“I’ll wait out here for you,” Braxton said, giving my shoulder a squeeze before taking a seat in a chair across the hall from the room.
As I walked toward the bed, I noticed two bags of fluid hanging above her head. A nurse followed me inside and made her way to the sink to wash her hands. Coraline was curled up on her side, facing me, but her eyes were closed as she slept. My eyes bounced all over the room, checking the monitors, hoping they would relay that everything was okay with her. I had no idea what all of those numbers and lines meant on the screens, but I knew the sound of a heartbeat through the monitor, and I sighed heavily when hers was a strong, steady beat.
“We’ve given her a narcotic antagonist to counteract the drugs she’d been injected with during the incident. Those bags are nothing but saline to keep her hydrated,” the nurse spoke softly. “I’ll give you a few minutes. My name is Harriet, if you need anything else.”
I nodded and waited for the sound of the door closing before I walked up to the bed and sank to my knees.
“Oh, baby,” I cried, resting my forehead on her arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Chapter 23
Coraline
I blinked a few times, squinting against the bright white light that blinded my vision as soon as my eyes cleared enough to tell me I was in a hospital. My body was covered in a white blanket and I burrowed down deeper into its warmth when I felt a cold chill race through my body. My teeth chattered and it took all I had not to break my jaw from the force of trying to keep to tremors at bay.
“Baby?” Taylor whispered. My eyes flashed to my right and there he was…my knight in shining armor, sitting as close to the bed as he could without actually being in it beside me.
“T…Taylor,” I shook, looking around the room when I felt my bottom lip start to quiver. When I realized we were alone, I let the first tear fall, but the others afterward did nothing more than pour out of my eyes. I scrambled out of the bed, but Taylor stood quickly and took me into his arms, cradling me against his chest as if I were a small child. I buried my face in his neck as he climbed in the hospital bed, raising it with the remote so that he could sit up with me in his arms.
“Shh, Cora,” he cooed, kissing my temple and stroking my short hair. He rearranged the tubes and wires so that I didn’t get tangled up in them. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you…I’ve got you.”
“I’m so c…cold,” I complained. Taylor rearranged the blanket around my body that was only covered by a stupid hospital gown. My bare ass sat in his jean covered lap, but I didn’t care. He was here and I wasn’t dead.
“Lift your feet,” he motioned, waiting until I complied to tuck the ends of the blanket under my toes where they rested next to his massive thighs. “Good girl. Let me hold you and get you warm.”
“What happened?” I asked, nuzzling my face into neck. His scent washed over me and I felt myself relaxing into his embrace. “I don’t remember much.”
“Doug injected you with heroin,” he growled, tightening his hold when he felt me stiffen. “We were able to get you to the hospital in time to have them give you an antidote to keep you alive. They are going to keep you here for twenty-four hours just to make sure you are okay.”
“No,” I wimpered. “We have to leave! You’ll miss the show in Memphis!”
“It’s already been canceled,” he informed me, kissing my temple.
“Wait,” I froze. “How long have I been here? What day is it?” I was groggy, but not so much that I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I knew that I was in a hospital, because the nurse explained everything to me as I was put in this room. She didn’t know all of the details, but I knew Taylor would explain everything to me once he came to my room.
“It’s Saturday morning,” he answered, closing his eyes. It wasn’t until then that I noticed how the skin under his eyes was dark and there was a slight smattering of hair on his face, like he hadn’t shaved in a day or two. “You’ve only been here about eight hours.”
“You canceled the show?” I asked, confused. “We can still make it, Taylor.”
“No,” he said, but there was no demand behind it. It was like he was just too tired to argue with me. “Please, Cora. You are our main priority right now. Plus, the announcement has already been made. We are not doing the show tonight. We will pick back up Tuesday in St. Louis.” We had Sunday and Monday off to rest and travel to Missouri. Now, it looked like we would be spending some of that time here in Nashville.
“Am…am I going to be okay?” I had to ask, because the look on his face was honestly scaring me.
“Yes, baby,” he nodded. “You are going to be okay, but the doctors are wanting to watch you, and maybe run a few tests on your brain to make sure there was no lasting damage from the heroin.”
“How much did he inject me with?” I wondered out loud, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer.
“I don’t know the exact dose, but it was enough that it should have killed you,” he stopped, trying to compose himself. Taylor stiffened with anger as he talked about what Doug had done. “God, Cora. When I found you…When I saw him hurting you, my heart stopped.”
“Thank you for saving me,” I whispered, placing my cold fingers against the side of his face. Instead of flinching, Taylor closed his eyes again and turned his face to place a kiss to the palm of my hand.
“I’d do it every day for the rest of my life if I had to,” he vowed, taking his left hand and cupping my head so he could tuck it into the crook of his neck. “You need to rest. We will talk more once you wake up.”
“Okay,” I yawned, letting him take over for me, because I was exhausted. As I closed my eyes, letting sleep take me under, I had a feeling that Taylor wasn’t telling me everything. It was just that I was too damn exhausted to worry about it at the moment.
