One Heart to Give (Heart's Intent Book 1) (14 page)

She wanted to tell him she no longer felt any pain and to do his worst. But when he pressed down, gurgling screams echoed through the room. How wrong she’d been. The pain was so bad it swallowed her whole, until she saw nothing but blackness…

Chapter Sixteen

“I’m sorry, baby. So sorry,” Ren whispered as Dani lost consciousness.

Her pulse was weak, but her breathing evened out. When he’d rushed into her office to find her bleeding from a gunshot wound, fear had seized him. He couldn’t lose her. His medical training kicked in and he focused on saving her. It was a relief to be able to do something to save her, and he would. She wasn’t going to leave him again. He needed her too much.

“The paramedics are here,” Sullivan said.

“Good, we need to get her to the hospital fast.” His gaze never left her. He monitored her closely, checking for any signs of distress. So far it looked good, but he couldn’t help but worry. Anything could happen, and it often did when least expected. “I have done all I can here. She’d going to need surgery to remove the bullet.”

Sullivan’s gaze fell to Dani’s unconscious body. Worry lines furrowed above his brows. He lifted his hand and rubbed his mouth. His eyes were watery, and if Ren were to guess, the other man was fighting tears. He could relate. All he wanted to do was give into his worry. Break down and let the misery run free, but he couldn’t do that. Dani needed him to be strong.

The paramedics rushed into the room. They kneeled down to check Dani. Ren kept his hand pressed against the white towel stained with her blood. Keeping pressure on the wound to stem the flow was imperative. He let them work and waited for them to start asking questions.

“How long has she been unconscious?”

“Less than five minutes,” Ren replied. “I’ve done a cursory exam. We need to move her now and get her to the hospital. The angle of the bullet went down through her lungs. I suspect she has a collapsed lung and fear the bullet may be lodged near her spine.”

Before she passed out, her breathing had been ragged. The gurgling sound was a clear indicator something was wrong with her lungs. When he checked the injury, and realized there wasn’t an exit wound he feared where the bullet landed inside of her. He kept focused and made sure she didn’t suffer because of his anxiety. She came first. Always.

The paramedic nodded. “You’re probably right. Let’s get her on the gurney.” They worked together to keep her stabilized and lift her onto the stretcher. Once she was secured, they rolled her out of the office.

“I’m going with her,” Sullivan announced.

“Like hell you are. Stay here and deal with the authorities, and then follow in your own vehicle to the hospital. I’m going with her.”

Sullivan clenched his fists at his sides. “She’s my sister. I’m family.”

God save him from idiots. Ren shook his head. Instead of giving into the instinct to hit Sullivan Brady, he took a deep breath and reasoned with him instead. He wouldn’t back down without solid grounds for doing so. This was not the time to get into a punching match with Dani’s newfound brother.

“I don’t give a damn what you are to her. She doesn’t know you.” Ren glared at him. “Besides that fact, I’m a doctor and her best chance of making it to the hospital. I’m going with her. Do her a favor and pull your head out of your ass. Think about what she needs, not what you do.”

Sullivan frowned and ran his fingers through his dark hair. It was a disheveled mess. Ren was afraid they both had lost years off their life watching Dani bleed out. “You’re right. Intellectually I know that…” He glanced over Ren’s shoulder. “It’s hard for me to let go. I protect those I care about, and I did a horrible job of it today. It’s my guilt coming out. Go with her. I will wrap things up here and call my parents. They need to know what’s going on. When I’m done I will head to the hospital,” he paused and stared Ren directly in his eyes. “Don’t mess up, Sousa. I’m counting on you to make sure my sister survives this.”

Ren nodded. He didn’t need a warning from Dani’s newfound older brother. This was by far the most important thing he’d ever do, if he accomplished nothing else for the rest of his life, he’d make sure Dani survived. “Do your job and I’ll do mine.” He spun on his heels and headed toward the ambulance. He couldn’t think about Sullivan or Dani’s parents. They didn’t figure into anything as far as he was concerned. Not at that moment in time anyway. Dani’s family would eventually be important to her, but she would have to live to make that determination. Ren hopped into the ambulance and took a seat next to the stretcher.

