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The seconds feel like hours as we wait, each tick of the clock echoing in the sterile surroundings. The private waiting room they show us to becomes a vortex of emotions as we all spiral in our own thoughts and fears. The distant sounds of medical equipment, the muffled sobs of worried family members further along the corridor, and the low hum of conversation among hospital staff form a dissonant symphony. I pace the sterile floors, my thoughts fracturing.
Finally, a weary-looking doctor emerges from the operating room, his eyes revealing a mix of exhaustion and hope. My heartpounds in my ears as he approaches, and I brace myself for the news that will shape our uncertain future.
“He’s stable,” the doctor says, his words a lifeline in the darkness. “He was shot and the bullet was lodged in his chest, but we were able to retrieve it. The damage was minimal and we managed to stem the internal bleeding. He’s responding well to treatment.”
Relief crashes over me, a tidal wave that threatens to sweep me off my feet. The burden that had settled on my shoulders begins to lift, replaced by a glimmer of hope. Dash is alive, and for now, that’s enough.
“Can we see him?” North asks, his voice gruff with raw emotion and relief.
The surgeon shakes his head.
“He’s still in recovery, but when we have a bed available for him he’ll be moved to the ward and then you’ll be able to visit. Only two at a time though, and don’t expect him to wake up. He lost a lot of blood and had to be given a transfusion, so his body will need time to heal and that’s best done by allowing him to sleep.”
He leaves, and it’s back to being a waiting game.
Eventually, Frost speaks up.
“What the hell happened?” He sounds so anguished. I long to comfort him, but I have nothing to give – I’m as troubled as he is.
“We can’t know,” I reply, hating the truth in my words.
“Until Dash wakes up, we won’t know,” Don adds.
“But what the hell was he doing in Sycamore?” Frost continues.
“Speculating won’t do any good,” North says firmly.
“Fine. Can we talk about something else then? Like where the hell Candy is?”
All eyes turn to Frost, the question hanging heavy in the air.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Don says, his voice grim. “I called in as many contacts as I could on the drive over here, no one has got back to me.”
I force myself to remain calm, to think logically. Candy was strong-willed and independent, used to living and surviving on the streets. Despite that knowledge, I still worry about what could be happening to her out there.
“We need to keep looking,” I say, my voice steady despite the knot in my stomach. “I’ve called mama Russo. She’s sent Renato and the boys out looking for her.”
“I didn’t know you’d introduced them,” North says quietly. His tone is laced with understanding – if I took this girl to meet my adoptive, chosen family, she must mean the world to me. I nod.
“I took her to the restaurant for lunch on Christmas Eve. She might be in that area because she used to live around there…on the streets.”
North’s brows shoot up. “That wasn’t in her file.”
“I know. Someone – the best friend’s family who practically adopted her – paid a lot of money to make certain details of Candy’s past disappear.”
Frost shakes his head, his eyes filled with anger. “It doesn’t matter if she lived on the streets. I don’t care who she was. I just want her back. Whoever did this is going to pay.”
“We don’t even know what’s happened,” I remind him gently.
“Somethinghappened. She’s nowhere to be found and Dash didn’t steal from us and shoot himself,” he snaps back.
“We’ll find her,” Don says firmly. “We have the resources, the connections. We won’t stop until we do.”
My brothers nod, a collective resolve to find our girl hardening in our hearts. Our family has been through so much already, we can’t bear to lose Candy. Not when she fits so perfectly. Not when we’re all falling so hard for her.
The room falls into a tense silence as we all try to process the events that have occurred in such a short amount of time. Dash is fighting for his life, Candy is missing, and we’re all left to wonder how these two events are connected.
My mind races as I try to put the puzzle pieces together. Who would want to harm Dash? And is Candy’s disappearance somehow linked to Dash’s attack? Besides the obvious – that she means the world to him.
