ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (270 page)

Tears streamed down her face as she weakly begged for her driver to do something. The burly man reached out a hand, pressing two fingers to the side of Jeffrey’s throat, his body tensed in concentration.

Suddenly, the bloody man between them coughed, a wheezing sound as his hand reached out for Stephanie. His lips moved as if to speak, but all Stephanie could hear were indistinguishable mumblings and the occasional curse word.

“Don’t move,” the guard instructed, “Stephanie, make sure he stays awake; I’m calling an ambulance now.”

The four-minute wait for the ambulance to arrive were the longest four minutes of Stephanie’s life. The other driver cleared a path through the clamoring paparazzi for the ambulance, and the police car and fire truck that had accompanied the ambulance helped block off their access. The two officers joined the driver in fending off the reporters as a stretcher was brought out, three EMTs helping to move Jeffrey onto it.

It all happened in a blur for Stephanie. The next thing she knew, she was riding in the ambulance with Jeffrey, holding on to his hand and praying as she choked on her sobs of terror. The EMTs were busy trying to assess the damage and couldn’t tell her anything.

The drivers had said that they’d call Joseph and her mother and that they’d follow her to the hospital. Once they reached the hospital, Stephanie was pushed off to the side as doctors met the ambulance, calling for information as the EMTs called out stats as Jeffrey was carefully taken off the ambulance.

“He needs surgery,” Stephanie heard one doctor call out.

She tried to walk after them but a nurse was suddenly at her side, wrapping a strong hand around her bicep as she gently told her that she’d have to wait in the waiting area and that she’d need to answer some questions for them.

“The reporter,” Stephanie said frantically as she let herself be led away, “the one who threw the cell phone; he needs to be arrested.”

“I’ve been told everyone is being rounded up for questioning,” the nurse said, leading her over to a chair and helping her sit.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Stephanie said, putting her head in her lap as she grabbed her neck. “I can’t believe this is happening right now.”

“Stephanie?”

Stephanie looked up to see Joseph and Dianne standing in the entryway to the waiting room before they rushed over as soon as they had confirmed it was her.

“What happened?” Joseph demanded, Dianne putting a comforting hand on his forearm.

Stephanie’s eyes filled with tears again as she swallowed, thinking back to that horrific moment. “We were leaving a party, and the paparazzi saw us so they ambushed us, one of them threw a phone and it hit Jeffrey, and he fell off the balcony.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Dianne asked the nurse who had helped Stephanie.

“I don’t know,” the nurse said, spreading her hands in a show of helplessness. “But you all will be the first to know as soon as the doctor comes out of surgery.”

“Alright, thank you,” Dianne said, nodding as the nurse left them to themselves.

“How could you let this happen?” Joseph said, running a hand through his hair as he began to pace back and forth in front of Stephanie’s chair.

“I tried to pull him back,” Stephanie said.

“Why were you there in the first place?!”

“Joseph!” Dianne snapped, yanking him to a standstill as she looked at him angrily. “This is not Stephanie’s fault. The phone could have just as easily hit her. They both went to the party willingly; it was the paparazzi that attacked them and the person who threw the phone’s fault that Jeffrey fell. You should be furious at that guy, and you can be upset, but you cannot, under any circumstances, blame Stephanie for this horrible accident, understand?”

Joseph’s eyes flashed, obviously upset, before his shoulders relaxed as he visibly deflated, sagging down into a chair and putting his head in his hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry Stephanie; I was way out of line. Of course it’s not your fault sweetheart; I’m so sorry.”

“Its fine,” Stephanie said, “I get it; I’m scared too.”

The three of them spent the next four hours in the waiting room, sitting in silence with the occasional visit from a nurse telling them that there was still no word on Jeffrey’s status and that they’d be talked to from his doctor as soon as possible.

Stephanie’s mom left once to bring them all coffee, but Stephanie was so anxious that the caffeine wasn’t needed to keep her awake.

After another thirty minutes of rattled anxiety, a doctor in blue scrubs finally came out to greet them.

“Hello-“

“How is he?”

The doctor blinked at the simultaneous demand from the three people before him but otherwise was unfazed.

“It looks a lot worse than it ultimately ended up being,” he began. “Jeffrey’s right leg is broken, but it will heal normally. He suffered two broken ribs, and we were concerned with how close they came to puncturing the lung, but we got him out of the woods and patched up. His left arm has a hairline fracture, he popped his right shoulder out of place, which we adjusted, and he’s pretty banged up everywhere else. He has a slight concussion, but all things considered it’s relatively minor. His left ear needed stitches but that will be the fastest thing that heals on him. We’ll want to keep him here for at least a week, but all in all, he’ll be as good as new by the time all his casts come off. Folks, I’d say it’s a miracle.”

“Oh thank God,” Joseph said, Dianne hugging him around the waist as Stephanie sat back in her chair in relief.

“When can we see him?” Dianne asked.

“In about twenty minutes; he’s still waking up from the general anesthesia we administered. You can stay, but he needs his rest.”

“Of course doctor, thank you,” Dianne said.

“Oh my God,” Stephanie said, rubbing her hand over her face, not caring that she smeared her makeup.

“Honey,” Dianne said hesitantly, “are you wearing a wig, or did you dye your hair without telling me?”

“It’s a wig mom.” Stephanie sighed, taking it off and getting a few odd looks from the nurses behind the desk in the reception area. “Jeffrey and I have taken to wearing disguises when we go out, not that it did us any good tonight.”

