How About No
Page 42

Castiel nodded once. “Yes. I’ll keep you updated.”
With that, I took him at his word and walked quickly to the elevator, not sparing those two obviously stupid women even a backward glance.
I didn’t turn around until I was in the elevator and all of the men traipsed on with me.
“Your wife,” Rome said softly. “She’s a tough cookie. She’ll be just fine.”
Unfortunately, his words couldn’t be further from the truth.
Chapter 19
Whatever sprinkles your donut.
-Coffee Cup
Wade
“The bullet entered here,” the doctor said, going over an x-ray that was taken sometime yesterday when she’d been brought in. “When we did surgery, we found that the liver lost blood supply for quite a while. Unfortunately, parts of the liver were already dead, and we had to do a resection. We’re also not sure if what we were able to save will, in fact, survive. The first forty-eight hours is going to be the deciding factor. If she makes it through then, she’ll likely have a very good chance of making it. Though, I think we should still get her on the donor registry…just in case.”
“What does that mean?” my mother asked softly.
My mother and father had arrived in the middle of the night and had come straight here the moment they’d heard the news.
My mom and dad were sitting on the small loveseat in the corner of the room while I stood beside Landry’s bedside, holding her hand.
Landry had been asleep on and off since she’d woken from surgery a little over seven hours ago. This was actually the first time the doctor had been back since I’d spoken with him briefly after the surgery.
“It means,” Dr. Tibil said quietly. “That we need to get her on the transplant list in case the part of the liver we were able to save fails.”
Those words hung in the air.
“Livers can be split in half, right? If one of us were matches, we could donate to her, correct?” my mother asked, sitting forward in her seat.
“Yes,” he agreed. “But with all the damage that her body has gone through after losing her right kidney as well, her body is very weak. If she doesn’t have a perfect match, then it’s likely that her body will just reject it.”
I closed my eyes and felt that there was only one thing that I could do.
It was Landry who stopped me. “Don’t you dare.”
I looked down at my wife, who was watching me with knowing eyes.
“Don’t I dare what?” I asked, knowing she knew me better than I sometimes knew myself.
“Ask her,” she whispered. “Don’t. Please don’t.”
I smiled. “We’re going to get tested first. Then, we’ll explore other options if there’s not a match. But baby, we may not even need it. You may be just fine.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I don’t want to ask her for anything.”
“Now, I’ve put in a request to have more blood, AB negative, delivered to the hospital. Have you all been tested to make sure you’re not a match?” the doctor asked.
“Yes. We did that one by one just a few hours ago. None of us are matches. Castiel was O negative and was able to donate two pints. I believe that’s what you got while you were in surgery.”
The doctor nodded at my words. “Put the word out.” He looked at Landry. “She could use some more.”
With that he left, leaving my heart in my throat.
***
I felt no such compunction.
Walking up the front walk to Landry’s parents’ home, I knew that this meeting wasn’t going to go well.
Not after what I’d learned about her parents once Landry opened up to me when we’d found out that we were still married.
I knocked sharply, unwilling to stop myself from taking this step despite the fact that I knew it would piss Landry off greatly.
The big red doors didn’t even flinch at the pounding of my knuckles against the expensive wood.
Lina was surprisingly the one to answer the door.
Honestly, I’d been expecting a butler or something with how big the place was.
“Wade!” Lina grinned. “How are you?”
Her smile faltered as she took in the expression on my face.
“Not good, Lina,” I said softly. “Landry was shot last night.”
Lina’s mouth dropped open, and the open devastation on her face wasn’t altered or faked. It was real. There was no doubt in my mind about that.
“What happened?” she whispered, her eyes filling with fear.
I looked down at my hands, unwilling to be swayed to her side this time.
“I know you may hate your sister,” I started. “But she’s given you a lot. So fucking much. She donated life to you six times.” I paused. “Now it might possibly be your turn.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about? And, of course I don’t hate her…she hates me. Despite that, I’d do anything for her.” She looked away. “She’s just never asked.”
The bad thing was, this was what got me the first time. The pure sincerity in her voice let me know that she really felt what she’d been saying to be true.
She sounded like she meant every word she said.
And honestly, it was too good to be true.
But while she was feeling charitable, I was going to grab the bull by the horns…or the sister by the hand. I was getting her the fuck out of there before she changed her mind.
Chapter 20
Don’t use a Zodiac sign to justify your behavior. Let’s face it, you’re just a douche.
-Wade to a suspect
Wade
“I used to write her letters,” Lina hiccupped. “God, I used to pray that she’d come play with me. Something…anything. But she never came.”
I turned my attention from Landry, who’d been asleep since we’d gotten there, and Lina.
“From the stories that Landry has told me, she didn’t have a choice. Your mother wouldn’t let her anywhere near you.” He paused. “Landry always told me that you didn’t like her, not the other way around.”
A sharp knock at the door had us all turning to see who was there.
It was the doctor, and he had a happy, pleased smile on his face.
“You were right. Perfect match,” Dr. Tibil said solemnly. “Unfortunately, you neglected to mention that you were recovering from cancer. I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to donate any of your liver. I’m sorry.” He paused. “Your blood, however? That we can take. As long as you feel up to it.”
I looked over at Lina who looked completely devastated. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” he said, voice filled with sorrow. “But, as of right now, she’s doing very, very well. She’s done remarkably well, and with another pint of blood in her? She’ll start bouncing back far more quickly. Trust me.”
Dr. Tibil clapped me on the back, a sharp crack to fill the room, causing me to flick my eyes over to Landry to see if that’d woken her.
It hadn’t.
She looked awful, and she was starting to get a yellowish sheen to her skin and around her mouth.
The doctor said that was normal due to the buildup of bilirubin that her liver was having a harder time filtering out, but as soon as the body was able to catch up, that yellowish tint would disappear.
In fact, over the past few hours as he’d been observing her, he’d been pleasantly surprised with Landry’s progress.
I felt a weird sort of questioning in my chest.
Surely, it wasn’t that easy.
Surely, things were about to go badly.
Landry and me? We just weren’t that fucking lucky.
“All right, I’ll get a nurse in here to put you on tap, so to speak.” He left the room without another word.
Lina turned to me, but I didn’t take my eyes away from Landry, who was lying so fucking still.
“She’s going to kill me for asking you,” I whispered. “She’s so fucking sure that you’ve been a part of making her life hell, Lina. Please tell me that I’m not involving you just for you to turn around and hurt her.”
Lina was quiet for a few long seconds. “I want to know my sister. I’ve always wanted to know her. I follow her around, hoping to work up the courage to talk to her, and never quite seem to find it. It’s hard when my parents tell me how much she hates me.”