Page 29 of The Darkest Knight

“I can’t either, my baby girl. But we have to stay strong, for her sake, and ours.” Aunt Scarlett’s voice is firm, but her hand strokes my hair like she’s soothing a child. “Listen to me. You said you’re working on an important deal. You’ve been here all night. You need to go home and sleep for a few hours before work tomorrow.”

I stiffen. “No. I’m not leaving her.”

“This is important, right? This deal? You told me your boss is counting on you.”

I pull back, wiping my face with trembling hands. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters but this.”

“It does matter.” She looks at me, her eyes soft but unwavering. “Go home. Sleep. Get through the day, and then come back. I promise you—I’m not going anywhere. I’ll call you if anything changes. You know I will.”

I stare at her, torn. The thought of leaving Mom—leaving her here like this—makes my stomach churn. But Aunt Scarlett is right. I can’t fall apart now. I have a job to do and unfortunately this is a big deal. Talk about timing.

I nod slowly, my voice barely above a whisper. “Okay. Just a few hours. But you call me.”

“I will,” she says, squeezing my hands. “Now go.”

But on my way out, I stop in the hospital lobby and fall apart. I start sobbing again. Harder this time, the floodgates open and my tears pour out. I can’t seem to pull myself together.

The florist from the kiosk—a petite woman with gray curls and kind eyes—comes around the counter when she sees me. We’ve spoken a lot in recent months because her vibrant floral displays always caught my eye, even though I couldn’t buy my mom fresh flowers. Before this awful disease, Mom would always buy flowers whenever she got paid. Just a small bunch to brighten up the room.

“Cari?” The florist rests a gentle hand on my arm. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

I shake my head, my words spilling out through the tears. “It’s my mom. She has an infection, and I—”

Her arms wrap me like a blanket, her warmth so unexpected that it nearly breaks me all over again. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispers. “She’s strong, and so are you.”

I pull back, sniffling, and she hands me a fresh bouquet. The flowers are bright and fragrant—lilies and daisies, Mom’s favorites. “These are for you, something little to lift your mood. Have faith, Cari. Faith can move mountains. Just don’t give up, okay?”

Her words stick with me as I clutch the flowers to my chest and step out into the cold morning air.

Faith.

I just wish it felt like I had any left.

Chapter 15

JETT

The call I’ve been waiting for doesn’t come.

That’s not good. If everything was on track, I’d have heard from him by now. We even joked about celebrating with the most expensive meal and a bottle of something vintage the second this was signed and sealed.

Silence isn’t a good sign.

My phone rings, slicing through the uneasy quiet. It’s him. I grab it, my pulse spiking.

“Jett.” The Vanhelm CEO’s voice is clipped. “We have a problem.”

My gut drops. “What problem?”

“The required regulatory addendum was unsigned and not submitted by the deadline. The deal is on hold.”

On hold.

Those two words smack down on me like a guillotine. I grip the phone tighter. “I’ll fix this.”

“You’d better,” he snaps. “This is … embarrassing, to say the least. We’re highly selective about the people we partner with, and right now, this makes you look sloppy.”

Sloppy.

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