The Perfect Husband (27 page)

“My name’s Isobel Donnelly. My children and
I were in a car accident. They were brought here by ambulance.
Please, can you take me to them? I really need to see them.”

The nurse looked up at her and noticed
Isobel’s uniform. She frowned. “You work here?”

“Yes, on the children’s ward.”

“Have you been seen by anyone? It looks like
that cut on your forehead might need some stitches.”

“No, I’m fine, please, I need to see my
children.”

With a shake of her head, the nurse turned
her attention to the computer screen. “What are their names?” she
asked.

Isobel gave the woman the information and
waited on tenterhooks for her reply.

“They’ve both been taken to surgery.
You’ll—”

“Please, which theater? I know my way
around. If you can tell me where they’re being operated on, I can
wait in the visitors’ lounge.”

The nurse looked a little doubtful.
Eventually, she nodded. “I guess that’s okay. They’ve been taken to
James Russell Theaters in D Block.”

Isobel didn’t wait another second. Pressing
the button for the exit, she ran down the corridor toward the bank
of elevators, her chest heaving. She pulled out her phone while she
waited and called Mason. It seemed like an agony of time had passed
before he answered.

At the sound of his voice, she broke down.
Gasping and sobbing, she could barely get the words out.

“Stay right there. I’ll be with you in a
minute.”

His steady reassurance calmed her and she
managed to get a grip on her breathing, but when he arrived in
front of her moments later, she collapsed against him and started
crying again.

“Mason! Oh, Mason! I ran a red light!
They’re hurt! My babies are hurt and it’s all my fault.”

Moving her away from the people who were
gathered around, waiting for the elevator, he shielded her with his
body and asked her to tell him what happened.

With gasps and sobs, she managed to fill him
in. When she finished, his face was pale, but his eyes were hard.
He stared at her, his gaze intense.

“This isn’t your fault, Belle; don’t ever
think that way again. If that bastard Donnelly hadn’t been chasing
you, this never would have happened. He’s the one who must take the
blame, fairly and squarely.”

“But—”

“Don’t do this to yourself, Belle, I mean
it.” His face was sterner than she’d ever seen it.

“Right now, we have to concentrate on the
children. I’d heard there’d been an accident and two children were
being brought in, but I’ve been flat out all morning. I haven’t yet
been to the ward. I didn’t know you hadn’t arrived.”

She nodded, trying hard to take in what he
said, but all she could think of was her babies. “I need to see
them, Mason. I need to know they’re okay.”

“They’re likely still in surgery. We’ll
have—”

“Please,” she said more urgently, “please
take me to them.”

Taking her hand, Mason led her to the fire
stairs. “It’ll be quicker this way.”

She followed after him, keeping up with his
pace despite her shorter stride. Urging him silently onward, she
ran down the three flights of steps that would bring them out on
the level where the James Russell Theaters were housed. It was
cooler down there and was kept that way on purpose. She shivered,
but she couldn’t say if it was from the sudden cold or because any
moment, she’d find out the fate of her children.

They walked into the outer room where the
nurse who checked-in the incoming patients worked. A woman dressed
in scrubs looked up as they approached her.

“Hi, can I help you?” she asked with a
smile, her gaze on Mason.

“Yes, we’re enquiring about Ben and Sophie
Donnelly. This is their mother, Isobel.”

The nurse’s gaze sharpened. She looked at
Isobel and took in her uniform. “You work in the hospital?”

“Yes,” Isobel managed. “Please, tell me, are
they all right?”

The nurse drew in a deep breath and eased it
out. “They’re both still in surgery. Your son was more badly
injured than your little girl as he was sitting on the side of the
vehicle that received most of the impact.”

Isobel bit her lip and nodded. “Yes, yes, he
was.” Her voice cracked and hot tears sprang to her eyes.
If he
didn’t pull through…
Her breath caught on another sob.

“Who are the surgeons?” Mason asked
quietly.

“Doctor Stephens is in Theater Three with
Sophie. Doctor Barrington and Doctor Rogers are in Theater Two with
Ben.”

Isobel’s heart plummeted. Doctor Barrington
was a neurosurgeon. She didn’t need to be told what that meant.
With a howl of pain and disbelief, she collapsed against Mason. His
arm came around her and pulled her in close.

