Page 50 of Riggs
Chapter Twenty
Luna
The moment, Riggs closes his eyes, and I no longer feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath the blood-soaked towel I have pressed against the hole in his chest, I sob. Lifting my shaky hand, I press two fingers to his throat. I desperately search for a pulse, only to find nothing.
Swiping my hand out of the way, Cain's fingers replace the spot mine just were. I watch as the look of horror strikes his face. Riggs has stopped breathing, and he has no heartbeat. Tugging Riggs' lifeless body from my lap, Cain doesn't waste a second as he starts chest compressions. The only thing I can do is helplessly watch while Cain tries to pump life back into his brother. I count each compression Cain delivers to Riggs; thirty in total before he tilts his head back and gives two rescue breaths. Time slows to a crawl as Cain repeats the process several more times. The only thing I can focus on is the blood that continues to gush from the bullet hole in Riggs' chest.
I can't lose him.
When Riggs came into my life, he brought purpose; he brought strength. He made me feel alive for the first time in my existence. God wouldn't be so cruel as to take him from me. At the thought of Riggs being ripped away from me, I start to hyperventilate. The visions I have of our future together begins to evaporate with each second that ticks by; with each chest compression, and breath of life Cain tries to force into Riggs.
Abandoning his brothers' body, Cain pounds his fist on the back window of the truck. I watch his mouth open, and he says something to Wick who is driving. Wick whips his head around and peers into the bed of the truck. His eyes go big as he sees Cain resume CPR on his best friend. The truck lurches forward as Wick punches harder on the gas. I don't know how much time has passed since Riggs has stopped breathing, but it feels like an eternity. Things are looking bleak, but I refuse to give up hope. Miracles happen every day, and we need God to work one tonight.
A beacon of hope washes over me when we pass the entrance sign for the local hospital. Wick brings the truck to an abrupt stop in front of the emergency room. Our arrival alerts two nurses who are standing just outside the entrance. One nurse rushes up to the back of the truck while the other hauls ass back inside; hopefully for help. Jumping out of the bed of the truck, Cain lowers the tailgate. Moments later, the second nurse reappears with two doctors and a third nurse. None of them bat an eye at the situation, they fly directly into lifesaving mode as they gather Riggs' body from the back of the truck, sliding him onto a gurney. One doctor starts issuing orders while they swiftly roll him away from us. Wick quickly climbs out of the truck and joins Cain and me. The three of us watch helplessly as the team of doctors and nurses disappear through the emergency room doors with Riggs.
We rush in behind them but don't make it past the front desk of the waiting room before we are stopped by the receptionist. The only words I make out as she holds up her hands, halting us in place is — "can't go back, sir."
Cain goes toe-to-toe with the woman as they argue back and forth. Soon a security guard makes the mistake of placing his palm against Cain's chest urging him to step back. Cain's face turns red as he knocks the security guy's hand away and shoves him. That's when Wick steps in and places his arm between the two. Wick shakes his head at Cain, giving him a look. He then says something to his brother, causing him to glance back in my direction. Whatever he said seems to have done the trick, because Cain steps back. He turns away from the security guard, and receptionist then strides in my direction, stopping in front of me. Neither of us say anything. We don't need to. We are both thinking the same thing.What if he doesn't make it?
Unable to hold back, I launch myself into his arms. My body shakes violently as I clutch the front of Cain's cut and sob. Cain holds me, seeking the same comfort. Every breath he takes is a shuttered one, and I know he's trying to contain his own emotion. Riggs is his twin — his flesh and blood. The bond they share is like no other. I can only imagine Cain is feeling a piece of his soul slipping away. I feel my whole heart shatter into a million pieces. Breaking away from him, I look around the waiting room to find Wick sitting in the corner with his head bowed and his hands threaded over the back of his head. Wick is Riggs' best friend and is hurting just as bad as Cain and me. I peer up at Cain, and he signs, "go."
Squeezing his hand, I break away from Cain and make my way over to Wick. Kneeling on the floor in front of where he sits, I reach up and pull his hands into mine. He looks into my eyes with such pain, I do the only thing I know to do; I wrap my arms around him. Wick returns my embrace.
Our moment is broken when there is a tap on my shoulder. I look back at Cain as he points out the window behind us. He signs. "Our brothers are here." Looking out the window, I watch as one bike after another pulls up and all the brothers come rushing into the emergency room. Kiwi is the first to spot us; he looks wild with fear and anger. Following close behind him are Fender and Everest. Even Neil arrives.
