We didn’t know what was going on in each other’s lives. Didn’t connect regularly unless we were on tour and had to put up with each other. They weren’t my family. Not like Nik, Drake, Shane, and Jesse were. Harris sure as hell didn’t call me Uncle Ax like Mia and Lucy did.
But that didn’t mean I was emotionless when I found out just how bad Liam’s condition was in Emmie’s last voice mail. Damn, how was he still alive if all of that was wrong with him?
As soon as the car stopped, Gabriella was out and pulling me with her. There were paps everywhere. Cameras, reporters, even news vans. Cameras flashed as Gabriella pulled me toward the hospital entrance. Four big men in suits stood guard. When they recognized me they nodded but tried to stop Gabriella as she passed.
“She’s with me,” I barked at the man and tucked her closer to me.
After a small hesitation the guard nodded and let her pass. I didn’t need to ask anyone where Liam was. The trail of guards was like neon beacons. Two were stationed at the elevators. Two more when we stepped off. Another one at the ICU waiting room door, and another two outside the ICU ward. Even though Emmie wasn’t here, I could see her handiwork. Or Natalie’s, who followed Emmie’s every direction without question.
As soon as the door opened I saw the only thing that had been on my mind all evening long.
Dallas sat on a plastic chair hunched over. Natalie sat with her on one side and Linc on the other. She had on her work scrubs in a baby blue that reminded me of her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail but strands had come down, framing her beautiful face. Her head snapped up when she heard the door open and her eyes instantly turned cold.
I turned my attention to Drake who stood in a corner looking exhausted, no sign of Lana and the baby. It was safer for the moment to look anywhere but at Dallas.
“How is he?” Gabriella demanded of Dallas, not caring that she had just stepped into a war zone.
I’d heard about the cat fight between Layla and Gabriella followed just as quickly by the beating Emmie had given Gabriella. My ex had known what she was up against then, and had still ran her mouth to Em. Gabriella had no clue what she was up against when it came to Dallas—fuck, I had no clue what she was up against. It was going to depend on the mood Dallas was in but it could go either way right then.
“You would fucking know if you hadn’t turned your back on him,” Dallas growled, getting to her feet so quickly that if Linc hadn’t grabbed her around the waist she would have been on top of Gabriella in less than a blink of an eye. She struggled against the hold Linc had on her waist. The man was nothing but muscle but seemed to be having some difficulty holding onto Dallas.
I heard a sob tear from Gabriella’s chest. “I know,” she whispered brokenly.
Damn. Gabriella crying wasn’t something I could handle. Not because I still thought myself in love with her—something I had never actually thought—but because it took so much to make her cry. I knew how upset she must be over Liam being in a car accident. Her cousin, Alexis, had been in a wreck that had nearly killed her and for a while, robbed her of the ability to walk. This had to be twice as horrific to Gabriella now.
Instead of touching her I stayed where I was, because yeah, as stupid as I had been in the past, I wasn’t so dumb that I didn’t see what the outcome of offering Gabriella comfort right then would be. For one Gabriella probably would rip my head off for even offering. For another… Dallas was liable to break Linc’s arm to get free and then rip my favorite organ off and stomp on it.
I glanced at Natalie. “Is there any news on Liam?”
She got to her feet slowly. I knew she was professional and efficient enough that she wouldn’t spit in my face, but the coldness in her eyes told me exactly where her loyalties were and they were with the still-struggling nurse behind her. “He’s out of surgery, but he’s still in critical care. They haven’t let us see him yet, but someone should be out soon to let Dallas back. I need her in there to tell me exactly what’s going on so I can let Emmie know.”
“What happened?” I still wasn’t completely sure what had gone on. “Was he high?”
My question had Dallas fighting harder against Linc. “No, he wasn’t fucking high!” she screamed, spit flying out of her mouth she was so wild now. “He’s clean. I did the tox screen myself.” Gabriella sobbed again, shaking her head and muttering to herself in Italian. “He’s cleaned up his act, you asshat. And he doesn’t need pricks like you pushing him back down.”
That surprised me because I was sure that Liam would have been the intoxicated driver at fault. Guilt ate at me for not having faith in my friend, but he had given me plenty of reasons in the past not to trust him when it came to his sobriety. “How badly was he hurt?”
Natalie sighed and started counting off on her fingers the things the doctor said were going on with Liam. Each one seemed to be worse than the last and my stomach started to toss and turn as I realized that Liam was in some serious shit here. My first thought, however, wasn’t for Liam, but for his sister. Marissa would have no blood family left if Liam died. As much as I disliked Liam at times, Marissa was a different matter. No one—absolutely no one—could meet Marissa and not instantly care about her. She was too sweet, too pure of heart. She had been through too much in her life. Losing her brother shouldn’t be added to that long list.
Natalie was still talking when the door opened behind me and a nurse walked in. “Dallas, you can come back now if you’re ready.”
Gabriella turned as soon as she heard the other nurse’s voice. At five-foot-six, the nurse stood over Gabriella a good three inches and possibly outweighed her by twenty pounds, but that didn’t seem to matter. Gabriella grasped the woman’s arms, causing her to wince in pain. “Please. I have to see him. Please, I’m begging you.”
The nurse raised a brow at the little Italian. “Are you family?” When Gabriella hesitated the nurse shook her head. “Sorry, but only family can see him.”
“No. Please. I’m going to marry him. Doesn’t that count for anything?” She was sobbing again. “I love him…”
Everyone in the room was so shocked that no one moved for a moment. Even Dallas seemed so surprised by the confession that she stopped struggling. I was bowled over. Gabriella wanted to marry Liam? The girl was a slave to her music and had always told me, and on countless times especially her grandfather, that she would never marry anyone unless they were one hundred and fifty percent completely her soul mate. We had both known I wasn’t in that category and honestly the very idea of marrying her had terrified me.