Master Chief Graves brought Mr. and Mrs. Lundquist over to the trio and gestured toward them. “John and Stina Lundquist, these are some of Stefan’s good friends. This is Ian Sawyer, Cassandra Myers, and Sasha Lewis.” The master chief and captain had gotten to know some of the club members who’d arrived while Stefan had still been in surgery. But as far as Cass could tell, neither man was in the lifestyle, nor were the two aware of how they’d all known Stefan and from where. None of the Doms or subs would’ve let that cat out of the bag, especially to his superior. If Stefan wanted anyone from the Coast Guard or his family to know he was a practicing Dom, then he’d be the one to tell them.
After everyone had shaken hands, Ian said, “Stefan’s been stable since he’s gotten out of surgery. We didn’t want to leave until after you’d arrived, to make sure you didn’t need anything. I know the cardiologist is in CCU right now—I think he had another patient admitted. I’ll go tell him you’re here, and he can give you a full update.”
“Thank you,” John replied. “I understand there were a lot more of you earlier. Stina and I appreciate everyone being here for our son in lieu of his family. It made us feel more at ease knowing he was supported by good friends and coworkers until we could get here. I know he loves living in Florida, but it doesn’t make things easy when something like this happens.”
Ian nodded. “I hear you. In fact, my own folks are in the process of moving here from North Carolina, since my brothers and I all live in Tampa. They have two grandkids, now, and couldn’t stand being that far away.” He jutted his chin toward the door. “Let me get the doctor for you.”
“I’ll do it, Ian,” Cass found herself saying. It had taken her a few hours to be more comfortable not saying Master in front of his name and those of a few other Doms who’d been there earlier. She wasn’t used to seeing them outside of the club or at a lifestyle party. Looking at Ian, she held up her ID badge which was also an electronic key. “At this time of night, you’d have to get buzzed in, and they’re probably busy, getting ready for shift change. I’ll let Dr. Chang know Mr. and Mrs. Lundquist are here.”
Stefan’s mother smiled at her. “Thank you . . . Cassandra, was it?”
“Yes, ma’am. Although a lot of people have shortened it to Cass and Stefan calls me Cassie. I’ll respond to any and all versions of my name.” She didn’t know why she’d said all that when a simple “yes” could have sufficed, but when she was nervous or scared, she tended to babble a bit.
The woman’s smile broadened, and there was a twinkle in her eye, despite her worry for Stefan, when she declared, “I like Cassie—it’s pretty and suits you. And, please, call us Stina and John. There’s no need for formalities among friends.”
Cass adored her immediately. She was the type of mother who’d probably made sure her children’s friends always knew they were welcome at her house when they’d been younger and in school. And most likely still did so. “If you insist, then Stina and John it is. And Stefan said the exact same thing when we first met and he decided to call me Cassie.” Cass stepped toward the door leading to the hallway. “I’ll let Dr. Chang know you’re here. He’s very nice and one of the top cardiologists in the state.” When she saw a flash of relief in Stefan’s parents’ faces, she was glad she’d given their son’s physician a glowing endorsement. Knowing Stefan was being well taken care of by one of the best would hopefully ease their worry a little bit.
Soon after, Dr. Chang updated Stefan’s parents on his condition then let them see him for a few minutes, even though he was sleeping. Once the couple returned to the waiting room, Sasha and Ian took their leave after making sure the Lundquists didn’t need anything. The commander had arranged for them to have a room at a hotel nearby. The Coast Guard would surely take good care of Stina and John during this difficult time. But, just in case, Ian had given them his card with his personal cell number on it, telling them they could call him as well for anything at all. He also informed them that he and several of Stefan’s non-CG friends would be in and out of the hospital over the next few days, checking on both him and them. The couple was extremely grateful for all the support they were receiving.
