Hi Everyone!
This chapter starts JUST as TRR book 2 ended. There's a lot of Liam in this chapter, but don't worry - no Liam romance. This is PURE DrakeXMC. I should be updating this often. Hope you enjoy!
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The sound of the gunshot was deafening.
Her ears were ringing so badly, it took Riley a few seconds to realize that the distant screaming she could hear was coming from her own throat. It was hoarse and guttural, a sound she didn’t know she could make.
“Drake, DRAKE!” she sobbed. His face was so relaxed it was like he was sleeping. The normal lines between his brows were gone, his eyes closed in what could be mistaken for restful slumber. If you didn’t see the growing spot of red blood on his shirt, everything seemed perfectly normal.
Just seconds earlier, an assassin had aimed a shot in Riley’s direction, and Drake had jumped in front of it. The image played over and over in her mind.
Using strength she didn’t know she had, Riley pulled Drake’s large body to the side, behind a pillar, away from the guns and the loud fighting in the middle of the ballroom.
The sharp sound of shattering glass caught her attention, she darted back around the pillar to see hundreds of official-looking Cordonian policemen stream into the ballroom through the windows, overtaking the assassins and pulling them away. Liam’s face, bloody from combat, looked momentarily triumphant. His look quickly turned to worry as his eyes landed on Drakes still body.
Riley was in shock. She could see Liam running over to Drake, ripping off his blood stained shirt, bellowing to staff members to get him supplies, finally covering the coin-sized wound on Drake’s chest with plastic wrap and tape.
Her heart ached, thudding loudly in her chest. That bullet was meant for me. Oh Drake. After all we’ve been through…
She felt numb. Riley blinked her tears away, the feeling slowly coming back to her fingertips. No. It can’t end this way.
With sudden resolve, Riley ran to grab Drake a blanket, wrapping him tenderly, leaning her head in to listen to his chest. If he was in shock, this would help. She was distantly aware that Liam was calling the paramedics, begging them to get to the palace as soon as possible. Finally, after agonizing seconds of nothing, she could hear it – small, whistling, labored breaths. She sobbed involuntarily.
He’s alive.
The rest of the events in the ballroom were a blur, but paramedics arrived on the scene, letting Liam and Riley to jump into the ambulance as they rushed Drake to the hospital. One of the paramedics put a facemask on Drake, allowing oxygen to flow through his body. Riley grabbed and held one of his pale hands during the ride, rubbing her thumb absentmindedly over his callouses. Be ok, Drake.
A soft hand landed on her shoulder. “Riley…”
Liam’s eyes were filled to the brim with pain. Riley bowed her head with guilt. Since Drake got shot, she had been worrying about their future together, their life, and her feelings. She hadn’t stopped to think that Liam had possibly lost his best friend. Not letting go of Drake, Riley used her free hand to squeeze Liam’s shoulder.
Liam’s lip was split and he had a black eye. If there was one thing she could say about her good friend the king, it’s that he wasn’t going to sit back and let other people do his fighting for him. She smiled weakly. He was a wonderful person, one of a kind, and someone she’d cherish as a friend for the rest of her life. But Drake….
She gulped. She had wanted more than friendship from Drake. I still want more than friendship from Drake, she corrected herself.
“He came back for me, to Cordonia,” Liam’s normal confident tone had been reduced to a sad whisper, “to the palace. His father died protecting my father. It can’t….this can’t happen…”
He closed his eyes. Riley turned to Drake, kissing his hand gently, and then softly put it down to his side. She turned to Liam and hugged him tightly, needing the reassurance as much as he did.
She pulled away, looking Liam in the eyes, “don’t give up.” When she was in shock, Liam had taken over and been strong. It was her turn.
He looked embarrassed and nodded quickly, wiping some moisture away from his bruised eye carefully.
They both jumped as the paramedic spoke, “His lungs aren’t doing so great,” he looked at both of them with some concern, “it’s a good thing we got there so quickly.”
Riley was desperate to ask if the paramedic thought he’d make it. But she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear the answer, so she just nodded.
As they pulled into the hospital, doctors and nurses rushed to push Drake inside. An elderly nurse apologized profusely to Liam, asking him to stay out of the hospital room until further notice. It was easy to forget that Liam was a king from time to time; it was strange to see someone acting so formally in front of him.
He politely thanked the nurse, who pulled them into a private waiting room, closing the door behind her. Liam dropped heavily into a blue padded chair, his face in his hands. Riley took the chair next to him, leaning back and closing her eyes. The room was surprisingly quiet, other than the occasional clack, clack of nurses’ shoes passing by the door. The silence sat like a dark cloud in the room, the events of the night running through both of their minds.
“Riley,” Liam finally said, weakly, “are you ok? I know Drake was… he was…”
Riley gulped. Liam had just been attacked in his own home. Liam’s best friend had just been shot. Liam had just been rejected by…her for Drake. She once again felt a pang of guilt.
“I’ll….be ok, Liam,” she said finally, “I have to be. For Drake.”
Liam nodded solemnly. Whatever this was, whatever happened to Drake, at least they could go through it together. It was a small consolation, but it was something. Riley grabbed Liam’s hand and squeezed it, not letting go.
“Liam….” She broke the silence finally, “Who were those people? The….the assassins. Do you know?”
Liam looked pale. “I honestly have no idea. I couldn’t identify anything from their accents, their clothing…. nothing,” he ran his fingers through his hair.
She patted his arm softly. He looked tired. For the first time, she could see the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders.
They were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. The elderly nurse poked her head in, bowing it slightly in Liam’s direction. “Your highness,” she started, “could you come here? We’d like to discuss the patient.”
