How many times was I going to answer this question? Did they not make a note that I was her husband? “For the last time, yes,” I snapped.
Annoyance crossed his face before he wiped it away with a blank look. “Right.” Clearing his throat, he turned his tired eyes to Emma, then returned to me. “She’s in bad shape.”
“I’m aware of that,” I snarled.
He narrowed his eyes but remained professional. “When she came in, she had broken fingers, swelling in her brain, a deflated lung, dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, and her occipital bone was cracked. That’s not including all the cuts I had to stitch and places where her skin peeled back. I took some skin from her bottom for a skin graft. My team and I did the best we could. She’ll be here in the ICU until she can breathe on her own and the swelling in her brain lessens. If she wakes up, she’ll be in a lot of pain, and it’ll take time for her to heal.”
I stared at him, unable to find my words.If she wakes up?There was noif.Shewould.
The doctor shifted uncomfortably and sighed while rubbing the back of his neck. “You can stay as long as you want, but only one person is allowed in the room other than the staff. So if she has visitors—which I highly suggest no one else should come—you’ll have to alternate visiting.”
Strange that the doctor would suggest that no one should visit her, but I dismissed him by facing Emma again. I took her hand into mine, her fingers limp and her skin not as warm as it should have been.
“Right,” the doctor said, annoyed. “Let the nurse know if you need anything.”
I listened as he left, and my shoulders sagged once he was out of the room. An ache built in my chest, and my eyes stung with an odd sensation. Her swollen and bruised face became blurry. Something wet dripped from my bottom eyelash and down my cheek. I touched it with my free hand and brought it before me.
Tears. I was crying.
“When you wake up, sunshine, and you heal, I’m punishing you.” It wouldn’t be anything terrible. It’d be something she’d enjoy. I felt like I’d lost control, and I hated the feeling. The only thing I knew right then was that I wanted to take Emma over my knee and spank her for scaring me like this.
Another tear broke free from my eye, raced down my cheek, and hung on my jaw. I didn’t bother to swipe it away. “Emma,” I whispered, calling for her and hoping she heard me. “Where did you go?”
* * *
I strode through the hallway, following a scent that led me to the man who almost took Emma from me. I went to every level and inhaled, sifting through the scents, searching for him. When I found him, all I could see was red as rage boiled in my veins.
A nurse dressed in pink and brown scrubs walked in the opposite direction, crossing my path. We met eyes, and I narrowed mine before I looked away, dismissing her like she was a piece of trash. Because that was what she was. Every single human was worthless except for my mate.
My demon stretched within my mind, eager to come out and do worse to the human man than what I had planned.
I turned down a few more halls until I finally stood outside of his room. I quietly opened the cracked door and slipped inside, then shut the door behind me. The guy was fast asleep, unaware that death crept closer to him.
On the other side of the room was a floor-to-ceiling window that showed the night sky. Snow raced to the ground. The storm wouldn’t let up for another hour or two. The human lay on his back in the hospital bed, his mouth agape, and soft snores rumbled in the back of his nose and throat. I pulled the capped needle from my pocket. Approaching the side of his bed, I glared down at him and ground my teeth together.
The filthy fucking human slept away like he hadn’t ejected my mate out of my totaled car and nearly killed her. He had no idea she was in the ICU fighting for her life and causing my demon and me the greatest emotional turmoil we’d ever experienced. If we weren’t in the very public hospital, I would have taken him somewhere else to torture him for hours until I killed him. I wanted this man to suffer, just like he made Emma and me suffer.
Clenching my jaw, I grabbed the IV over his hand, forcing my shadows to slither into the tight space and into his veins. I felt every pump of his heart and didn’t stop flooding my shadows into him until the organ in his chest struggled to keep beating, then stopped completely. I watched the sleeping man, and a tiny smile lifted the corners of my mouth as the alarm sounded. Any second now and the nurses would rush into the room.
With one last glare at him, I used the shadows to leave the room right before the door flew open.
Aweek passed, and Emma’s condition remained unchanged. I reached her mother after going through my mate’s personal records in my system and discovering she had listed her mom as an emergency contact.
I sat in the leather chair at Emma’s side, my laptop on my lap as I worked on paperwork for my law firm. I gave my cases to someone else to take over. There was no way I would leave the hospital to attend court and meet with the clients. Aside from buying a new car and new phones, I hadn’t left her side.
The entire week, I wondered why the mating bond between Emma and me didn’t work. Something had to have happened. The only way to kill us was to break the bond. My demon said it was next to impossible to do that. I had a gut feeling that it could have been demon hunters, but I hadn’t come across any lately. Not since I killed Tyler and his brother.
A knock sounded on the door. I raised my gaze to it and watched as it opened. Lillian Hayes peered inside and met my eyes. She gave me a little smile, reminding me too much of Emma, but an older version.
“You hungry?” she asked.
I looked at Emma, hoping to find her eyes open, but disappointment filled me. She was still in a coma, the breathing tube down her throat.
“She won’t be going anywhere, Dimitri. Come eat,” Lillian chided gently. Our interaction the past week had been intriguing. She mothered me like I was one of her own children, not once showing an ounce of spite. I had expected her to be angry or blame me for causing the accident, but that didn’t happen.
Closing the laptop, I stood from the chair and set it on the cushion. I adjusted my tie and smoothed my hands over my black suit jacket. Lillian perked up and grinned before she disappeared into the hallway. Turning to Emma, I brushed my fingers through her clean hair; I had washed it yesterday. Her eyes weren’t as swollen as they were when she arrived here, but they still had dark bruises.
“I’ll return shortly, sunshine.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
