She led us through a set of automatic doors and into the bustling ER. She took us to a room with a glass sliding door and a curtain blocking any view into it. She knocked briskly on the glass before sliding the door aside to let us enter. I paused as fear of what I'd find on the other side of the door hit me. Images of my mother's gaunt and sickly appearance after her health had slowly wasted away until she had nothing left flooded my mind. I was terrified to see my dad that way too.
Gareth's hand suddenly came to rest on the back of my neck in a firm reassuring grip. "Relax. Breath," he said close to my ear in a quiet yet still authoritative tone.
I didn't understand why his dominant tone was helping me at this point, but I wasn't going to question it. The alternative was shutting down completely and curling up into a ball in a corner. I nodded jerkily and pulled myself together as I pushed the curtain aside and forced myself to step into the room.
"Hi, kiddo," my dad called out softly from the hospital gurney he was lying on.
He was all alone in the room, and wearing a hideous blue hospital gown with wires sticking out from one sleeve. They were attached to a beeping monitor on the nearby wall. An IV was running into his left arm, and some clear tubing was tucked behind each ear and running under his nose with what I assumed was oxygen. His face was pale, and he looked clammy and unwell. I stood there for a moment and stared at him, unable to take my eyes away from sight of this man who'd always been so strong and healthy, but was anything but that now.
"Hi, Dad," I finally said in a fragile tone as I hurried over to him and grabbed his hand in a death grip. His palm was sweaty against mine.
Dad's eyes moved past me to look at Gareth, who was still near the door watching me closely. Dad looked at me curiously. "Who's your friend?"
I smiled wanly as I squeezed his hand. "That's my boyfriend, Gareth." I glanced over and smiled at Gareth as I said it. He smiled back at me like I'd never seen before, his eyes lighting up with happiness. A shiver of pleasure fell over me. I did that. I put that smile there.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Burke," Gareth said as he approached the gurney. "I wish it was under better circumstances."
"Boyfriend?" Dad said suspiciously as he narrowed his eyes at Gareth with heated eyes. "I've never heard anything about you before."
"Dad," I admonished him as I rolled my eyes. Even sick and in a hospital bed, my dad was overprotective when it came to his baby girl.
"It's recent development, sir," Gareth replied in a respectful tone as he glanced at me with amusement glittering in his dark eyes.
Dad cocked an eyebrow at Gareth as he gave him an assessing stare. Gareth met his eyes with unflinching confidence and put a proprietary arm around my waist. Dad frowned, but didn't say anything else threatening toward Gareth.
"What's going on, Dad?" I finally asked worriedly. "Has the doctor said what's wrong yet?"
He suddenly looked ashamed and averted his gaze in discomfort.
"He stopped taking his blood pressure medicine," Lydia's voice answered for him in an angry voice from behind me. "That's what's wrong."
I turned around to see that Lydia and Andy had just walked into the room. My sister had a bottle of water in her hand. She must have stepped out to get it. Lydia frowned at Gareth for a second before glaring at Dad with anger and a glimmer of fear in her eyes. I glanced at Andy to see a surprised expression on his face when he noticed Gareth, then he immediately started glowering at him with hard glittering eyes. If Gareth noticed Andy's animosity, he didn't react or let on that it bothered him. I was sure he was aware of it though. Gareth never missed anything going on around him.
I turned back to Dad. "Is that true?" I asked him in confusion.
He wouldn't meet my eyes, and stared at his lap as he pressed his lips together. It was basically a confession.
"Dad," I said in a wavering voice. "Why?"
"Yeah, Dad," Lydia chimed in irritably. "Why?"
Dad looked back and forth between us with a pained expression, then glanced at Gareth with a wary expression.
"I think I'll step out and get Malory some coffee," Gareth said diplomatically as he squeezed my shoulder comfortingly. He was giving my dad and us the privacy we needed, and I was grateful for his tact. He placed a brief kiss to my temple that garnered him another glare from Andy, who watched with clear animosity as Gareth turned and left the room. It pissed me off, and he and I were going to have words later.
