The SEAL's Secret Heirs

Liam started the truck and tore out of the lot before finally finding his voice. “It’s Maddie.”

All the blood drained from Kyle’s head and his chest squeezed so tight, it was a wonder his heart didn’t push through two ribs. “What? What do you mean, it’s Maddie? What happened?”

Not a horse. His daughter. Maddie.

“Hadley’s not sure,” Liam hedged. Kyle gripped his forearm, growling. “Driving here. Causing me to have a wreck won’t get you the information any faster. I’m taking you to Royal Memorial. Hadley said Maddie wouldn’t wake up and had a really high fever. With Maddie’s heart problems, that’s a really bad sign because she might have an infection. Hadley called an ambulance and left Maggie in Candace’s capable hands. We’re meeting them there.”

The drive couldn’t have taken more than five minutes. But it took five years off Kyle’s life to be trapped in the cab of Liam’s truck when his poor defenseless Maddie was suffering. The baby was fragile, and while she’d been growing steadily, obviously her insides weren’t as strong as they should be. His mind leaped ahead to all the ugly possibilities, and he wished his heart had fallen out earlier, because the thought of losing one of his daughters—it was far worse than losing Grace. Worse than losing his place on his SEAL team.

Liam screeched into the lot, but Kyle had the door open before he’d fully rolled to a stop, hitting the pavement at a run. It was a much different technique from jumping out of a plane, and his leg hadn’t been busted on his last HALO mission.

Pain knifed up his knee and clear into his chest cavity, which didn’t need any more stress. The leg nearly crumpled underneath him, but he ignored it and stormed into the emergency room, looking for a doctor to unleash his anxiety on.

The waiting room receptionist met him halfway across the room. “Mr. Wade. Hadley requested that you be brought to the pediatric ICU immediately. Follow me.”

ICU? Shades of the tiny room in Germany where Kyle had lain in a stupor for months filtered back through his consciousness, and his stomach rolled involuntarily, threatening to expel the beer he’d been happily drinking while his daughter was being subjected to any number of frightening people and procedures. The elevator dinged but he barely registered it above the numbness. Liam and the receptionist flanked him, both poor wingmen in a dire situation. But all he had.

Finally, they emerged onto the second floor and set off down the hall. Hadley rushed into Liam’s arms, tears streaming down her face. They murmured to each other, but Kyle skirted them, seeking his little pink bundle, to assure himself she was okay and Maggie wouldn’t have to grow up without her sister. The girls had already been through so much, so many hits that Kyle had already missed.

But he was here now. Ready to fight back against whatever was threatening his family. And that included his brother. The adoption business needed to be put to rest. Immediately.

“Who’s in charge around here?” Kyle growled at the receptionist, who must have been used to people in crisis because she just smiled.

“I’ll find the nurse to speak to you. Dr. Reese is in with your daughter now.”

The receptionist disappeared into the maze of hospital rooms and corridors.

Hadley and Liam came up on either side of Kyle, and Hadley placed a comforting hand on his arm. “Dr. Reese is the best. He’s been caring for Maddie since she was born. He’ll know what to do.”

That was far from comforting. If only he could see her, he’d feel a lot better.

A woman in scrubs with balloon decals all over them emerged from a room and walked straight to Kyle. “Hi, Mr. Wade, I’m Clare Connolly, if you don’t remember me. We’ve got Maddie on an IV and a ventilator. She’s stable and that’s the important thing.”

“What happened? What’s wrong with her?” Kyle demanded.

“Dr. Reese is concerned about the effects of her high fever on her heart,” Clare said frankly, which Kyle appreciated. “He’s trying to bring the fever down and running some tests to see what’s happening. The last surgery should have fixed all the problems, but nothing is guaranteed. We knew that going in and, well, we’re going to keep fighting. We all want to win this thing once and for all.”

This woman genuinely cared about Maddie. He could see it in the worried set of her mouth. Nurses were never emotional about their patients, or at least the German ones weren’t.

“Thanks. For everything you’re doing. May I talk to the doctor?”