"Here comes the cavalry," Abigail said softly as she eased herself off of Adam's lap.

Judging by the amount of brouhaha they were causing, he would have to disagree and lean more towards the circus having come to town. When he called Mike to tell him what happened, he was under the assumption he would simply bring Jo Jo...not the entire staff of the Kit Cat Club.

Shaking his head, he grabbed Abigail's hand firmly in his and pulled her towards him. "I think it would be best if you wait here," he said, kissing her softly on the lips when she opened them to protest. "You need to wait here in case the doctor comes out with news about Vivian."

He paused until she reluctantly nodded before pushing her gently back into the chair. The truth of the matter was, they had been damn lucky the nurse hadn't asked for proof of his claim she was Vivian's daughter. He needed her to stay out of the fray going on at the front desk, otherwise, there was an excellent chance she would end up getting kicked out with the rest of the group.

After making sure she was going to listen to him this time, Adam straightened up. Wincing slightly at his sore shoulder, he made his way back to the nurse's station while he pulled out his cell phone.

"You go ahead and call security, honey. You see those two gorillas? They may not be able to spell security, but they eat it for breakfast!"

"Call us gorillas one more time and we'll show you how well we spell when we carve your name on a tombstone."

"Scotty, you are not helping. Listen Nurse Ratched, we are her family, so how about you drop the attitude before I give you a prune enema."

"Jew better listen to her. I've been working with her all night and she's beeshey when she's got the PMS."

"It's PMSing...she doesn't have the PMS!"

"I'm not PMSing!"

"All of you shut the hell up!" Mike yelled, running a frustrated hand through his hair as he glared at his staff.

"She started it," Jo Jo sniffed, nodding at the nurse. "Seriously, who doesn't know who the hell Cher is?"

"I don't care who you people are. This is a hospital for God's sakes! I will not have you turning it into some kind of afterhours rave!" The nurse pounded her fist on the counter. "I have called security. You can ether leave peaceably or with them."

"Maybe I can be of assistance," Adam said coolly as he walked up to the desk.

"You will not convince me all these people are part of Mr...Miss Cruz's family." She glared at him, crossing her thin arms over her chest.

"The hell they're not," Mike growled.

Adam placed his hand on Mike's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "They are indeed part of Miss Cruz's family," he said nodding at Mike and his crew. "Extended family."

"I don't care who you think..."

"Nurse William, I'll take it from here." An older, nervous, balding man huffed as he hurried up to the counter. Wearing a wrinkled suit, he straightened his tie. The nurse's jaw dropped, but she quickly snapped it shut and shuffled out of the way.

"Mr. Steele," he panted, slightly out of breath. "I'm Mr. Henderson, Administrator here at The Brooklyn Hospital Center." He held out his hand to Adam, who quickly shook it. "I can't tell you how much we appreciate your substantial donation to our facility. Anything you need, you only have to ask."

"Thank you." He nodded, lightly smirking at Nurse William's frown of disapproval. "Right now, the only thing needed is for these people to be allowed to see their loved one."

"Of course, of course," Henderson stuttered, looking at the group. "Please understand, it will be up to the doctor's discretion, but you are all more than welcome to wait." He smiled unsteadily.

Turning back around, Adam and Mike hurried the group into the waiting room where they immediately surrounded Abigail and started fussing over her. Hugs and tears flowed as she was embraced by each and every one of them. He even managed to control himself when Trevor bent down and hugged her a little too long for his taste.

Stepping off to the side, he motioned for Mike to join him.

"That was very generous of you, Steele," Mike said, clapping Adam on the shoulder as he strode over.

Grimacing at the pain shooting through him, he nodded his head. "Nothing a few well-placed phone calls couldn't accomplish," he muttered, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "I thought it would be good for Abigail's friends to be here and right now," he sighed, "she can use all the support she can get."

Mike turned his attention away from the group and focused on him. Adam felt his eyes sizing him up. "We watch out for our own."

He felt his jaw tighten at Mike's pointed stare. The warning mixed among his words was not lost on him. His eyes darted to Abigail who was sitting next to Jo Jo, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"I don't expect you to remise your position where Abigail is concerned, but," he leveled the club owner with a hard look of his own, "beware you are no longer her only benefactor."

A slow smile grew on Mike's face. "I like you Steele. What you did for Vivian..." he shook his head, "for everyone...was above and beyond. But, you also need to be aware, if you hurt so much as one hair on that girl's head," he shrugged a shoulder, "I won't pull any punches. I don't care who you are or how much money you have."

Adam nodded his head. "I can respect that." And he did. If there was one thing this evening had taught him, there was nothing he wouldn't do when it came to Abigail and that included seeing to her safety. "It's for her welfare I asked to speak to you privately," he said quietly.

Mike arched a brow. "How so?"

"After the fire, she blamed herself for it and claimed that he had found her." He looked questionably at Mike. "I didn't force it at the time because she was in a state of shock and I am disinclined to bring it up now..." his eyes returned to Abigail, "because she has already been through enough." His jaw clenched. "But, I need to know to what she was referring to. Who has found her?"

A frown marred Mike's face, his eyes moving over to where she sat. "I don't know."

"I'm not looking for idle gossip," Adam snapped, frustration making his temper short.

Ever since she had spoken those words in her panic, they vexed him. The need for information damn near driving him crazy. Everything Jonathan and he had discussed was coming to fruition right before his very eyes. She was running, but not because of something she had done, but because she was being chased. Anger rolled through his veins.

"If she's in danger, dammit, I need to know," he growled.

