Page 138 of Melt For Us, Daddy
“He tried to kill you.” Shifting her gaze to the right, she snarled at Braden. “Why the hell didn’t you take him to the hospital?”
“Holden suggested we bring him here, to Dr. Winters.” Braden raised a brow. “Apparently she has experience with this sort of thing.”
For the first time, Cordelia looked over at the woman who’d been silently standing by. “You must be Dr. Winters.”
“I am.” The doctor flashed a bright smile. “And you'll be happy to know there’s no sign of concussion and the x-ray showed no broken bones, no damage to his windpipe. I can write him a script for some low-grade pain meds, but mostly I’d just recommend icing the cheek down ten to twenty minutes at a time. But other than the bruising and the pain, he should be fine.”
“Thank god.” Again, relief flooded her, so overwhelming it nearly drove her to her knees. “Now, who’s going to tell me what the fuck happened?”
Jacob and Braden shared a look, and it didn’t take years of being a Domme to know they were trying to figure out who was going to bite the bullet and tell her.
Fine. She preferred to be the one calling the shots anyway.
“Dr. Winters, may we have the room?”
“Ah… sure. I should probably add here that I wouldn’t recommend Jacob engage in any impact play for a couple days. So depending on how this conversation goes, you may need to find an alternate form of discipline.”
The silence that enveloped the room was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. And for several long moments, all Cordelia could do was stare at the pretty doctor. “Excuse me?”
Mischief sparkled in Dr. Winters’ bright eyes. “You’re friends of Holden’s, and I recognized Braden’s name when he called about bringing Jacob in. I’ll apologize if I was off base, but I don’t think I was.”
“You… weren’t.”
“Then as I said. No impact play for at least forty-eight hours. Just to be on the safe side. I’ll go write Jacob that script for the pain meds and let you have your talk in private.”
Ponytail bouncing behind her, Dr. Winters strode from the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
“Um. Am I in trouble?”
Jacob’s soft, worried question pulled Cordelia’s attention back to him and she raised an eyebrow. “Should you be?”
“Well I didn’t think so, but now I’m not sure.”
“I suppose that depends on exactly what happened.” Now that her worry had mostly been appeased, the anger she’d shoved down was bubbling up again.
“It was my fault,” Braden said, raking a hand through his hair. “We were wrapping things up for the day and I let him wait for me outside. I figured with Holden’s men around, nothing bad would happen in the fifteen minutes or so he was going to be out there. But I should have been watching the cameras anyway. I’m so fucking sorry, Delia.”
She wanted to blame him. Wanted to weep and rage at the knowledge that Harlan Redding had gotten within a hundred feet of her boy.
But the fact was, this was exactly what they’d been hoping for. Why they’d dangled her baby out like bait, waiting for Harlan to bite. Even with all Holden’s promises that he’d be safe, she’d known in her gut how dangerous it was. And she’d agreed to it anyway.
So the guilt, the blame was all hers.
“I appreciate that, but it’s not your fault. I never should have let Holden use him as bait.” Cupping Jacob’s face again, she met those pale, trusting eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t keep you safe, baby. I’m so, so sorry I let him get close enough to hurt you.”
“It’s not your fault either, Cordelia. I wanted to do this, remember? And now it’s over. He’s in jail, and we’re going to make sure he stays there for the rest of his life.”
There was such conviction in his tone, she couldn’t help but grin even with the riot of emotions wreaking havoc inside her. “Fuck yeah, we are.”
A commotion in the hall interrupted their conversation. “I swear to god if you don’t let me in there right fucking now, I’m calling the cops!”
Braden’s eyebrows winged up toward his hairline. “I didn’t know Ivy’s voice could even get that loud.”
“That’s because she’s on her best behavior at the club.” Cordelia’s grin widened. “Usually.”
Glancing over at the door, Jacob smiled, then winced at the movement. “We should probably let her in before she tries to break the door down.”
The words had barely left his mouth before said door flew open and Ivy came barreling in, her eyes burning with determination. “Jacob! Oh my god, what did they do to you?”
