther, please come back to me. I miss you so much.” She fell onto his chest and sobbed. “Please. I love you so much. Please.” She choked on her words while running her shaking hands up his shirt, feeling his cool, relaxed body. Resting her hands on his ribs, every shallow breath he took gave her some hope.

“Please… Please…,” she cried, soaking his shirt. “I can’t do this without you. I need you here with me.
We
need you.”

No response. She moved his arm and curled up next to his body, placing her face right next to his ear, whispering loving words to him.

Those personal moments went on day after day, not knowing if he would ever come back to her. Quinn wondered what it would be like to raise his child with him in that state. How would she handle that? How would she tell their child what was wrong with him when
she
had no idea?

She was exhausted and fell asleep, her hand resting on his side and her lips pressed to his ear.

Once again, it was time to check on Gunther. I knocked on their door and when no one answered, I eased it open, worried about what I would find.

Quinn was curled up next to him, sound asleep. It was an arduous thing to witness. I imagined myself in the exact scenario and knew Elaina would be doing the same for me, no matter how fragmentary our relationship was. I sat in the chair next to the bed.

Watching the two of them in that position was fucking heartbreaking. I wished I had more knowledge about what was going on with him. I was doing my best to care for him. I had to try. There was no other option because I wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. Covering my face with my hands, I tried to hold myself together.

A knock on the door startled me, and I got up to answer it.

“Hey, lover.”

“Hey.”

“How’s it going in here?”

I shook my head. “She’s sleeping next to him. It’s so heartbreaking, Elaina. I don’t want to leave her alone with him if she’s sleeping.”

She reached up and brushed my lips with her thumb. “You’re a good man.”

“Thank you.”

“You need to come to bed, though. She’ll be fine.”

“But–”

“Henry, you haven’t slept in almost two weeks.” Elaina rested her hand on my neck. “Come on. You need some loving and some rest.”

“What if this happens to me? I mean, what if–”

“Listen to me. If this happens to you, you better believe I will do everything in my power to help you.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” I mumbled.

“Henry…” She wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Come on. She’ll come get you if she needs you.”

Taking my hand, she pulled me toward the door. I looked back at Quinn and shook my head, then allowed Elaina to lead me away.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, still thinking about what would happen if I ended up like Gunther.

Elaina ran her fingers over my bare chest. I sighed and rolled on my side to face her. “I had hoped your worries would lift for a few moments,” she murmured.

“I’m trying.”

“Well, since sex didn’t help, maybe a round of training?”

“That may be a good idea.” I got up and pulled on a pair of gym shorts, a t-shirt, my hat and, of course, my Sig. I glanced back at Elaina as I headed toward the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Kill that bag, lover.”

I smirked. “Always do.”

I left our room and headed down the hall. Suddenly, Quinn blew through her door and ran down the hall after me. “Henry! He’s awake. He’s awake!”

I was shocked. “Really?” We took off back to their room, blowing through the door.

I called to him as I approached the bed, but he could only muster up enough strength to move his hand. Deciding to let Quinn take the lead, I melted into the background, palming the butt of my Sig.

Everything sounded like a distant, static charged echo. Feeling paralyzed, Gunther still wasn’t able to move his body. When he opened his eyes, everything was a blurry haze, as if he was looking through a pane of frosted glass. He couldn’t make out the shapes hovering above him.

Warmth spread across his face and onto his forehead. His mouth was severely dry and he tried to lick his lips, but there was only an intrusive cotton feeling with a hint of metallic.

“Gunther…”

Somewhere between the buzz of his brain and the fuzziness in his ears, he thought he heard his name. Every sense seemed to be a bit scrambled. His rigid body ached. Every muscle protested as he tried to move. And, hell, he had to piss like a racehorse.

“Gunther…”

There it was again, but a bit clearer. It was a familiar voice, but he still struggled to put the pieces together. He tried to speak, but all he could do was groan.

Then everything went cold and silent. He was able to move his eyes, but they were still out of sorts. It felt like hours had passed before he saw more fuzzy shapes and heard a different, familiar voice calling to him. A man’s voice.

“Gunther…”

He felt a soft warmth envelop his hand. He forced his eyelids to blink, hoping it would help clear his vision. Desperation filled him, wanting to see who was in front of him.

Finally, his emeralds started to focus. Long brown locks were tickling his chest and face.

“Qu–”

“Shh…lover. Don’t work too hard. Take your time.”

The voice and words were much clearer and soothing. It was so sublime, he wanted to cry. It was her voice that seeped through his head while he was buried in the pit of darkness. The sweet sound rang in his ears. That same voice talked to him, sang to him, read to him…cried for him. He wanted to make it better for her, but he couldn’t move or respond. It was like he was shackled, gagged, and bound.

Something moist trickled over his lips and into his mouth, allowing him to swallow and lick his lips.

“That’s it. Take your time.”

He tried again. “Qu-inn…” His voice was raspy, but his vision was clearer and the rest of his senses were catching up.

“Oh, lover.” She wrapped her arms around his body the best that she could, seeing as he was still stiff and on his back, and kissed his face and lips several times.

I stepped forward when he said Quinn’s name. “You gave us a major scare, mate.”

His eyes focused on me. “Fuck off,” Gunther grumbled softly.

“And…he’s back,” I said, and Quinn and I laughed. “I’m going to leave you two alone. You have a few things to catch up on.” I winked at Quinn.

She jumped up and hugged me. “Thank you for everything, Henry.” She kissed me on the cheek. Gunther growled softly, making me smile. I had a feeling if it happened again, he would tear my lips of my face…after he was able to move freely, of course.

“No worries, mate,” I said with a chuckle. “I have enough to handle with Elaina. Grab me if you need me,” I said as I left the room.

Quinn sat next to Gunther and rubbed his head. It felt so goddamn good, he practically purred. “You want to roll over? You’ve been on your back for quite some time.”

“I want you on your back,” he mumbled.

“You, sir, are not ready for me yet.” She tapped him on the nose. He groaned and smiled slightly. “Come on. I will help you.” Quinn helped him roll onto his side. “Lover, you made me worry horribly.”

“I’m sorry. What happened?” With a sloppy swipe, he ran his hand over his face.

“Well, what is the last thing you remember?”

He thought for a second or two. “You and I talked about you possibly being pregnant.”

She smiled with tears in her eyes. “I woke up that night and you were twitching and trembling. I thought you were having a nightmare, but I couldn’t wake you, so I went and woke Henry. You were turning. After a few days, we realized it was because you hadn’t had any significant amount in a long time. Gun, you waited too long.”

“Wait. After a few days?”

“Yeah. You’ve been out for almost two weeks. Henry thinks you went into a deep suspended animation.”

“Really? Holy shit.”

“I shall not tell a lie. Henry said it happened back at the facility, but it didn’t end well.”

“Yeah, to one of the recruits in his group.”

“Well, Henry tapped into Thomas and Josie. They saved you, and I’ve been sitting by your side this entire time. While you’ve been out, we’ve been forcing blood down your throat. Luckily, we were able to coax you to swallow. Every now and then, Cora or Henry would make me leave to eat or just get some air.”