Page 54 of The Billionaire's Secret Heir

“Madi—”

His words were interrupted as she shoved him off the bed with her good arm. Obviously a little too hard as she groaned and drew a hand to her hurt shoulder with a hiss.

“Are you okay?” Even after being pushed away, Beckett couldn’t keep the concern from his voice.

She glared. “I’ve got more important things to worry about right now than the conversation we started in the car. But we will finish it.”

Beckett tried to take her hand, but she shoved him away. “Madi, it won’t take long if you’d just let me explain.”

“I can’t think about that right now. The only thing I want to know for the moment is if it’s true. Did your father have a clause about you needing an heir to stay in control of the company?”

“Yes. He did.” Beckett wanted to blurt out the words, to tell her that his father’s clause had nothing to do with him spending time with her and Becka or with the feelings that came as he did. He could visibly see her fragile emotional state and knew that she not only didn’t want to listen, but wouldn’t believe him even if he got the words out.

“That’s all I need to know. For now.” Her face shifted and Beckett knew that the conversation was over. “Have you seen her yet?”

“They just released me. Well, technically I’m still under observation. They told me she lost blood and is in the ICU. I’m going to give blood.”

He could see the warring emotions on Madi’s face. She wanted to trust him, to turn to him for comfort, but the knowledge about the contract stood between them. “Thank you.”

“Mr. Van de Kamp?” Beckett turned to see a nurse with a clipboard inside the door way. “You wanted to donate blood?”

“Yes. Can you give me a minute?”

“I’ll be in the hall.”

When he looked at her again, Madi’s jaw was set again and her face turned toward the wall. Beckett wanted to reach for her and touch her, but he could see that she wouldn’t respond.

“Madi, do you promise to give me a chance to explain later?”

“I don’t know what there is to explain.”

“Exactly. You don’t know. I know you don’t want to talk about it now, but please, promise me that we can talk later.”

Beckett was about to turn and leave the room when she spoke in only a whisper. “Okay. We can talk later.”

Though he hated to leave Madi, Beckett still ached for Becka. He wanted to see her and to know that she was going to be okay. If giving blood was all that he could do for the moment, it would let him at least feel like he was doing something. He knew from experience how difficult it was to sit around and do nothing but wait in a hospital.

As she led Beckett through the hallways, they passed a waiting area where Graham jumped up. “Beck!”

Graham wrapped him in a hug. “I am so glad you are okay, brother. I was just kidding about the brakes. I mean, we thought they needed to be checked, but I had no idea they were actually faulty. Are you okay? Is Madi? Becka?”

Beckett nodded. “They’re okay. Becka lost a lot of blood and I’m going to donate now.”

“Do you need more? I can do that as well,” Graham said.

The nurse nodded. “Both of you can come with me.”

Graham kept an arm around Beckett as they walked, as though to reassure himself that Beckett was real and okay. “I cannot say enough times how sorry I am.”

“Really, Graham. I know you wouldn’t have let us drive the car if you had known. I’m glad it wasn’t worse and that it wasn’t Courtney and your kids either.”

Graham’s face paled. “You’re right. Ugh. I’ve always given you a hard time about your fancy cars and took pride in driving cars into the ground. No more! New cars all around when we get out of here. Maybe Volvos? Aren’t they the highest safety rating?”

“I have no idea,” Beckett said.

He was glad for Graham’s presence as the nurse led them to a smaller lab-like room with small refrigerators and a woman in a lab coat. Beckett didn’t have a problem with needles, but everything felt emotionally heightened right now. The pinch of the needle had him closing his eyes, even as Graham relayed some story about Logan’s school.

“They had a day where they had to dress like characters in classic literature. Logan dressed up as Gandalf—without a staff, of course, since it’s a weapon—and do you know what he kept saying?”

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