Page 71 of Rising from the Ashes

Drake points to the chair, “Sit. I’ll find Anders for an update.”

I sink down into the chair with my arms folded across my chest, trying like hell to ignore the throbbing pain from where Enzo landed his punch.

Just as he is about to walk to the nurses’ station, Dr. Anders walks out of the room.

I quickly rise to my feet, a feeling of nausea washes over me. “Is he okay? Can I see him?”

Dr. Anders looks me up and down with a concerned look on his face. “Don’t you think I should examine you? We do have a smoke inhalation protocol, and you have a nasty blow to your right temple, dear.”

“Doc. Let me fucking see him,” I snarl as I bow up to the man who has been tirelessly taking care of Shado. If he wasn’t standing between me and the door, I would have already busted through.

“Calista.” Drake grits between his clenched teeth, pulling me back away from the doctor like I am some mad chihuahua on a leash. “Listen to Dr. Anders, and maybe you should be examined too.”

“I’m fine!” I snap, ripping my shoulders away from his grip.

Dr. Anders sighs as he realizes I am not going to back down and begins to speak.

“Shado suffered immense blunt force trauma to his skull and multiple stab wounds. Granted, they missed any internal organs, but he did suffer from a large amount of blood loss. By the time we arrived at the hospital, he was non-responsive, only responding to vigorous painful stimuli. Imaging surprisingly ruled out any internal bleeding, but we did have him intubated because he was not protecting his airway and he did code on the way here.”

My eyes widen at the thought of them doing resuscitative measures to bring him back to me.

“Currently, he is on medications to help maintain the cranial pressure in his brain and prevent seizures while we observe him. We stitched up the wounds to his mouth and cheek, as well as the laceration above his eye. We are keeping him in a medically induced coma to let his body rest as it heals.”

“Is that all? Can I please go see him now?” I snap.

Dr. Anders nods as he steps out of my way. Pushing past him, I open the door. My mouth gapes open at the sight of the man laying in the bed before me.

As I walk in, I can hear Dr. Anders’ voice. “She’s just as feisty as CiCi.”

Drake laughs, “Yeah, but she’s more psychotic. Perfect for Shado.”

Closing the door behind me, I stand there looking at him. The sight of him lying in a bed with a tube protruding from his mouth makes me nervous, so I quietly clamber over to his bedside, standing there watching him. There’s a lone chair off to the corner so I slide it over to me and quietly sit down. Shado’s face is illuminated by the glow from the machines and a small light at the head of the bed on the wall. I lightly lace my fingers in with his and lean my throbbing head on the bed. Surprisingly I am comforted by the soft beep that is rhythmically chirping in the room and the whirring of the ventilation machine.

He’s here and he will fight for you. He always does.

The minutes drag into hours, multiple nurses and Dr. Anders routinely come in and out of the room to check his vitals, scribbling away in their paper charts.

I hear the door creak behind me, followed by the sound of heels. My back is stiff as I rise up to see who has entered the room when I notice it is Everly. However, this time she is not accompanied by her three goons.

“How is he?” She asks, her voice genuinely laced with concern.

“Uh. I…” I stammer as I look back at him. “He’s alive. I haven’t really absorbed a lot of what they have been telling me.”

“And your father?”

“Dead.”

I hear her approach me then I feel her rest a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Good.”

We sit in silence for a moment before she clears her throat. “Calista. If you want to leave The Society now that Enzo is gone, I would allow it.”

“What about Allister? He’s still out there.”

She huffs, “I don’t think he will be returning to Edinburgh. He has no more business here.” She pauses. “I released Quinn as well. I thought you should know.”

“Where is she?”

“She is on her way back to Manhattan.”

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