Page 90 of Too Guarded to Love

Nic swung his body toward the window.

“Don’t even think about smashing through the glass.”

With all the wrath of a man about to lose the woman he loved, he ignored Edgar and crashed through with his steel arm. Landing in a crouch, his super leg taking the brunt of the impact, he ignored the pain that shot up his legs.

“That wasn’t part of the plan, but I’m right behind you. I’ll secure the ortho rep.”

He silently thanked Linc and ignored the stunned hospital staff as he sprang to his feet and ran around the table to Olivia.

Dropping to his knees next to the nurse giving her chest compressions, he gripped Olivia’s hand. “Wake up, sirena. Please, mi amor. Wake up.”

Someone nudged him. He pushed them away.

Strong hands gripped him from behind and pulled him back. “Give them space to work.”

He let Linc drag him up as they removed Olivia’s surgical mask and cut the front of her surgical gown. Another readied the defibrillator. The sight of the paddles triggered a desperate helplessness inside him.

He gripped Linc’s arms. “I was too late. The fucker hit the button on that damn device before I…” He kicked out his steel leg and caught the Diablo in the arm. “She can’t die. She just can’t. Not when…”

“Breathe, brother.”

Nic sniffed back hot tears. He could still feel the connection pulling him to her like an SOS, but for how long? “She’s so determined and impulsive and she made me let my guard down, and I don’t want those walls back up. I’ve let her in completely and she has to stay. She can’t go back to Atlanta, and she sure as hell can’t fucking die.”

The door behind him burst open. He heard Chris and Kane’s voices but didn’t take his eyes off the woman he’d fallen so hard for; he’d defied a direct order without a care for the consequences. The only consequence he cared about was losing the smart, daring woman he loved because he’d been too late.

Kane stopped short behind him. “Oh my God.”

Linc clapped a hand on Nic’s shoulder. “Olivia is tough. Like Gran. She’ll be around a long time to lead you on a leash like a little bitch.”

A small gasp jumped from Olivia’s mouth as her eyelids fluttered.

“Sirena.” Nic fell to his knees beside her. “Can you hear me, baby?” He stroked her cheek with his steel. “Can you feel me? Feel us?”

Long seconds passed as he watched her chest rise and fall. “Don’t make me beg, Olivia. Open your damn eyes.”

Slowly, her stormy blue gaze met his. “About time you’re the one in this relationship doing the begging.”

He breathed again as he gathered her in his arms and rose. “Thank God.” Burying his face in her hair, he inhaled her floral scent that even a sterile hospital couldn’t counter. “And you bet your ass we’re in a relationship.”

The kind where they’d never leave each other again.

He rained kisses on her cheeks as he carried her through the doorway and set her on a gurney in the hall. Cradling her against his body, he lost himself for a few moments in the feel of her heartbeat against his chest. “Are you okay?”

“Forget about me.” She tore off her cap and wiggled out of her torn surgical gown as she swiveled her head toward the operating room. “How’s Harlee? Did any broken glass get on her?”

Chris pushed past two security guards at the operating room door. “The team in there says she’s stable, and the shattered glass was contained to a small area. They are moving her to recovery shortly.”

“Great.” She turned back to Nic. “I repaired the damage and did the procedure that could get her back to competitive riding.”

“I’m so fucking proud of you. Now tell me how you’re feeling.”

“A little woozy, and it burns where the tracker is, but I’m okay.” She pulled back from him and cupped his face with her hands. “Better than okay.”

He slipped his hands under her scrub top and rubbed her clavicle. “You’ll be even better once we get this thing out.”

Kane sat next to them. “Scarlett and Patience will be here in about fifteen minutes.” He laid a kiss on top of his sister’s head. “Don’t ever fucking do that to me again. Between you and Gran, I’m going to have a heart attack.”

Nic banded his arms tighter around the woman he didn’t want to live without. “Get in line.”