One of the paramedics tapped the driver seat and said, “Let’s go.”

The trip to the hospital seemed to take forever before they pulled in front of the emergency room doors. Ren hopped out of the ambulance first and headed in as the paramedics rolled Dani inside. He barked orders and everyone started moving. They all gathered supplies and met in one of the exam rooms.

“Ren, you can’t work on her.” Lana placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’re too emotionally invested.”

Hell, he knew she was right, but he didn’t want to admit it. His love for her was the reason he wanted to be the one to help her. He had to make sure she survived. Ren pushed her hand off his shoulder and went to Dani’s side. “I have to do something.”

“Be reasonable. She will get the best possible care. You know it,” she pleaded.

He didn’t look up at her. Dani might die. Couldn’t she see why he had to stay by her side. What if the last thing she remembered was him causing her further pain? She had to make it. Ren had to be the one to make sure she did. He owed it to her. “She needs me,” he whispered.

Lana pulled at his arm. “Let go. I will stay with her for every step.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Fighting to be in the operating room wouldn’t help Dani. He had to do what was best for her. Hadn’t he said something similar to Sullivan? It was time to let go of his need to control the situation and have someone else take care of Dani. As much as he hated to admit it, there was one person he could count on to perform the procedure. “Call Dr. West. Have him come in to do the surgery. She’s going to need the best, and he’s the only one I trust to help her.”

She nodded. “I’ll make the call, but you need to go now. Let everyone do their job.”

Ren clenched his hands into tight fists and nodded. He couldn’t trust himself to speak. The urge to break down was too close to the surface. Without a word he spun on his heels and exited the room. He headed to his office. When he got there he was stunned to find Jessica waiting for him.

“What do you want?” He spat the words at her. The last thing he needed was to deal with his ex-wife. “I don’t have time for you today. Go away.”

“Please, don’t push me away,” she pleaded. “I’m not here to bother you. I want to help. I heard about Dani.”

He ignored her and pushed past her, heading to his desk. Ren sat and sighed as the weight of all that worried him descended upon him. He’d come to his office for peace and quiet. To have privacy for when he lost it—now he’d have to hold it in longer to deal with Jessica. Damn it. She always turned up at the worst times.

“I don’t need your false pretense of sympathy.” He glared at her. “I know you hated her—hate her.” He caught himself. Referring of Jessica’s dislike of Dani in the past tense wasn’t a good sign. She’d pull through the surgery. Ren refused to believe anything less.

“My feelings for Dani don’t matter. Yours do. You’ve always loved her.” Her gaze didn’t waver as she stared at him. “You didn’t think I knew that, did you? I’m not an idiot. She was always there and you dropped everything for her. Your supposed best friend.” She snorted. “What fantasy world did you live in? If she hadn’t left, we never would have made it past senior year together. I should have ended things between us as soon as I realized it, but I’d fallen in love with you. If you’d looked at me once the way you did her things could have been so different between us.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you through that. You did deserve better.” Even if she had cheated on him, Ren realized he wasn’t innocent in the dissolution of their marriage. He never loved Jessica the way he loved Dani. “If we’d talked about this years ago, we could have saved each other a lot of unnecessary hurt.”

She smiled softly. “It’s part of growing up. We have to learn from our mistakes. I’m finally starting to understand that myself. I’ve done a lot of introspection lately. I’ve not liked what I’ve seen.” She frowned. “But that’s not why I’m here. I will work through my own issues later and focus on liking who I am. Right now I want to be here for you.” She stared down at her hands and fidgeted. “I have a confession to make, and you’re not going to like it. I did something…” She paused and took a deep breath. “This is probably not the best time to dump it on you, but I wanted to let it all out once and for all. It’s time to make peace and move on.”