My name being called roused me from a deep sleep. I was curled up against a warm muscular body and I couldn’t even muster up enough strength to open my damn eyes. I smiled into the cotton shirt that was pressed against my face and let sleep take me once again.
“Coraline, wake up.” Taylor’s deep voice registered in my brain, but I just didn’t want to wake up, unless there was coffee. “Kane’s here, baby.”
“Kane,” I wheezed, my eyes blinking rapidly. Why the fuck was my cousin here at the hospital? Oh, who the hell was I kidding? Kane wouldn’t just stay away if I’d been hurt. I’m sure he used the band’s private jet to get to my bedside.
“Hey, cuz,” Kane smiled, standing next to the bed. He didn’t even frown at us when I realized I was still in Taylor’s arms. He must’ve held me while I slept, not moving from the same spot on the bed.
“Hey,” I blurted out, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. There were only two men in my life who’d seen me lose control, and both of them were in the room with me. I didn’t want to give them any reason to freak the hell out and become even more protective than they already were…especially Kane.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed. My eyes danced around the room, checking to make sure we were alone.
“Why are you here?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes. The more I watched my cousin…the more I felt Taylor stiffen against me and I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.
“I’m taking you home,” Kane stated. It took a moment for the words to sink in. I knew he was prepared for a fight from me, because he sat forward in his chair and the look of sheer determination flashed across his face. He wasn’t going to budge on this.
“No,” I snarled. “I’m fine. I’m going to be fine!” I pushed myself up and straightened my spine. I would not look weak in front of them, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to go back to Los Angeles to lay around doing nothing.
“Just for a week, Coraline,” Kane urged, narrowing his eyes before glancing over his shoulder at Taylor.
Why was Taylor not saying anything? Did he not want me here?
&n
bsp; “I’m not leaving, Kane,” I growled, turning my face so that I was nose to nose with Taylor. “Please don’t make me go, Taylor. Please.”
“It’s for the best, Coraline,” he spoke slowly. “You can come back once you are okay, but I can’t take care of you on the road. Kane and I want what’s best for your health. We don’t know what, if any, lasting effects the heroin may have on your system. We want you to see a doctor and make sure you are healthy enough to go back to work. I don’t want you doing anything that could cause you to get hurt.”
“Did you ever think to ask me what I wanted? What I thought would be best for me?” I snarled. They were ganging up on me and I didn’t like it. Backing me into a corner to bully me into doing what they thought was best was not the way to handle things with me. They should know that by now.
Where the hell did they get off making decisions for me? They didn’t know what was going on in my mind or my body.
“It’s to make sure that you don’t become addicted,” Kane responded, dropping his hand on my shoulder. “Even if you’ve never done drugs, your body may begin to crave it, Cora. The doctors want you to be watched for a few days, and I’d feel better if you did that at home.”
“That’s bullshit,” I scoffed. “They gave me an antidote, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” I tossed my hands in the air in frustration, letting them fall heavy in my lap.
“It’s still a dangerous drug that was introduced into your system and no one knows how you will be affected by it,” Taylor added. “Please, Coraline. I can’t take care of you and still do my job…”
“You know what?” I shouted, cutting him off. I scrambled out of Taylor’s lap, slapping his hand away when he reached out to steady me as I wobbled on my bare feet. “Fuck you, Taylor Vaughn. I don’t need a fucking babysitter, and I sure as fuck do not need you to choose between me and your job! GET OUT!”
“Cora,” he warned, his green eyes going dark, darker than I’ve ever seen them. I had to look away from both of the men in my life that wanted to shield me from everything. I wasn’t a child, but they were sure as hell acting like I was.
“Get. OUT!” I wrapped the blanket around my body and climbed back into the hospital bed, anger boiling in my veins. When Taylor started walking toward me, I pointed my finger toward the door again and said, “Get the fuck out of here! Both of you!”
The two men froze for only a moment, but it didn’t take them long to realize I wasn’t kidding. I flinched when they both leaned over and kissed my forehead before silently leaving me alone. I couldn’t believe they had just decided what I was going to do. No one…and I mean no one would tell me how to deal with shit in my life. No…not anymore.
It wasn’t their place to make those decisions for me. I was a grown ass woman and didn’t need their permission to get more medical help. The antidote canceled out the drugs that Doug injected into my body. I didn’t crave that high or whatever the hell you called that episode that happened. The last thing my body wanted to do was relive that horrible event.
And if they thought for one damn minute that I would go quietly back to Los Angeles like a good little girl and sit on my ass when I could be working, they obviously are not as smart as I gave them credit for. Oh, hell to the no! I’ll just pack my bags and find a deserted island somewhere in the Caribbean to spend the rest of the time off from work. I didn’t need Taylor Vaughn to keep an eye on me so he could do his job. I didn’t need him.
If I didn’t need him, then why the hell was I frantically wiping the steady stream of tears that were falling from my eyes?
Chapter 24
Taylor
“Well, that didn’t go very well,” Kane snickered, trying to keep a straight face.
“No,” I tucked my chin, fighting the urge to grin. “I’d say that didn’t go very well at all.”
