Carter Brothers: Adrian (Rated R Novel)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

For the first time in the last hour he finally has time to think. And it scares him. To be left alone with his thoughts while his mate is being torn apart in the ICU, frightens him to death.

Just an hour ago he’d thought everything to be fine. He thought that she was just late and the ignoring of his first text a sign that she may be either pissed at him or too tied up with work.
Well, she certainly was tied up. He should have known sooner. He should have been there to stop her getting hurt. He should have ripped those bastards to shreds. What kind of a mate is he if he can’t even protect his other half? How could he only have noticed something must be wrong after the first dozen calls of his went to voicemail?

And then…He was too slow to act after. He should have gone straight to the police department and scoured for her. Instead, he just rang the Chief up. The very same who’d informed him with cold shock that she wasn’t set any assignment for the night. Of course at that point his stupid male mind went to the possibility of an affair. Goddammit, he shouldn’t have thought that! So he waited. Waited for her to come back and then give her a piece of his mind. Except more time ticked by and there was no sign of her. Then came the phone-call. 

Another chilling revelation where the Chief told him to stay put and not worry, they think they know where she is; when they’d discovered the security tape had been playing on loop; when they’d finally realised that a inside rat must have tampered with it. Despite the Chief’s command how could he have stayed put? Somewhere in his mind, something must have clicked because the next thing he knows he’s broken half of the city’s speed limits to get to the warehouses where he once dropped Sam off.

The whole place was surrounded by cop cars and the sirens of an ambulance could be heard gaining closer. He can remember how hard his blood had been pumping, the anticipation rushing through him; he could never forget that. And he can never forget how, once he’d managed to wrangle through the stationed police officers, Sam had been lying face down in a pool of blood.

His whole world had stopped then.

Everything had muted.

His knees had buckled but he’d struggled forward to get to her. He had to know that she was alive. They held him back though, despite his outrage and violent protest they held him back, telling him she’s alive but barely and they have to wait for the ambulance. The ambulance he’d followed all the way to this hospital.

“Mr Carter?”
“Yes.”
Adrian shakes his thoughts temporarily to the back of his mind, facing the surgeon with a cautious expression. One thing he refuses to do is allow strangers to see him break down. And he’s kept to that promise since the age of 15 where even his family haven’t seen him as anything but in control. Control is comforting, control makes him feel safe in the knowledge he can do something about it. But this…he can’t do anything about and he hates it.

“You are Miss Torres’s closest relative?” asks the older man with a raised eyebrow.
“Fiancé,” snaps back Ade.
He knows if he says boyfriend, they would insist on family members so this small lie will have to do, “she removes her ring for work.”
The surgeon nods in acceptance, “okay, well, the good news is, she made it. She’s a very, very lucky woman. In fact, by our estimates with the amount of blood loss she suffered she should not technically have survived and what’s even more surprising is her blood work-”
“Excuse me?” tentatively interrupts Ade. His body tenses tight, deliberating whether or not he has to shut up a few people to keep Sam’s genetics a secret.
“Yes, yes it’s quite fascinating. The blood seems to have clotted at the wounds at an alarmingly higher than average rate, however when we tested the blood, clotting tendency shows it to be in the normal region. Odd, but it did help to save her life, quite a miracle.”
The sigh of relief in Adrian is silent but it’s there, “fantastic, so am I able to see her now?”
The surgeon pauses, his thin lips pressing into a line as he winces slightly, “ah, yes however…she is asleep and…we’re not sure when she’ll be awake.”

Asleep? Confusion overcomes Ade before realisation and he cries, “she’s in a coma?!”
“Yes Mr Carter and we cannot predict when she will awake. Physically she’s been stabilised but psychologically I suspect she’s not ready yet. You can only give it time and be patient. We have a support group if you’d like to talk or a Pastor if you prefer. In the meantime, we will need to you to fill out our health forms on behalf of Miss Torres.”
Forms, okay, forms he can do. That’s fine. He can do that.
“Of course.”
“Great, one of my colleagues will get you them and direct you to your fiancé.”
Ade nods. What else can he do, but agree?


Finally, finally he can see her. If only those forms could help Sam though. He’d agreed to pay for the best treatment for her but there is no treatment, they’d said. They can only monitor her and wait for her to wake up. So he settled on giving her a large private room; one that at least when she wakes up she won’t feel so bad about being in. And Ade’s confident that she will wake up. She has to.
It’s the rules right? She’s his mate and even though he hasn’t marked her, she has to survive. She just has to. He doesn’t know what he’d do if she doesn’t. How will he be able to live his life? Work. Work would be all he’d have left if she leaves him.