INFERNO (The HEAT Series Book 4) (2 page)

"I'll need you to follow me, Cadence," Dr. Reynolds says as she looks at the bustling waiting room. "I'd prefer if we speak in private."

I don't move. I can't. I haven't spent a lot of time in hospitals but I know that when a doctor wants to take you away from a public place, the news isn't good. The fact that she didn't look me in the eye when she first approached me and introduced herself isn't promising either.

"You…you can…please just say it," I stammer. "I just need you to tell me."

She eyes the waiting room again before she turns back to face me. "The paparazzi are swarming. There are two over there already. Word must have gotten out about your father."

I glance over to where they are. I spot the two men immediately. Both have cameras with long lenses in their hands. Both of those are pointed in my direction.

"I heard that they record celebrities and then someone who lip reads decodes what they were saying." Sophia moves to stand next to me. I know she's trying to shield my face from the predatory glare of the cameras, but she's too short for it to do any good.

"No one knows that I'm Sergio's daughter," I offer. "Please just tell me. He's gone, isn't he?"

She grabs my right forearm gingerly with her left hand, tugging me so I'll turn. I step in place in front of her, my back now facing the waiting room. I instantly notice that Maribel and Neela have disappeared. I'm grateful. I don't want them anywhere near me when I fall apart.

"Your father is alive, Cadence." Dr. Reynolds drops her hand. "He suffered significant injuries in the accident, but he's alive."

I'm in Sophia's arms before I can react. Her warmth cradles me as she repeats over and over again that everything is going to be okay.

***

"I was so scared," I whimper through a sob. "Someone died and I thought it was him."

Dr. Reynolds bows her head. "It's my understanding that a male passenger in the other vehicle didn't survive."

I feel a hint of sorrow even though I don't know the person who lost their life. I'm hit with guilt too for feeling so grateful that it wasn't Tyler or my father who died tonight.

"Can I see my dad?" I skim my hand over my cheeks to chase my tears away. "I'd like to see him."

"He's not conscious." She scratches the back of her neck. "As I said his injuries are very serious. He suffered a concussion and a number of broken bones."

"He's going to be okay though, right?" I ask, stepping forward.

"The next few hours are critical, Cadence." She reaches to touch my shoulder. "We're running tests as we speak. As soon as I know more, I'll share that with you."

I nod. My dad is strong. He's stubborn too. If anyone can fight their way back from this, it's him.

"There's one other thing," she begins without looking at me, her eyes focused on the tablet in her hand. "Another patient has being asking anyone who will listen to find you. I think the entire hospital has heard him calling out your name."

"Tyler?" I whisper through a sigh.

"We almost had to tie the man to the stretcher so we could examine him. He's that desperate to talk to you." She smiles softly, her gaze catching mine. "I'll take you to him now."

I glance at Sophia who offers nothing but a half-shrug. I wanted to find my bearings again before I saw Tyler. So much has happened since he left my apartment earlier today.

"Are you sure that it's a good idea, Dr. Reynolds?" I ask, hoping she'll tell me that he needs to rest.

Her brows lift. "We haven't been able to calm him. I suspect that the only way that will happen is if he sees you."

"I'll wait right here for you, Den." Sophia leans her hip against the wall. "I'm not going anywhere. Once you're done talking to Tyler we can go see your dad."

I wanted to stop by my dad's room first. Dr. Reynolds had explained that they'd be moving him from the ER to the Intensive Care Unit within the hour. His condition is serious enough that he needs the extra care that ward provides. I whined about needing to see his face but Sadie was stern, telling me that he was undergoing tests and I'd have to be patient.

When she left us outside the examining room that Tyler is in, it was with a smile and a brief, but caring, lecture about keeping Tyler calm since he suffered a head injury. I thanked her for her help before I gave her my number so she can reach me at a moment's notice.

"I'm not sure I want to talk to him, Soph." I mirror her stance, resting my hip on the white painted surface. "I can't think straight right now."

"Your dad is alive." She smooths her hand over the skirt of her dress. "Tyler is alive. Nothing else matters right now."

I wish that were true, but it's not. Tyler hired his ex-lover to work alongside him without a word to me. He couldn't control his obvious jealousy about Brendon and now I'm supposed to happily accept that he'll spend the majority of his time with a woman he once loved enough to marry? It's bullshit. All of it is fucked up and I can't deal with it when I'm still trying to come to grips with the accident.

I look at the worn green curtain that separates me from Tyler. All I have to do is swing it to the side, walk past it and I'll be face-to-face with him. "Why don't we go to the ICU and wait for my dad to get there? I know he's not conscious but I want to be there when he wakes up."

"You told me you loved Tyler." She looks me straight in the eyes. "Don't tell me that all of that disappeared because you heard that Neela is working with him. You don't know his side of things yet. Hell, Den, you don’t even know Neela's side. All you have is Maribel's side and seriously, I've been creeped out by her for weeks."

