Page 134 of Drawn Blue Lines

Sight and sound ceased to exist. My sister’s arm tightened around me, but I jerked away from her. I didn’t want to be touched.

“But we were able to stabilize her at the last minute,” he added. “The next few days will be crucial in Adriana’s body accepting the new kidney. Anything can happen.”

“Does that mean…”

He smiled. “It looks real good.”

Relief flooded my body, and I dropped my head back as Leighton hugged me. My heart raced with one question. “Can I see her?”

“I’m sorry, only immediate family is allowed, and Mr. Carrera is under sedation.”

No! She needed me. After all this, I couldn’t let her wake up alone. To strangers. To a silent room where she’d think she was abandoned again.

No. I dared this motherfucker to keep me away.

But before I could do anything, Eden stepped forward and shocked everyone. “Adriana is my sister-in-law, and as Valentin Carrera’s wife, I suggest you reconsider your stance on that rule. I’m a volatile woman, Dr. Torres. With the trauma my son and husband have endured, I’m sure you understand how unpleasant I can make your work environment should my emotions get the better of me.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped, including Dr. Torres’s who cleared his throat, a bead of sweat forming on his upper lip. “I, uh, I don’t see a problem in Mr. Harcourt visiting Miss Carrera once she’s out of recovery.”

“Wise decision.” Turning, Eden gave me a private wink. “Now, if, you all will excuse me, I’m going to check on my men.”

* * *

Two hours later, I still waited for her to wake up.

It didn’t matter. I’d waited for her my whole life. I’d wait for two years. Two decades. Two lifetimes. No one was taking me out of this room until she opened her eyes.

I brushed a piece of dark hair away from her cheek, ignoring the wires, tubes, and bandages in my way. Even with ashen gray skin and the quiet drip of an IV feeding into her veins, she’d never looked more beautiful. This woman. This force of nature who bulldozed her way into my life with threats and a vendetta.

She challenged me. She argued with me. She made me question myself and everything around me. She was both a brazen criminal and a fierce protector.

She was selfless.

I was the selfish one. I needed her here with me. I needed to hear her voice instead of the damn beep of the machines. And once I did, I was going to kick her ass for hiding something so huge from me…from all of us.

I pressed my forehead against her hand and closed my eyes. “Just say something. Anything. Let me know you’re coming back to me.”

“Hola.”

My neck snapped up, as her eyes fluttered open. It felt like every muscle in my body gave way at one time. “You gave everyone a scare, Carrera.”

She attempted a smile. “I like to keep things interesting.”

I tightened my grip on her hand. “How long have you known?”

I didn’t have to elaborate. By the guilty look on her face, she knew what I meant. “A few weeks.”

A few weeks.

The words settled at the base of my brain, and little clues came rushing back in a blaze of truth. “When you were sick on the plane, and when I wasn’t able to wake you up in Morelia, the dizziness, the coughing, all the talk about the end, and death…all of it makes sense now. I can’t believe I didn’t see it.”

She shook her head, reaching for my arm and wincing as a jolt of pain shot through her. “You didn’t see it because I didn’t want you to. You were never supposed to get close enough, remember?”

I remembered. It didn’t mean I was over it.

“Val gave you a kidney.”

“I know.”

---