Riley stepped out with Liam, hanging on the nurse’s every word, hungry for any and all information. Something called a Sucking chest wound. Surgery. A collapsed lung.
The words echoed in Riley’s mind. This was serious.
“Will he be ok?” she finally interrupted. She couldn’t wait any longer for the answer.
The Nurse looked to Liam, who nodded curtly. “Riley is Drake’s…family,” his eyes looked sad, but full of resolve, “any information you have about Drake Walker should go to her.”
The nurse bowed apologetically. “Miss, it’s too soon to tell. The doctor is doing all she can.”
Riley’s heart dropped. She was hoping for something more positive.
“You both should go home and get some rest. We’re scheduling a surgery for Mr. Walker soon, we can keep you notified of any changes.”
“No,” Liam and Riley said simultaneously. They both knew that going home would make this more real somehow.
But Liam was the king of a land in crisis.
Riley put a hand on her friends’ shoulder. “Liam, I’ll stay. You need to figure out what’s going on. I haven’t heard from Maxwell or Hana for the past few hours, I’ve checked my phone a few times. I’m sure we just lost them in the panic, but they need you. Cordonia needs you.”
Liam sighed deeply. “You’re probably right,” he smiled a dazzling smile, “just another reason you would have made a great queen. Or duchess,” he added quickly. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be either at this point.
He squeezed her hand lightly. “Please let me know if you need anything. I can be here in 20 minutes, you just need to ask. Keep me updated.”
She squeezed back, “thank you. I will.”
Liam spoke quickly to the nurse, explaining the situation, looked at Riley with a sad smile, and disappeared.
Riley exhaled heavily. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath. She knew it was the best for Liam to go, but she hadn’t wanted him to. The increased silence without his breathing was almost overbearing. She slipped into the bathroom attached to the waiting room to splash some water on her face.
What looked back at her in the mirror stopped her in her tracks. She was still wearing a golden ball gown, her tiara hanging limply from the soft, dark curls around her face. She pulled it out and threw it the ground, noticing a small blood splatter on the gown by her waist. Her fingers ran over the stained fabric. Drake.
Wearing a ballgown, a tiara, and the hours she had spent on her hair seemed so strange now. All that mattered was a silly, tall, unbelievably selfless man who had put himself in harms’ way to save her. He had stood in front of a bullet for her.
Just hours before he was shot, they had shared their first moments of passion together.The way he had looked at her when he saw what she was wearing....
Her breath hitched as tears streamed down her eyes. She needed to get out of this ball gown.
*****
Riley leaned back in the same blue chair in the waiting room. The hospital gift shop had yielded some black yoga pants and an XXL, blue t-shirt that had “Cordonia” sprawled across the chest in loopy, red cursive. She had almost stuffed her ball gown in the trash, but ended up feeling strangely sentimental about it. It was folded in the seat beside her. What if that was the last thing Drake saw you in?
She shook her head. There was no time for thoughts like that right now. Not like I’m doing much anyway, she thought wistfully. She just wanted to know what was going on.
Playing with her phone hadn’t helped. She had texted with Liam for a few minutes, but learning that he couldn’t find Maxwell or Hana just made her feel worse. She silently prayed that they were found safe soon.
There were no windows in the waiting room, but her phone told her it was nearly 9 AM. She had been in the hospital for nearly 12 hours.
“Miss?” the nurse was back.
“Yes?” Riley croaked, jumping out of her chair, “How is he?”
The nurse’s face was stoic. “We just finished the surgery. Would you like to see him? He’s stable….. for now.” Riley’s face dropped at the last part.
“I would very much like to see him.” It wasn’t a lie, but Riley wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.
She walked a few paces behind the nurse to Drake’s room. She gasped when the door opened.
There he was, his messy hair pushed to the side, his eyes closed. Machines were attached to him, a face mask on, a tube sticking out of his chest. His lips and fingers were a bit blue, but machines displayed his slow, steady heartbeat. His chest moved up and down weakly, breathing.
“He’s a fighter.”
The sound of a deep, female voice startled Riley. The doctor moved in to the room, scribbling something in a notebook.
“He had a collapsed lung. We managed to patch it up, and he should heal. But it’s going to take a while before he’s 100%. Also, absolutely,” the doctor grasped Riley’s arm, “do NOT let him smoke.”
Riley almost didn’t hear anything after ‘he should heal.’
“I won’t,” she whispered, her face relaxing into a real smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t!”
The doctor didn’t seem to notice the change in Riley’s attitude. “Good. I’ll give you some time alone. He should be waking up soon. Let me know if you need anything, Mrs. Walker.”
With that, she turned and closed the door behind her.
Riley’s eyes widened. Mrs. Walker.
Even with the odd timing, she wanted to write it on her notebooks, whisper it to herself, and yell it from the rooftops. Mrs. Walker. Something she hadn’t even dared to imagine before. She shook her head. They had just told Liam that they wanted to be together, and Drake had a lot of healing to do. This wasn’t the right time.
Her thoughts were interrupted by movement. From the corner of her eye, Riley saw Drake’s fingers’ flex tentatively.
She turned to him, hopeful, taking his hand in hers and using the other to sweep some hair out of his face. Even blue, tied up to several machines, and fighting for life – Drake looked strong. His wide shoulders stretched the thin fabric of his hospital shirt.
“Drake?”
After a few seconds, a cough. And then another. Then another. Then a deep, raspy inhale. Riley’s eyes scanned his face, “Drake?”
Slowly, his eyes fluttered, and for the first time in what seemed like years, two deep, brown eyes looked back at her. They were alarmed at first, then warm. His voice was gravelly and low.
“Brooks?”
******
