Page 65 of Playing My Rivals

Once she’s out of view, I face Hunter. “I get that you don’t think highly of me right now and I understand.”

“That’s an understatement, but I’m beginning to see I may have jumped to conclusions.” He glances down and shakes his head. “If you need to be there, then go.”

“I need to be there. He’s the only family I have.” My fears strangle me as I choke out my words. I trudge toward the elevators.

Hunter grabs his suitcase and follows behind me. “It’s against my better judgment, but if you want, you can go with Dorothy on the jet.”

“That’s generous of you, but I’m going to need more time to situate my work assignments. I’ve got to make some calls to my employees and organize shit. She needs to get there fast. I don’t want to hold her up.” I press the button to call for the elevator.

Hunter nods but doesn’t say anything. The elevator doors open and we both get on. My mind runs through the worst-case scenario.

I shift from side to side as I watch the numbers on the panel climb. “Why the fuck is this thing moving so slowly today?”

“It’s going to take me some time to digest this new information, Jamison, but thank you for coming clean with me today.”

“We should’ve been honest from the start. She was set on thinking you’d fire us and I let that fear win. I’m sorry for that.” The elevator stops and I’m out before the doors fully open. “I’ll be in touch with an update on when to expect me back.”

“I figured you would.” He sighs. “For whatever it’s worth, I hope her brother is going to be okay.”

“Yeah, me too.” I run off with adrenaline taking over my every move.

Waiting for information about Aiden is excruciating. I couldn’t get off the plane fast enough. Dori hasn’t given me much of an update other than he’s in a medically induced coma.

He’s in ICU, so she meets me at the locked entrance of the unit to take me to his room. The second the double doors open and clear my path, she falls into my arms and sobs into my chest.

“Aiden looks so bad, Jami. He’s almost unrecognizable.”

“He’s going to pull through. I know he will.” The words fall from my lips even though I’m not sure they ring true. I give her a minute of comfort before I nudge her. “Take me to his room. I need to see for myself.”

I take her hand in mine, and she leads us down the hall.

“My parents are in Spain right now but are trying to get back.” Her eyes are cast to the floor as we make our way down the hall.

I give her a sideways glance. “They’re in Spain together?”

“Yeah, until the next time one of them decides to cheat on the other one. It’s been a couple of months now, so we’re due at any moment.”

She stops at the entrance to Aiden’s room. “We have to be quiet and keep any stimulation to a minimum. He has a head injury and they’re concerned noise could agitate him.”

My mouth is dry from my fear, so I nod and try to control my nerves by taking a few breaths. My hands sweat and my stomach twists and turns. But Dori needs me to be strong for her. I stand straight and square my shoulders. Here’s hoping I can pull it off.

There’s a guard at his door. She tells him who I am, and he allows us to proceed. She leads me into his darkened room.

Monitors beep every few seconds and illuminate in the darkness. Various cords run along his side and down to other medical equipment. Air pulls in and out of a machine, giving him breath to live.

Shit.

He’s on a ventilator.

It’s something I wish she warned me about, but it’s what comes into view next that does me in. My knees almost give out when I step up to the side of his bed.

His eyes are swollen shut and bruised. Half his head is shaved and bandaged. His face is puffy and pale. The sight of him is enough to break me. My heart falls to the center of the earth as tears push on the back of my eyes. I swallow them down.

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter under my breath.

Dori steps to my side and leans against me. My arms instinctively go around her. She quietly weeps as she allows me to adjust to Aiden lying helplessly in the hospital bed.

He’s hanging by a thread and it’s enough to rip me into a billion little pieces. There’s no way I can handle losing anyone else.

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