Operation: Endurance (When the Mission Ends) (17 page)

Finally, his stomach settled enough so he could stand again. Leaning over the sink, he rinsed his mouth out with tap water and avoided looking in the mirror. He remembered making this trip several times throughout the night and was pretty sure the wear and tear would show in his reflection.

Again, the grinding noise came at him from the kitchen, hammering at his skull. He shuffled into the room, yanked the coffee grinder out of Colton’s hand, and set it very gingerly on the counter.

Colton just ignored his scowl and gave him a blinding, gleeful smile. “Good morning, sunshine.” Then he maniacally picked up the grinder and started it again.

Chris clutched his head as he sank to the floor.

Finally, the incessant noise stopped and Chris could only whimper. “You’re a sadistic bastard.”

“Come on.” Colton reached a hand down to help Chris up off the floor. “The pain will be worth it when you get some coffee in your system.” Colton pushed him into a barstool at the breakfast counter where Chris rested his head in his hands, closing his eyes to the blinding glare of the morning sun.

They sat there in the quiet, with only the noise from the coffee brewing. Chris tried to convince himself that he couldn’t truly die from a hangover, no matter how bad it felt. Colton toasted some bread and set it on a plate in front of Chris, although his stomach churned at the sight. He pushed it away. “Maybe later.”

When the coffee was done, Colton poured two cups, one of which he pushed under Chris’s nose. The smell was tempting, but Chris knew as soon as he made any movement that looked like he might live, Colt would start yelling. So for now, he just listened to the drumbeats pounding in his head. They were going to hurt worse when Colton decided to lay into him.

Finally, Chris couldn’t stand the condemning silence anymore and looked up into his big brother’s eyes. Colton leaned up against the counter in front of him with only jeans on his lean hips, looking both concerned and frustrated. Faced with that wall of muscle, he was once again thankful that Colt wasn’t a violent guy. Colton would yell at him, but he probably wouldn’t beat
him senseless unless Chris really provoked him. That might be a tempting way to work out his frustrations if his head didn’t hurt so damn much.

He’d obviously spent the night, which made feel Chris feel guilty. He had a pregnant fiancé at home. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have spent the night. I was fine.”

“You didn’t look fine last night when I got here and you were falling down drunk. I told Cassie I’d take care of you and I meant it. She wouldn’t have understood if you’d died of alcohol poisoning.” Colt’s voice was soft, but edged with steel.

What could Chris tell him? That maybe it had been better if he had died? That he wasn’t worth the trouble? Instead of laying that on him, Chris sipped his coffee and avoided Colton’s gaze by checking out the blinking light of the answering machine. Those were probably all messages from Cassie. He hated that he’d caused her to worry on what should be some of the happiest days of her life.

“Chris, what happened yesterday? You’ve been doing better. There had to be something to set this off. I know you had some sort of appointment yesterday afternoon. Did something happen there? Did you get some bad news? Talk to me. Let me help.” Colton’s low, gentle voice hit more like a blow than yelling at him would have.

Finally, he looked up at Colton, pleading him. “There’s nothing you can do to help this, Colt. Please, just leave it alone. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Colton sighed deep. “You know we love you, right?”

He did know, and that just made this worse. He nodded mutely.

Colton gestured to the answering machine. “You need to call Cassie back. She’s worried sick.” Colton reached for it now. “I’m sure most of those messages on there are from her.” He turned up the volume and pushed play.

The message he’d begun to hear from Cassie the night before when he’d turned it down rang out over the kitchen.

The next message was also from her. “Pick up the damn phone, Chris. I know you’re there. I got your text, but I’m not buying it.”

Then another. “I’m sending Colton over. If you don’t want to have to deal with him all up in your ass, you better call me back.”

Colton snorted and Chris just felt worse for worrying both of them.

The next message was from Jake. “Come on, Chris. I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re scaring Cass. Please call us back.”

