After a couple more minutes of talking, her parents hung up. The time difference of fifteen hours wasn’t the easiest thing to work with, so their conversations were usually interrupted by something. Ebru arrived to take Maya for the MRI on her head and X-rays on her leg and arm to make sure that the bones were healing. I didn’t miss the heated look that Cole gave her as she moved all of the equipment attached to Maya onto her bed, and I know no one missed the cool look she gave him as she left.
“Well, bud, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you, and that’s putting it mildly,” I said, admittedly with glee, as I slung an arm around his shoulders and made my way down to Luke’s room to check in on him.
“Fuck off,” he mumbled, shaking my arm off.
“That’s the best you’ve got? Damn, it must be bad.”
We’d reached Luke’s door by this point and were just entering when we both looked up. “What the fuck?”
All around him were flowers covering every surface, and he had a bright pink blanket over him; it was like walking into some sort of horror movie where a psycho takes over the life of a coma patient or some shit.
“Excuse me, you can’t come in here,” the psycho herself said, walking towards us.
“What the hell happened in here?” Cole asked, looking around in disgust. The place actually stank of flowers and whatever other stuff had been sprayed on top of that.
“I’m just making it comfortable for him and adding a personal touch to the place.” She smiled and adjusted a framed photo beside his bed of them standing together at some function. He didn’t even have his arm around her and was facing away from her. “Now, what do you want?”
“Where’s Isla?” Cole had just poked a very angry, psychotic bear, by the looks of things, as her face had turned dark red and her nostrils had flared to the size of those of a pissed-off bull.
“She isn’t allowed in here. She was harassing poor Luke before his accident, and when I took over here, she was practically smothering him while he slept. My poor love…” She stroked his hair off his forehead as she said the last bit. Her face hardened again as she turned back to us. “So I got rid of her, and she isn’t to be allowed back.”
“Horse shit,” Cole snorted. I was starting to get a bad feeling about what old Lukey boy had been up to. Surely he wouldn’t risk what he’d always wanted to have with Isla for the likes of this thing, right?
“If that’s all you’ve come to say, you can leave,” she sniffed in our direction, and pointed at the door behind us.
“I’m thinking his parents should come and hear all of this.” I elbowed Cole to get him to go and get Christie and George.
“What?” Cole looked at me with raised brows. What the hell had my mom eaten and drank when she was pregnant with this idiot? I jerked my head towards the door, hoping he’d get the hint. “Ohh.” He nodded and walked out of the door.
This was going to be fun…
One hour and one psychobitch down later, Maya was back in her room and I left Christie with Luke while I went to see her. I was still chuckling from the scene between Christie and Kendal when Christie had gotten a hazardous waste bag from Ebru and put all of the photos, floral towels, moisturizers, the hideous blanket, and anything else of Kendal’s in it. The bag had then been dumped in the elevator while Kendal stood behind Christie, shrieking. Just before the doors closed, Christie had pushed Kendal in and made it clear to the nurses that she was no longer allowed access to Luke. Cole had had the ingenious idea of recording it all on his phone and was going to be uploading it later. Sometimes I loved his tiny mind.
Walking into Maya’s room, I saw her sitting up in bed with a huge grin on her face as the doctor spoke to her and George.
“The swelling has gone down hugely, but you will still suffer from headaches for another four to six weeks while the concussion heals. Your leg and arm are in alignment and they look promising also. However, we will remove both casts to check the wounds tomorrow. We’ll put a new cast on, but you’ll need to come back in around two weeks to get the stitches removed from the wounds. After that, they’ll fit you with a final cast, which will be removed roughly three weeks after that,” the doctor said, writing in her chart. “Finally, the wound that you already had at the time of the accident.” He picked up her non-casted hand. “We had to restitch it, as the sutures tore when you fell. Looking at the wound, I’m happy with the healing, so your nurse will be along soon to remove them. Do you have any questions?”
Maya looked at me and grinned. “When can I go home?”
“We’ll do one more MRI in a couple of days. If it shows that your swelling has receded more, then all going well, you can go home under the proviso that you have care twenty-four seven. You can’t be left alone; the headaches can be severe, and you still have bruising to your kidney that needs to be monitored. You also obviously have a broken leg and arm, so mobility won’t be easy.”
What the doctor and Maya didn’t know was that this wasn’t even an issue. I’d taken care of it all; I just hadn’t told her yet. Shit, I hope she wasn’t pissed.
“We’ll sort that out, Doc,” George said, raising his brow in my direction. He knew what the plan was and had agreed to it along with her parents. I guess everyone assumed that I’d told her, though, but I knew Maya, and she would argue against this in favor of going to her old home.
After the doctor had finished with Maya, George sat down and pinched the top of his nose. He’d looked a bit withdrawn when I’d walked in earlier. Had there been another incident?
“You okay, Uncle George?” Maya asked, reaching out to rub his shoulder with her broken arm, quickly realizing her mistake when it hurt.
“Isla is going to Singapore to work on the Michara contract and to liaise with the government. She came to me this morning requesting a transfer out of the office, and that was the only thing that I could give her that wasn’t permanent,” he said, sighing.
