Read Online Shiver by Deborah Bladon - Free Book Online
Authors: Deborah Bladon
Tags: Romance, Literature & Fiction, Coming of Age, Contemporary, Genre Fiction, alpha male, alpha male romance, new adult romance, bad boy, Bad Boy romance, modern romance, contemporary romance with sex, new adult with sex
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husband."
The lamp posts that dot the landscape aren't throwing enough light for me to see anything. There's no way in hell she's here. She would have sought shelter somewhere. That makes the most sense. What makes no sense at all is that the shelter she lives in is less than two blocks away.
"I called every hospital, Noah." Ben is right in front of me now, snow peppering his dark hair and his coat. "She hasn’t been admitted. There are no Jane Does either. She has to be safe somewhere."
"Where?" I bark the question back at him as I scrub my hand over my forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm worried, Ben. She wouldn’t leave this shit behind."
His eyes fall to the knapsack I'm still clinging to. "You said that her and her late husband had friends. She might have met up with one of them and decided to spend the night."
It makes sense. It's definitely plausible.
"I wish to fuck she would have taken me up on my offer to get her a phone," I say it aloud. "I wouldn't have to worry so much if I could call her."
"Let's head back to the shelter." He pulls the collar of his coat closer to his neck. "The temperature is dropping fast. We're too exposed. We need to get inside too."
I know he's right. We should try and find a taxi and head back to the shelter so I can leave her things there for when she shows back up. If we do that, we can be back at the penthouse, having a brandy with our dad, within the hour.
My brother taps his hand on my chest before he points to the street in the distance. I can barely make out the passing traffic. "Let's head back up that way. I'll lead the way."
I nod as I watch him take a step forward and that's when I see it. It's the faintest movement in the distance. It's the only flash of darkness against the white snow but since it's directly under a lamp post, it's unmistakable.
"She's there." I grab Ben's shoulder as I run past him. "Opal's on that bench."
***
I kneel in the snow next to her. Her eyes are closed, her breathing slow. It's so fucking slow that my brother, the doctor, is straining to hear it.
"Call an ambulance now, Noah," he repeats. "Now."
"She's going to die," I say as I fish in my pocket for my phone. "You're not going to let her die, Ben. You tell me that right now."
He ignores me completely as he pushes his coat from his shoulders, draping it over her. "Take your coat off. Put it on her now. We have to warm her up."
I yell into the phone, trying to get the 911 operator to understand the address of the park. I say it over and over again, stressing how important it is that they get their fucking asses here now.
Ben tugs the phone away from me. He speaks into it quickly, talking about her heart, her core temperature, breathing, not breathing, he tells them to hurry.
He yanks the zipper of my jacket down, pulling the coat off of me in one quick movement. He places it over her.
"Don't touch her." He pushes my hands away as I reach to grab hers. She's wearing those shitty thin gloves that she always is. Her hands must be freezing. They have to be cold as ice.
"You can't just touch her, Noah. She may go into shock. We have to get her inside. We have to get her to the hospital."
The sound of the sirens approaching turns him around. "You go get them. Tell them where we are."
I don't hesitate. I race through the park, running as fast as my legs will take me. I fall twice in the snow as I lose my balance but I get up, my stride barely breaking as I wave my bare arms in the air towards the ambulance as it pulls up next to the curb.
CHAPTER 15
––––––––
"T hirty minutes more and she wouldn't have survived." Ben speaks softly into his phone. "They're not sure yet. She hasn't woken up. Her vitals are stabilizing but it's too soon to know how long she was exposed."
I turn away from where he's sitting. I finished my call with Alexa too quickly. I had to say goodbye when I started to cry. I didn't want her to hear my voice breaking. It kills her when I'm upset. She wants to
The lamp posts that dot the landscape aren't throwing enough light for me to see anything. There's no way in hell she's here. She would have sought shelter somewhere. That makes the most sense. What makes no sense at all is that the shelter she lives in is less than two blocks away.
"I called every hospital, Noah." Ben is right in front of me now, snow peppering his dark hair and his coat. "She hasn’t been admitted. There are no Jane Does either. She has to be safe somewhere."
"Where?" I bark the question back at him as I scrub my hand over my forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm worried, Ben. She wouldn’t leave this shit behind."
His eyes fall to the knapsack I'm still clinging to. "You said that her and her late husband had friends. She might have met up with one of them and decided to spend the night."
It makes sense. It's definitely plausible.
"I wish to fuck she would have taken me up on my offer to get her a phone," I say it aloud. "I wouldn't have to worry so much if I could call her."
"Let's head back to the shelter." He pulls the collar of his coat closer to his neck. "The temperature is dropping fast. We're too exposed. We need to get inside too."
I know he's right. We should try and find a taxi and head back to the shelter so I can leave her things there for when she shows back up. If we do that, we can be back at the penthouse, having a brandy with our dad, within the hour.
My brother taps his hand on my chest before he points to the street in the distance. I can barely make out the passing traffic. "Let's head back up that way. I'll lead the way."
I nod as I watch him take a step forward and that's when I see it. It's the faintest movement in the distance. It's the only flash of darkness against the white snow but since it's directly under a lamp post, it's unmistakable.
"She's there." I grab Ben's shoulder as I run past him. "Opal's on that bench."
***
I kneel in the snow next to her. Her eyes are closed, her breathing slow. It's so fucking slow that my brother, the doctor, is straining to hear it.
"Call an ambulance now, Noah," he repeats. "Now."
"She's going to die," I say as I fish in my pocket for my phone. "You're not going to let her die, Ben. You tell me that right now."
He ignores me completely as he pushes his coat from his shoulders, draping it over her. "Take your coat off. Put it on her now. We have to warm her up."
I yell into the phone, trying to get the 911 operator to understand the address of the park. I say it over and over again, stressing how important it is that they get their fucking asses here now.
Ben tugs the phone away from me. He speaks into it quickly, talking about her heart, her core temperature, breathing, not breathing, he tells them to hurry.
He yanks the zipper of my jacket down, pulling the coat off of me in one quick movement. He places it over her.
"Don't touch her." He pushes my hands away as I reach to grab hers. She's wearing those shitty thin gloves that she always is. Her hands must be freezing. They have to be cold as ice.
"You can't just touch her, Noah. She may go into shock. We have to get her inside. We have to get her to the hospital."
The sound of the sirens approaching turns him around. "You go get them. Tell them where we are."
I don't hesitate. I race through the park, running as fast as my legs will take me. I fall twice in the snow as I lose my balance but I get up, my stride barely breaking as I wave my bare arms in the air towards the ambulance as it pulls up next to the curb.
CHAPTER 15
––––––––
"T hirty minutes more and she wouldn't have survived." Ben speaks softly into his phone. "They're not sure yet. She hasn't woken up. Her vitals are stabilizing but it's too soon to know how long she was exposed."
I turn away from where he's sitting. I finished my call with Alexa too quickly. I had to say goodbye when I started to cry. I didn't want her to hear my voice breaking. It kills her when I'm upset. She wants to
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