Spectrum (Stone Society #14) - Faith Gibson Page 0,17
didn’t usually talk about their father much in the first few days. Now that they had figured out the trigger, bitterness grew inside Zeke. Jonas had given him life, but he had taken so much from Zeke too.
Once they landed and were in their rental, Zeke got quiet. The closer to his mate, the more he worried he would be too late. He had called Stella’s phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Sheila had more than likely turned it off, and it irritated Zeke. Being close to midnight, the drive went quicker than the GPS originally indicated. It also had to do with Zeke speeding while praying he didn’t get pulled over. The gods were on his side, and Zeke made it in record time. Cyrus had programmed his number in Zeke’s phone during the ride, so he told Zeke to pull up to the door, then text him the room number. It was after visiting hours, but Cyrus told him he would be in the waiting room.
When Zeke called information earlier, he had been surprised to be given a regular room number. With Sheila’s tone, he expected his mate to be in intensive care. That was the good news. The bad arrived when Zeke got to the fourth floor and a nurse tried to stop him from seeing Stella.
“You can’t go in there.”
“Ma’am, I understand there are rules, but I just got off a red-eye out of Montana. I couldn’t get here any sooner, and I have to see her.”
“And who is she to you? It’s family only, and as far as we were notified, she has no family other than her mother.”
Fucking Sheila. “I’m her fiancé. Stella and I decided to wait and tell Sheila when we took her out to dinner next week. I was supposed to be on a business trip until then.”
The nurse placed a hand on her hip. “I don’t remember seeing a ring.”
“Right. Because of the surprise. I’ll bring it and show you tomorrow, but right now, I need to see my girl. Please, just five minutes?”
“Are you aware of her injuries?”
“No. Sheila was distraught when I talked to her, and I jumped on a plane straight away. How bad is she?”
“She looks like she went three rounds with a heavy-weight boxer and lost.” The nurse shook her head. “You need to prepare yourself. It isn’t pretty.”
Zeke took a deep breath, willing his beast to behave. There would be time later for finding out who attacked his mate, then Zeke would make him pay. “I’m ready.”
The nurse pushed open Stella’s door and entered the room. It didn’t look like she was going to give them privacy, and Zeke was fine with it. He had lied to get his way into the room. What if someone else tried the same thing, like whoever did this? Zeke would probably have to leave and come back, and it looked like he needed to stop and purchase a ring. As he walked through the door, Zeke gave his Goyle a stern warning.
Do not lose your shit, or the nurse will kick us out.
His Goyle didn’t respond, but it was calm as Zeke entered the room. Stella’s face was swollen, and bruises lined the left side of her face. He took her hand and cradled it gently while studying her injuries. “Who did this to you, Baby?” Zeke whispered. He reached behind him and dragged the chair closer to the bed. Once seated, he brushed Stella’s hair back from the uninjured side and let the tears fall. Zeke leaned his forehead against the bed and sobbed. If he hadn’t gone to see Cyrus… No. He wouldn’t blame this on his brother. Or Jonas, even though it was his father’s fault all the siblings had been kept in the dark. This was all on whomever had attacked Stella.
When he got himself under control, he wiped his eyes and turned to the nurse. “Do the police know anything?”
“I’m not sure. They had already come and gone by the time I came on shift. I do know Stella’s mom talked to them.”
“Where is Sheila? She should be here with her daughter.”
“Stella’s boss convinced her to go to a hotel and get some rest.”
“Her boss? Why was he here?”
“From what I heard, he’s the one who found Stella. I don’t know all the details. I’m going back to the desk. Ring me if you need anything. I’m Connie, by the way.” Connie didn’t mention Zeke leaving, so he settled in.