Ren stared at her and braced himself for whatever she wanted to unburden on him. She was right; it wasn’t the time or place to talk about things that couldn’t be changed. It might give him something else to focus his energy on. At least she wasn’t being the harpy she was known for. Maybe this was what he needed. It was closure for them. They had a lot of years together and they’d been through a lot. Jessica had been a part of his life for a long time. It might not have ended great between them, but it hadn’t all been bad.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.” He ran his hand through his hair and stared past her at the wall. His medical degree stood out against the stark whiteness. He’d worked so hard to get it. Now it didn’t seem to matter when he couldn’t use it to save the one person he wanted to. He turned to Jessica and asked, “How did you hear about Dani?”

“Let me tell you what I have on my mind. If you want me to leave after that I will.” She glanced away. “I was with Preston when he got the call to come in. We were in his office talking. He was one stop on my path toward forgiveness. I didn’t do right by him either.”

The old irritation he’d felt when he heard about her and Preston didn’t hit him. It was progress. It appeared as if Jessica was doing her best to change. He wished her well with her endeavor. “Is he with Dani now?”

“He headed to see her immediately.” She nodded. “You can trust him to take care of her.”

Of course he could. Preston may have betrayed their friendship, but that didn’t reflect on his ability as a doctor. It’s why he demanded he do her surgery. If anyone could save her, it was Preston West. “I’m counting on it.”

“What I have to tell you…” Jessica blew out a breath. “It has to do with Dani.”

Ren perked up at her words and his gaze flew to hers. “What about her?” Had she done something, or did she know more than she was letting on? “What did you do?”

She waved her hands. “Relax. It has nothing to do with what she’s going through now. It’s more part of why she disappeared.”

He relaxed back in his chair and as relief overflowed through him. “The past doesn’t matter right now. I’m more concerned about our future.”

“Nevertheless, I have to say my piece. Will you let me get it all out before you lose it?”

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.” He leaned forward. “Go ahead and tell me what you had to do with Dani leaving.”

She bit her lip and twisted her fingers together. “I lied to her.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t stall any more. What did you say to her?” It had to be something big to get Dani to run away from him. They’d been too close for her to do it for no reason. She hadn’t told him why she left. He figured she would tell him when she came to terms with it. Ren could be patient when the ends justified the means. Dani was his everything and worth the wait.

“I told her I was pregnant.” A tear fell down her cheek as she spoke the words. “I was desperate, and the words were out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying. She was as shocked by them as I was.”

“She believed you?” His mouth fell open. Ren couldn’t have been more baffled by Jessica’s confession. They’d never been intimate in high school. He’d been too wrapped up in his feelings for Dani to even consider it. “It wasn’t possible for you to be pregnant, but of course Dani wouldn’t have known that.”

“No, she did what I knew she would.” She wiped the tears from her cheek. “She loved you too much to stand in the way of your happiness. So she agreed to leave and not speak to you again. I could see it on her face—how much it hurt her to put that distance between you, but I couldn’t back down. I loved you too much to let her have you. I was so young and stupid.”

Ren scrunched up his eyebrows puzzled by her words. “Dani has always cared about me. We were best friends. She would want what was best for me. But I don’t understand why she thought she had to leave.”

None of it made sense. It was even more confusing knowing what happened. Dani left because she’d believed Jessica was pregnant with his child. It was so far from the truth it was ridiculous. If she’d only said something to him he could have prevented it all. Why couldn’t she have come to him? They could have been in each other’s lives this entire time.

“I told you.
She loved you
. Do you think she could watch you with someone else knowing she could never have that family with you? Better yet, do you think you could have stayed away from her even if you had a family with someone else?” She shook her head. “You two were so stupid over each other. Anyone who looked at you would have known how you felt about each other.”

“You’re wrong.” She couldn’t be right. It was such a waste if it was. “Dani loved me as a friend, nothing more.”

“No, Ren,” Jessica said sadly. “She loved you for more reasons than that. It may have started as friendship, but it grew to be much more. I think she was on the brink of telling you. It’s why I did what I did. I know it was wrong, but I can’t change it now.”