Then it was Cassie again and the nausea rolled through his stomach. “Colton called me, but I wish I could hear it from you that you’re really okay. Chris, call me tomorrow or else I’m gonna come home and beat your ass.”

There was one more message, but it wasn’t Cassie’s voice that came across the line. It began with ragged breathing and then a horrible cough. Chris’s eyes widened in alarm. He looked at Colton, who’d been listening to the messages, too. Finally, a voice that was barely there came across the line. “Chris…help.”

“That’s Julie.” He sprang up out of his chair and before he made it to the front door, he heard a crash over the answering machine that sounded like she’d fallen, and then the line went dead. Colton was right behind him as he ran across to her door. Chris knocked frantically, but no one came to the door. He tried the knob, but it was locked.

He glanced over at Colton. “Go check her driveway and make sure her car’s still here. I have a spare key in my kitchen. I’ll go get it.”

Colton gave a sharp nod and Chris sprinted back into his house. Yanking the drawer open, he frantically searched for her key. “Come on. Come on,” he muttered as he shoved things around in the drawer. He knew it was in here. Finally he spotted the pink edge of her key fob, wrenched it out of the drawer, and took off at a dead run toward her house.

When he got back, Colton was standing there knocking again. “Her car’s still here.”

Chris tried to get her key in the lock, but his hands were still too shaky from the night before. Colton took the key out of his hand. “I got it.” He quickly disengaged all the locks, but when he went to open the door, the chain was still holding the door closed.

“Julie,” Chris called through the gap, but she didn’t respond.

The brothers exchanged worried glances. “We have to get in there. She’s been really sick, Colton.”

Colton stepped back and examined the door. “Okay, I think I can kick it in. Let me get some shoes on first though.” He ran back into Chris’s house while Chris leaned his head against the door, trying to see anything inside her house. He couldn’t see her. Why wasn’t she answering the door? With the chain engaged, she had to be in there, but the idea that she was too sick to even get to the door sent a chill of fear down Chris’s spine. She had to be okay.

Suddenly, Colton tugged on his shoulder. “Stand back, so I can do this.” It took two kicks, but finally the wood on the door jamb splintered and Chris rushed into her house.

Swinging his head to spot her, he frantically searched through her rooms, heading toward her bedroom. His heart skipped a beat when he spotted her bare legs on the floor on the other side of her bed. She was crumpled on the floor like she’d simply collapsed. He slid to her side, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but so weak. Her skin was flaming hot, but dry to the touch. Without even checking he could hear her breath rattling in her lungs.

“Colton,” he yelled back toward the living room, “I found her. Go grab the keys to my truck. We have to get her to the emergency room.”

“I’m on it,” Colton called as he ran back out of the house.

Chris leaned down over Julie. “Julie, Butterfly, can you hear me? We’re gonna take you to the ER.” He gingerly reached under her and picked her up, but there wasn’t any sign of consciousness from her at all. His own pulse pounded in his ears as panic threatened to overwhelm him. She had to be okay. He pulled her tightly to his chest willing her to be okay.

He strode out the front door and Colton was there with a handful of wallets, keys, and shoes.

Colton’s eyes darted to Julie’s pale still form in Chris’s arms before he ran in front of Chris to open the passenger door of the truck for him.

As Chris settled into the truck seat, he studied her translucent skin. She had a grey cast to her pallor, which scared him to death. Cradled in his arms, she felt and looked way too fragile to him. He brushed her hair off her forehead and brushed a kiss across it. She was so damn hot. Her fever was way too high.

Colton started the truck, but they weren’t moving fast enough. “Hurry, Colt.”

“I know, but it won’t do her any good if we get in a wreck on the way.”

Chris pulled her to his chest. This may be the last time he got to hold her like this. Panic surged through him. “Hang on, Butterfly. Just hang on. We’re gonna be there soon. You just have to hang on. You can’t leave me. I need you. Please, hang on, Julie.” He was rambling, but he needed something to sink into her subconscious. She needed to know that he needed her. He knew that she’d been in a really dark place lately and the thought that she might not have something to live for wasn’t acceptable. She needed to come back to him. He needed her to come back to him.

