บททั้งหมดของ Enemy Within (Unseen Enemy 1): บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

“This morning, I woke up and I was just lying in bed and watching her sleep," Dean said slowly. "And I started to think, well, maybe I can make a go of it with her. Maybe I can try. And I got up and made coffee and she called me and when I got to the bedroom, she was covered in blood. I thought – I thought that someone had broken in while I was in the shower and knifed her, you know?” He shivered. “And she wouldn’t wake up and I couldn’t figure out where the blood was coming from, and then I couldn’t stop it. I was scared to death. I was so close to having her, and now she’s just gone. Taken away from me. Like Kimberley – just taken right out of my arms.”“Not yet, she’s not,” Jim said. “She’s still here, just nobody can say for how much longer.”“No. I’ve lost her,” Dean said. “She’s got something eating her alive from the inside out and there’s not one damn thing I can do about that.” “So do we.” Chris spoke so quietly, they barely heard him. “We all have things eating us up, thing

Dean shook his head and blew out a hard breath. “I don’t know, really. I’m guessing she’s often weak and tired. I’m also guessing that all those supposed business trips were when she was having chemo and recovering. Am I right?"“Yes,” Jenny said quietly.“Well, if it took her a week to get back on her feet and she still showed up at my place looking the way she did, I’m going to say that the chemo is fucking brutal.”The women were silent.“Am I right so far?”“Yeah,” Kat said. “So far, you’re bang on the money.”“Then I’m also guessing that you three have been with her through it all these past four months, so you’ve seen it all up close and personal. You’re probably wiped out and stressed yourselves. What we’re offering here is some back-up – for all of you.”The guys nodded.“How?” Liv said.“Let us stay here overnight tonight so you can go home and get some rest,” Chris said softly. “And when she leaves the hospital, let Emma stay with Dean at his place once in a while. Dallas li

“I’ve got to tell you, your friends are scary as hell when they want to be, angel," Dean said. "I think they could take me and the boys down, if they really put their minds to it. Anyway, they stood there shoulder-to-shoulder, and refused to let me past the visitor’s room until I convinced them that I was serious about being in this for the long-haul. Me and the guys have been here the whole time, and after lots of suspicion and a general lack of trust, the ladies are talking to us a bit more now.” He grinned. “They just had a conference in the hallway and gave me the green light to come in here and see you.”“Are you serious?”“Totally.”“So you know that the cancer hasn’t spread to my spine or brain. Yet. But it’s progressing, and chemo isn’t working for me. I mean, it’ll hold things at bay for a while, but it isn’t going to push me into remission. A transplant is my only chance.”“I do know all of that. And I also know that your best shot is to get a donor from the national program

A week later, Dean knocked on the apartment door, looking up and down the long hallway. It was a damn nice building – bright lobby downstairs, twenty-four-hour security guards, lots of expensive-looking potted plants, fresh flowers on the tables outside the elevators. He was almost beside himself to see what Emma’s home looked like.She opened the door and they smiled at each other.“Hey,” she said. “Welcome to my place, just for a change, right? Come on in.”He set his overnight bag on the floor and took her in his arms. “How you doing, honey?”“Better.”“Yeah?”“Yep. Good night’s sleep last night.”He gave her a kiss then stepped back. “Alright, Emma. Give me the grand tour of this place.”It was a big apartment for just one person, and as he looked around, Dean got the sense of how much money she must have been earning before she got sick. The living room space was open and warm; the kitchen was large and had all kinds of shiny gadgets on the counters. Her espresso machine was a th

Emma smiled at Dallas as he stepped off the hospital elevator. “Hi, Dallas.”“Hey, darlin’,” he said. “You doing OK?”“Yeah. I’m glad to be leaving.”“The blood tests all went alright?’“Yeah. Just a bit tiring.”He took in her pallor and the dark smudges under her eyes. “I’ll just bet. So, you all done here? Free as a bird?”“Yeah. I have to go out to the parking lot in this wheelchair, though.”“Sure thing,” he said. “Let’s go.”He rolled her carefully out into the cool early-autumn air, and watched as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The weak sun touched her face, gave her a bit of a glow.Shit. She’s really fading.He opened the car door and gently lifted her to her feet. She swayed and he held on to her.“Emma? You OK?”Her eyes were closed, her fingers grasping his strong forearms. “Yeah. Just dizzy.”“OK, don’t move, hon. Wait for it to pass.”They stood for a minute and then Emma looked up into Dallas’ worried blue eyes. “I’m OK, Dallas. Really.”He nodded and settled h