Page 5 of Bitter Heat

She had the crazy urge to leap on his back and pound him on the head. “Why are you here? Kaia didn’t expect you to come.”

“I wasn’t going to, but I decided to be a good son for once in my life.” He shot her an unreadable glance. “I never thought I’d run into my elusive ex-wife. I guess this trip wasn’t for nothing.”

“How can you be so cold?” He didn’t even bother to act concerned for Kaia. “Your mother had a heart attack! You haven’t even asked me how she is!”

“I was informed that she pulled through surgery.”

“And that’s enough information for you?”

“Yes.”

“You should be grateful you have a mother who cares about you.”

“You think so?”

“Yes! She’s a sweet woman living up in the mountains all by herself. She said you’ve only visited once since you left home.”

“For good reason.”

He turned the corner, shamelessly lugging her behind him. A nurse came out of a room with a chart in hand and stopped dead when she caught sight of them.

“Married squabble,” Roth said with an ease that shocked her.

“We’re divorced!” Jasmine retorted and finally picked up her feet because the awful screeching her shoes were making on the tile would wake every patient on the floor.

“Roth, let me go!”

“Are you afraid of me?”

Yes.“No!”

“Then what do you have to worry about? Tomorrow, we’ll come back to town, and you can leave.”

One night. A couple of hours… She could do that, right?

Roth stopped at the ICU counter. The nurse who told her visiting hours were over looked up with a scowl, but her expression altered once she got a good look at him.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“My mom’s Kaia Roth,” he stated.

The nurse glanced at Jasmine before she said, “She’s resting. You can come back tomorrow. We’ll discuss the care she’s going to need for the next couple of weeks.”

He nodded and continued down the hallway. She tried to come up with a plan, but her mind was alarmingly blank. He pulled her into the elevator. When the doors closed, she stared at their reflection. He towered over her, richly dressed and intimidating in his fine clothes, while she looked like a grubby teenager.

“I can’t do this,” she said.

“You can.”

“Fine. I don’twantto do this.”

“Suck it up.”

The elevator stopped, allowing a doctor to get on. She debated whether she should reach out for help. As if Roth could read her mind, he tightened his hold on her, a clear warning not to test him. She wanted to push, but she was too damn tired.

The elevator opened on the ground floor. He tugged her out and stopped in front of the double doors that led out to the parking lot.

“Keys,” he said curtly.

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