I watch as an SUV pulls up with three other club members, and with them Riggs' grandad and Piper. Standing beside Piper is a beautiful tall African American woman whom I've never met. Releasing the woman's hand, Piper runs inside, straight into her dad's arms. When Abe ambles into the E.R. looking a little worse for wear, a nurse rushes up to him, concerned. Abe has a good bit of bruising and swelling on his face. He waves her off and joins the rest of us who have gathered in the far corner of the waiting room. I push through the crowd and come to a stop in front of him. "You should at least let one of the nurses look you over, Abe."
He waves me off. "Tell me how my grandson is doing."
I close my eyes and shake my head. I don't have the strength to tell Abe his grandson was not breathing, and had no heartbeat by the time we arrived. Cain is the one to deliver the news. "I had to administer CPR on the way here, Pop. We've been here fifteen minutes and are still waiting on word."
The moment CPR leaves Cain's mouth, Abe pales, and he brings a shaky hand to his mouth. Just when Abe raises his hands to speak again, the doctor who aided us when we first arrived followed by a nurse walks into the waiting room. His steps falter briefly when he takes in the dozen or so bikers in front of him but recovers quickly as he makes his way toward us. The look on the doctor's face is not an encouraging one, and my stomach sinks.Don't tell me he's dead.
"Are you the family of Abel LeBlanc?" the doctor asks, and Cain translates for me. I nod while everyone else speaks up. The doctor looks a bit taken back. "I can only speak to immediate family."
"We are all his immediate family," Cain grinds out. He points to Abe. "This is our grandad." He points to me next. "This is his fiancé." Cain then motions to all the men standing in the room looking ready to crack skulls if they don't get some answers. "And these are his brothers. Now if you are done fuckin' around and wasting valuable time, can you tell me how my brother is doing?"
The doctor swallows. "Very well. As you know, your brother came in with no heartbeat, and he was not breathing. His injuries caused by a single gunshot wound to his chest. For ten minutes, we administered CPR –" the doctor continues to explain. My knees go weak, and bile rises into my throat.
Oh God. He didn't make it.
Someone behind me grabs me around my waist to hold me up as the doctor continues. "Finally, our attempts were successful, and we were able to get a pulse. It's weak, but it's there, and for now, Mr. LeBlanc is alive."
"Is he going to make it?" Cain asks.
The doctor lets out a deep sigh. "I'm not going to lie. His chances of making it are slim. I'd say he has a twenty percent chance at this point. That's if he makes it through surgery."Twenty percent!
"Surgery?" Abe questions.
"The bullet is still lodged in Mr. LeBlanc's chest. The only way to remove it is through surgery. The surgeons will most likely have to open his chest to retrieve the bullet and attempt to repair the damage left behind. Mr. LeBlanc has already lost a lot of blood. Surgery is a risk, but it is his only chance at survival."
I ask the next question. "Has he been taken to surgery? Can we speak to the surgeon? Does he need more blood? Perhaps one of us can donate."
"Mr. LeBlanc will be receiving another transfusion during his surgery. If any of you would like to donate, that would be great. He has already gone upstairs and is being prepped as we speak. Time is crucial. If you like I can have a nurse take you all upstairs to the waiting room. I'll page the surgeon who will be operating on Mr. LeBlanc to see if he will have enough time to answer any questions you may have before he gets started."
We all nod as the nurse standing next to the doctor gives us a warm smile and leads the way to the elevator. Because there are so many of us here for Riggs, we split up and take two elevators to the eighth floor. Unfortunately, the surgeon working on Riggs was unable to meet with us before his surgery. His case is so dire; there was no time to waste. Kiwi did, however, look up the surgeon operating on Riggs to find Dr. Muller is the best surgeon in the state of Louisiana. That little fact went a long way with easing my nerves. Riggs has a twenty percent chance at making it. Twenty percent is not good. But he is strong, healthy and he is a fighter.
The energy in the waiting room is somber as we all sit around waiting on word from the surgeon. Earlier, a nurse came in and was kind enough to offer me a clean scrub top since she noticed the tank top I had on was covered in blood. Trying not to replay those events, I look across the room to Piper, who is sitting with her dad. She breaks away from him and rushes up to me. I waste no time opening my arms to her and let her cry into my neck. When her tears subside, she pulls her face away. I wipe the tears away with my thumb, tuck her hair behind her ear, and kiss the top of her head. She says two words to me. "Thank you."
