The moment Bryson cut the belt, Caden was all that was holding her. Makenna gasped as her weight shifted. “I’ve got you, Red. I’ve got you.”
Judging by the way her legs turned, Bryson was slowly moving her upper body toward the opening. She groaned and her hands flew to her belly. “Please, please, please, please,” she whispered over and over again.
And Caden was right there with her. Please let them both be okay.
As Bryson started to move her out of the car, Caden slowly lowered her legs into his arms, and then another guy outside grasped her legs until she was free.
Getting himself back out of the car took longer than he had patience for, but he essentially had to soldier crawl under what was left of the caved-in passenger door opening. And then he scrambled around to the far side and went to his knees by Makenna’s head.
As he leaned over her, words spilled out of his mouth in a desperate rush. He couldn’t let another second pass without her knowing. “I love you, Makenna. I’ve loved you from the very beginning, since you laughed in that elevator and eased my fears, since you shared your first-time story with me and made me laugh, since you accepted me even when I couldn’t accept myself. I’m so fucking sorry,” he said.
“Caden?” she said, her voice slurring. Her eyelids fluttered and sagged.
“Yeah, Red, it’s me,” he said.
Her head lolled to the side.
“Loss of consciousness,” one of the medics said. “Let’s get her moving.”
Caden rose as the men lifted the stretcher. “I’m going with you,” he said to Bryson, daring the man with his gaze to challenge him. He didn’t. Jogging along with the stretcher, they made for Station Four’s paramedic unit. Caden glanced around for his team, and saw Bear in the distance. The guy looked his way and gave him a wave and a nod. It was all the okay he needed, and if there was hell to pay for leaving, Caden was more than willing to pay it.
Because everything he loved lay broken and bleeding at his side. Here he’d thought he had time…time to get himself right so he could be the man Makenna deserved. Now, all he could do was hope he wasn’t too late.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Caden was climbing the walls. Once they’d reached the emergency department, the staff had made him wait while Makenna was triaged and treated. But there was one thing he could do to fill the crawling time. Her family needed to know what’d happened.
At Thanksgiving, Caden and Patrick had exchanged information. He found her brother’s number and waited as it rang.
“Patrick James here,” he answered.
“Patrick, it’s Caden Grayson, Makenna’s—”
“I know who you are, Caden.” The ice in the other man’s tone made it crystal clear that Patrick knew what’d gone down between him and Makenna. “To what do I owe the call?”
“Makenna was in an accident. She’s stable but in the hospital. Came in by ambulance fifteen minutes ago,” Caden said, hating to be the bearer of this news when he knew how close Patrick and Makenna were.
“Fuck,” Patrick said. “What happened? Is she injured? How’s the baby?”
Patrick knowing about the baby made Caden feel grateful that Makenna hadn’t been dealing with that all on her own. Caden should’ve been there, but at least she’d had her family. “She was semi-conscious and banged up when she came in but her injuries weren’t serious, although they haven’t determined the baby’s condition yet. Ten-car pile-up on Interstate 66. Makenna’s Prius got flipped over a guard rail and overturned.” Caden scrubbed his hand over his scar as he paced in the busy waiting room.
“I’m going to get the family together and we’ll get down there as fast as we can. Where are you?” Patrick asked. Caden gave him the hospital information, and then Patrick said, “Thanks for calling me, Caden. I appreciate it. But I need you to be prepared to answer some questions for me when we get Makenna squared away. You hearing me?”
“A hundred percent. I’ll be happy to tell you anything you want to know,” Caden said. “I love her, Patrick. I fucked up, but I love her.”
A long pause, and then, “We’ll see you soon.” Patrick hung up.
Caden couldn’t spare any worry for the James men’s reactions to him, not when every cell in his body agonized over what was going on with Makenna. Besides, any anger they bore toward him he’d earned with his mistakes. So he understood that he’d have to work to earn back their trust. He’d be fucking happy to grovel to anyone who wanted that from him if it would make Makenna and their baby okay.
Their baby. Every time he thought about Makenna’s pregnancy, the wonder of it smacked him upside the head anew. Sheer awe lit up his chest. There was fear inside him, too, he wasn’t going to deny that. Fear for this little, vulnerable life, maybe struggling to survive. Fear that he would be responsible for protecting and guiding that life. Fear of the million unknowns that could rain down on you at absolutely any moment.
As tonight proved.