It didn’t seem to help her much.
She needed professional medical help.
“Where are the EMTs?” he yelled.
“They’re coming, they’re in the lift, they’ll be here any second,” Nick soothed.
Any second wasn't good enough. Naomi needed themnow. She might not have another second.
He could tell the instant it happened.
He could feel it.
Feel her life slip away.
Determined not to let Naomi go without a fight, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her down to the floor, then knelt over her and began CPR.
He wasn't letting her die.
She’d just told him that she loved him. How could he let her go?
Everything around him faded to black, all he focused on was pumping on Naomi’s chest and forcing air into her lungs. Given the extent of her injuries, he feared it was pointless. That she was beyond saving. But he couldn’t stop.
Naomi’s words echoed in a continuous loop in his mind, spurring him on. She loved him, he couldn’t give up on her.
“Sam.”
Someone tugged on his shoulders, trying to pull him away from Naomi. He resisted, refusing to give up hope and stop.
“Sam. Stop, the medics are here, let them get to her,” Nick spoke close to his ear to make sure his words penetrated.
Reluctantly, he moved aside, keeping hold of Naomi’s hand. He couldn’t let go of her, couldn’t accept that he might lose her.
Sam watched in a daze as the EMT’s put a tube down Naomi’s throat to breathe for her and inserted a chest tube and resealed her chest wound. He had never felt so scared in his life. Naomi might die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. He hated the swirling feeling in his gut that came from not being able to be in control.
As the medics bundled Naomi onto a stretcher and hurried toward the waiting ambulance that would rush her to the hospital, Sam remained at her side, he wasn't leaving her. Ever. She was his and he was hers. Forever.
* * * * *
6:12 P.M.
“Clara, slow down.”
Of course she ignored him. How could she slow down? She needed to know what was going on with her sister. “Do you know anything else?”
“Since you asked me thirty seconds ago?” Jonathon asked. “No. I'm sorry, Clara. All I know is what Nick told me on the phone. That Naomi had been rushed here in critical condition.”
Critical condition.
That was all Clara had heard when Jonathon had gently broken the news.
They had jumped in the car and sped to the hospital as fast as Jonathon could get them here. As soon as the car had stopped, she jumped from it, running inside as quickly as she could. Aggie and Jonathon were both on her heels.
Reaching the emergency room, she scanned the waiting area searching for Sam.
She started to panic when she couldn’t find him.
What did that mean?