Dirty Little Promise (Forbidden Desires #2)

Gavin

No matter how many times I went over it in my head, I couldn’t say what happened. In my mind, the events of that day were like fragments of broken glass on the floor. I could only see them in a certain light, and when the light was gone? All I could see was darkness and pain.

The fragments I remembered, though, were the ones that still cut deepest.

One moment I was in a meeting with a team of overpriced publicists, who were readying us for yet another press junket, and then the next, my cell phone was ringing in my pocket. On any other day, I might have ignored it, turned off the ringer and gotten back to work.

Not that day. Something in me knew that this was no ordinary call.

What exactly Cooper said when we spoke was beyond me. I couldn’t tell you what I said in return, either. All I remembered was my vision blurring and my heart pounding in my throat, and the next thing I knew, I was stepping onto the plane with Quinn while he said words I couldn’t comprehend. Not really.

I only knew one thing for certain.

Emma had been hurt.

And I wasn’t there to save her, wasn’t even there to sit by her hospital bed and ask the nurses about her condition. Wasn’t there to make sure she got the best care money could buy.

Damn it all.

Over the course of the flight, Quinn had tried over and over to engage me, but I was too far gone to listen. Instead, my mind was funneling down the old spiral of memories I’d tried for so long to keep at bay. Ashley, too, had gone to the hospital on more than one occasion. First, for surgeries on her feet, and then for stranger maladies that always ended in her taking home a fresh prescription for her beloved pain pills.

Emma wouldn’t be like that, I knew, but it didn’t change the way my stomach roiled at the thought of stepping inside a hospital again. Or the way I could already smell the antiseptic sterility of the halls clinging to my nose and throat, suffocating me.

Over and over, I relived every visit I’d made with Ashley until the very last one. The one just before the coroners took her away.

“Gavin?” Quinn said, interrupting my morbid thoughts.

We were in the car now, and I looked around to find that we were in front of the emergency entrance to the hospital.

Meeting his gaze at last, I asked, “Did someone send me the room number?”

He nodded. “Yes. And remember, everything is fine. She’s in stable condition. Doesn’t look like she broke anything. She’s bruised and in some pain, that’s all. I’m sure the doctors will tell you more, but she should be out of here tonight.”

“Good,” I said, finally in a place to really let the words seep in. She could have been killed, but the fact that she was in pain and afraid devastated me.

As the sun began to dip low behind the skyscrapers, I breathed out a sigh. From now on, I would be with Emma—she would never be hurt ever again. I just had to get her better and stick by her side until whatever this was ended.

“I’m going back to the office, but Cooper is there with her now.”

A flare of white-hot rage shot through me at the mention of his name, but somehow, I managed to nod. “Right, thanks.”

I slipped from the car and rushed inside, checking my texts for her room number. My heartbeat pounding in my ears, I took the elevator to the right floor and found my way to Emma’s room with little effort. As I walked, I wondered if I should have brought flowers or balloons or chocolates, anything to show her how sorry I was that I wasn’t there when I should have been.

Finally, I stepped inside the private room to find Emma sleeping peacefully. Her eyelids were a little purple and her skin was pale. An IV clung to her arm and I winced, hating every last detail of the image in front of me. Including my brother’s presence at her bedside.

“So, you show up now?” I asked him with barely checked fury.

Cooper blinked at me, then frowned. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Another burst of rage bloomed inside my chest. “Let’s have a talk in the hallway.”

Reluctantly, Cooper got up from his seat and followed me into the near-empty hall. I closed Emma’s door behind us, careful to make sure she wouldn’t hear any of what I had to say. What I needed to get off my chest.

“What the fuck did you do?” I ground out, my voice low but laced with venom.

“Are you under the impression that I’m the one who hit her with my car or something?” Cooper said. “Because—”

“I am under the impression that you had one job to do while I was away, and you failed. All you had to do was keep her safe, and here she is, lying in a fucking hospital bed.”

He blanched like I’d kicked him, but I didn’t give a fuck. “And what did you want me to do? Stand over her night and day until you got back? Nobody could have guessed—”

“Yes, they could have. We knew someone was out to hurt her. You were careless, and because of that she’s here, hurt.”

“I didn’t know someone was out to hurt her,” he said, his pulse throbbing in his throat. “It could’ve been a prank. I stayed with her last night, and she went to work this morning with the driver you hired for her. How could I have known? And she’s going to be all right. She has some bruises and a mild concussion.”

“She could have died!”

Cooper raised his eyebrows, then slowly lifted his hands as if to ward off an attack. “You know what, asshole? I took care of her when you couldn’t, despite the clusterfuck of feelings I’m still dealing with. Something bad happened and I understand you’re upset, but none of it’s on me.” He shook his head and stared at his feet, cupping one hand to the back of his neck. “I’ve had enough. I can’t deal with this anymore. You and Emma can have each other. I’m done.”

Without another word, he turned on his heel and headed to the elevator. I should have gone after him, but I didn’t have time to worry about that now. In fact, I was certain I’d be better off if I didn’t have to see his reckless, stupid face for a few days.

Right now, all that mattered was Emma, and I wasn’t going to waste another moment before seeing her again. Slowly, I opened the door to her room again to find her squinting up at the television, a massive remote in her small hands.

“They don’t have any good channels at hospitals,” she said, though she grinned weakly at me as she spoke.

“Pet,” I murmured, my heart clenching at the paleness of her cheeks. “How are you feeling?”

She shrugged. “I’ve been better. How was your trip?”

“Does that matter?” I took the seat beside her bed and reached for her hand after brushing the remote away.

“Sure, it does. I like hearing about your exciting life. Beats the hell out of my boring one.”

“Yeah, your life really does look pretty boring right about now.”

She rolled her eyes, and I could tell she was trying not to look at me. “Where did Cooper go?”

“He had to leave. I told him you were in good hands, though.”

“Whose?” she teased, and I kissed her cheek.

“Don’t make fun of me. It’s been a stressful day.”

“I’m so sorry for your struggle. You’re right; the girl in the hospital should be more sensitive,” she joked, clearly trying to make me feel better.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“You’re damn right. Besides, you won’t be in here much longer. Word on the street is they’re letting you out soon.”

“That’s a shame,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t have nearly as many Jell-O cups at my house.”

“I’ll get you all the Jell-O cups you want.”

And I did. The second we left the hospital a few hours later, I texted Ben, asking him to go to the store and pick up everything Emma could possibly need. Jell-O and pudding, fixings for sandwiches, a dozen different boxes of tea. Anything I thought she might like.

“I have bruises and a headache that’s almost gone, not a terminal disease. You don’t have to baby me,” she said as he delivered the items to her front door.

I scoffed. “Oh, I’m babying you. You just have to get used to it.”

Did she not know me at all? I wasn’t about to let her go through this alone.

Instead, I fetched everything she would want or need before she even asked for it. I called in to her work for her and held her while she slept—and while she dreamed. When she cried out, I was there to calm her back to sleep.

Emma could pretend to be tough if she wanted to, but there was no question she was afraid. The police still had no leads, either on the hit-and-run or the bloody mess left at her door, and her nerves and mine were starting to fray.