"You've been creeped out by Maribel?" I take a shaky breath. "What do you mean?"

Her hand fists around her phone. "She's been sending me a lot of text messages. Some are general stuff about the weather and hanging out but there's a bunch of other ones."

I haven't asked Sophia about her friendship with Maribel since Tyler handed out the promotions for the two senior chef positions. I'd never ask Soph to choose between me and any of her other friends. Besides, Sophia's told me more than once that Maribel's husband owns a clothing store and if she can get her designs in there, she'll be on her way to having the career she really wants. I'd never let my anger over a job steal that chance away from her.

"What other ones?"

She sighs, her top teeth grazing over her bottom lip. "They were about you, Den. She asked questions about you and Tyler. Two days ago she wanted to know if you're as serious about him as he is about you."

"What did you tell her?" I take a deep breath.

"Nothing." She shakes her head. "I never answered those texts. Your relationship with him is none of her business."

I manage a faint smile. "Thanks for having my back, Soph. You're the best."

"You are." She reaches out and I take her hand. "Go in there and talk to him, Den. He loves you. You love him. That's what matters right now."

"I do love him," I say under my breath. "I'll talk to him. I need to."

***

"Don't cry, Cadence." Tyler wipes the tears from my face. "I can't take it if you cry."

I wanted to be strong when I pushed the curtain aside to enter the examining room that Tyler's in. I lost all my resolve when I saw his face. His upper lip is swollen and split, his left cheek is already sporting the beginnings of what looks like a massive purple bruise. There's a plain white bandage above his left brow and the front of his hair is wet and matted. It's obvious from the red streaks across the top of his forehead that it's blood.

"You hit your head." I move to touch his bruised cheek but I stop myself. "Are you still bleeding?"

"No." He glides his hand across his brow as he moves to stand from the stretcher he's sitting on. "This split wide open. There was a lot of blood, but they've stitched me back up. I'm good."

"You might have a concussion." My eyes meet his. "Have they checked you out for that? Concussions can be serious."

A faint smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. He winces. "It hurts to smile. I love that you're worried about me, but I'm fine. They checked me over from head to toe."

I nod. "I was scared, Tyler. I was really scared."

He swallows hard, his eyes misting. "It all happened so fast. That car came out of nowhere. There was no time to brace ourselves."

My stomach tenses, a mental image of the moment of impact invading me. I close my eyes. "You hit your head. My dad must have too."

"Sergio wasn't wearing his seat belt." He exhales in a rush. "I was scared that he was gone. I kept thinking about you and what I'd tell you if he didn't make it."

I glance up at him. His bottom lip is trembling. He's on the verge of losing it.  I am too. So much has happened since the last time I saw him. "They're moving him to the ICU. Dr. Reynolds said the next few hours will be critical. He's tough as nails though. My dad is a fighter."

"If he's anything like his daughter, I know he'll make it. You're the strongest person I've ever met."

He's wrong. I'm not strong. My heart is fractured. Tonight was supposed to be the night that I'd tell Tyler I love him. I imagined we'd end up in each other's arms in my bed, planning our future and putting our pasts behind us. Now, we're in the ER, with his ex-fiancée hovering nearby and my dad hanging on by a thread.

"I should go check on Sergio." I take a measured step back. "Are they going to release you soon?"

"No, I have to stay." His voice is laced with disappointment. "They're going to admit me for observation. I'll be discharged in the morning if everything checks out."

"It's good they're keeping you," I offer quietly. "Head injuries can be dangerous."

"I'm fine." He steps toward me, his hands reaching for mine. "I'm more worried about you."

My gaze drops to our hands. He's cradling mine, his right thumb skimming over my palm. He's trying to comfort me when he's the one who just went through hell. "You don't have to worry about me, Tyler. I'm good."

"You're not." He sighs. "You're going to go see Sergio without me beside you. I can discharge myself. Ben will understand."

I doubt like hell his brother-in-law is going to let him walk out of here. They wouldn't be keeping him overnight if there wasn't at least some concern about possible complications. "You can't leave, Tyler. I don't want that. I need you to be okay. Please stay."

He squeezes both my hands gently. "If you want me to stay I will, but I can be in the ICU in minutes. You just say the word and I'll break free and come find you."

"Please follow doctor's orders." I drop his hands to step back. "Or brother-in-law's orders. Do what they tell you to do."

He nods. "I will. I know you're worried, but your dad is in the best hands possible. Sadie is a fantastic doctor. She'll do everything she can for him."

I rub my hand over my chest but it does nothing to soothe the ache that has once again settled there. "I'll go see him now. I want to be there when he wakes up."

He closes the distance between us with one large step, his hands leaping to my face. "I love you, Cadence. I was scared I'd never be able to say that to you again."

I bite my tongue to ward off what my heart wants me to say. I can't tell him I love him right now, not when Neela is waiting in the wings.  It's impossible to form those three words on my tongue. They're still inside me but now they're buried beneath a mountain of confusion and grief.

