Chapter 156: In The Hospital

Sade

I am sitting beside the hospital bed where Rain is asleep. She’s been asleep for days now. I have already called the rest of the O’Connors, and we have been on the phone. Tomilino has had his people checking everything out. The car had an explosive device, which means someone was targeting our family. Most likely, we think they just got the wrong target. My blood runs cold as I think about how close Rain was to the explosion. I had her walk them out because I was on the phone with Tomillino.

The large piece of metal, some part of the car’s chassis, impacted her head. She has a skull fracture and brain swelling. They had to do a craniectomy and remove a section of her skull as well as insert a drain. Tomillino has already got the best Neurosurgeon here, and he is working on her case. Right now, they are calling it a coma, her body’s way of healing. They say it actually looks good.

The swelling is supposedly going down, and her vitals are all strong. The other thing I now know is that Rain is pregnant. She is two months. We’re not sure how this will affect everything, but there is a possibility this will cause a miscarriage. All we can do is wait and see.

Tomillino helped me hire a nanny so that I could be here with her and know that the kids are being taken care of. I watch the cameras all the time, so I am keeping an eye on them. I have noticed that this time they are not fussing about their mother being gone. That’s because their mother has been gone for quite a while now.

I am rubbing my thumb over the back of her hand, willing her to open her eyes. This whole thing is driving me crazy. I need to know beyond anything that she is going to be okay. We have stepped up security. The house is covered here and at Tomillino’s house, as well as the office. I even have ones here, just in case I have to run to the house for anything; she is still guarded until I can get back.

My phone rings in my pocket, so I dig it out and answer it, “Hello”.

“Sade, this is Dominick. I needed to let you know that the rest of the cars were inspected. We found two other devices, but everything has now been taken care of. We have checked all of the cars multiple times, and they have all been started and driven just to be sure.” I rub my other hand over my face.

“Fuck, is there anything with the devices that indicates that they were made by any person that we know?” Some members of the families who specialize in hits, like me, have signatures. I don’t use explosives, so it doesn’t pertain to me, but I know some who do.

“None that we recognize. It looks like it could have been purchased on the black market. That or the person using them made sure not to leave a trace. After all, if you are planning to take out a couple of Dons and the leader of the Irish mafia, it would probably be best to not be traceable.” I hear him sigh loudly. He’s been pulling a lot of weight trying to help me and Tomillino with everything.

“That is very true. Has Tomillino spoken to Shamus?” He is the next in line in that family, so he has his hands full with funerals and transfers of power, not to mention a grieving widow.

“Yes, he spoke to him this morning. We are going to be flying out tomorrow to attend the funerals. They know that you can’t come due to Rain’s condition and the kids right now. So, it’s all good. They will plan to speak to you later this week, when this is all taken care of.” I nod even though he can’t see me.

“Be sure and tell them if they need anything to just let me know.” I hear papers shuffling.

“I will do that, Sade. We will speak to you tomorrow after we land.” After that, I hang up and just go back to watching Rain and holding her hand.

There are doctors in and out, and checks done. They think the swelling of her brain is down enough that they can go ahead and put the section of skull back they had to remove to place the drain and relieve the pressure. That is scheduled for tomorrow. Now, while this is good, it is still surgery, and I don’t like it.

It doesn’t honestly take that long for her to be back in the room after recovery, although she never has woken up. The side of her head is shaved, and there are dark stitches against her scalp. I run my hands through the rest of her hair. She looks so small to me in that bed.

I run down to the cafeteria and get more coffee. I am basically living off of hospital cafeteria food. I went home for a couple of hours last night so I could give the kids their baths and read them stories before bed. I have been absent so much, and so is their mother. I just keep hoping she’ll wake up and then her recovery will go quickly and I’ll be able to bring her home. I want her home so damn bad.

This whole thing has let me know that we have to try and do more to help her. I need to discover if there are any reputable therapists that I don’t have to worry about her speaking to. If she mentions things I have done to her, or others have, it could get messy, and the legalities of all of that shit could be a pain in my ass. I can’t just do nothing though. I kept expecting her to snap out of it, but after this amount of time, it’s clear that is not going to happen.

I just sat down with my coffee, taking a sip while I leaned forward. I take her hand with my free hand and start to caress it as I always do. I feel her hand spasm, and I pause. I look up, and I see her eyes fluttering.

She blinks, opening and shutting her eyes, no doubt affected by the light. I hurry and dim everything so it’s not so harsh on her tender eyes. Then she blinks more, finally opening her eyes and looking at me. I smile at her, and she keeps blinking.

“Who are you?” That is the first thing she says, and it freezes the air in my lungs.