Book3- Chaos and Hope

The sound of sirens wailed through the night, mixing with the panicked shouts of medics and the erratic thump of Evie’s weakening heartbeat on the monitor.

Adrian sat beside her in the ambulance, gripping her bloodstained hand so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He couldn’t lose her.

He wouldn’t.

But the blood…

There was too much of it.

The bullet had ripped through her abdomen, a wound designed to kill.

He barely registered the frantic words of the paramedics as they worked on her.

“BP dropping!”

“She’s losing too much blood!”

“Get the OR prepped now—she needs emergency surgery the second we get there!”

Adrian clenched his jaw, his mind racing.

Evie’s skin was pale, her breathing too shallow, her fingers weakly curled against his own.

She was slipping away.

"Stay with me, Evie." His voice was raw, desperate.

She didn’t respond.

Didn’t even blink.

His pulse pounded in his ears, drowning out everything else as the ambulance tore through the city streets.

He had been through hell before.

Had seen death.

Had walked through fire and come out scarred but alive.

But none of it—none of it compared to this.

Because this wasn’t just a mission.

This wasn’t a teammate.

This was Evie.

And if she died tonight—

He wasn’t sure he’d survive it.

Hospital Chaos

The ambulance screeched to a stop outside the hospital, and the doors were thrown open.

Everything became a blur.

Hands pulling him back as Evie was rushed inside, gurney wheels squealing against the slick floor.

“Sir, you need to wait here—”

"Like hell I will!" Adrian growled, trying to push past the nurse holding him back.

He needed to be with her.

Needed to make sure she—

"Adrian."

Liam’s voice cut through the noise.

Adrian turned to see Liam and Damien running toward him, their faces pale and drawn.

Damien took one look at the blood smeared across Adrian’s hands and shirt and cursed under his breath.

Liam’s jaw clenched. “Is she—?”

"They’re taking her into surgery." Adrian barely recognized his own voice. It was too hollow. Too raw.

Liam inhaled sharply. “And the baby?”

Adrian’s chest tightened painfully.

"I don’t know."

The words felt like a knife.

He couldn’t think about that now.

Couldn’t let his mind go there.

Because if he did—

He wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold himself together.

The Longest Wait

Adrian paced the hospital waiting room, unable to sit, unable to breathe.

Liam and Damien sat nearby, both silent.

For once, Damien had nothing sarcastic to say.

The clock on the wall ticked agonizingly slow.

Every minute felt like an hour.

Then—

The doors swung open, and a doctor stepped into the waiting room.

"Family of Evelyn Harper?"

Adrian was already moving. “I’m here.”

The doctor, a woman in her early forties with sharp but kind eyes, glanced between them before settling on Adrian.

"She made it through surgery."

Adrian felt his knees nearly give out.

He had been holding his breath since the moment they took her away, and now—

Now he could finally breathe.

Liam exhaled beside him, and Damien muttered, “Jesus.”

The doctor, however, didn’t look finished.

Adrian’s relief froze in his chest.

"There’s something else, isn’t there?"

The doctor nodded solemnly.

"When she was brought in, she was in critical condition due to the gunshot wound." She hesitated before continuing. “She was pregnant. With twins.”

Silence.

A heavy, suffocating silence.

Adrian staggered back.

His heart slammed against his ribs.

Twins?

The doctor lowered her gaze.

"One of them didn’t make it."

A cold wave of numbness swept over him.

The room felt too small, the walls closing in.

His mind reeled, struggling to process the words.

"And the other?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

The doctor offered a small nod. “The other baby is stable. But we’ll need to monitor closely in the coming weeks.”

Adrian let out a shaky breath.

One baby was still alive.

But the other…

His hands curled into fists, his stomach twisting painfully.

Evie had no idea.

She didn’t even know she’d been pregnant with twins.

And now—

Now one of them was gone.

And it was because of him.

Because he hadn’t been fast enough.

Because he hadn’t protected her.

Because he had let his guard down.

The guilt clawed at him, relentless, unforgiving.

The doctor’s voice softened. “She’s unconscious now, but she’ll wake up soon. You should be there when she does.”

Adrian nodded stiffly. “Thank you.”

The doctor hesitated before placing a hand on his shoulder. “She’s a fighter. Don’t forget that.”

Then she left.

And Adrian was left standing in the wreckage of what he had just learned.

The Weight of a Choice

Liam spoke first.

"She doesn’t know."

Adrian didn’t move.

"She doesn’t know she was having twins. She doesn’t know she lost one."

Adrian exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face. “No. She doesn’t.”

Damien leaned back, his expression unreadable. “Are you going to tell her?”

Adrian’s throat tightened.

He didn’t know.

How the hell was he supposed to tell her something like that?

How was he supposed to look her in the eyes and say, ‘We lost a child we didn’t even know existed’?

Would it break her?

Would it destroy what little hope she had left?

His hands trembled as he clenched them into fists.

"I don’t know."

Liam’s voice was quiet but firm. “She deserves to know the truth.”

Adrian exhaled sharply. “Yeah. She does.”

But when?

Now?

Later?

Or would it be kinder to let her believe the baby she was still carrying was the only one?

He felt sick.

For the first time in his life, Adrian Wolfe didn’t know what to do.

And that—

That terrified him more than anything else.

A Decision Left Unspoken

An hour later, Adrian sat by Evie’s bedside, watching the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest.

Her face was pale, her body fragile beneath the hospital sheets.

He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face, his fingers gentle, reverent.

"I’m here, Evie." His voice was barely above a whisper.

She didn’t stir.

Didn’t even shift.

But she was breathing.

And for now, that was enough.

He should tell her.

He should.

But as he sat there, listening to the beeping of the monitors, feeling the weight of everything they had lost, he realized—

He couldn’t do it.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

Because if he said it out loud—

If he told her the truth—

Then it became real.

And Adrian wasn’t sure he could handle that.

Not now.

Maybe not ever.