When Stina and John mentioned they’d be staying in the waiting room for a little bit, since the nurses had promised to let them know if Stefan woke up, Cass decided to keep them company. Truthfully, she was afraid if she went home something terrible would happen again. Stefan had already suffered a massive heart attack and had gone into cardiac arrest in the ER. What if that happened again in the CCU? She knew she wasn’t being completely rational—Dr. Chang had assured them the blockage had been cleared and Stefan should be moved to the step-down cardiac unit as early as Monday. But Cass was still worried she’d go home and then return to find out he was gone—as in never-coming-back gone.
“Can I get you some coffee or tea, Stina? John? There’s both, in regular and decaf, if you don’t want the caffeine keeping you awake later.” She indicated the little station set up on the other side of the room. There was a Keurig hooked up to a constant water source, assorted coffee and tea pods, packets of sugar, sugar-substitutes, and honey, and a small refrigerator that held milk and creamers.
“Oh, I would love a cup of decaf tea,” Stina announced as she got comfortable on one of the room’s loveseats. “With a little bit of honey, if that’s what I see next to the machine. Thank you, Cassie.”
“You’re more than welcome. John?”
“No, thank you, Cassie. I’m fine.” Stefan’s father smiled wearily at her before bending at the waist and giving his wife a gentle kiss on her temple. “You two chat. I’m going to walk the hallway for a bit and stretch my legs. They’re still stiff from the flight.”
A few minutes later, Cass handed Stina a hot cup of tea with a dollop of honey. “Thank you, dear.” After the woman took it from her, she patted the cushion next to her. “Please, have a seat, if you insist on staying for a little while—which you really don’t have to do.”
“It’s no trouble. Besides, this is like a second home to me. Once in a while, when I’m lying in bed at night, my apartment seems too quiet. You’d think it would be welcoming after working in a busy hospital all day, but it really isn’t sometimes.”
“Which department do you work in?”
“Ironically, cardiology. Actually, I’m a cardiac rehab tech. I just have to work one Saturday and one Sunday a month doing EKGs, which is what I was doing today when I got called to the ER to find my patient was Stefan.”
Stina took a sip of tea and swallowed. “Mmm, that’s good. That must have been quite a shock for you.” When Cass nodded in agreement, the woman continued. “May I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Cass figured it would be a medical question, but it turned out she was wrong.
“Are you and Stefan dating?”
Her mouth dropped as her eyes rounded. “Um . . . no—no, we’re not. We’re just . . . um . . . friends. Good friends.” Well, they were . . . sort of. She couldn’t very well tell his mother Stefan had been her Dom for ten months, tying her up in Shibari ropes before fucking her until she screamed his name as the most intense orgasms of her life tore through her. Nope, she definitely couldn’t say all that.
“But you wish you were more than just friends, don’t you? You don’t need to answer that—I can see it on your face. While everyone else is worried, you’re terrified about what’s happened to him, but you’re trying to hide it.” Reaching over, Stina took Cass’s hand and squeezed it. “He’s going to be fine, Cassie. You’ll see.”
She had been trying to hide her emotions and was shocked Stina had seen through her facade as easily as Ian and the other Doms had. They all knew her well and knew how to read a person’s body language better than most people. She hadn’t even attempted to lie to any of them earlier, trying to pass herself off as just another concerned friend of Stefan’s. In those moments, they’d known the truth. That submissive Cassandra was in love with Master Stefan.
9<
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A constant beeping dragged a reluctant Stefan from his sleep, and he blinked several times before the room came into focus. Blue curtains. Scratchy, white sheets and blanket. IV pole. Antiseptic stench. Oxygen flowing from a cannula in his nose. Small TV on an adjustable arm. Feeling like he’d been run over by a Mack truck. Okay, he was alive. That was good, right?
The last thing he remembered was being in the ER and what? He’d been there for chest pain, and the doctor had given him a pill that made it go away, right? His mind raced, trying to recall the details. Nitroglycerin—that was it. What’d happened after that?
An image of Cassie, dressed in scrubs, floated into his brain—his beautiful pixie. No, not his. She’d given him his collar back, so she was no longer his. You idiot. She never was. You made sure she knew your whole time together was temporary and always had an end date. Never thought she’d be the one to break it off, did you? Dumbass.
