get out between coughs. “You’ve gotta be careful of the baby,” he said as Chase’s focus went to Sloane’s belly and–
Oh, god, the baby.
This couldn’t be happening.
This couldn’t be fucking happening! Not now, Chase told himself as he kept breathing for her, watching as her chest rose with each breath, praying that it would be enough.
He couldn’t lose her.
He couldn’t live without her.
God, he couldn’t fucking do this!
He loved her.
He loved her so much, Chase realized.
God, did he love her. He loved everything about her. Loved the way that her eyes narrowed on him when he pissed her off, loved the way it felt to fall asleep with her in his arms, the way that she still found excuses to drop down on his lap just so that she could wrap her arms around him and he couldn’t fucking do this. He couldn’t let her go.
“Come on, Pookie,” Chase whispered between breaths. “Don’t do this to me.”
“I’ve got it, Chase,” Adam said as he moved to take over.
Shaking his head, Chase covered her mouth and kept breathing for her as he watched her chest, praying for a miracle. “Come on, Sloane!”
“Chase, we need to–” Thomas said, reaching for her.
“Don’t fucking touch her!” Chase shouted as he went to cover her mouth again only to find himself suddenly yanked back.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” he snapped as Hunter and Grey pulled him back and held him down while he was forced to watch as Thomas and Adam took over.
“She’s going to be fine,” Hunter promised him as Chase was forced to lay there, watching as they intubated Sloane.
“This can’t be happening,” Chase said, squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed his forehead against the ground.
This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Not to them. Not after everything he’d already been through. He couldn’t lose his family like this. He couldn’t lose Sloane, not before she knew just how much he loved her. He couldn’t imagine his life without her, didn’t want to.
This wasn’t right.
This wasn’t fucking right!
Sloane was his salvation. She was everything that he could ever hope for and he…
He’d never told her.
He’d never told her that he loved her. He’d never told her that he loved her smile, the way that she put her heart into everything she did, the way that she couldn’t fall asleep until she kissed his chin, the way that she called him a stubborn jerk whenever he didn’t listen to her, and…
He loved her.
He loved her and he wanted to spend the rest of his life showing her just how much she meant to him. As soon as she opened her eyes, he would tell her. He would tell her everything and make sure that she knew how much she meant to him and then, he would marry her. They would fill that house with babies with their mother’s eyes and watch them grow up. They were supposed to grow old together and if she wasn’t there to torment him, then…
“Don’t take her away from me,” Chase said, feeling sick to his stomach. “Please, don’t take her away from me. Don’t do this to me…”
“We’re losing her!”
Oh, god…
Chapter 44
“Shhh, it’s okay,” came the softly murmured words as Sloane slowly opened her eyes to find Chase, who looked like he’d been through hell, standing over her.
“Where am I?” she asked in a hoarse whisper only to wince when the move caused pain to spread down her throat. God, it felt like she’d gargled broken glass, Sloane thought as she watched Chase grab a small cup off the tray by her bed.
“Take a small sip,” Chase said softly as he placed a straw against her lips.
She did as she was told as she slowly became aware of the nasal cannula placed on her face, giving her oxygen, the hard cast wrapped around her leg, the slight ache with every breath that she took and the dull pain on the side of her temple and–
“Deb and Teddy!” Sloane gasped, reaching up to shove the straw away as she frantically looked around the room, searching for them.
“Shhh, they’re okay. Your parents are watching them at the house,” Chase promised her as he placed the cup back on the tray.
“They can’t go back,” Sloane said, shaking her head only to stop when the move caused the dull ache in her head to intensify.
“To their grandmother’s?” Chase asked, sending her a questioning look as he lowered the siderail so that he could move closer to her.