"I need something to drink too," Andy abruptly announced with narrowed and calculating eyes as he swiftly walked out himself, despite the bottle of water he already had in his hand.
I almost smirked. If Andy thought he could confront Gareth and intimidate him, he was going to be sorely mistaken, but I had more pressing matters to worry about right now.
"Dad," I said in a demanding tone.
"I...I forgot to get it filled," he replied lamely, still not looking at Lydia or me.
"You're going to have to do better than that lame excuse again, Dad," Lydia said sharply.
Dad finally looked up and glanced back and forth between us with a sorrowful expression. "I really did forget," he said in a soft tone, "but then I didn't bother to get it filled when I remembered." He stared down at his hands dejectedly. "I just didn't care."
"Didn't care?" I asked as Lydia and I stared at him in confusion.
He started absently fiddling with his wedding ring. Even though it had been five years since he lost Mom, he'd never taken it off, not once. Sudden understanding hit me as I stared at his hands. He'd stopped taking his medicine because he didn't care if he lived or died. He might not care, but we did.
I grabbed his hand in a desperate grip. "I can't image how hard these last few years have been for you, but we can't lose you too." Tears cascaded down my face. "Lydia and I need you to be our dad. Alice needs you to be her grandpa." I grabbed Lydia's hand as she started to sob softly. "We all love you and need you."
"I...I miss her so much," he whispered raggedly.
"We all do," Lydia said in a wavering voice as she took Dad's other hand in hers.
"I'm sorry, girls." He shook his head slowly. "I wasn't thinking. I'm so sorry. I just...I just feel so alone." His eyes glistened with emotion.
"You're not alone, Dad," I added. "We're here for you, and you can always talk to us."
He nodded and pulled us into an awkward hug since he was lying on a hospital bed, but we managed anyway. We were interrupted by a brisk knock on the door. We turned to see a tall thin man in navy scrubs walking in. His dark eyes were kind, and he had an air of competence to him. He walked right up to us.
"Hi," he said to me with a smile. "I'm Dr. Leonard. You must be the other daughter?"
"I'm Malory," I said with a nod. "Is my dad okay?" I asked anxiously.
"He will be," the doctor replied. "His untreated hypertension led to atrial fibrillation or a-fib, which is a heart beat that is rapid and irregular. It caused the chest pain and the palpations. His blood work and chest x-ray were normal, but we need to do a cardioversion to reset his heart back to its normal rhythm. We'll do that with medication today, then he'll need to be on blood thinners for a few weeks or longer to lessen the risk of a stroke that comes with a-fib."
"A stroke?" I asked fearfully.
"It's a necessary precaution," Dr. Leonard replied evenly, then he eyed Dad sharply. "Just like it's necessary that you take your blood-pressure medication, Mr. Burke." His tone was chiding, and Dad nodded sheepishly in reply. Dr. Leonard nodded. "I'm going to have to ask you to step out while we do the cardioversion, and we'll let you know when we're finished. Hopefully, the medication works quickly, and your father will start feeling better right away."
"Thanks, doctor," Lydia said in a relieved voice. She turned to smile at Dad. "I love you, and we'll see you in a bit." She leaned down to kiss his cheek, and I did the same.
"I love you, Dad," I told him softly.
"I love you too, girls," he said with a wan and apologetic
smile.
Lydia and I left the room. I took one more look at my father and gave him a reassuring smile before the curtain fell back into place. I hated seeing him look so frail. I let out a deep heartfelt sigh, then followed after Lydia, hoping everything turned out okay, and I didn't have to see Dad like this again for a very very long time.
**********
"So your dating Gareth now?" Lydia asked as we made our way to the waiting room.
"I am," I replied with a smile.
"Andy said the guy didn't date anybody, and that he was just using you." Lydia looked confused and concerned as she frowned at me.
"Andy said a lot of things he shouldn't have," I said irritably.
"You know he just worries about you," she said reasonably.
I huffed in exasperation. "It's been two years since that insanity with Clay." I shook my head. "He needs to let it go."
"He cares about you and doesn't want you to get hurt." Lydia answered.