The blood pressure cuff wrapped around his upper arm began to inflate as he inspected the area he was in. It wasn’t an actual room, but a cubicle. However, it didn’t look like the one in the ER, and, while there were definitely people moving around on the other side of the curtain, it wasn’t as busy. When had he been transferred? And where was he now?
The blue curtain opened with a swish, and a scrub-clad woman strode in. The tall brunette smiled when she saw him. “You’re awake—good. I’m Nancy, your nurse for the next several hours. How are you feeling?”
“Ok—” Stefan coughed on the word because his mouth and throat were parched, and pain flared in his chest. It didn’t feel like the last time, though, but he couldn’t remember when that was.
Nancy poured water from a plastic pitcher into a cup, then added a straw. Before giving it to him, she pushed a button on the side rail of the bed, and his upper torso began to rise at an angle. “Is that comfortable?” When he nodded, she brought the straw to his lips. “Drink up, but not too quickly.”
The cool liquid felt like heaven as he swallowed it down. After drinking his fill, he relaxed back onto the pillow.
“What happened?” he asked, happy his voice was almost back to normal.
“Well, according to the report I received this morning, you had an angiogram yesterday that resulted in them putting a stent in.”
“Stent? Why?” His uncle had gotten a stent put in his heart last year after developing unstable angina. But the man was seventy-six years old. Stefan was half his age. Maybe they put stents in other parts of the body too and not just in the heart. He was healthy as a horse. Or at least he thought he was.
“Dr. Chang, your cardiologist will be here shortly to explain everything to you.” She stuck a probe in his ear and took his temperature. “For now, just relax.”
He snorted as she wrote several numbers down on a chart after noting his vitals on the monitor. “Easier said than done. You’re not the one hooked up to a bunch of monitors and an IV, with oxygen tubing stuck up your nose.”
“And a urine catheter. Don’t forget about that sucker.”
Stefan gaped at her in horror, then slowly lifted the blanket and sheets covering his body just enough that he could see his crotch. He gingerly pulled the bottom of the hospital gown someone had put on him up and out of the way. Well, hell. That sucks. Good thing he didn’t remember it going in. He shivered at the thought and prayed it wouldn’t hurt like a bitch when it came out.
“Gee, thanks.”
Nancy patted his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Are you hungry? The breakfast trays just arrived.”
“Is it edible?”
“The tray? No. The breakfast?” She grinned and shrugged. “Honestly, it’s not half bad for hospital food. I’ll bring one in and you can give it a try. We also have yogurts and other quick and easy foods in the pantry.”
“Nurse Nancy, you’ve got a helluva sense of humor,” he said dryly. “We’ll get along just fine as long as you’re gentle when that damn catheter comes out.”
“Oh, I won’t be doing that. That’s Big Jim’s job.”
His jaw went slack as she walked out of the cubicle, then he shook his head. Hopefully she’d been kidding about “Big Jim.” There was no way he wanted some guy named Big Jim—or any guy for that matter—pulling a tube out of his junk, much less touching it.
After his breakfast arrived, Stefan picked at the lump of dry eggs, before passing on them. The pile of fresh fruit was pretty good, and the bowl of oatmeal was tolerable. If he hadn’t been so hungry, he would’ve waited to see if lunch was any better.
Once he was finished eating, he pushed the rolling bedside tray to the side. Glancing around the bed, he found the remote that controlled the TV. Turning it on, he watched the local news for a few minutes before a man, wearing glasses and a lab coat, strode in and held out his hand. “Stefan, I’m Dr. Chang. I doubt you remember me from yesterday—you were in bad shape there for a bit.”
Stefan shook his hand. “How bad? I barely remember anything. I know I had chest pain after a rescue, but it went away when they gave me nitroglycerin in the ER.”
The man leaned against the bedrail and crossed his arms. “And about an hour later, you had a massive MI—a heart attack—and went into full cardiac arrest. We had to shock you three times before we got your heart started again. You’re very lucky you were already in the ER when that happened.”
Stunned, he gawked at the man. “Holy sh . . . are you saying I was . . . I almost died yesterday?”
