I shove them away, trying to get to the room they were standing in front of. “I need to see Tess.” I push them again, this time harder. “Is she in there? Goddamnit. Tell me where she is!”
They hold their ground. In my periphery, Angus and Seamus are suddenly there. “Listen to me,” Declan says, his voice steady. “Her physical injuries aren’t life threatening—she’s safe and she’s stable. But emotionally, she’s a mess and hurting. You need to stay strong for her, you hear me? I need you to be a man for her. Not some out-of-control thug.”
I stop moving as the impact of his words sucker-punches me across the jaw. He said that emotionally, my girl was hurting. So that means…
“Is the baby all right?” I can barely spit the words out. Tess didn’t want me to tell anyone she’s pregnant, but of course I did. You share the good and the bad with those you love, right? And this baby, although unplanned, is good news.
Or at least it was.
Their grim expressions answer me in a way I don’t want to hear. I swipe at my face. “Jesus.”
This was supposed to be a decent day. My first step into the path to hell came when the sarge told me he was placing me back on patrol. He stuck me with one of the vets and we responded to a report of a burglary. I was crawling out of my skin the whole time, and despite how hard I tried to hide it, that old vet saw right through me. He knows I lost my nerve, and that I’m done. As much as it crushes me, it’s nothing compared to what that call from Declan did to me. “There’s been an accident,” he’d said. “Tess is hurt. We’re in the Emergency Department at Thomas Jefferson, room 1014.”
He couldn’t tell me much more. Privacy laws and hospital regulations won’t allow the staff to share any news about Tess’s condition—even with me. I tried calling in the forty damn minutes it took me to get across town, but as much as I love her, I’m not her husband yet.
“Curran, listen to me,” Declan says, his voice softening. “We’re not sure what’s happening yet. The doctor on call is going to examine her.”
“Why hasn’t he yet?” I bite out.
His eyes cut to Killian. “Sofia said something about her needing an internal exam,” Killian answers. “They’re getting the equipment from the maternity ward now.”
For all that my family is right next to me, they feel far away. “I want to see her,” I tell them, hoping they’ll listen before I bust some shit up.
My brothers part, allowing me through, but those few steps forward are the longest of my life. My feet feel dipped in lead and encased in cement. I push the curtain aside and walk to where Tess sits in a narrow bed wearing a gown that’s way too loose on her.
Sofe sits beside Wren, who’s holding my girl’s hand tight in hers. They all glance up, but it’s Tess’s face my stare adheres to. Her skin is red and swollen around her pretty eyes. She’s been crying a lot, and was likely alone until my family arrived.
I move forward. Sofe and Wren take it as their signal to leave. They stop to kiss her cheeks and mine. “We’ll be outside,” Wren assures me.
I guess the fold-up chairs are for saps like me, to wait and sit still in. I don’t wait, or sit still. I lower myself on the bed and pull Tess against me when her expression shatters into a million pieces. She clutches me hard and releases her fear…giving me a moment to release mine, too.
Tess
Curran holds tight to my hand when the OB hospitalist, Dr. Tantillo, returns with an ultrasound. “I’m going to do an internal scan. You’ll feel some pressure, but if it becomes too painful, I need you to tell me, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, my voice trembling.
I scrunch my face as she inserts the probe, which does nothing to ease Curran’s stress. “What are you trying to see?” he asks, his voice tight.
“I want to see if there’s any internal damage and harm.”