I was just absorbing that news when the doctor came out and spoke to me, repeating everything the nurse had said but giving me more information on her condition.
Heatstroke put a lot of strain on the heart and brain, and given how dehydrated she was, they were monitoring her heart closely. They’d be doing some assessments on her central nervous system, too, once she was moved to her own room.
Until then, we were waiting for her to wake up to see if her brain had been affected.
As I walked back into her room and took in how small Addy looked on the bed, surrounded by wires and nurses, I bit down on my tongue to stop me from losing my mind.
“Why don’t you sit next to her, sir,” one of the nurses suggested, pointing to a plastic chair next to the bed. “She might be better just hearing your voice.”
Doing as she suggested, I picked up Addy’s hand, frowning when I felt how cold it was.
Leaning forward, I put my head on the pillow next to hers.
“I’ve been arguing with myself for almost a year now about instalove, Addy. I didn’t believe in it and hated the word, but that was until I spoke to Remy about it last night on the way home.
“He told me it was just a term made up by romantics, a bit like fairy tales made up love at first sight, which has been used for decades. Something about the term instalove rubbed me up the wrong way and made that first punch to the solar plexus I felt when I saw you seem worthless, so I didn’t know what it all meant.”
Rolling my head so that it was resting against hers, I took a deep breath in. “I get it now. Some people like using instalove and love at first sight, but I’ll always say I fell in love with you the second I saw you and felt like I’d been hit by lightning.
“The six months after it ate away at me, and I did everything I could to convince myself I was just being dumb. I wasn’t, though. I love you, and I’ve loved you from that first jolt to my heart.”
I stayed like that with her until a nurse came up on the other side of the bed. “Adrienne? Hello, there. It’s good to have you with us.”
I stood up so quickly I saw dots, but nothing could distract me from the sight of Addy’s eyes flickering open, then watching her beautiful brown irises as she looked around the room, stopping on me when she saw me standing next to her.
“M-M-M-arcus,” she croaked, licking her dry lips. “Why am I here?”
I didn’t get to answer her question because the doctor came back into the room and began asking her questions before they moved her up to her room.
By the time she’d been moved onto the other bed, and they had her settled, she’d fallen back to sleep, making the decision to swap with Jackson easier for me.
“Keep your eyes on her,” I warned him. “Anyone comes into the room, you watch them closely, okay?”
Saluting me, Jackson dropped down into the recliner next to the bed. “I’ll make sure she’s golden. Go and do your thing, and don’t worry about us.”
It was hard to leave her, but I trusted my twin to look after her until I got back.
My brother and Remy were waiting for me in the hallway outside her room, just as Mrs. V and Adia arrived and went in to keep Jackson company.
“Let’s go.”
Sighing, I went to the table and started picking up the things we used on the horses. Judging by the look on the guy’s face, he figured they were implements of torture—telling me Jesse had been winding him up with them.
“So, you were going to steal some of the horses?” Remy asked him, his voice still coming out in monotone to match his blank expression. “Why?”
“Fucking Marni promised she’d get me the money I need to pay off a debt. We had a deal. We bailed her out, and she got me the two hundred grand.”
Walking behind him slowly, I circled back around and stood behind Remy with my arms crossed.
Remy never took his eyes off the guy once. “How was she going to get it?”
“She was meant to distract you and either get it out the office or transfer it from your account. That’s what she said she’d do. She said she’d made some distractions, so she had the time to search or hack the computer.”
“I see,” Remy said slowly, leaning forward, so his elbows were on his knees. “And how did our friend end up in your trunk, almost dead?”
The guy paled even more if it was possible, and the gulp as he swallowed sounded painful. Good.