“Kendal said something to her or did something, I’ll bet you anything,” Maya growled.
“I think we can all agree on that theory, sweetheart,” he said, reaching out and stroking the cast on her arm with a sad expression on his face. “The question is, how do we fix it? My boy isn’t going to be happy when he wakes up and finds out she’s halfway across the world from him.”
“Then maybe he shouldn’t have been such a dickhead and strung her along,” Cole’s angry voice said from behind us. “He’s been with Kendal all along and taking her out in public while he hid Isla here.” I’d pretty much guessed that this was what had been going on, but hearing it pissed me off.
“Are you sure?” George asked.
“Look.” Cole shoved his phone in George’s face, showing him press photographs with the dates and events on them. The most recent one was from just before the accident.
“How did I miss these?” George mumbled, asking a question that had just occurred to me. Surely when you owned a high-profile architectural company, you put Google alerts on yourself and your employees?
“I don’t know, but I support her wanting to go,” Cole said. “How do you think she feels seeing all of that and knowing that yet again he’s made a fool of her and fucked her over? No offense,” he added at the end with a wince, remembering who he was talking to.
Standing up and handing the phone back to Cole, George stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“Was it something I said?” Cole mumbled, moving to sit in the comfy chair that George had just vacated. Reaching out, I pulled it away and walked around to Maya’s other side as Cole’s ass hit the floor with a thud. “Oh, fuck me, I just broke my ass!” he groaned just as Ebru opened Maya’s door and burst out laughing.
Isla
I stood in Luke’s room, watching him as the machines beeped with my stomach churning. This was the best thing; he could focus on healing and I could focus on healing my heart. I’d been fooled by him yet again, but this was the last time.
Leaning over, I gave him a so
ft kiss on the side of his bottom lip. “Bye, Luke,” I whispered, and felt the tears pooling, proving that I was making the right decision.
Slipping out of his room, I went in the opposite direction of the elevators to the back stairwell. I didn’t want to bump into Christie or George and face their questions, or worse still, them trying to reason with me. It was time to head to the airport for my flight.
Chapter Thirty-One
Maya
I t was going home day. I hated being in hospitals, and the smell, too; it was going to take weeks of washing to get rid of it from my hair and clothes. Maybe I could just throw away the clothes?
I’d just come back from saying goodbye to Luke. Leaving the hospital while he was still in a coma added more guilt than I was already feeling. He’d taken the brunt of the scaffolding when it fell, and now I was leaving while he was still unconscious. It just didn’t seem fair. On the way to his room, I’d seen Isla leaving and going in the opposite direction. I hadn’t been able to catch up with her, obviously, and it hadn’t looked like she’d wanted anyone to see her. Luke was going to go insane when he woke up and found out what had happened and that she was gone. Maybe it would get him back on his feet quicker?
My bags were packed and ready to go. Behind them was a table filled with flowers and gifts from people. We’d given some of them to other patients, as the room had been filled with them, but I was also taking some home with me, like the ones from my family and the girls.
“Right, Maya, you’re all set to go,” Ebru said as she walked in pushing a wheelchair with a grin on her face. Ren stood behind her holding the bag with the medications that I needed to take, smiling happily. He had been a permanent fixture in my room since the accident, helping me get cleaned up or changed, or cutting up the food he brought me because the hospital food was vile. Last night, he’d even painted my toenails for me. I’d said that I was embarrassed walking around with chipped polish on the nails sticking out of my cast. Cole had walked in and told him he was doing it wrong, and it had ended up in an argument about the logistics of nail painting, which I’d passed out halfway through.
“Come on, baby, let’s get out of here before this one decides to keep you in a little longer to finish watching that vampire shit,” Ren joked, grinning and helping me into the wheelchair. I couldn’t help the groans that came out of me because I still hurt badly.
“Maybe she should stay in? Should she be in this much pain?”
“She’s going to be in pain for a while. Just make sure that if you’re going anywhere, bring the chair until the doctor clears her. At home, she can use the crutches to move small distances. This one here”—Ebru held out a short crutch to show him—“is for the broken arm side. This normal one here is for the other side.”
He still looked unsure, so I jumped in. “Let’s go! I need my own bed.”
Wheeling me out of the hospital, I looked up in surprise at my family and Ren’s standing outside the hospital doors. I was sad that I couldn’t hug my parents, Lucy, or Amy, but we’d FaceTimed a lot, and I didn’t want the girls getting in trouble for taking time off. They were both ruled over by assholes and had to watch their steps carefully, but they were adamant that they would be coming to visit soon. In the meantime, I had my family and the Townsends, who had spoiled me and looked after me like I was one of their own. Looking to my right, I gasped when I saw Brett. He had bruises and cuts on the side of his face and had the top of his arm strapped to his chest.
“What happened?” Ren had been walking beside me and looked over.
“I’ll explain later, baby. Let’s get in the car and get you home first. You’re due some painkillers in an hour and a half, and I want you settled for them so you can sleep afterward.” His tone and expression made it clear that he wasn’t going to deviate from this plan, so I figured I’d fight this battle later. Brett looking so bad and the unfamiliar security around him worried me. Had the person who’d done this to Luke and I done that to him?