"I can take care of myself."
"I know that," Lydia said in understanding. She did too. Lydia was a great big sister, and always let me be my own woman. "Andy just has a big heart, and he gets carried away."
"Then you better tell him to butt out, or I will."
Lydia suddenly stopped in front of me as the doors to the waiting room slid open. I almost ran into her. "Something tells me someone already beat you to it."
I peered around my sister to see Gareth and Andy standing in the middle of the waiting room. Gareth was glaring down at Andy, who had his back to Lydia and me as we warily approached the confrontation.
"What are my intentions with Malory?" Gareth asked snidely, his eyes darkening with anger. "What were yours when you tried to poison her against me?"
"I just told her the truth," Andy snapped back cuttingly. "You're using her."
Gareth took a step closer to stare balefully down at Andy, who was a good four inches shorter. "You don't know me, so don't presume to know how I feel about Malory or our relationship," he growled out through clenched teeth as his hands tightened into fists at his sides.
"I know you're bad news, and I don't want you subverting Malory or hurting her," Andy responded heatedly as he fearlessly glared up at Gareth with anger flashing in his pale blue eyes. "She's a good girl."
"Then you don't know Malory at all or what she needs."
"What she needs is a good guy who will take care of her like she deserves."
"What she deserves is to be given enough respect to make her own decisions about her life, and what she needs." He leaned into Andy's face. "Something you're obviously incapable of," he added meaningfully in an eerily quiet and threatening tone as his lip curled menacingly.
Holy crap, he was intense and utterly frightening. His eyes were pitch black now, his body tense with barely suppressed rage as if he were ready to explode into physical violence. I'd seen Gareth fight, and I knew what he was capable of. He could really hurt Andy if he wanted to. That was when I noticed the two security guards slowly approaching out of the corner of my eye. Crap. The last thing I wanted was to make a scene, or for us to get thrown out of the hospital when Dad needed us here.
Andy puffed up indignantly and God only knew what he'd say next. He didn't have the sense to realize he was outmatched and in danger of having his ass beat. I had to cut in before things escalated.
"Andy," I snapped out angrily.
Andy stiffened in surprise as I marched up to him. He turned toward me with a startled expression. "Mal-" he began, but I interrupted him.
"Didn't I tell you to butt out of this?"
"But-"
"My relationship with Gareth is none of your goddamn business." I glared at him fiercely. I glanced over to see a smug look on Gareth's face, but he had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.
"Relationship?" Andy asked irritably. "Letting some asshole use you isn't a relationship."
Gareth's eyes instantly lit up with black fire as a low growl bubbled up out of his throat. His body puffed up angrily, and his weight shifted forward as he readied to go after Andy. Andy noticed immediately with violence burning in his eyes as he tensed for an attack. I had to stop this stupidity. I stepped between them and placed a hand on each man's chest. I was thankful they stopped and didn't just start fighting with me in the middle.
"Seriously? You're going to do this in the middle of a hospital waiting room while my dad's in here sick?" I asked in exasperation as I glared back and forth between them.
The two of them were still glaring at each other over my head. Andy was a fool for confronting Gareth here, and Gareth was an idiot for almost losing control of himself over it, not to mention the other people in the room watching us. I felt my face flush in embarrassment.
"This asshole shouldn't even fucking be here," Andy growled out sharply as he pointed at Gareth.
"And this bastard needs to back the fuck off before I make him eat his goddamn teeth," Gareth said in a quiet menacing tone that gave me the chills. The security guards were inching closer.
"I'd like to see you try, you-" Andy began in a snarl as he surged toward Gareth.
"Andrew," Lydia barked out as she grabbed her husband's arm. He froze then turned to look at her. "That's enough. You're a father now, and you're not going to brawl in the middle a hospital waiting room." Guilt flooded Andy's features. "What would my father think if he knew you were out here acting like an idiot?"
"I'm...I'm sorry," he replied sheepishly as he frowned.
