Chapter 6- Every Step Of The Way

The Doc had been right about it being a long night. Many of the things Amberleigh found hard to watch. Like when the tube was placed down Leo’s throat to breathe for him or that first cut with the scalpel across his stomach. Some things were hard to hear. Like the sound of that machine suctioning out the blood and damaged tissue from his abdominal cavity. Or that the bullet had torn a hole through the chef’s liver. And some smells hard to handle like the blood still permeating the air.

                More than once Amberleigh had cried or thrown up or prayed and often all three. Grayson had held up remarkably well, standing strong, and talking to Leo like he was awake to hear it. Making future plans, scolding his friend for getting his ass shot, telling Leo how strong he was, recounting old stories of boyhood mischief, and even admitting the chef had a better six pack. Grayson declared with a laugh he would be working to remedy that pronto and when Leo was feeling better, they’d see who could bench press more.

                Amber had heard the stories that people in comas or sedation and such, had reported hearing their loved ones speaking to them. Hearing was claimed to be one of the last senses to go in times like this. So Grayson held Leo’s hand and spoke to him through it all. Amber found her voice enough to tell Leo she loved him and he still owed her a trip to Naples. She rubbed his arm, kissed his brow, things to let him know she was there and he was so loved.

 Cori and Doc patiently explained what they were doing to save Leo’s life, all the steps in this risky dance against death itself. Sacrificing Christmas dinner with their family, among other things, as they fought tirelessly to keep Leo’s heart beating for the second time. A drip through his IV of meds to raise Leo’s blood pressure.  More blood transfusions. Meds to keep Leo from fighting the tube if he did start to come around. Tying off or cauterizing damaged blood vessels spewing blood inside his belly. IV antibiotics to help ward off any infections at which the chef was at a very high risk of. Surviving the surgery was only a part of this battle for Leo, as infections from gunshots to the abdomen also claimed many lives. Anytime the abdomen was pierced, not only was bacteria and other foreign bodies introduced, but often organs were damaged. These organs could spill out their contents into the belly and cause infection. Leo had a long, hard road ahead of him, but Amber knew he wouldn’t be facing it alone for any stretch.

Donny came in and out, asking if anyone needed anything. He offered to bring Amber and Grayson some food to which both of them politely declined his offer.  Amber couldn’t eat at a time like this, her nerves and stomach a mess. But Amber did try and talk Grayson to get some fluids in him as she drank some water herself. Hydration was important even at a time like this. Leo wasn’t the only man she loved that Amber was worried about.

“You have to drink something Grayson. And you need to get some rest.  You’ve been through a lot. I can keep an eye on him. I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

He shook his head stubbornly, “Fuck no. They don’t even have the bullet out yet Amber. I’m not going anywhere. But you should get some rest. If not for your sake, then for the baby. I can keep a watch on Leo.”

“You can’t be of any help to Leo, if you don’t take care of your fuckin’ self-first! Stop being a stubborn ass and drink the fucking water at least.”

Grayson made the wise decision and drank the bottle of water.

“Are you happy now?” he asked.

“No. But it’s a start at least. Now was that so hard? You think Leo will be happy if he wakes up and finds your ass passed out on the fuckin’ floor?”

But before Grayson could respond, they both heard the clink of metal into a pan. They turned their eyes from one another to across Leo. The Doc had just fished the bullet out, still holding those bloody medical tweezers in his gloved hand over the stainless steel bowl. Cori stuck a tube into Leo’s belly and sucked out more blood, while Amber adverted her gaze and focused on not expelling all the water she’d just consumed.

“You got it! How bad is the damage Doc?” asked Grayson.

The Doc’s eyes were still focused into Leo’s gut as he answered the question. He was a true professional. Amber knew this man didn’t get the recognition he deserved. Sure he had made a fucking mistake by handing out narcotic scripts like fucking candy, but he’d no doubt been pressured to do it. Probably by wealthy patients and he had taken the fall. Maybe the Doc deserved to be reinstated. Grayson could probably make that happen if he wanted too. But maybe the Doc preferred this brand of medicine without all the board breathing down his neck. It probably paid better too truth be told.

“Well there is some good news here. I can remove the damaged portion of Leo’s liver. The liver is the only organ in the human body capable of regenerating itself fully. Within a couple weeks, it will be back to about normal size so long as it has proper blood flow or no other major complications.”

“A person only needs about forty percent of their liver to survive,” added Cori, “he’ll need regular liver function tests to confirm, but there’s no reason Leo can’t function normally without all his liver.”

“Thank God,” said Grayson.

And that’s what Amber did silently. There was some reason to hope on that Christmas Night after all. What were the odds that the bullet entered the only organ in his body capable of repairing itself? The only organ in the body you could survive with less than half of its former self?  It seemed that maybe some higher power had been watching out for the chef after all.

