Page 76 of Clear Blue Sky

More voices filled the air, but he couldn’t distinguish them anymore. The pain turned to a dull ache. He knew that sensation well. He sighed and closed his eyes.

“No,” Brandi said. “Stay with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I love you.” And then the world went black.

* * *

Brandi paced in the emergency room. It had been hours since they wheeled Nelson into the operating room.

“You might as well sit down and relax,” Dina said.

“I don’t know how you all can be so calm.” She plopped down on the hard chair beside her mother, who looped an arm around her, tugging her close.

“Sadly, this isn’t our first rodeo,” Louis said.

“Hopefully, it’s our last.” Dina arched a brow.

“He’s going to be fine.” Her father patted her knee. “The doctors said it was a straightforward surgery.”

“That’s not exactly what he said.” Brandi rested her head against her mom’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Every moment she’d ever spent with Nelson filled her mind. Every tender kiss. Every kind word. She’d fallen so hard for him, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life showing him how much he mattered.

She allowed her brain to wander into the future and what life might be like with Nelson. If they ever moved in together. Or got married.

Maybe even had kids and what they might look like.

Her chest tightened.

Her life wouldn’t be as full without Nelson in it.

“Hi, Jared,” Louis said.

She blinked her eyes open and forced herself to stand. Her muscles felt weak as if they couldn’t hold her weight. Her father took her by the arm.

“I spoke with the local FBI officers, and they will be taking over from here,” Jared said. “Everyone is in custody, and I heard that Ethan will be given special treatment for his testimony regarding Tyler’s company and what his plans were for buying and selling of military secrets.”

“It sucks that he’s getting off,” Brandi said.

“He’s not.” Jared looped his fingers in his belt loop. “He will lose his company. He’ll be fined a shit ton of money for his crimes, and he’ll never be able to work in this field again. He will feel pain for what he did.”

“I guess that should be good enough.” Brandi sighed. The embarrassment of being taken in by him still filled her heart. If she hadn’t allowed him back in her life, perhaps she could have at least put a dent in his plan. However, she couldn’t dwell on that now. She needed to send positive energy to Nelson. All her thoughts needed to be with him.

“Brandi, the doctor’s here.” Her father squeezed her shoulder.

She turned. “Is Nelson okay? Did the surgery go well? Did you get the bullet out?”

The doctor clasped his hands in front of his body. “Yes to all of those questions.” He nodded. “He’s going to need to stay here for about three or four days, but he’ll be as good as new in about a month.”

“Oh, thank God,” Dina said with a big sigh. “If he ever gets shot again, I’ll kill him myself.”

“You’ll have to stand in line.” Louis wrapped his arm around his wife, kissing her temple.

“He’s in the recovery room. He’s quite groggy but awake. You can all see him, but I don’t want to exhaust or overwhelm him,” the doctor said.

“Why don’t you go see him, darling.” Dina rested her hand on the small of Brandi’s back. “I’m sure you’re the first face he’d want to see.”

“He’s your son. You should—”

“Go,” Louis said. “We’re going to go grab a bite to eat with your parents. We’ll see him later.”

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