“Oh honey,” Dianne said, moving over to sit next to her daughter and putting an arm around her shoulders, hugging her tight. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

“Can’t something be done?” Stephanie asked, looking to Joseph. “Can’t those guys be arrested or something? They’ve been following us everywhere; they’re stalking us. We can’t go anywhere together or even in the vicinity of one another without being chased down. After tonight, they can’t just get away with this. Those vultures are probably waiting outside the hospital right now.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve set ten of my security guys on it, no one with so much as a camera phone or a laptop with video capability is getting in here,” Joseph said gruffly.

“Can we press charges?” Stephanie asked.

“Well sweetheart, the police can investigate, but, absent video or concrete stories from witnesses, we can’t pin the guy, or girl, who did this.”

“You can go see him now,” the nurse from earlier told them from the waiting area’s entrance, interrupting their conversation.

All three leapt up, hurrying over to the nurse who motioned them after her down the hall.

After walking down two hallways, they finally came to a stop in front of Jeffrey’s room.

Stephanie’s face paled as they entered the room and she saw Jeffrey. He looked so helpless lying there on the bed in his hospital gown, over a dozen wires hooking him up to the various machines around him. His arm was raised above his head and his foot was elevated in a sling hanging from the ceiling. He had a bandage wrapped around the top of his head, covering his stitched ear. Half of his face was swollen from all the bruising, but he managed a faint smile when he saw them.

“Hey,” he said quietly, voice croaky.

Joseph rushed over to him, wanting to hug him but merely hovering over him for fear of hurting him. Finally, he settled for placing a very delicate kiss on the top of his head. Joseph pulled up a chair beside him, Dianne taking a seat on the armrest as Stephanie walked around the other side of the bed to stand next to him.

“How are you feeling babe?” Stephanie asked, cringing at just how stupid of a question that was as soon as she asked.

“Just peachy,” Jeffrey murmured, “tip top shape.”

“I’m sorry; dumb question.”

“Yeah well, it’s been a long night for all of us. Do I at least get a kiss?”

Stephanie blushed, eyes darting over to her mother and Joseph who had conveniently averted their eyes. Shaking her head, Stephanie smiled, leaning in and placing a light kiss on his lips for fear that any other pressure would hurt him.

“I’m hardly a delicate flower,” Jeffrey said, commenting on how gentle the kiss was.

“You’re hardly in any condition to be talking,” Stephanie corrected, “you should be resting.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still feeling the effects of the anesthesia so I’m all good for now. You know they refused to give me a shot of whisky in here. After what I’ve been through I asked for the whole bottle, but they won’t even give me a shot. They say it’s against protocol or something. Dad, after this is all over with, you should invest in this place and see about getting them to open a bar or something in the cafeteria.”

Joseph laughed. “I see the fall hasn’t lost you your sense of humor; that’s good.”

“I think I’ll need it,” Jeffrey said, “from what I hear I’ll be out of commission for quite a while. Steph, do you think you can take care of my baby for me until I’m all patched up over the next couple of months?”

Stephanie rolled her eyes at Jeffrey’s referral to his bike as his baby but nodded. “Of course.”

“Thanks,” Jeffrey grinned, eyelids drooping just a bit as some of the exhaustion began to set in.

“Get your rest son,” Joseph said, “we’ll wait outside and talk with the doctor, but don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere.”

“Thanks Dad, and Dianne. Oh, and Steph?”

“Yeah?” Stephanie said, hesitating..

“Red, I know you, and I know you’re going to be out for blood. But, just try not to get yourself locked up in the process. It would suck if my girlfriend was in prison when I finally get back the proper use of all of my limbs.”

Stephanie smiled. “Don’t worry babe; Natasha never gets caught.”

Jeffrey managed a small laugh, eyes twinkling at the mention of her disguise from earlier. Stephanie leaned down once more, giving him another brief and gentle kiss before she followed Joseph and her mother out of the room.

She sighed, sagging in relief against the wall outside of the hospital room. Jeffrey was going to be okay. She wanted to cry with relief but was now too tired to do much of anything. She smiled faintly at her mom who put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her mind swam with the great news; Jeffrey was going to be alright.

-x-x-x-

Six months after Jeffrey’s fall, he was almost as good as new. His last cast had been taken off a month ago, and with a bit of physical therapy, he had full function of his leg and arm. He had been stiff at first, but he had been determined to get back to business-as-usual as fast as possible and had pushed himself to his fullest extent. He had gotten his motorcycle back from Stephanie two weeks prior to the six month mark, much to his dad’s disgruntlement, and was easing himself back into his usual rides. He had promised Stephanie that he would give up racing for a while, but he was just happy to be back on the road again and in the driver’s seat.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Stephanie asked as she took a seat next to Jeffrey on the couch.

Jeffrey grinned, pulling her in to lie sideways against his chest as he kissed the top of her head. “I think I’ve had enough movie nights over the last six months to last three years; let’s go out.”

Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, and where to? You say you don’t want to be surrounded by security but if we don’t have them we’ll just be attacked by the press.”

“We could bring out the disguises.”

“Or, we could use security.”

Jeffrey sighed, resting his chin on Stephanie’s shoulder and squeezing her tight for a moment. “Have you given any more thought to my idea?” he asked, making Stephanie tense slightly.

A few days ago Jeffrey had asked if Stephanie would be willing to do an interview about their relationship for a magazine. He had said that the only way to finally stop all the media frenzy around them was to confront it and actually answer some questions, which is why he had proposed a controlled interview, in which they approved a list of general questions and sat down with a reporter Joseph trusted to get the story right.

“I don’t know,” Stephanie said, chewing on her bottom lip in a way that Jeffrey found both adorable and sexy. “Do you really think the reporters will stop all this if we agree?”

“I think that there will still be press surrounding us, yes, but only when something notable happens. Certainly less than there is now.”

“I suppose,” Stephanie said, nuzzling her face into Jeffrey’s neck, “I just, I want to avoid them at all costs after what happened.”