Page 48 of You Are Cordially Invited

“Someone get those bloods on their way, and Sarah, will you please put a hornet’s nest up X-ray’s arse. We need that spine imaging stat.”

Spine imaging.

Sarah moved and I got my first decent look at Reuben, the breath jamming in my chest and threatening to explode through my ribs. He lay still, his eyes closed, an airway shoved between his lips, electrodes slammed on his chest, and lines going every-fucking-where. Sandbags either side of his head kept his spine straight, and all those blond waves, stiff and crusty with dried sweat, lay plastered haphazardly on his forehead. They annoyed me and I wanted to smooth them to the side. I wanted... I wanted him to move.

Shaky breaths stumbled in and out of my mouth, going who the hell knew where, since my lungs had clearly left the building.

I reached for the wall to steady myself and tore my eyes from the stark reality of Reuben’s body to the familiarity of the monitors instead. This I knew, this I could do—gathering information, calculating, assessing, triaging.

Heart rate good; blood pressure a little low; oxygen saturation okay; catheter bag filling and no blood—kidneys still working. On and on. I pushed off the wall and prowled around them, too fucking terrified to look at the man attached to all of it in case my heart evaporated from sheer panic.

Equilibrium returned. As long as I didn’t fucking look at him.

He’s okay.

He’ll be okay.

We’ll be okay.

“Where the hell is X-ray?” Will asked, snapping his ripped gloves off and exchanging them for a new pair.

“I’ll get that, Sarah,” I barked at one of my nurses and reached for the phone on the wall. Seconds later I was threatening to shove someone’s balls in a cage if I didn’t see X-ray in the ER in two minutes flat. And yes, I might’ve been yelling. And yes, a half dozen pointed looks flew my way as my team evaluated my current mental state and found it sorely lacking.

And no, I didn’t give a single flying fuck.

But I did keep out of their way, even if I couldn’t help interfering.

“Alison, call the lab and see what’s holding the bloodwork up,” I ordered.

She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s only been ten minutes. Give them time.”

“Just do it,” I said, then winced at the tone in my voice. “Please.”

She sighed and left the room.

“Patricia, what the hell are you wearing?” I pointed to the pair of slip-on shoes one of the junior house surgeons was sporting on her feet. “You’ll collect a damn cord in those and end up on your arse, or worse.”

“Don’t yell at her,” Will snapped back. “She had heel spur surgery two weeks ago. Jesus, Cam. Can someone not get him out of here?”

“Don’t look at me,” Will’s smart-arse registrar answered. “In fact, I’d pay good money to see someone try.”

“Sorry.” I sent Patricia an apologetic grimace.

She waved it aside.

A groan from the table suddenly drew all my attention. Reuben.

I crossed the room in seconds and reached for his hand, my gaze locking on the ghostly pale of his skin and slack features. No smiles, no cheeky smirk, no bedroom eyes, no outpour of love like a waterfall from his heart every time he looked at me.

Oh god.I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

Will loosened my hand from Reuben’s and I almost punched him.

“No,” he said firmly, brooking no argument. “Step back, Cam. If you think I’ll let you be involved inanyway, you’ve got another thing coming. He’smypatient, and I won’t have anyone cock it up, not even you.”

I dragged my gaze up and drilled Will with a glare. “As if I—”

“No one.Do you understand me? You’re taking up room. We need to work. You know I’m good at my job. I’ll take care of him. Now step back, or I’ll remove you myself and put security on the door.”

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