“I estimate he’ll have sixty-percent of his liver left when I get through removing the damaged lobes. Infection will be the biggest risk to him now it seems. He’ll need a course of IV antibiotics for a couple weeks,” said the Doc.

“We’ll see that he gets it. That and whatever else he needs,” said Grayson.

And Amber didn’t doubt the billionaire’s words for a second. He would pay off whomever he needed too to get Leo the proper care and keep this out of the press. Amber shuddered to think if the story got out. What the fuck were they going to do about this? Go to the marshals and turn over the evidence they had implicating the Van Tessin’s in this murder for hire scheme?

Was it enough? Not like Nadia would collaborate or testify. All those involved in the abduction were dead, likely to never be found. They only had circumstantial shit at best linking the Van Tessins to the crime. The bogus email, Courtney’s odd behavior, the timing of his kidnapping hours after he changed the will and started divorce proceedings against her.  No jury would convict a powerful family with the best legal team on such thin evidence. They had shit really.

 It wasn’t enough, but it was the marshals fucking job to connect the dots after all. Turn over the shit they did have, including the ransom videos, and let the law take it from there. And what about poor Adam’s murder? Amber had no proof really other than word of mouth. She believed that the boy had been killed because of the Van Tessin’s evil plot, but she couldn’t prove it.

And she still had to tell Grayson the brother he loved and looked up to had been killed. That his death wasn’t just a tragic accident. Further digging that knife of betrayal into his back, his brother’s death was caused by Grayson’s own Godparents. The family who had attended the funeral, sat with the Godwin’s and cried alongside them. They offered their support and whatever else they needed in this time of unfathomable grief.  All the while, Hugo at least had known he had caused the death of that boy in the casket, had failed to get that money, perhaps even beginning to plan the death of the younger son who sat stone-faced in his grief.  He was a heartless fucking monster of the worst kind.

But now wasn’t the time to tell Grayson. To dredge up that hurt and amplify it by a thousand. Losing a young man in the prime of his life to accident or illness, was one thing, but to murder was another thing entirely. Accidents or illness could be called acts of God. The blame shifted to the man above, drawling comfort or rage, but knowing it was out of a mere mortal’s hands. But knowing your loved one’s life was taken not by God but a devil who wore the face of a man, was the worst possible outcome of them all. The pain even more sharp and unrelenting.

  Grayson couldn’t take anymore at the moment while he watched the Doc removing the bad part of his best friend’s liver. He already looked pale and was starting to sway on his feet. His reserves nearly depleted. Soon the billionaire would inevitably drop when his body failed him, even if his mind stubbornly fought against it.  He was only human after all.  A man who feared if he closed his eyes for even a second, his friend would slip away. It was sheer will and stubbornness and love for Leo that kept Grayson standing by his stretcher for hours on end.

And Amber could feel the ache and exhaustion in her own body, but she refused to give in either. She had left only once to pee when she had to make a choice between piss her pants or walk away. She knew Leo was in good hands though.

She washed her swollen blotchy face in the bathroom, also washing away all traces of the pale stranger’s face she wore. The Mad Hatter’s psycho wife had helped Amber transform into a pale blonde with a slimmer nose and fuller lips to help her from being recognized by the kidnappers who were in league with the Van Tessin’s. Her disguise had come in handy first when she tried to get Lazy Eye to give up info about Grayson alone in his room. That plan had gone to shit and resulted in the finger shaped bruises around her throat and the bruises on her face. He was a rough sick son of a bitch who had a long history of torturing women.

Amber felt no remorse that she had stabbed that evil dick in the leg then shot him in the side. She had also cut his hand off with a machete, but that was a story for another time, possibly never did Grayson or Leo need to know that particular detail. She wasn’t going to lose any sleep knowing all of the men involved in Grayson’s abduction were dead as a fucking doornail, burning in hell.

 She also threw the blonde wig into the trashcan, although she was tempted to keep it for a bit of fun roleplay when Leo was better. But the wig was stained in blood and attached to bad memories best left alone. Memories that would no doubt haunt her dreams. All of their dreams would be haunted by this fucking ordeal.

 Her body starting to feel all the soreness and pain of her own injuries. Being punched and slapped in the face by Lazy Eye. Being slammed down against his coffee table a couple times after she stabbed him in the leg. And her throat sore from when he wrapped his hands around it. But those would heal quickly and were nothing compared to the pain she felt on the inside. She pushed aside the wave of images which washed over her violently.  She couldn’t handle them right now. Amber cleaned her tears once more before she exited the bathroom.

She returned back to Leo and Grayson’s side. The bleary eyed billionaire once again showed some concern for her and the baby, telling her to get some rest. But just like his stubborn refusal, Amber wanted to see this to the end. Until Leo was stitched up and the immediate danger had passed. Even then it wouldn’t really be the end though. Hardly more than the beginning of this long journey to get Leo well again. But it was a good start at least and Amber and Grayson would be there every step of the way.