Page 47 of Buried

River lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the kitchen as the paramedics began to wheel Tristan out of the clubhouse. Reina was holding Axel, trying to quiet his cries. “I’ve got him,” Reina told River over the sound of me crying. “Go on to the hospital.”

River nodded in thanks, but I continued sobbing, begging for Tristan to come back to me.

Chapter Thirty-Five

River

Adelaide was a zombie. It was the only word I could think of to describe the hollow, broken woman I was staring at.

I leaned against the wall outside of Tristan’s hospital room, listening to the steady beat of his heart monitor as I watched Adelaide through the glass window. She was holding his hand, staring at his face as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

She had lost all color to her skin. All she could do was stare at him, and occasionally, she would beg him in a whisper to come back to her.

But she’d lost him. I did my best to save him, but all I could do was extend her time with him.

She’d been in this damn near catatonic state since the doctor had told her that they would put Tristan on life support, but there was no chance that he would wake up again. The cancer had eaten away at him. There was no way to save him. If they cut the machines off, that was it.

He was dead.

“How is she?” Sam asked as he strode up beside me, holding a cup of coffee.

I shrugged. “She’s fucking shattered,” I grumbled, clenching my jaw. “I don’t know how to help her. She’s lost to me, Sam. She’s dying inside. I knew this would happen, but fuck, nothing could have prepared me for it.”

Sam sighed. “I called Joey for her,” he told me. I looked over at him, nodding once in thanks. I hadn’t even thought to call Joey with everything going on. “He’s on his way now. He was on a run, but he’s got his Sergeant at Arms and a couple of other patches handling the hand-off for him. He and Ink are high tailing their asses here.”

I nodded once. “Thanks, brother,” I grumbled.

We were silent for a moment. “Is she ever going to come back to you, River?” Sam quietly asked me, worry for my woman in his voice. Everyone loved her, and over the months, she and Sam had become close—almost like siblings.

I drew in a deep breath. That question scared the fuck out of me.

“I don’t know,” I told him quietly. “I’m praying that Joey can help her. He has a way of breathing life into her that I don’t. He’s her survival mechanism.”

Joey, save her before it’s too late,I silently begged him even though he wasn’t even here yet to hear my pleas.

A couple of hours later, Adelaide still wouldn’t respond to me. I had tried everything I knew to try, but she only blankly stared back at me. She was shutting down—a survival mechanism. The pain of losing Tristan was too much for her to bear.

Joey, how the fuck did you save her last time?

As time dragged on, I grew more and more scared that she wasn’t going to come back to me. There was a blank yet haunted look in her eyes when she looked at me. She was there in body, but her soul was somewhere else. It was like all she could do was relive painful memories.

She was breaking, and I was helpless to stop it from happening.

I kneeled in front of her. She drew those empty, brown eyes to me. Sadness settled there as her gaze landed on mine. Her bottom lip trembled, but she held herself together. My heart shattered in my chest. I needed her to fucking cry. To scream again. Something.

“I can’t lose him, too, River. I don’t think I’ll survive it this time,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I feel empty. Hollow.”

I pressed my lips to hers tenderly. “You will, Adelaide, because I won’t let you spiral down again,” I swore. “You have to live for me, darlin’. You’ve lived before, remember?”

She sniffled. “I don’t think I can,” she croaked.

Joey walked down the hallway, breaking me out of my head, Ink right behind him. He didn’t even say anything to me. He just strode into the room that Adelaide and Tristan were in, leaving Ink standing outside of the room with me and Sam.

I stood up from the chair I had commandeered, watching as Joey gently lifted Adelaide into his arms. I didn’t give a fuck what he did with her right now as long as he brought her back to us.

Honest to God, he could make love to her right there in that room, but as long as he got her to breathe for us again, to live for me, then I could be okay with it. I just needed him to fucking help her.

Joey, I don’t care what the fuck you have to do. Save her.

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