Ren put my bags in the back of Hulk before walking back to where Ebru had stopped with the chair at the passenger door. “Right, baby, I’m gonna pick you up and place you inside. If you’re in too much pain, tell me.”
Biting my lower lip, I nodded my head and steeled myself for the pain to come. Gently, he pushed his arm under my legs and wrapped the other arm around my back and started to lift. The weight of my leg dangling was hell, and my side felt like someone was stabbing me, but I was determined to get through it without screaming. Quickly, he turned and placed me gently on the passenger seat and shouted for his mom before turning back to me and kissing me on the forehead. “My brave baby.”
Colette appeared at the door holding three huge blocks of upholstery foam. “What’s that for?”
Pushing my chair back and reclining it slightly before putting the seatbelt across me, Ren replied, “This is for your leg, to support it. Ebru said it would be a good idea to stop your leg taking any weight just now when you’re sitting.”
He ran around to the other side of the car and climbed into the driver’s seat, reaching across and gently lifting my legs up so that Colette could push the foam under them. “There you go, sweetheart,” she crooned. “We’re going to follow you, and Brett’s SUV will be in front so that we can make sure you get home safe and sound.” Colette stood on the runners and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “You’re such a brave girl.”
Looking behind her, I saw my aunt and uncle looking a little conflicted. As Christie took Colette’s place, I said, “Stay with Luke; he needs people to look after him. Tell him I love him, alright?”
“Okay, sweet Mymy. If you need us, call my cell anytime, day or night, you hear?” Christie said, giving me a kiss on the cheek and closing her eyes. “I’m so sorry, sweet girl.”
George was standing behind her looking upset too.
“It’s not your fault. Whoever did this is doing it to all of us for their own reasons; don’t take their issues on as your own.” I gripped Christie's hand and reached out for George’s and gave it a small tug so that he’d look up and see how serious I was. We didn’t know who was doing this or why; for all we knew, it could be to do with any one of us, including my parents. They now had armed guards too, as did Lucy, so I felt more relaxed knowing that they were safe.
Nodding, he squeezed my hand in return and backed away so that Ebru could give me my final instructions. We’d become close since I’d been in the hospital, and with the way Cole was staring at her, I had a feeling we’d become even closer.
“Right, so use the liners in the shower, don’t get the casts wet, and your follow-up appointments are on a card with your medications. Ren knows when you’re due the medications, so listen to him, and for goodness’ sake, take it easy. I’ll see you in two days when I come out to check you over.”
Waving bye with what little strength I had left, I sank back into my chair in relief when the door closed. I was exhausted, and my entire body was in agony.
Ren drove home carefully, and it wasn’t until we took the wrong turning for my place that I realized where we were headed.
“What did you do?”
Ren was tapping his hands on the steering wheel as if he were listening to music, even though there was none on.
“You need round-the-clock care, so you’re coming to stay at mine for a bit. Also, the shower is easier for you to get into and out of, and I had a couple of changes made to help you out. When I’m not there, Cole or Adam will be with you so you’ll never be on your own.”
“You’re not doing this out of some sort of guilt or duty, are you?” This had been weighing on my mind.
“Are you insane?” The car swerved slightly as he turned to look at me. “I’m doing this because I want you safe, and I’m doing this because I love you, and you’re injured. So no, I’m not doing this out of guilt or duty.”
“I’d reach out and hold your hand while I apologized, but I kinda have this thingy stopping me.” I moved my casted arm slightly in i
ts sling, hoping he’d laugh, but all he did was focus on the road ahead. As we pulled up to his house, he quickly shut off the engine and got out to come around to my side. “I’m so sorry, Ren.” I reached out to him with my good hand as he leaned across me to undo the belt. “Please, don’t be mad at me. I didn’t expect any of this, and I feel guilty that you have to look after me.”
He turned and moved his face closely to mine. “If it were the other way around, would you look after me?”
“Absolutely, without question.”
“Would you do it out of duty?”
“No,” I whispered, completely getting what he was saying now and feeling even worse.
Most guys would have used a situation like this to hammer a point home, but not Ren. He looked me in the eyes, nodded, and smiled before leaning down and giving me a soft kiss. “I love you, and no one is ever going to hurt you again. Now let’s get you inside so that you can have a nap.”
Ren
I was so fucking relieved to have her out of the hospital and in the house where I knew she’d be safe. Mace and his guys had installed security throughout all of the houses, as well as all over the ranch. For the foreseeable future, we’d also have both undercover and plain-clothed security everywhere. Initially, I’d been worried about this because it felt like we were sitting ducks, but then I’d seen the security that had been fitted and had watched the men in action. You would never have known that the undercover guys weren’t ranch hands. They blended in seamlessly and appeared to have all of their focus purely on the ranch and the work needing to be done. I also had three new mechanics in the garage picking up the slack from mine and Cole’s absences.
I’d gone to see Francheska early this morning to warn her off ever upsetting Maya again. I didn’t believe that she had the brains and ability to set up what had happened, but even so, I was done with her shit.
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