Cautiously, I start to pull away again but he stops me, his lips grazing over mine in a soft kiss.

He winces. "It hurts to kiss you, but it's worth it."

"Promise me you'll rest." I tap my fingers on his chest. The front of the white dress shirt he's wearing is stained with spots of blood, the collar ripped.

"I'll do whatever you want me to do."

I smile gently. "Sleep. Heal. Take care of yourself."

"I can do all of those things." He drops his hands from my face. "Can you do me a favor?"

My stomach lurches even though I know the request has nothing to do with Neela. He didn't bother to tell me that she's been working for him. I doubt like hell he'd bring her name up at his point.

"What is it?" I ask with the cock of my left brow. "What can I do for you, Chef?"

He dips his chin toward the curtain that separates us from the bustling corridor where Sophia is waiting for me. "Stop by the waiting room and tell my sister and my parents that I'm as good as ever."

I look up at the bandage on his forehead. "I'll tell them that you're almost as good as ever."

"Thank you, my love," he says calmly, quietly while my heart splinters again.

"So you didn't say anything about Neela?" That's the second time Sophia has asked me that since I walked out of the exam room that Tyler is in. The first time I had to shush her since we were barely a foot away from the curtain that Tyler was standing behind.

I stop mid-step to turn to look at her. "I couldn't bring her up, Soph. The man was just in a major car accident. He's shaken up and needs to stay calm. I wasn't about to throw his ex-fiancée in his face."

"I'd throw her out the window if I had a chance," she mutters under her breath.

I shoot her a wry look. "You don’t mean that and besides I'll get my chance to talk to him about her. This isn't the place and it sure as hell is not the right time to discuss her."

"How can you be so calm about this?" She shoulders her purse, her hand tightening around the strap. "I know your dad is in bad shape but we're talking about the man you love. You have to fight for that, Den. You can't let him slip away."

My stomach knots. I know that Sophia is only looking out for me but we're not the same when it comes to love. I realized that the first time we watched a popular romance movie together on Netflix. Sophia cried when the on-screen couple parted ways because of a small misunderstanding. It took ninety minutes and countless discussions between each of the main characters and their requisite single best friends to realize that they'd made a mistake.

While Sophia sobbed and held tightly to a box of tissues, I cursed and screamed at the television, telling the characters to man up and do the right thing. To me, that involved having a rational discussion about what went wrong and how, if possible, to fix it.

"Sophia." I rest both my hands on her shoulders as people scurry past us. "If Tyler wants to have a relationship with Neela, that's his choice. Whether I accept it or not is my choice. "

"But you love him," she whines. "Isn't that enough to fight for him?"

"No." I shake my head faintly. "If I fight for him and he chooses me, I'll always wonder if he regrets it. I'd rather make my own choices for my heart and not let anyone else do that for me."

She's looking at me as if I'm speaking a foreign language. Her brows are raised, her lips parted. I wait for her to respond, but there's nothing but that stare.

"I need to go talk to Tyler's family." I gesture with my hand down the long corridor that leads back to the ER's waiting room. "You can come with me or you can go to the cafeteria to get a coffee if you want."

"I want to," she starts before she reaches forward to brush a piece of lint from the skirt of my dress. "I want to go with you, Den. I'm staying by your side tonight."

I mouth a silent thank you. I'm going to need her strength, maybe more than either of us realizes.

***

As we approach the ER waiting room I scan the area looking for Maribel. I know if I find her that Neela will be close behind. I don't want to talk to either of them again tonight. I have one mission right now and that's delivering Tyler's message to his family.

"I don't see either of them, Den." Sophia taps my shoulder from behind. "You're looking for Maribel and Neela, aren't you?"

"Was I being that obvious?" I ask when she steps in place beside me. "I'd rather avoid another run-in with the two of them."

"They're not here." She half-shrugs. "Maybe they took off. It's late. I don't think they let nosy chefs and old flames in to see patients after visiting hours are over."

I smile in spite of the situation. "I doubt like hell they left. Maybe they're in the cafeteria."

"Do you want me to do surveillance?" She rubs her palms together. "I can go find them and then report back to you. I can even stall them if you need me to."

She may not be deliberately trying to make me laugh, but her words, and her stance, are pulling a small chuckle from me. "You don't need to stall them. Let's go talk to Tyler's family and then we'll head up to the ICU."

"That works too." She points to the waiting room. "There's no time like the present to meet your future in-laws, Den. Let's do this."

"Sophia." I sigh. "Don't call them that."

"Call me a foolish romantic if you want," she continues even though I raise my hand to stop her. "You and Tyler are meant to be. You can tell me I'm right on your wedding day."

I rest my forehead in my palm. "I'd rather just call you my best friend."
              "That works too." She glides her fingers over my forearm. "Let's go talk to his family and then we'll go see your dad."

"Deal," I say under my breath as I look toward Tyler's mom. "Let's go."