Page 30 of The Oath Operation
Frantically, he fumbled through Jules’ bag, searching for something, anything that could help. There was a pack of glucose tablets, a small box of sugar-free candies, and a few pre-packaged snacks—crackers with peanut butter, a small pouch of mixed nuts, and a granola bar.
Which should he choose? Wait? Was food the answer? Did she need more sugar or less? Probably less if the sugar in the drink had brought about this episode.
He caught sight of a sleek, small insulin pen. Would this do the trick? The pen felt cold and heavy in his hand, a lifeline and a threat all at once. He knew enough about diabetes to understand that insulin was crucial, but he also knew that if he administered it at the wrong time or in the wrong dosage, he could make things worse—much worse. It wasn’t like administering a bandage or disinfecting a wound; this was a delicate balance that could tip either way.
Fish stared at the pen, his mind racing. What should he do? If her blood sugar was too high, the insulin could help bring it down, but what if it wasn’t high enough? What if her blood sugar had dropped too low from the hike and the insulin pushed it even lower? He could send her into hypoglycemia, and the consequences of that were terrifying.
His gaze darted back to her monitor, the numbers flashing in a way that made his heart sink. He knew what the numbers meant in a general sense, but they felt like a foreign language right now, impossible to decipher in his panicked state.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breath came in short, ragged gasps. He couldn’t afford to get this wrong. The wrong move could cause her more harm, maybe even… No, he couldn’t think like that. He had to keep his head clear, but the fear was overwhelming, clouding his thoughts.
Time dragged on, each second feeling like an eternity. He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, his touch gentle but his heart in turmoil. He felt the dampness of his own sweat mixing with the cool air; the contrast jarring. He felt like he might pass out beside her.
But he couldn’t. He had to get her to safety, to help. Desperation sharpened his focus. In the end, he realized there was only one decision.
Fish reached again into Jules’s bag. When his fingers found what he was looking for, he thumbed the device to bring it to life. He scrolled through the contacts of Jules' phone until he found the person he was looking for. There was only one person who could help her now, even though it was the last person he ever thought he’d reach out to.
He hesitated for a moment, the name glowing on the screen like a lifeline. Then he pressed the call button. The phone rang loudly in the oppressive silence of the forest.
Finally, there was a click, and a familiar voice answered, laced with irritation. "Jules? You finally come to your senses?"
Fish’s throat tightened. "Amari, it's Fish. I need your help."
ChapterTwenty-Two
Jules slowly drifted back to consciousness. The sterile scent of antiseptic and the faint hum of machinery greeted her senses. She felt disoriented, her body heavy and sluggish, as if she were swimming through a thick fog. The harsh fluorescent lights overhead made her squint, and the white ceiling tiles blurred together as she tried to focus.
Not that there was anything to see. She was in a hospital room. That much she knew. She'd been in enough of these stark white rooms as a kid when they'd learned of her diabetes prognosis. She'd steadily avoided them in her teenage and adult years. How had she wound up back here today?
Her mouth was dry. She tasted a lingering sweetness on her tongue. The taste quickly turned bitter, reminding her of the sports drink that had triggered this episode. Jules' head throbbed with a dull ache, and every muscle in her body felt sore and fatigued, protesting even the smallest movement. The events of the hike came rushing back in fragmented pieces—Fish’s worried face, the beeping of her blood sugar monitor, the overwhelming nausea, and then darkness.
Her body felt strange—tired, yet restless. There was a dull ache in her limbs, a heavy fatigue that seeped into her bones. Her tongue felt thick and fuzzy, and she swallowed with some difficulty. Her head throbbed with a dull, persistent headache, and her stomach churned uneasily, a lingering reminder of the hike and the sugary drink that had tipped her system into chaos.
Jules shifted slightly, feeling the crisp hospital sheets against her skin. A soft groan escaped her lips, and she blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog from her mind. Her vision slowly sharpened. The steady beeping of a heart monitor and the rhythmic hiss of an IV drip punctuated the silence.
Her eyes scanned the room, searching for any familiar faces. Her heart immediately started to race as she caught no sight of her husband. She didn't see Fish anywhere. Was he still up on that mountain of a hill? If he was, how had she gotten here? Maybe he'd carried her all the way down and was now hurt.
Jules caught a faint whiff of his masculine scent lingering in the air. He'd been here even if he wasn't now. The smell of him brought her a small measure of comfort, knowing he had been there with her. But where was he now?
The door creaked open, and her nose wrinkled as the overpowering scent of Amari's expensive cologne filled the room, drowning out Fish's familiar smell. Her ex entered, his professional smile making Jules flinch. She couldn’t believe she used to find that smile handsome and comforting. Now it just felt hollow.
"What were you thinking, going on a hike? You know how risky that is for you."
Amari's tone was chastising, and Jules felt a surge of irritation. She didn’t want to hear his lecture. All she could think about was how much she had loved the view from the hike, and how Fish had believed in her, had thought she could do it.
"Where's my husband?" she asked, her voice weak but steady.
Amari’s face darkened slightly. "He’s gone. I think it was the smartest thing he's done," he said, his tone dismissive. "After he called me."
Fish had called Amari? He couldn't stand Amari, especially not Amari being around her. Yet he'd reached out for help to the man he considered his enemy. All for her. Forget snowplow. The man was a bulldozer.
"Fish doesn’t know how to take care of you. What was he thinking, exerting you like that and then giving you a sports drink? His ignorance could have killed you."
Jules's heart sank at his words. All she heard was that Fish was gone. Not theFish can't take care of youone bit, because that was wrong. She should've told Fish her limits, but she didn't want him to look at her like everyone else did, like she was lacking or less than. Fish had always looked at her like she was, well, everything. Which made Jules' heart sink all the more.
Amari continued, oblivious to her distress. "You need someone who understands your condition, who knows how to take care of you properly."
"What I need is the man who believes in me and doesn't just look at me for what I can do for him. Fish always asks what he can do for me, what we can do together."
