I picked up the pants, pulling out my wallet and phone and shoving them into the pockets of my scrubs. Then I threw everything else away. They’d never be clean again.
I opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Hayes had Everly wrapped in his arms. They fit together perfectly, whole on their own but making something even more extraordinary together. My throat burned. The idea that I might never hold Hadley like that again searing my skin.
Hayes looked up, meeting my gaze. He released Ev and strode to me, pulling me into a hard hug. “Thank you,” he choked out.
“I didn’t—it wasn’t enough—”
He only hugged me harder. “You gave her a fighting chance.”
I swallowed, trying to soothe the burn. It didn’t help. “Calla?”
Hayes’ jaw hardened. “Dead on the scene.”
“I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sorry that she was dead, but I felt bad that Hayes would have to carry that weight.
“I can live with it. Just as long as Hadley’s okay, I can live with it.”
Everly rubbed a hand up and down his arm. “Did anyone get ahold of Beckett?”
Hayes sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “He’s on a flight now. Hopefully, he’ll be here by tonight. He’s wrecked.”
Beckett and Hadley had a special bond, an understanding, that need to fly so strong in both of them. To get this news in another country and not be able to be with his family…I wouldn’t be surprised if he tore the plane apart by the time he arrived.
A man in scrubs strode down the hallway with the nurse who had updated us periodically throughout the surgery. I stiffened. “I think that’s the surgeon.”
The woman gave me a kind smile. “This is Dr. Addison.”
He nodded at our group. “Would you like me to update everyone in the waiting room?”
Hayes shook his head. “Tell us first. I’ll bring the rest of my family up to speed.”
My gut tightened. I knew why Hayes had played it that way. In case there was bad news, he wanted to be the one to tell his parents.
Dr. Addison nodded. “Ms. Easton is doing remarkably well for her injuries. The damage was extensive. The bullet nicked an artery, and we lost her for a minute on the operating table.”
My knees started to buckle, but I locked them in place.
“We got her back and were able to repair the hole. We gave her several blood transfusions during surgery, and she may need one or two more as she recovers. We’ll have a better idea of prognosis after twenty-four hours.”
“I need to see her,” I croaked.
The nurse gave me that kind smile again, a pitying one. “They are moving her into ICU now. I can take you.”
Hayes squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll fill the family in and then come up.”
I nodded, following the nurse down the hall. I couldn’t tell you how many halls we walked down, how many floors the elevator rose, but soon, the nurse came to a stop in front of an open door. “Ms. Easton has several machines helping and monitoring her right now. Don’t be alarmed. Just remember they’re helping.”
I nodded woodenly and stepped through the door. The sight sucked all the air from my lungs. Hadley looked so tiny, dwarfed by the bed and the machines. There were wires and tubes, something coming out of her mouth. The side of Hadley’s face was already turning purple with a bruise. Blood caked her hair.
I turned just as the nurse was about to walk away. “I need some warm water and a washcloth.” The nurse looked as if she were about to argue, but I cut her off. “I’m cleaning the blood out of her damn hair.”
The nurse snapped her mouth closed and nodded.
I moved farther into the room, dragging a chair next to the bed and lowering myself into it. I reached out but didn’t know where to touch Hadley, where it wouldn’t hurt. Scrapes and bruises covered her skin. A huge gauze pad peeked out from her hospital gown.
Footsteps sounded, and the nurse set a pitcher of water, a washbasin, and a stack of washcloths on the side table. “Just take care not to go anywhere near her chest.”
I nodded and picked up the washcloth. Dunking it into the water, I squeezed out most of the liquid. Ever so gently, I began wiping at the blood on Hadley’s face, in her hair. I moved methodically, inch by inch until she was clean, and the water in the tub was a murky red.