Page 109 of Love What's Left
Gabriel’s fingers clutch my T-shirt, his eyes closing and opening on a series of slow blinks. “Believe. Me.”
If Gabriel didn’t think he could keep his promises, he wouldn’t have made them. He’d stay away before making me relive something like this. I push down my panic and cup his jaw. “I’m here, pretty boy.”
His eyelids drift closed.
I search the people hovering in a circle around us. “Where’s Henry?”
“Right here.” Henry’s voice sounds from directly behind me. He checks his pupils, then presses his fingers to Gabriel’s wrist.
His dad nods at the house then props his shoulder under Gabriel’s other arm. “Let’s get you inside to sleep it off. You don’t want the kids to see you like this.”
“He needs a hospital,” I say.
“Call Granthy and tell him to meet us there. He can’t be far away,” Henry tells the bodyguard.
“Don’t. Don’t tell him this happened. Don’t take Gabriel anywhere Granthy works. Bring the car around. We’ll take my husband ourselves,” I say.
The guard hesitates and looks at Arden.
My father-in-law frowns. “Frederick Granthy knows Gabriel’s medical history.”
I don’t have time to decide what’s paranoia and what’s not. “I’m his wife.Gabriel’s medical care ismycall.” Turning back to the guard, I snap, “Do as I say.”
The guard looks at Arden once more, then speaks into his earpiece as I brush my hand over Gabriel’s forehead and search his clouded green gaze. “We’re going to the hospital, handsome. Stay awake for me until we get there, okay?”
He drops his chin, and his eyelashes flutter. “Stay awake. For you.”
Arden pulls some strings at the hospital so we’re able to use the ambulance entrance and take Gabriel straight to a private room. After an exam, Dr. Stevens, a Black man in his early forties with an easy bedside manner, speaks in a reassuringly calm tone. “Mr. McRae doesn’t appear to be in danger at this time, but we’ll keep him overnight for observation as the drug works through his system and confirm when we receive his lab results.”
When the doctor leaves me alone with Arden and Charlotte, I pull my chair closer to Gabriel’s bed and take his hand. My muscles burn with fatigue, but I’ll wait for Gabriel to wake as long as it takes.
Across the room, Arden clears his throat. ”I didn’t want to argue with you until we knew Gabriel was safe, but there’s no reason to believe that someone else drugged him.”
I shake my head. “I have every reason.”
“It would have been easy for Gabriel to develop a new addiction. Maybe he started prescription painkillers when he broke his leg, and he managed to keep it quiet. Or he may have needed something for insomnia or anxiety in recent months and found himself taking more than prescribed. It can happen to anyone. I thought Ariana was clean too, when she quit drinking. The best thing we can do is support him, keep him safe, and get him back into rehab. But you’re not helping him if you stay in denial,” Arden says.
Gabriel’s parents love him. So do his siblings, but they’re jumping to the same conclusion I would have less than two weeks ago. “Gabriel deserves better than for us to assume the worst of him when he can’t speak for himself.”
Arden looks at his wife.
“She’s right.” Charlotte gives me a small smile. “He’s lucky to have you in his corner.”
Arden watches his son with troubled eyes, then he returns his gaze to me. “And your refusal to allow Gabriel to see his regular doctor?” The words aren’t a demand, but a man trying to understand.
I shrug. “Look, I’m aware that my reaction to Dr. Granthy is probably paranoia. But until we figure out who drugged Gabriel, it makes sense to take reasonable precautions. Every one of you looked at Gabriel and assumed he chose this. I don’t want a doctor who does the same thing or who doesn’tlistento me when I tell them to check for signs of foul play because he thinks he knows him better than I do. Every other time I saw Granthy in the past, I couldn’t remember him or the visit. I didn’t start to heal until I went to Hawai’i. And I had my first and only major setback there after he examined me.”
“Coincidence, not evidence.”
I’m too tired to run through all the reasons for my suspicions again. “We’ll have a better idea, one way or the other, when the team locates that can of seltzer and confirms whether there was anything added to it.”
Arden nods. “All right.”
“You should also know that my co-workers gave me back my lucky hat as a birthday present.”
“Where did they find it?” Charlotte asks.
“They claim it’s not the same hat, and it’s from an auction site online. But it’s the same one. Though, if they had anything to do with it, I can’t understand why they would hand over evidence,” I say.
