The CEO's Entanglement

29 Aftermath

Elise POV

I swear if I don't hear from someone soon I'm calling Louise to come sit with the girls and going to that damn address myself. As if on cue, my phone rings and Dennis's name flashes on the screen. I can't connect the call quickly enough. "Dennis, where is Morris," I ask before he can even speak. "Elise, are you still alone with the kids?" "Yes, why? What is happening Dennis? Tell me now."

"I'm going to call Lola to come sit with the kids. Bruce will pick you up and bring you to the hospital. I don't want you driving right now," Dennis says. My knees feel weak, and I almost fall to the floor. I brace myself on the counter. "Dennis" I whisper. "He's been shot Elise. He's lost a lot of blood. They are doing all they can. I know you're scared. Hell I'm terrified of losing him, but he needs us to be strong. Try to keep it together in front of Emmy. You can lose it in the ca,r" he says.

I hang up and take some deep breaths, needing to do exactly what Dennis said. I just don't know how I'm supposed to get through the next few minutes. It doesn't take long for the knock on the door to come. I open it and Lola throws herself at me. "He won't leave you, she says, and all my efforts to maintain my composure are lost. Strong hands push us into the hallway and close the door. "Lola, what if he dies? I can't live without him."

"Hey, no way are we going to play the what if game. That man loves you and your daughter too much to die. You have to keep believing that. Now, can you pull it together enough to tell Emmy you're leaving or do you want me just to tell her that you had to leave," Lola asks. "I don't think I can do it without losing it, Lola. I know I need to be strong for her, but right now I don't feel very strong."

"You are allowed to be upset. That doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. You love your husband. If this was Bruce I'd be losing my sh*t far worse than you are," she says. She pushes open the door and Bruce steps into the hallway. He scoops me up and hugs me close to his chest. Feeling his strong arms holding me has the sobs I've been fighting, breaking free. After a few minutes, he sets me on my feet without a word.

I'm so grateful for all the people that love us. People that may not be family by blood, but definitely are family. I reach for my phone, needing to call my mother. With shaky fingers, I push her contact. "Hello baby girl. I wasn't expecting to hear from you today." My voice feels like its caught in my throat. "Elise, Elise, what's wrong" my mother's frantic voice says into the phone. I finally manage to speak.

"Morris has been shot. I'm on my way to Regional hospital." "Oh my God," she says before she starts to yell for my father. "We are on our way, baby girl. You aren't driving are you" she asks. "No, Bruce is driving mama. Mama, I can't lose him." "Now you listen to me young lady. I don't want to hear anything about you losing that man. He loves you too much to let that happen. You just remember to pray and God will take care of the rest," she says.

Just as the call disconnects, we pull into the hospital bay. I don't even know if the car was really stopped when I jumped out. I round the car just as Bruce steps out. I don't wait for him to hand the valet his keys. I rush inside and Dennis is sitting in the waiting room. He is on his feet and moving toward me the minute he notices me. I'm once again in strong arms. "They just took him into surgery." He leads me over to the nurse's station.

A young woman smiles up at me with sympathy in her eyes. "You must be Mrs. McNair" she says. "I am. Can a doctor tell me exactly what's happening with my husband?" "Of course, go through those doors and have a seat in the waiting area," she says. Dennis leads me through the doors and we take our seats. It doesn't take long for a doctor I don't know to step into the room. "Mrs. McNair, I'm Dr. Phillips. I was here when your husband was brought in," he says.

"He had a gunshot wound to the chest, but thankfully the bullet missed his heart and any major vessels. He still lost quite a bit of blood, but the surgeons feel he has a good chance at a full recovery. We will know more as the surgery progresses. I understand that his brother is also here in the ER, Dante Swanson." "Yes, he is our brother. How is Dante," Dennis asks.

"He has a concussion and some superficial wounds. We will keep him overnight to make sure that he has no major symptoms from the concussion, but he should be able to discharge tomorrow. I can take you to his room if you'd like," he says. We both nod, and he leads us down a long hallway. When I step into the room, Dante has his eyes closed with a pained look on his face. As we move further into the room, his eyes fly open.

"Elise, I'm so sorry. I was supposed to protect him. I failed" he starts to say, but I stop him. "Don't do that. I know how much you love Morris. I know you tried to protect him. The only people that are to blame for what happened are those ba**ards that did this." "I'm going to kick his a** when he wakes up," Dante says. I look at him confused. "I had that crazy b***h's attention on me, and he had to open his mouth," Dante says.

"He was trying to protect you." "He has you and Emmy. I would rather it be me" he says. "Dante, you're his brother. You are our family. Did you really think he was going to let you sacrifice yourself for him? Morris was probably terrified that you were going to be shot. Besides, he was the one they wanted to hurt. He's strong Dante." Tears run down Dante's face and I lean down, wrapping him in a hug. "I can't lose him, Elise. Morris, Nate, and Briar may not have grown up with us, but I love them like they did," Dante says.

"I know, I feel the same. All we can do is have faith that he will come back to us." I stand pulling a chair to one side while Dennis pulls a chair to the other. Dennis begins giving him hell while my mind wonders to the man that I love who is fighting for his life. The door to the room opens and Nate, Louise, Megan, and Carl step inside. I'm out of my chair and in Louise's arms. We both sob in each other's arms. Before long, we are all asked to move to the waiting room, so Dante can rest.

Megan and Dennis, of course, refuse as they take the seats beside Dante's bed. The rest of us get as comfortable as we can in the waiting room. Nate gets frequent updates on Morris, which I'm grateful for, but it doesn't stop the worry that has taken up residence in my chest. I'm not sure how many hours have passed when a different doctor walks into the waiting room. "McNair" he says. I'm on my feet with Louise by my side.

"I'm his wife and this is his mother. Those sitting behind us are his family. How is he, doctor?" "He did well in surgery. The next twenty-four hours will be the deciding factor if he'll need any additional surgery. Thankfully, the bullet didn't hit his heart or major vessels, but it did a lot of damage to the surrounding tissues. His clavicle was shattered and there was damage to the top of his lung. The bullet was retrieved, but there were a lot of bone fragments. I'm hopeful we got them all, but we will need a scan to be sure. The nurses are making him comfortable in the ICU and then two of you will be able to see him," he says, before he turns leaving the room.

This time my legs give out and I fall to the floor in a heap. Everything that the doctor just said overwhelms me. I'm lifted off the floor and the scent lets me know it's my daddy that has me wrapped in his strong arms. "He's going to be fine, baby girl. I saw the way that boy looks at you, and he isn't done loving you yet. A lifetime isn't long enough for a man that loves a woman the way he does. I should know I feel the same way about your mama" he says. I bury my head in his chest and let his words wash over me. God, I pray he's right.