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“There’s more,” the doctor continued, her voice a bit softer now. “While we are concerned about the head injury, the worst injury was to her lower left leg. The bones below her knee were crushed. We tried everything we could, but we couldn’t save it. We had no choice but to amputate below the knee.”
The doctor turned toward Playboy and his team. “She was very lucky to have you all there and that you knew what to do. You and your team saved her life.”
A silence heavier than anything Playboy had ever known filled the room. He couldn’t breathe. The thought of Gabby—so full of life, so strong—waking up and realizing she had lost her leg was unimaginable. She would be devastated.
“When can we see her?” Gabby’s dad asked quietly, his voice breaking.
The doctor nodded. “You can see her now. However, you need to be prepared. She’s hooked up to a lot of machines, and she has extensive bruising and swelling. If you all would like to follow me, I’ll show you to her room.”
As Playboy walked through the hospital, he felt like he was walking through a fog.
Once they made it to the fourth floor, they followed the doctor to the end of the hall to a room on the right.
Her parents went in the room first with the doctor. They were only in there for about ten minutes before the door opened, and they stepped back out, looking completely shattered. Both of their eyes were red. The weight of the grief they carried hit Playboy harder than he expected.
Her teammates went in next. When they all exited, Playboy could see the fear in their eyes. That alone scared the hell out of him.
When Playboy’s turn came, he hesitated at the door. His heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute.Snap out of it, he mentally told himself. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and pushed the door open.
As he stepped into the room, his legs almost buckled the second he saw Gabby lying in the bed. He had to blink to keep his tears at bay. His sweet Gabby, who always looked so full oflife, was almost unrecognizable with all the tubes and machines hooked up to her.
The machines hummed steadily, but the room felt suffocatingly quiet.
He slowly approached the bed. He reached out and gently touched her hand. It was warm, and he held on to that, hoping it was a sign she’d come back to them.
His gaze lingered on the blanket draped over her lower body. He swallowed hard, knowing what was hidden beneath the thin piece of fabric. There was now a space where part of her leg had once been.
But as he stared at the blanket, he realized something important. Her missing a part of her leg didn’t change anything—not the way he felt about her, and it certainly didn’t change who she was. A leg, a limb, didn’t define a person. She was still Gabby—the fierce and strong woman he admired more than anyone.
There was so much more to Gabby than her physical appearance. Sure, she’d always been stunning, and her body was a testament to her drive and discipline. But that wasn’t what had drawn him to her that night they met at Leo’s party. And it certainly wasn’t what kept him by her side now. It was everything else about her. It was the way she attacked life with a ferocity that made you feel like anything was possible. It was her confidence, the way she carried herself with a kind of effortless grace and command like the world would bend to her will if she wanted it to. It was her sense of humor, the way she could make him laugh even when things were a bit complicated—Velcro Vickycame to mind, drawing a small smile from him.
He admired her for her ambition, for the way she never backed down from a challenge, no matter how impossible it seemed. She had a drive in her that made her unstoppable, the kind of spirit that wouldn’t let her sit still or settle for anythingless than what she deserved. He loved her loyalty, the way she was fiercely protective of the people she cared about, always standing up for others and never letting anyone take advantage of them. And there was her heart—her big, generous heart.
None of that had changed.
Playboy exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of his own emotions settle in his chest. He knew Gabby was in for a battle and that her recovery would be harder than anything she’d faced before. But she wouldn’t face it alone. As he stood there, he made a silent promise to her that he would be by her side through every challenge and every step of her recovery.
He leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead. “We are all anxiously waiting for you to wake up. Stay strong, sweetheart.”
He stayed there for a moment, his forehead resting against hers, wishing he could trade places with her.
Finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore, he forced himself to leave the room.
When he arrived back in the waiting room, he found his team waiting for him. Their expressions reflected the same pain he felt.
“We’re all here for you and Gabby,” Bear said quietly, gently clapping Playboy’s shoulder.
Playboy nodded. “Thanks.”
As Playboy exited the hospital with his team, the cool night air hit him, but it did nothing to clear the heaviness in his chest. Every step away from Gabby twisted his heart more.
His team walked quietly beside him, their presence grounding him, but nothing could pull his thoughts away from her. He took one last glance back at the hospital doors as the weight of everything sank in again.
Tonight was just a pause. Tomorrow he’d be back by her side.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ramon paced back and forth in his lavish office, the luxury of his surroundings doing little to calm the storm brewing inside him. The large solid wood desk in front of him was scattered with documents that detailed his various business ventures. But at the moment, none of that mattered. His focus was solely on the phone in his hand and the voice on the other end delivering the worst news imaginable.
