Page 108 of Secret Billionaire

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Jesse arrived at Faye’s place and was surprised that her car wasn’t there. He mentally braced himself for the onslaught of driving wind and rain as he pushed open the truck door. He ran in slow motion as the wind pressed him back and the relentless rain pounded. Where the hell is she? And Maddy. He spied a note on the kitchen counter and the letter from Julian sitting right next to it. His blood turned to ice when he read Julian’s note. Had she gone out to meet him? No way. She would never do something that risky. Then he picked up her note to him and was flooded with relief. She was with Maddy. They were at the bar. He raced back out into the storm and headed to The Pelican.

Julian opened the car door and tenderly slid Faye onto the passenger side seat. As he was buckling her in, he was grabbed from behind and picked up with so much strength, that at first, he thought the hurricane had done it. As he was thrown to the ground he looked up and saw the outline of a man standing over him. The rain made visibility next to zero, and he feared the men had come back to finish Faye off.

“Leave her please. Don’t hurt her.”

“You crazy fucker. What did you do to her?” the male voice yelled, just barely heard above the screaming winds.

“Nothing! It wasn’t me! I saw two men follow her in, they came out with a statue, she didn’t come out, so I went in and found her lying in a pool of blood.”

The wind kept blowing the man back even as he held onto the car door to anchor himself.

“I memorized the license plate number. I swear, I’d never hurt Faye.”

Jesse forced himself to keep from jumping on top of Julian and beating him within an inch of his life…but for some strange reason he believed him. “Where’s Maddy?”

“Inside, she was just coming to.”

“I’m going to go in and get her. If you leave with Faye, I’ll hunt you down, I swear!” he yelled.

Maddy appeared at the door just as Jesse got there. He shouted, “Maddy, come on. Faye’s hurt, she’s unconscious, we’ve got to get her to the hospital.”

Maddy held onto Jesse as they fought their way back to the car. Her eyes went wide with shock when she saw Julian in the driver’s seat. “You!” Maddy hissed, “What the hell is he doing here?”

“Just get in Maddy. We’ve got to get help. You need to be checked out as well.”

“I’m fine.”

“No arguments.”

They climbed into the back seat and Julian sped away. Jesse called out directions and when they arrived, he had Julian drive straight up to the emergency room entrance. Jess jumped out and ripped open the passenger door, then gently pulled Faye from the car and raced inside. Julian parked then he and Maddy followed him.

They took her back immediately for testing. Over Maddy’s protests, she was getting checked out as well. Jesse felt like puking. She had appeared lifeless, her delicate face as pale as a ghost. Her lips colorless. Her hair was matted with blood. Fuck fuck fuck! What had she been thinking? Why the hell would she ever think that was a good idea?

Jesse paced the floor. He’d just hung up from talking to Kyle and he was going to notify the police, then head over to the hospital. The storm complicated everything. Julian sat huddled in the corner, off by himself.

* * *

An hour after Kyle arrived a nurse came to get them. “Follow me. She’s been moved to her room. Dr. Thompson is the doctor on call. He’ll come in to speak with you soon.”

Relief flooded Kyle. Dr. Thompson had been his doc after the car accident that had almost killed him. The same accident that brought Ella into his life. Ella and Andy Thompson were former colleagues and good friends.

Julian looked uncertain about what to do, but Jesse gestured with his thumb for him to follow, so he did. Getting off the elevator, they passed a waiting room and Julian said, “I’ll wait here. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“We’ll let you know once we talk to the doctor,” Jesse said.

Jesse stepped into Faye’s room and saw that she was awake. In that exact instant he realized how tightly he’d been wound. He was finally able to take a deep breath. His eyes were glassy as he approached her bedside.

She was still pale as hell, but she was smiling at him and he knew she was going to be okay. Jess leaned down and softly kissed her, then rubbed his thumb across her cheek. The doctor entered the room, his expression relaxed, exuding confidence as he filled them in on Fays condition.

“She’s going to be fine. As I told her, she’s suffered a mild concussion, we’ll keep her in overnight as a precaution. She’ll have to take it easy for a few weeks, but the CT scan was negative for swelling or bleeding. The blood you saw was from a superficial cut from the blow.”

“Thank God!” Kyle said, scrubbing his hands across his face.

Dr. Thompson smiled, “Always a good night when I can give loved ones good news. How’s Ella? Tell her to stop in and visit the old gang. We miss her.”

“I’ll tell her.”

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