He skidded around the corner into the ICU nurse’s station. “I’m looking for Glory Walsh.”
“Are you family?” Julian shook his head no. “I’m sorry, sir, no one’s allowed in unless they’re family. You’ll have to go to the waiting room.”
He ground his teeth together. “Is Ryan Williams here?”
The woman gulped. “I’m afraid we had to have him escorted out. He was far too disruptive.”
Oh, shit. They had no idea what they’d done. They were lucky they didn’t have a rampaging Grizzly in the parking lot.
“You understand you just kicked out her fiancé. He had every right to be here.”
The two nurses exchanged a worried glance. “He didn’t tell us he was her fiancé.”
“I’ll go find him and bring him back. I’ll do my best to keep him calm, but I’m sure you can understand why he was upset.” If he didn’t get to Ryan soon he had no idea what the Grizzly would do.
He’d also have to figure out a way to get into Glory’s room. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jamie Howard’s personal number. He sniffed the air as discreetly as he could, hoping to catch Ryan’s scent. He followed it to the elevator and stepped in just as Jamie picked up.
“Hey, Julian. How’s Glory?”
“They won’t let me in to see her.” He’d called Jamie on the way to the hospital to inform him of what had happened and that he wouldn’t be in the office for a day or two. Jamie had told him to stay at the hospital until Glory was out of the woods. “Worse, they kicked Ryan out for being disruptive.”
“Shit. Let me make a few phone calls. I’ll get you in to see Glory, you keep Ryan calm.”
“I’m tracking him down now. I haven’t seen Tabby or Alex yet, and I haven’t found Cyn.” He ran his fingers through his hair. There were just so many things to worry about; it was starting to give him a headache. “I wonder if anyone has called Glory’s parents.”
“You concentrate on Ryan and Glory. Let Alex protect Cyn and Tabby.”
He stepped out of the elevator and followed Ryan’s scent out of the hospital. “Not good enough. I need to find out if Cyn is hurt.”
“She would’ve called and told you if you she was.”
Julian stopped and pulled the ear from his phone, staring at it in disbelief. “You don’t know her very well, do you?” He put the phone back to his ear in time to hear Jamie chuckle. “Her fucking jaw was broken and she didn’t call me because she didn’t want me to be bothered about it.”
“Point taken.”
Julian sniffed again and began walking toward the parking lot. He wasn’t catching a lot of rage in Ryan’s scent. It could simply be the hospital smells of worry, despair and sickness, but what he was catching off of Ryan was a strange calmness. That concerned him more than any amount of rage would have. “I think we have a problem.”
“What?”
He watched as Ryan drove sedately out of the parking lot. Even at distances he could see the five-inch claws wrapped around the steering wheel. “I think Ryan’s hunting.”
“I’ll call Gabe, so don’t worry about that. You get back in and see what you can do about Glory. They should let you in now.”
“Thanks, Jamie.”
“I’m curious about one thing, though.”
Julian stepped back into the hospital. “What’s that?”
“Is your life ever boring?”
Julian sighed. “Not since I came to Halle.” Hell, it had been downright somnolent before he came to Halle. He hung up the phone and stepped into the elevator, heading once more to ICU. This time, when he requested access to Glory’s room, it was granted right away.
The sound of life support machines disturbed him more than he was willing to admit. Glory had tubes down her throat helping her breathe. Another tube stuck out of her chest, indicating a collapsed lung. She was pale, and almost as blue as her hair. They were giving her blood to replace what she’d lost. The sounds coming from the heartbeat monitor were far too slow for his liking.
He could tell she was stable, but barely. A nurse was prepping her for surgery. How long had it taken them to get her stable enough for it? It wasn’t that far from Living Art to the hospital, but it had taken him an hour to get there. He could feel his Bear reaching for her, anxious to heal her. To see such a vibrant woman so wounded troubled him.
“Julian.”
Just one whispered, tear-laden word eased his heart. Cyn’s face was swollen from crying, her eyes red and damp. She reached for him, and he pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair as she collapsed in his arms, all her strength deserting her. She sobbed against him like a broken child, and Julian understood why Ryan had gone hunting. He never wanted his mate to hurt like this again, and he would do anything to make sure it never happened a second time. “I’ll fix this, I swear.”
She stiffened and lifted her head. “Can you leave us for a minute?”
The nurse nodded briefly and left the room.
Cyn took his face in her hands and glared up at him. “I won’t lose either one of you. Do you understand me? You only heal her to the point where she’ll survive with surgery, and let the doctors take it from there. You don’t risk yourself. ¿Entendido?”
“I understand.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, healing the swelling from the crying and the headache that was beginning to build behind her eyes.
Already he could feel his Bear pulling him back toward the bed. Glory needed him. Ryan and Cyn were counting on him. He sat on the edge of the bed and took hold of Glory’s hands. With a deep breath he focused on the healing path, his instincts and his understanding of anatomy blending together as he began to repair the damage done to Glory’s body. The harm to her lung was severe, and by far the most traumatizing injury. He began the slow process of knitting together the wounded flesh, the torn blood vessels. The bullet had glanced off her ribs and entered her lung, deflating it like an overblown balloon. He was surprised she wasn’t in surgery already. Things must’ve been truly bad if the doctors said it would be better to wait. As it was, odds were good she’d lose the lower lobe of her lung and require months of therapy. Even if Ryan bit her now, the change wouldn’t repair the damage done.