Without warning, she tensed up and a rattling cough shook her entire body.

Colton cast a worried look at them and pursed his lips. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Chris stayed focused on Julie. “Butterfly, can you hear me?”

Her eyes fluttered open, but they were glazed with fever and she looked right through him. “Stay with me, Julie. We’re taking you to the hospital.”

She shuddered. “No, not the hospital. Aaron’s dead.”

Chris’s heart broke as she sobbed quietly, her breaths coming as shallow gasps. “Shh, it’s okay, Butterfly. It’s going to be okay.”

For a moment she stilled and seemed to recognize him as her eyes met his. Her hand reached up to touch his face. “Chris?”

“Yeah,” he gave her a soft smile, “it’s me. Hang on for me, okay?”

She shuddered and closed her eyes as another cough shook her. “Love you so much.” Her voice was barely there as she seemed to drift in and out of consciousness. “Always been you. Poor Aaron. He died, but it’s only Chris. Always,” she said with a soft sigh. “But Chris died, Aaron died, Nugget died. Everyone dies, but I always loved you.” Her voice drifted off as she fell back into unconsciousness. Exhaustion and sickness had overtaken her.

He jumped when Colton touched his right shoulder. He’d been so focused on Julie he didn’t realize they’d arrived at the emergency room.

“Come on, Chris. They have a gurney for her.”

Two nurses stood behind Colton, waiting to take Julie from him. He climbed out of the truck, kissed her softly on the forehead, and laid her on the gurney. While they rolled her away, he began to sink to the ground, until Colton grabbed him up.

Oh God, she’d needed him and he hadn’t been there. She could die. Panic and helplessness reverberated through every cell in his body.

Colton’s voice was low and cajoling, “Come on, Chris. She’s going to be okay. They’ll get her taken care of. Let’s go park the truck, you can put some shoes on, and then we can see how she’s doing.”

Colton guided him back to the truck and into the seat. Chris leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes, while Colton drove and parked the truck. Julie loved him.

His stomach rolled. If he hadn’t been drunk, he could have gotten to her sooner. He didn’t have time to deal with the stupidity of his hangover. He slipped on his shoes.

As soon as Colton put the truck in ‘park’, Chris was ready to head back into the ER, but Colton put a hand on his arm to stop him.

“What?” Chris asked.

“I grabbed these.” Colton pressed his cell phone and wallet into his hand, but held tight when Chris tried to take them. “Are you okay?”

“No, and I won’t be again until they tell me she’s okay.”

Colton shook his head, but released Chris’s arm and they rushed back into the hospital.

The ER receptionist wouldn’t let them into her room to see Julie yet, so Chris sat in the hard chair rubbing his knee in agitation, his head pounding. “I should have been there for her. What if she dies because I didn’t answer the fucking phone?”

Colton looked at him worriedly, but didn’t say anything. That was almost worse than empty words. Chris knew Colton wouldn’t promise anything that he couldn’t keep. Did that mean he thought she was dying too? He looked around the waiting room in frustration. “What’s taking them so long? Why aren’t they telling us anything?”

“It hasn’t been that long. Try to relax. Julie doesn’t have any family in town does she?”

“Her brother lives here, but he’s in Louisiana right now for his job. He’s supposed to be gone for about another month. Her sister, Rachel, lives in Oklahoma City. Do you think I should try to get hold of them?”

“Let’s wait and see what the doctors say first. It may not be as bad as it seemed once they get her in here where they can keep an eye on her. It may be something as simple as she’s dehydrated and needs an IV.”

Chris gave a sharp nod and looked around the waiting room again before leaning down on his palms with his elbows resting on his knees.

“We never did get that coffee this morning. Why don’t I go see if I can find us some?”

“Okay. Thanks, Colt.”