"Listen, Steele...,"

"No, you listen to me," Adam interrupted, his hand slicing through the air in between them. He wasn't about to back down. He was the authority figure in professional life and his personal life. He was used to getting his way and wasn't about to be fucking denied it now. "I can appreciate you wanting to protect her." His eyes briefly skirted over to Abigail and Jo Jo deep in conversation before returning to glare at Mike. "But the truth of the matter is, when it comes to protecting her, I can do a hell of a lot better job of it than you fucking can."

"I'll keep that in mind," Mike said dryly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now if you're done whipping out your cock and billfold, I was about to tell you I'm just as much in the dark as you."

Adam snorted. "I find that incredibly hard to believe."

"Believe what you fucking want," Mike hissed, returning Adam's scowl. "When Jo Jo brought her into my club and asked me to give her a job, I could tell the girl had been through the wringer. But, when she asked to be paid in cash under the table, it didn't take a genius to put two and two together." He sighed. "I tried to get her to talk to me, but she clammed up every time I tried." He shrugged one shoulder. "So...I gave her the job, told Trevor to keep a close eye on her and thought eventually she would open up. But, she never did."

"She's your employee for fuck's sake. It didn't occur to you to run a background check or dig a little deeper?"

Mike unfolded his arms and took an intimidating stance. "Unlike you, Steele, I prefer to earn people's trust...not buy it," he spat. "I will give you some free advice though only because you care for her and I don't want you making things more fucked up than they already are." He took a step closer until he was eyeball to eyeball with Adam. "You need to slow your roll on this one, hot shot. If you don't handle this right, she will run...fast and far. And then how the hell are you going to keep her safe if she's gone?" A cloud of emotion obscured his dark eyes. "Trust me, once they push you away, you never get back in."

Turning on his heal, he stalked back over to where his staff sat.

Fuck! Adam growled at his retreating back. The man had given him one hell of sucker punch. Not that the club owner didn't have a point. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he looked at her wrapped in Jo Jo's arms with her head on his sequined shoulder. She looked so lost and forlorn, not to mention afraid. It made his heart hurt knowing something or someone threatened her and his hands were as good as tied.

Mike's warning of not to push was nothing he hadn't already figured out for himself. Abigail already proved she would bolt at the least bit of provocation. His hands tightened into fists at his sides. Whoever she was running from had done one hell of a number on her, destroying any ability she had to trust. A rage swirled like an out of control storm just below the surface and he squeezed his eyes shut against it.

Mike's concern was touching, but unfounded. There was one thing he knew for certain, whoever it was pursuing her, would have to go through him to get to her because he planned on keeping her close to him from now on. Adam had no intention of letting her run...ever. And if she did manage it...he would find her...always.

A commotion in the waiting room drew his attention as the doctor walked into the room wearing a grim expression. Pushing off from the wall he had been leaning against, Adam made a beeline to Abigail and was there in time to wrap her in his arms when she stood. A self-satisfied feeling rushed over him pushing aside some of his anger when she leaned into him.

"You are Mr. Cruz's family?" A tired looking doctor asked, surprise registering on his harrowed features at the group standing in front of him.

"Miss Cruz," Adam corrected sharply. "And yes, we are her family."

The doctor looked back down at his paper work. "Um...yes...my apologies." He cleared his throat. "Miss Cruz is stable at the moment, but in critical condition. She suffered a blunt force trauma to the right side of her temporal lobe and severe smoke inhalation. Our greatest concern right now is the swelling in her brain. We've induced a coma so we can monitor the extent of it."

"Will she be okay?" Abigail choked out, tears running down her cheeks.

"It's too early to say. If the swelling doesn't get any worse, there's a significant chance she will make a full recovery."

"If she does...will she have any long term effects?" Jo Jo asked quietly, stepping up next to Adam.

"When damage such a Miss Cruz sustained occurs to these areas of the brain, patients may experience difficulty with auditory sensation and perception. They could also have an inability to pay attention to what they see or hear, or an impaired ability to comprehend language. There is also a chance it may affect long term memory and could suffer anything from seizures to having their personalities altered." He gave them an encouraging smile. "But, there is also a good chance she might not suffer from any of that. We will have to wait and see. For the most part, it is up to her."

"Can we see her?" a blonde headed waitress asked.

"I would like it if you limit to only two at a time for short intervals. No longer than 15 minutes for tonight." The doctor glanced at his watch. "Or this morning. We will know more in the next 24 hours. Until then," he gave Abigail and Adam a pointed look, "I suggest you get some rest. If anything changes, we will contact you."

"Abigail, why don't you and Adam go first so you can go home and get cleaned up," suggested the waitress.

"Home? What home? Last I heard it was burning to the ground," Scotty quipped, receiving a hard shot to the ribs from her. "Shit! What the hell?" he whined, doubling over.

"I swear the smartest thing that ever came out of your mouth was a penis!" she hissed.

"It's true," Abigail said, turning to look at Jo Jo. "We are officially homeless."

"Like hell you are." Trevor walked over and took her hand. "You can stay with us, kitten."

His brother Jack nodded in agreement. "Sure thing, squirt."

Adam glared at the brothers. "She has a place to stay, but thank you," he said stiffly, pulling her closer.

"But..." Abigail's eyes bounced from Adam, to Trevor and his brother and back.

"No buts." Adam tilted her chin to face him and only him. "You'll stay with me."

"What about Jo Jo?"

Adam's lips tightened. He hadn't considered her roommate when he demanded she stay with him. Sighing, he ran his knuckles down her damp cheek. He couldn't tell her no. "Of course, baby. Jo Jo too."

"Thank you, Poppy!"

Never in his life would Adam ever have believed he would be standing in an ICU wishing for the recovery of a drag queen who threatened his life...twice...while being hugged by Cher as the woman who held his heart smiled up at him.