Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
It wasn’t that he looked fragile or even ill. Victor was still huge and strong. But the tube in his mouth, the IV line, and all the equipment keeping track of his vitals hit her hard. She stood there, her hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face.
“Gracen? If it’s too much, we can leave.” Maxim’s hand landed gently on the small of her back.
Pull yourself together, Gracen. He needs you.
“No. No.” She moved slowly forward. She didn’t know where to touch him. She ran her gaze over him, but she couldn’t see any visible effects from the accident.
“He’s got some bruised ribs, probably from the seatbelt. Thank God they were both wearing them,” Maxim told her. “Regent broke his leg. They’re hoping the swelling in Victor’s brain will go down quickly.” His phone rang. “Shoot. I have to take this, it’s my sister. I’ll go into the bathroom.”
He disappeared into the attached bathroom but he didn’t shut the door.
That was okay. She reached out to brush her hand over Victor’s arm. Then she slid her hand into his. She didn’t know how long she stood there, staring down at him. But she jumped in fright as Maxim moved up next to her.
“Here, doll. Sit down. You need to rest.”
She sat back in the chair he’d pulled over. Then he sat next to her. He had to keep taking calls, but she sat there, watching Victor breathe.
“I have to go see Regent, he’s out of surgery.”
“Oh.” She didn’t want to leave. She had this awful feeling that something would happen to him if she wasn’t here.
“Why don’t I get someone to take you home?”
“I . . . can’t I stay? In the waiting room? Please? I can’t . . . I can’t leave him.”
He gave her a worried look. “Stay in here. I’ll send Aero back in to stay with you. Tell him or Mickey if you want something, all right?”
She nodded, thankful he was letting her stay.
“All right, I’ll be back soon.”
“Gracen? Hey, Gracen?”
She turned to look at Maxim, who was crouching beside her.
“Hey, there. You all right?”
“Oh, yes. What . . . what’s going on?”
“It’s getting late, doll. It’s nearly ten at night.”
“It is? How is Regent doing?” He’d come out of surgery several hours ago.
“He’s actually doing really well. He’s lucid. And he’s been asking about Victor. And you.”
“Me? Why?”
“He knew about you. I don’t know how. Maybe Victor told him. Anyway, he wants you to have a permanent guard on you right now.”
“What? Why? Am I in danger? It wasn’t an accident?”
“We’re still trying to sort that out. The driver of the other vehicle ran a red light, but he died at the scene. Could have been drunk or high. Regent wants to be careful, and he knows you’re special to Victor.”
“I . . . I don’t think I need anyone.”
Maxim gave her a small smile. “I’m sorry, doll. But in this family, Regent is in charge and what he says goes.”
“But I’m not part of the family.”
“At the moment, think of yourself as an honorary member. It comes with pros and cons. If it makes you feel any better, our sister, Lottie wants to come home but Regent has forbidden it.”
What kind of power did Regent have?
“Jardin should be here tomorrow, he left Carrick, Thea, and the boys in California.”
“Carrick and Thea?”
“Oh, you don’t know about them? Uh, well.” He shrugged and sat on the chair next to her. “Let’s see, how to explain this? Jardin is with Thea, who he loves and Carrick, who he also loves. The three of them all love each other.”
“You mean, they’re in a permanent ménage relationship?”
“Uh, yes. you took that surprisingly well.”
She had to smile. “Apparently, my great-grandma was in a similar sort of relationship with two men years ago. But it was taboo to talk about it, so one of the men had to pretend to be the butler.”
“Wow. Okay. Lottie also has two husbands, they all got married to each other a few months ago in this weird town called Haven.”
“Is it something in the water at your house,” she joked.
“Seems like it, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not sure that I could handle more than one Malone.”
“Well, to be fair, there’s only one Malone in each of those relationships. Although two of my cousins are in a relationship with one girl. Poor thing. And that’s the Texas Malones. They’re wild. I wouldn’t want to date them.”
She actually found herself smiling.
“Let me send someone home with you, all right? Make me feel better and I won’t have to lie to Regent. He’ll kick my ass if I go against him. You don’t want to see me cry, do you?”
She shook her head. “Lord forbid. That would look truly pathetic.”
“It really would.”
“But I’m not going anywhere. Not until Victor wakes up.”