Page 100 of Catch My Fall

Max nods slowly, offering me a weak smile. “I would’ve come sooner but I’ve had some stuff to deal with.”

I don’t miss the emphasis on the word ‘stuff’.

“Where is he? Austin, I mean,” I ask, his name leaving a rancid taste in my mouth.

“He’s being treated for his injuries and from there he’ll be taken into custody for questioning. Whether he talks to us or not it makes no difference, we have enough evidence of kidnapping, assault, murder and trafficking to put him away for life. The next time he feels daylight on his skin will be when he’s old and grey, at the very least.”

The deep-set feeling of unease I’ve been carrying around with me for months diminishes at hearing the news that he’ll probably spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs, a fate much worse than death.

He can’t hurt me.

He can’t hurt anybody again.

There’s no sight I’d love to see more than him lying cold and lifeless on the floor with a bullet in his head, but he doesn’t deserve a quick, easy death. He deserves to suffer and I have a feeling he’ll do just that in prison.

“We’ve also got Jenkins in our custody,” Max begins. “He was in over his head in debt, drowning in it, in fact. Sloane bought up the debt and forced Jenkins’ hand. Either he do what he wanted or he’d take everything from him and his family.”

There was no doubt in my mind Austin had something on Jenkins, and a part of me pities him.

“Are you all here for Mr. Alec McKenna?” an older male doctor asks, stealing all our attention when he enters the waiting room.

I’m on my feet in an instant, my brothers and Max not far behind me. “Is he okay?”

“We conducted both a CT scan and an MRI to determine his condition as soon as he was admitted. It appears that Mr. McKenna has suffered what is called a subdural hematoma. It’s a build up of blood between the skull and the surface of the brain and is most commonly the result of head trauma.”

“Like a car crash?” I ask.

“Yes. It can sometimes take weeks to manifest itself however in Mr. McKenna’s case, it presented itself much quicker. We took him into surgery and managed to relieve the pressure on his brain. We have placed him in an induced coma to help reduce any swelling on his brain. We will continue our observations, but at present, his condition is stable.”

The doctor’s words swirl around my brain and whether it’s from exhaustion or the mild concussion I sustained from the accident, but I’m struggling to make sense of a word he’s saying.

“He’s okay, though? He’ll recover?” Gage asks, squeezing my shoulder.

“He was very lucky that we managed to treat him as quickly as we did, any longer and I could be having a completely different conversation with you. We’ll know more about any possible damage or lasting effects after he wakes up.”

What?

“Lasting damage? Like… Like brain damage?” My chin trembles as I say the words.

“In some cases, patients can experience problems with speech or memory, weakness and fatigue and sometimes seizures. These can take anywhere between a few weeks to upwards of a year to recover from fully.”

I can’t hold my tears back anymore, they spill over like a fountain as Rafe close in to comfort me, pulling me into his arms.

I sniff. “C—Can I see him?”

“Not at present. He’s heavily sedated and likely to be so for a fair amount of time. We will keep him closely monitored, but we’ll let you know once he’s ready to take visitors.”

My heart plummets.

I hate this. I hate not being able to be near him. The thought that Alec could have permanent brain damage because of the car accident has me wanting to collapse onto the floor beneath me and sob until my lungs ache.

This can’t be it, can it?

We’ve barely had any time together. A few short months for everything to come crashing down, but one thing I’m certain of, is that whatever happens, whether it takes him weeks, months or years to recover, I’m going to be there by his side through it all.

I won’t abandon him when he needs me the most.

I won’t abandon the man I love.

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