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Chapter 1

Eternity

“He made it through surgery.”

My knees buckled at the doctor’s words. MJ caught me before I could hit the floor. He wrapped one arm around my waist while I grabbed onto his shirt.

“Oh, God,” came out of me in a sob.

I closed my eyes as relief washed over me. I pressed my hand against my chest all while trying to calm the heart that had been beating out of control since I received the call telling me Malik had been shot. He was alive. My husband was alive.

“Thank you, Jesus,” I cried.

Behind me, the waiting room erupted with sounds of relief. Somebody started crying. I heard Maliah’s voice, followed by Tori’s, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around. My eyes remained on the doctor because although he had just given me the words I had been praying to hear, something about the expression on his face wouldn’t allow me to fully celebrate them.

There was more. I could feel it. The lack of relief in his own damn eyes told me so. I slowly straightened, but MJ kept his hand against my back.

“Can I see him?” I asked. “Is he awake?”

“Not yet. He’s being moved to recovery now.”

I nodded quickly.

“Okay. How long before he wakes up?”

“That varies from patient to patient, but Mrs. Browne, before we discuss that, there are some things I need to explain to you about your husband’s injuries.”

The little bit of relief I had managed to grab onto slipped right through my fingers.

“Okay,” I swallowed.

“Your husband sustained three gunshot wounds. One to his shoulder, another to his side, and the third entered through his back.”

My hand instinctively went to my stomach. The baby, our son, shifted beneath my palm, and I rubbed the spot without thinking. Three times? Somebody had shot my husband three fucking times. I knew he had been shot more than once. They had told me that much when I arrived, but hearing the doctor say it made everything feel real all over again.

“The wound to his side caused significant blood loss,” the doctor continued. “We were able to control the bleeding during surgery. The shoulder injury was also treated successfully. Neither of those wounds is our primary concern at this point.”

My stomach tightened. I understood that he was doing his job explaining everything to me, but I needed him to get to the point and fast.

“What is?” I eagerly asked.

“The wound to his back.”

MJ moved closer to me. It was like he was anticipating me hitting the floor. I was his mother, and here he was strong enough for both of us.

I glanced at him before looking back at the doctor.

“What about it?”

“The bullet caused trauma near his spine. We were able to address the immediate concerns surgically, but there’s significant swelling in the area right now. Until that swelling decreases, we won’t know the full extent of the damage.”

“What does that mean?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It means we’re going to have to monitor him very closely over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”

“No.” I shook my head. “What does damage mean?”

The doctor paused. And that pause scared me more than anything he had said so far.