Page 33 of Crossed By the Stars
“He was my employee. My responsibility. You were all my responsibility,” Rana said, and the pain in her voice was evident. She’d fucked up, and she knew it.
Jada sat up suddenly, but it caused her to list sideways. She had to grab the bed rail to steady herself. I was up, catching her before I could stop myself, heart hammering harder. She hadn’t even stood. She’d barely raised herself into a sitting position and couldn’t even handle that. Worry coasted through me.
“Listen to me, Rana,” Jada said, voice slurring, and I wasn’t sure if it was from pain, the drugs in her IV, or the inner ear injuries. “There was nothing you could have done. I should have sent everyone packing. Nothing ever stops my father’s minions. Nothing. They would have found their way through an army standing at my door. This is on me, not you.”
God, they were both wrong and both right. I hated it. But one thing was certain: someone on Rana’s team had to have let them into the apartment. The only entrance to the penthouse was from the hallway unless they entered from the balcony or the roof. Those should have been covered as well, but I hadn’t seen the security plan to know if that was the case. I didn’t trust any of them, and Jada shouldn’t either.
“I’m turning your contract over to Cillian and the folks at Reinard Security,” Rana told Jada.
Jada was furious. “You’re just going to walk away? Walk out on me?”
“If we want to catch the bastards, I have to follow the leads. I can’t do that and protect you!” Rana snapped, frustration leaking into every word.
“Fine, but I can find my own replacement for your services. I don’t need youhanding me offto anyone,” Jada tossed back, and then she gagged, hand to her mouth.
I scrambled for the tray on the bedside table, barely getting it under her as Jada threw up, bile and liquid with nothing else. Pain scored her face as her chest heaved. When she was done, I helped her lie back down, running a hand over her forehead, trying to miss the scratches and scrapes. She closed her eyes, breath coming fast, monitors tripping out loudly.
“This is the exact opposite of rest,mon bijou,” I said gently.
“Don’t patronize me,” Jada said, eyes opening up, anger flashing through them, but I knew they weren’t at me. They were at her father, and the situation, and at having someone else in her life walk away.
An orderly walked in, a large man with tattoos up his arms. “Ready for your X-ray?” he asked cheerfully.
“You’re not taking her anywhere without an escort,” I bit out.
His smile slipped. I looked out the door to the two officers and the handful of professional security that were lined around like a football team waiting to kick off. They were all more qualified than me to handle anything that might come at us if theKyodainawere to try again, but I couldn’t leave her side. I couldn’t watch her be wheeled down the corridor without me.
I stepped outside the room long enough for the orderly to get the bed ready and to speak with Rana who joined me.
“You can’t leave her like this,” I said quietly.
“Not only did I fail in a very brutal way, Mr. Armaud, but the only way to make up for it is to follow the leads while they’re hot. Until I can figure out who or what failed Jada, the best thing to do is to replace me and my team.”
“She needs someone she trusts.”
“She shouldn’t trust me.”
I hated that it was an echo of my own thoughts. Rana’s face tightened, and she turned to Cillian. “I’ll call your boss, set up the transfer.”
Cillian’s eyes narrowed as if he wasn’t sure what to make of it, but he just nodded. Rana stormed off down the hall with Nyra following just as Jada was brought out. It probably looked ridiculous, the trail of people who followed her bed, but it was as small of a detail as I was willing to have at the moment.
The elevator was crowded with the group of us, the silence tense, and I knew it wasn’t going to help Jada rest. I flicked the latch on my watch, the noise loud in the quiet space. Plans whirled in my brain. I was determined to protect her. Give her the time to heal that she needed. Keep her safe. I couldn’t do it in the city with her father’s people running around. But I knew just where to take her. The most difficult part was going to be convincing Jada to go.
Jada
BEAUTIFUL WRECK
“Black, black, black roses
Are lying inside my hands and it's so bizarre
It's an old, old, old story
There's no harmony, no, without the harm.”
Performed byMØ
Written by Fogelmark / Nedler / Orsted / Bhattacharya / Love