The security guards finally stopped, still eying us warily. I felt Gareth stiffen under my palm. I turned to see him looking at the security guards with a deep frown and haunted eyes that looked lost to me. He looked down at me as his eyes turned apologetic.
"Come on," I said softly as I grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Let's go get me that coffee."
He nodded, and I led him away without a glance at Andy. Lydia would take care of her idiot husband. Right now, Gareth needed me. I took him down the hall in the direction of the cafeteria. I'd spent so much time here when Mom was sick, that I knew the place very well even after five years. I sighed sadly. No one who doesn't work at a hospital should know it that well.
When we reached the cafeteria, we went to the coffee bar and silently got ourselves some coffee. Then Gareth led me to an empty booth in one corner. We sat across from each other, and I worriedly watched him staring at his steaming mug. He fingered the handle absently with a frown.
"I hate that word," he finally said in a harsh whisper, still not looking up at me.
"What word?" I asked in confusion.
"Asshole," he said bitterly. "My ex-wife always called me that." He looked up at me with sincere eyes and a furrowed brow. "I'm not using you, Malory. I swear." He looked at his mug again with sorrowful eyes as his tone turned morose. "Believe me, I've been used, and I'd never do that to anyone else."
He was talking about his own mother and his ex-wife. Two people he should have been able to trust. What kind of woman acted like that? It made me so angry, because he deserved better.
"I know," I answered him firmly.
"I'm sorry," he said as he gave me an apologetic expression. "I shouldn't have let him get under my skin like that. I usually have more control, but with you..." He stared off across the room and sighed, "With you, I get a little crazy."
"Well, sometimes I like it when you lose control because of me," I replied with a wry smile, trying to lighten his dark mood.
His eyes heated as a corner of his mouth twitched into a sexy smirk. "I don't mind sometimes either," he said in a low husky tone.
I stared at his mouth for a moment wishing we were alone. I knew he could take me out of my own head and give me what I needed. He could distract me from my fear and worry about my father right now. My lips dropped into a frown at thoughts of my father. I hoped he was okay right now.
Gareth frowned worriedly at me. "Is your dad going to be alright?" he asked as if he was reading my mind.
&nb
sp; "I hope so," I answered, then explained what the doctor told us and what they were doing right now. I looked down at my coffee as I started to feel sick with worry. "I'm so scared," I whispered. I wanted my dad healthy and alive. I just wanted this all to be over. My eyes started to burn.
"Come here, Malory," he said in a soft yet still authoritative tone. "Come sit over here with me."
I immediately rose and moved to Gareth's side of the booth to sit down next to him. He put a strong arm around me and pulled me in close against his side. His warmth and his sandalwood cologne enveloped me. He smelled so good. I sighed contentedly, feeling better already.
"I..." he trailed off uncomfortably for a second before starting over in a low seductive voice. "I've got you now, beautiful." He nuzzled his face into my hair. "Everything is going to be fine, and then I'm going to take you home with me and make you forget all your worries. I'll make you feel so good. The only thought in your gorgeous head will be me, and how much you please me."
"Yes, sir," I whispered breathlessly. "That sounds wonderful."
He pressed soft kisses to my ear, making me shiver with desire. "I'll always give you what you need," he said with certainty as he wrapped me into a full hug.
Always. I liked the sound of that. I sighed and curled in closer to his warmth as I closed my eyes, feeling calmer already.
Suddenly, Gareth stiffened. I opened my eyes and looked up to see him staring across the room with angry glittering eyes. I followed his gaze to see Andy and Lydia approaching us from the other side of the cafeteria. The animosity that had been on Andy's face earlier, was now replaced by a chagrined and apologetic expression. The change in Andy's demeanor had no effect on Gareth. His animosity was still very clear and very hostile.
Andy stopped next to our table with Lydia right behind him with her arms crossed and her eyes sharply focused on her husband. He sheepishly met my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mal," he said sincerely. "Your personal life is none of my business, and I should have respected that."
"It's okay, Andy," I replied. "I know you just want to protect me."
He shook his head. "That doesn't give me the right to act like a complete asshole."
Dark Dominion: Dangerous Desire Book 1 Page 24