“You can wait in the visitors’ lounge. I’ll
come and get you as soon as I know—”

“Where are they? Let go of me! Where the
fuck are my kids?”

Mason heard the familiar, loud and angry
voice and tensed. Isobel’s face lost all color. A moment later,
Nigel appeared in the doorway. Almost instantly, he spied them near
the nurse’s desk and pulled away from two colleagues who were doing
their best to restrain him. He stormed toward his wife.

“You bitch! You fucking slut! This is all
your fault!” His face was suffused with an angry red flush, his
fury was palpable.

Instinctively, Mason pushed her behind him,
determined to protect her. His gaze narrowed on Nigel.

“Back off, Donnelly. I understand you’re
upset, but you’re not going to speak to Isobel like that. Now, step
away and calm down. Throwing accusations around like that isn’t
going to help anyone.”

If anything, his calm and measured words had
the opposite effect. Nigel’s face turned purple with rage. Out of
the corner of his eye, Mason saw the nurse reach for her phone.

“Don’t you dare tell me to fucking calm
down, Alexander,” Nigel spat, his eyes filled with venom. “They’re
not your kids lying on a stretcher, fighting for their lives.”

A shaft of pain went through Mason. He knew
better than anyone that Ben and Sophie weren’t his. That didn’t
mean he couldn’t love them like they were, but it sure as hell
wasn’t something Nigel was ready to hear. He drew in a deep breath
and did his best to remain calm.

“I understand that, Donnelly. It doesn’t
mean I don’t care. I care for both of them, just like I care for
their mother.”

Nigel let out a bellow of rage and charged
at him. With his hand in a fist, Nigel threw a punch in the
direction of Mason’s head. Isobel screamed and Mason felt her duck.
His anger simmered just below the surface, but he tried hard to
keep it in check. Assaulting another doctor could mean the end of
his career, no matter the provocation.

Staring at Nigel, Mason held his ground.
When the man swung a second time, he caught his wrist and
effectively stopped the blow. The action infuriated Nigel and all
of a sudden, his anger knew no bounds.

“You fucking bastard! You prick! You
couldn’t wait to get into her pants. Even when we were in high
school, you wanted to fuck her. Don’t bother denying it. Everyone
could see. The only one who couldn’t was Isobel. She was too
fucking dumb to notice. And of course, I kept her busy sucking my
cock. She didn’t have time to look at you.”

Mason tensed again. Despite his best
efforts, his anger boiled over. His hands clenched into fists. “You
filthy scum. You’re not fit to wipe her feet. You’re nothing. You
hear me?
Nothing!
”

Nigel let out another roar and swung his
fist again. This time, it glanced off Mason’s cheek. Isobel
screamed again. No longer able to restrain himself, Mason drew back
his arm and let Nigel have the full force of his fist. As it
connected with the man’s nose, he heard a satisfying crunch. Blood
spurted out from everywhere. Nigel stumbled backward and fell to
the ground, holding his injured nose.

“You fucking asshole! You broke my nose! You
fucking bastard!”

Two security guards rushed into the area and
came to a sudden halt. They looked from Nigel to Mason and back to
Nigel again, as if unsure who they needed to assist.

“Get this asshole out of here,” Mason
growled.

“Doctor Donnelly needs to be escorted off
the premises,” the nurse added in support of Mason and appearing
more than a little upset herself.

The security guards hauled Nigel to his
feet, ignoring the torrent of abuse that spewed from his mouth. He
struggled with them momentarily until one of them, a hulk of a man,
pulled Nigel’s arms back hard behind his back.

“Fuck off! Let go of me!” Nigel yelled.
“You’ll break my arms in a minute. I’m a surgeon. If you so much as
lay a bruise on me I’ll sue your ass off.” Unperturbed, the guard
turned and marched Nigel out of the room.

Mason turned to Isobel and she collapsed
against him. He put his arms around her and held her close. She
buried her head against his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. A
moment later, she looked up and touched the tender spot on his
cheek.

“He hit you! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

She felt around with her fingers, her touch
soft and cool against his heated flesh. “I don’t think anything’s
broken. You were lucky.”