Chang nodded. “Like I said, you were very lucky. We had to intubate you and put you on a respirator. Once we got you stabilized, we took you to the OR for an angiogram. One of the main arteries of your heart was ninety-five percent blocked with plaque. We cleared most of it out and put a stent in that part of the artery to restore the blood flow. I had them remove the intubation tube before transferring you here from recovery, since your vitals were good, and you were able to breathe on your own. This morning, I’m sending you for an MRI to assess the extent of the damage from the MI. You’ll be in the hospital for a few days, but your prognosis is good. Before you’re released, we’ll do a stress test and see how you handle it.” He bent his elbows, lifting his hands and flashing his palms. “I think that about covers it. Any questions?”
Yeah, he had a lot of them, but the biggest was the one he couldn’t voice. What did this mean for his career? A massive heart attack could result in a medical discharge from the Coast Guard, and it wouldn’t be his decision. Damn it. This can’t be happening.
He shook his head, as his gaze dropped to his lap. “No, not yet. I’m sure I’ll have a few after this all sinks in.”
“No problem. While you’re waiting for them to come get you for the MRI, I’ve ordered some blood work and an EKG.” He pulled a stethoscope from his coat pocket and unraveled it before putting the ear pieces in. “Just going to take a listen.” He placed the bell of the instrument under Stefan’s thin, hospital gown, over his heart. “Breathe normally.” After a few seconds, he moved it a few inches. “Deep breath.” After Stefan complied, the bell was moved again. “Another . . . good.”
Standing erect again, Chang removed the stethoscope from his ears. “Okay. We’ll get those tests done, and I’ll be back to check on you later. For now, you’re on bedrest. Maybe this afternoon, you’ll be allowed to sit in the chair for a bit.” He pointed to an ugly, yellow recliner on the other side of the cubicle before adding, “Once I get the test results back, I’ll see about sending you to the step-down unit, all right?”
“Yeah, that’s fine, Doc. Thanks.” Stefan replied absentmindedly. His mind was still reeling from everything he’d been told. Holy shit, he’d had a fucking heart attack and almost died! At thirty-eight years old! Damn it!
Taking a deep breath, Cass steeled herself to maintain her composure before sliding the curtain out of the way and entering the cubicle. Stefan’s eyes had been shut, but they opened at the faint noise. His face lit up upon seeing her. “Hey, Cassie, what’re you doing here?”
She smiled and tried not to cry at the relief she felt. He was alive and talking, and his deep voice was the most wonderful sound in the world. He was pale, but at least it wasn’t the ashen color she’d seen on him yesterday. “Hey, back at ya. I’m here to do your EKG. How are you feeling?”
“Good. Well, not really. I actually feel like I was in a submarine that imploded.” His brow narrowed. “Didn’t you work yesterday? I thought your Saturday and Sunday shifts were never on the same weekend.”
As she pushed the portable machine into the space, Cass gestured to her jeans, cotton tee, and sandals. “Hence the reason I’m not in my usual scrubs. Since we’re not related, I technically couldn’t come into the CCU to see you, so I told the other cardiac tech, Tanya, I’d do your EKG for her this morning. There were a ton of orders waiting for her when she signed in, so she was more than happy to let me help out.”
“I’m sure she was. But you should be home, relaxing on your day off. You look exhausted.”
He hadn’t meant it as an insult, and she didn’t take it as one. It was a Dom thing. While he didn’t love her, she knew he cared about her as a sub . . . and maybe as a friend. After all, they did know each other intimately. Cass also wouldn’t admit he was right. She’d only had about three hours of sleep last night, or this morning as it were. Stefan’s parents and she had left the hospital shortly after midnight, since he hadn’t woken up while they’d been there. Once back in her apartment, she’d tried to sleep, but it’d been elusive. All she’d been able to do was think about how close they’d all come to losing Stefan. She couldn’t imagine a world without him in it. Cass wasn’t exactly sure what time she’d nodded off, but it’d been after 3:00 a.m., and then she’d been up with the sun, a little over three hours later.
Knot a Chance: Doms of The Covenant Book 3 Page 7