Wilde at Heart (Completed)

Chapter 35

Layla walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later to see two nurses rolling in a cot for her to sleep on. She smiled wanly and thanked them. Canon still lay where he was and a part of her was disappointed that he hadn't woken up. No matter. She'd wait for him. No matter how long it took.
After everyone had left the room a minute later, she sat down in the chair beside his bed and sighed, "Canon, I'm here. I'm not leaving you. No matter how long it takes, I'm going to be here. I love you."
She squeezed his hand and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead as she stood and then moved to her cot to sleep. Being strong for Canon required her to get well and she needed sleep to do that. Everything was for Canon.

"Carter's awake," Aunt May burst excitedly into Canon's room.
Layla looked up from her seat beside his bed and paused from reading aloud to look up  at her aunt. "That's wonderful!" she said quietly, a genuine smile gracing her face.
Aunt May grabbed her hand and said, "He wants to see you."
Layla looked over at the bed hesitantly where Canon lay. He was still in a coma and she only left the room for a fifteen minute walk outside every day. The others had tried to convince her to come home to sleep but she refused again and again until they just gave up. They had to admire her loyalty and dedication.
"Come Layla," smiled Aunt May, "He'll be fine for fifteen minutes without you."
Layla nodded reluctantly and followed her aunt out the door, nodding to Antonio who stood guard. They walked quickly down the hallway to Carter's room. "Hi!" smiled Layla as she walked in the room.
Carter lay reclining on his bed and the first question out of his mouth was, "Are you alright?"
Layla nodded feeling tears mist her eyes in surprise that he cared enough to ask. "And the boss?" he asked, "Is he alright?"
Layla glanced at Aunt May who shook her head. He hadn't been told yet. "That's a long story," she said thickly before moving over to the bed and taking Carter's hand in her own.
She gave it a gentle squeeze and said, "Canon's in a coma. He was shot in the chest when he came to rescue me."
"Rescue you?" burst out Carter, "What the hell happened?"
"Carter," soothed Aunt May as his heart rate spiked, the monitor beeping, "Calm down."
Layla's eyes glanced in between the two of them as Aunt May took his other hand and coaxed him to calm down. "Where's the others?" asked Layla of Aunt May.
May's eyes never left Carter as she answered, "On their way. Jason was talking to Canon's lawyer. And Niko has been trying to trace down Eaton."
Layla stepped over to the window as she smiled to herself at the looks her aunt and Carter exchanged. It was obvious the two had romantic feelings for one another. That brought a wave of sadness over her. Carter was awake, but Canon was still unresponsive.
"I was kidnapped the day you got shot," said Layla quietly, but she knew she had their undivided attention, "They drugged me and took me to the basement of Canon's office building. A week and a half after getting there, I looked up as Eaton and Leon ran into the room where I was being held. I didn't know what was going on until I saw Canon in the doorway. Leon was holding me at gunpoint and Eaton was behind the door."
"I get it," said Carter softly, knowing how hard it was for her to tell, "Killer stepped out from behind the door and shot Canon, didn't he?"
Layla nodded, turning to look at them. "Canon was shot in the upper chest, right next to his heart and another bullet grazed his head. Doctor Newberry said they lost him twice on the operating table while they were in surgery. It's been two weeks since then and he just lies there asleep. The doctor's said it was up to him when he was going to wake up now. They removed the breathing tube yesterday."
She took a deep breath as Carter breathed, "Wow."
Aunt May still held his hand and she looked over at Layla. The girl stood, head hanging as she slowly wiped the tears from her eyes and then said, "I've got to get back."
She looked over at Carter and said, "I'm glad you are awake."
She darted from the room and Aunt May sighed before sitting down beside Carter, still holding his hand. "She hasn't left him has she?" asked Carter, his eyes thoughtfully glued to the door.
"No," said Aunt May quietly, "She won't. She's pulled herself back together for him. Everything she does is for him. The love that those two share is something I've only ever seen in Disney movies."
Carter chuckled and then looked up as Jason, Niko, and a couple of others stepped into the room. "Give it to me," growled Carter, instantly in business.
Niko grinned and gave him a salute as he started pulling out papers from his briefcase and Jason shook his head ruefully. "And he's back," he said, reaching out to shake Carter's unoccupied hand, "Good to see you Carter."
Carter grunted and said, "Yeah, good to see you. Nice to know everything's been so well handled since I've been temporarily out of commission."
Sarcasm dripped from his voice and Niko and Jason grinned before getting down to business. Carter perused the files and pictures while Jason and Niko brought him up to date on what was going on. He never released May's hand.
"So basically," he summed up, "Canon's been shot and is in a coma. The assistant CEO has resumed ownership of the business and is running things into the ground for Canon. Leon, Alison, and James Wilde are in prison awaiting trial. And Eaton has gone underground again."
When the two men nodded Carter sighed and said, "Men, we've got a lot of work to do."
"I talked to Canon's lawyer today," said Jason, "There's no way that Leon, Alison or James can escape. There's too much evidence. If the murder charge from twenty years ago wasn't enough, the plot to kill Layla definitely did it. Canon also recorded James' whole confession. I also asked if there was anything we could do about the car company. He said that there was nothing we can do about the assistant CEO taking over while Canon was unfit to run the company. But the man is doing a real crap job and destroying it."
"Only Canon can fix that," added Nik.
"He will," nodded Carter and the three men shared a grin and then Carter asked, "So what about the media? How did you smooth that over?"
Jason raked his fingers tiredly through his hair and said, "It definitely wasn't easy. Let's just say, I told them Canon was taking a long vacation after getting shot at while attending a friend's funeral. Layla went with him. No one knows he is in the city right now. Donna and her children have returned to Jackson and one of her daughters is helping her run the bakery now."
Carter nodded and said, "Alright, what has been done to find Eaton?"
It was Niko's turn to sigh then. "Boss," he said, "The man has completely disappeared. Last we have of him is that a man of his description; we don't even know if it was him; was seen boarding a plane bound for Spain. His exact destination was Barcelona. Somehow between here and there we lost him and the security cameras at the airport in Barcelona have absolutely no footage of him. We can't find him anywhere."
Carter nodded and said, "Keep looking. Assign two of our best men on it, Niko. The rest I want guarding Miss Layla and Canon."
Aunt May noticed the exhausted look on Carter's face and Jason took her cue and said, "That's all for now Carter. You need to rest. We'll come by tomorrow if we have any news."
"No," growled Carter, "You come by and report to me regardless. Just because I'm in a bed doesn't mean I can't use my brain."
Niko and Jason nodded and said simultaneously, "Aye, aye sir."
The two exited the room and May pressed the button to lower the hospital bed and said, "Carter, you need to rest. If the doctor knew you had visitors for the last hour and a half, he would not be happy. You just woke up from a coma. You need rest."
He shook his head. "I'm fine, May," he said tiredly.
She gently took her hand from his and smoothed the sheet and blanket over him and he asked, "How soon before I can get out of here?"
"Just a little while longer," answered May.
He groaned and said, "They're going to kill me, May."
May chuckled and said, "They haven't yet, Carter. You'll live."
His eyes closed as he reached for her hand again and said, "I just need a little nap and I'll be fine."
May sat down beside him in the chair beside the bed again and said, "You just take a nap. I'll be right here when you wake up."
"Thanks May," he said relaxing against the bed.
His grip on her hand tightened as he drifted off before going completely slack. May smiled tenderly at him but didn't let go. She was a lot like Layla. She'd never let go.

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