He pressed a quick kiss on her mouth. “I’m
sorry you had to witness that.”

She shuddered, but her expression remained
resolute. “I’ve seen and heard a lot worse over the years.”

Mason grimaced and tightened his hold. He
couldn’t even begin to imagine what she’d been through. He’d only
had a glimpse of Nigel’s temper and the madness that lay behind it.
“I’m still sorry,” he whispered. “Nobody should have to put up with
that.”

“Mrs Donnelly?”

Isobel twisted out of his arms and turned to
face the nurse. “Yes?”

“I’ve just had a call from recovery. Your
daughter’s in there now. She’s groggy but awake and asking for
you.”

Isobel cried out in relief and unmindful of
her injuries, threw herself back in Mason’s arms. His heart warmed
with love that she’d turned to him in her hour of need: for help,
for reassurance, for comfort. He didn’t care what or when. The fact
that she needed him and wanted him close when it came to times of
trouble was enough.

“Can I go in and see her?” she asked.

“Yes, I’ll show you the way.”

Isobel looked back at Mason. “Is it all
right if Doctor Alexander comes with me? We’re… We’re
together.”

The nurse smiled softly and nodded. “Of
course. Follow me.”

Mason’s heart filled with love. He reached
for Isobel’s hand and squeezed it. She looked up at him with
tenderness and love and returned the pressure. It was more than
enough.

* * *

Isobel caught sight of her baby girl lying
so still and pale against the crisp white hospital sheets and cried
out loud. All of her years of nursing training went out the window.
Nothing could prepare her for the sight of her three-year-old with
a drip in her arm, her leg in plaster from ankle to thigh and an
oxygen mask over her face. Isobel rushed over and restrained
herself from dragging the little girl into her arms. Instead,
settled for a gentle kiss on her baby’s cheek.

“How did the surgery go?” Mason asked the
nurse who hovered nearby.

“Fine. Doctor Stephens is pleased with how
it all went.”

Isobel focused in on the conversation.
“What… What kind of injuries did she sustain?”

“She’s a very lucky girl, from what I
understand,” the nurse replied. “A broken femur but it was a fairly
straightforward break. No need for pins or plates. Doctor Stephens
reset it under general anaesthetic. Far less trauma that way.”

“Of course,” Isobel agreed. “Did she have
any internal injuries?”

“Not as far as anybody can tell at this
point. She was unconscious when she was brought in, but by the time
she’d been prepped for theater, she was alert and aware of what was
happening. They did a CT scan on her brain to be certain, but
everything looked fine.”

Relief surged through Isobel and she leaned
against Mason for support. Once again, his strong and reassuring
presence was there for her. He put his arm around her and drew her
in close to his side.

Her thoughts turned to Ben and she couldn’t
help trembling at the thought of what injuries he might have
sustained. She forced herself to ask the question.

“Do you know how much longer they might be
with my son?”

The nurse shook her head. “He was injured
pretty badly. Quite a few broken bones, but it was the head injury
they were most concerned about. They called in Doctor
Barrington.”

A fresh wave of dread settled heavily in
Isobel’s stomach and sent a swirl of nausea up her esophagus. She
swallowed hard in an effort to keep it at bay. Ben had a serious
head injury and it was all her fault.

“It’s not your fault, Belle,” Mason told her
quietly, his voice firm.

She shook her head. In less serious
circumstances, she would have been amused. “How do you do
that?”

“Do what?”

“Mind read.”

“Is that what I was doing?”

“Yes, and it isn’t the first time,” she
gently accused, letting him know she wasn’t upset by his uncanny
knack.

Mason shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t do it
consciously. I guess I just sometimes know how you’re going to
react. You’re good and kind and generous and you love your kids
more than your life. Despite Nigel’s part in the accident, it’s
easy to guess you’re not done blaming yourself. I’d be the same,”
he added and squeezed her arm.

It was more than an hour later when the door
that connected the recovery room and the operating theaters swung
open and two staff members in green scrubs appeared. Between them,
they pushed a gurney. Ben lay small and still among the sheets,
swathed in bandages from head to toe. She barely recognized
him.