“Stubborn ass woman,” Kane lamented. When our eyes connected, I saw the corners of his crinkle, and we both burst out laughing for all we were worth. “She’s not going to come home with me. You know this, right?”
“Yeah,” I concurred, shaking my head slightly. “She’s going to do what she wants to do.”
We’d stepped out of Coraline’s room and found a set of chairs a few doors down to sit. I took the seat that gave me a direct line of sight to her room. Even I could admit that I had a feeling she would bolt. She’d run and never come back to me if she felt like she was being cornered. That’s exactly what we’d done, too.
“When is the doctor expected to come back?” Kane asked. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tops of his legs, sighing heavily when he ran his hands through his hair.
“Around noon,” I told him. “He may release her this afternoon, but I’m not certain.”
“So, where do you go from here?” he asked.
“I march right back in that room and take her with me to Kansas City,” I vowed, taking a deep breath and standing to my full height. I was tired of this fucking game of chase Cora and I had been caught in over the past few months. She was mine and it was time I claimed her. “She’s mine, Kane. Your cousin owns my fucking heart, and I’m not going to let her run from me again.”
“You love her?” he stammered, clearing his throat. When I looked up into his eyes, I could see how much he and Cora looked alike. The fire she had in her hazel gaze was staring back at me from the man standing in front of me, staking his big brother rights on protecting her.
“I do love her,” I beamed. “She loves me, but she hasn’t admitted it. I promise you, I will make her happy, but I’m not going to ask for your blessing.”
“No,” he laughed. “No, I don’t think my blessing will amount to a hill of beans, because it’s Coraline Maddox’s blessing you are looking for when it comes to this.”
“You know what?” I grinned, looking over at the door to her room. I didn’t even wait for his reply to finish what I was going to say. “You are absolutely right.”
“Yes, I am,” he snorted, slapping my shoulder in a way that told me he was happy for us. “I’m going to go grab something to eat. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Okay,” I said, turning in the direction to go claim my girl. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Make her happy, Taylor,” he warned.
“You have nothing to worry about there, Kane,” I promised, throwing out a goodbye over my shoulder. I didn’t really pay much attention to her cousin as I grabbed the handle, shoving it wide open and causing the door to hit the wall behind it with too much force.
“Jesus Christ, Taylor,” she clutched her chest. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
When she looked up, all of the color drained from her face, seeing me standing in the doorway with my arms crossed across my chest. I knew I looked menacing just standing there, but I was tired of this bullshit we’d been going through for what seemed like forever. If I really looked back, it’d been almost two years since I’d met the little firecracker that was Coraline Maddox. And I swear I’d known, even then, that she was going to be mine.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” She sat up in the bed and I noticed that she’d changed into her street clothes and had the small backpack I’d brought her sitting on the chair next to her bed.
“Going somewhere?” I gritted the question through my teeth and used my chin to jut out toward the bag.
“Uh…yeah,” she responded, clearing her throat a few times because she was nervous.
“Where?” I demanded, knowing damn good and well, either she was going to tell me or lie her way out of this room and go to an airport so she could run.
“I’m supposed to be released this afternoon,” she mumbled, her voice small and wavering. “So, I’m just getting ready to go. I hate hospitals.”
“Liar,” I growled, dropping my arms and taking one step toward her. She froze, her eyes widening with some form of fear. I didn’t like that look at all, so I relaxed my jaw so that I didn’t look like a deranged killer.
“That’
s just plain mean, Taylor,” she complained, placing a hand on her hip. As I approached, I noticed that the dark circles under her eyes had lighted substantially since she arrived at the hospital. Her bottom lip was still swollen, but nowhere near as bad as it was when we arrived.
“You’re running away from me, aren’t you?” I fumed, coming to a stop right next to the bed. Bending at the waist, I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes for just a moment, inhaling her delicious scent.
“Yes,” she admitted, causing my eyes to open wide. Her nose crinkled and she rubbed her forehead against mine. “I was going to run away.”
“Not happening, baby,” I announced. “The only place you are going is with me…nowhere else. Got it?”
“But…Kane,” she halted, her eyes searching mine for something. I didn’t know what it was that she needed to see in my eyes, but I’d let her look all fucking day if that’s what she needed to assure herself.
“Kane went to get something to eat and to give us some privacy,” I said. “He’ll be back in a little while.”
“Okay,” she sighed, relaxing and leaning back in the bed. The upper half was raised, so she ended up in a sitting position with a few pillows behind her head. I nudged her hips with my hand until she scooted over enough for me to take a seat next to her.
“Coraline,” I started, taking her tiny hand into mine. When she looked up at me, I pulled her into a fierce hug, burying my face into her neck, the only place I’d ever found comfort. Pressing a tender kiss to the skin there, I pulled back slightly and bumped our foreheads together.
“Taylor?” she questioned, her beautiful hazel eyes drowned with worry.
“I love you,” I said. “I think I’ve always loved you, Coraline. I’m tired of you running…hell, I’m begging you not to run from me, because I need you. You are my lifeline, baby.”
Fatal Desires (Fatal Cross Live! Book 1) Page 14