Page 44 of Dangerously Yours

“Stay calm, Mr. Capshaw. Where are you? And can you give us any more information?”

I gave her a brief rundown of my address, which level of the parking garage I was on, as well as what I could remember about the car. All I knew was that it was silver, and foreign, possibly a Maserati or Aston Martin of some sort. Ordinarily, I would be able to tell someone what almost any car was, but having just been shot and only catching a small glimpse, I couldn’t this time.

All I could think about was that this could have been Lulu. It was her car, and her building. If she had picked up the vehicle herselfand gone straight home, she would be the one lying here on the concrete in a pool of blood.

“Help is on the way, Mr. Capshaw. The police and paramedics will be arriving shortly. In the meantime, I need you to stay on the line with me.”

It was getting increasingly harder to breathe, and the more questions thrown at me, the less I was able to even formulate an answer. The dispatcher asked me multiple times if I was still there, and I tried to assure her that I was, but I knew it wouldn’t be for long. “Please hurry,” I managed to say as the crushing weight seemed to be getting heavier as it sat on my chest.

“Mr. Capshaw. Mr. Capshaw,” was the last thing, outside of the approaching sirens, that I heard before I closed my eyes.

In that moment, I was sure I was a goner. Everything went black, and it was only much later when I reopened my eyes to learn that I had made it to the hospital in time. I was going to live, which I suppose was the important thing, only it wasn’t. Gabriel, Callum, Daxon, and Romeo were all there, as were my head and quarterback coaches. The only one I didn’t see right away was Lulu. I wanted to ask about her, but the police arrived, and everyone else was shooed out of the room. I was still a bit foggy from the medicine administered through the IV, but I tried to tell them what I could remember.

After, I ended up dozing back off. That pattern seemed to repeat itself over the course of the next day or two. Thankfully, Lulu was there one of the times when I had awakened, and her tear-streaked cheeks made the pain in my chest hurt even worse. I wanted to comfort her, and had tried, but physically, I had limitations. My mind wandered a few times to football. I had considered myself almost invincible when it came to the injuriesothers experienced. No one ever thought it would be them, until it was. My own mortality even off the field was also a concern. I wouldn’t worry Lulu, or my friends, with any of those fears, though.

“You’re very lucky to have survived, Noah,”the doctor had told me once the full scope of the damage was determined.“The bullet went through your right lung, shattered a few ribs, and pierced your scapula.”

“What does that all mean?”I had asked.

“You’re unfortunately going to be in pain for quite some time, but depending on how you respond to therapy, the recovery time could be longer or shorter than expected.”

“Football,”I had asked.

“That’s likely over for good, but at least you’re going to live.”

What kind of life would it be, though?

LULU

I was so scared for Noah, and each time I arrived at the hospital, no one would tell me anything. I wasn’t his next of kin, or family of any sort. We hadn’t even fully gone public with our relationship so I hadn’t even been able to play the girlfriend card. I basically knew no more than the local news anchors who kept rehashing the story almost every thirty minute news clip. My children had seen it, and Zachary was beside himself. Noah was his all-time favorite player, and the very thought of him never taking the field had upset him greatly.

The one thing any good mother hated was to see her children hurting for any reason. I had to hold it together in front of my son, even though I was terrified myself. As scared as I was for him, I was even more so for myself. That could have so easily been me. Had I not gotten caught up with the florists, I would have picked my own car up and ended up shot instead. I had escaped death, but at what cost?

“I wish someone would tell me something,” I mumbled under my breath as I sat in the corner of the waiting room alone.

Visiting hours would be beginning shortly, and I hoped I could sweet talk one of the nurses into letting me see him today. Due to the nature of his injuries and how they happened, the police had a revolving door in his ICU room. I had even gone as far as trying to find out something from them, but it was no use. I wasn’t anyone important to Noah in their eyes. I might not be, but...

I looked over at Gabriel as he paced back and forth. The Titan had warmed up to me ever since I had started working with his fiancée on their wedding. He was not only a respected pillar of the community, but he also had the power to get almost anything he wanted.

Would he wield it for me so I could see Noah?

I bit nervously on my bottom lip. I hated to even ask, but the worry inside of me kept growing. I had only managed to see him once, but the two of us barely got a few words out before I was noticed, and made to leave the room.

Gabriel finally ended his call, then looked in my direction. Walking to me, he placed one hand on my shoulder. “Noah would have me by the balls if he knew I was letting you sit here pining over him. He?—”

“H-how is he?” I didn’t care at this moment how mad he would get at me. We would cross that bridge when we got to it.

“He’s going to live?—”

“So he’s going to be fine?” I asked, and I knew there was a slight hint of relief in my voice.

“Physically, yes, but mentally, not so much.”

“What do you mean?”

“His playing career is over, Lulu.” I gasped at that, and even more guilt filled me. “Are they sure? Maybe once the swelling or whatever goes down?—”

“They did everything they could for him.”

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