Page 22 of Exposed
At the car, Wendy smiled at the sight of him as Jamison helped her into the backseat of Kace’s Benz. “Hi. You must be Kace.”
They had spoken on the phone. She looked nothing like he envisioned. He didn’t know why, but he had expected a frail-looking elderly woman. Maybe her weak health fooled his brain. She looked maybe ten years older than Kace’s forty-two. Life really didn’t care about age. Sometimes it just kicked you in the teeth.
“I am. You must be Wendy. It’s nice to meet you in person.”
A huge smile lit her face. She was beautiful. Almost ethereal. Lucas had definitely gotten his red hair from her, but her eyes were light green. “You too. I always loved Jamison. It’s good to see he found a wonderful man. As much as I would’ve loved to have him as a son-in-law, my son is a bit of a free spirit.” Her eyes flashed with humor as she made the claim.
A bark of laughter burst from Kace. She had no idea. “He’s young. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Jamison climbed behind the wheel after stashing Wendy’s walker in the trunk. “All right. Is everyone ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Wendy responded from the back seat. She sounded exactly like she tried to stay upbeat in the face of something awful. “I still can’t believe this happened. Have you seen him? Does he look terrible? That Ajax man was pretty vague about the situation.”
The doctor in Kace kicked in. “He’ll be okay. Craig Lock Memorial is the best private-care hospital around. He’s in great hands there.”
“I notice you didn’t answer my questions. It’s worse than Ajax let on, huh? I thought that man looked like a salesman. He’s probably worried I’ll sue this prince he works for.”
Kace bit back a laugh at the fire in her voice. No matter her health, she was obviously a fighter. “I haven’t seen him since he was hospitalized.”
“Oh.” She sounded exactly like a light bulb lit in her head. “Ajax said Lucas was treated by a doctor on the scene who saved his life. That was you.”
Kace hated lies. They compounded and bit people in the ass. “Yeah. That was me.” Damn. He was relieved as hell when they reached the hospital. The last thing Kace needed was an elaborate story he couldn’t keep up with.
Wendy was quiet on the way up to Lucas’ room. He practically felt the worry rolling off her in waves. There was no mistaking which room belonged to Lucas. A guard, wearing all blue with a royal seal on the shoulder of his jacket, stood outside the door. He barely spared them a glance before stepping aside.
Jamison lightly knocked and poked his head inside. “Hey, I’ve got your mom.”
Kace knew Jamison’s announcement was a warning, giving Lucas time to cover any sign of his actual injuries. He stepped inside immediately. Kace understood why as soon as they cleared the door. They had Lucas covered in heavy, heated blankets from chin to foot. Nothing could’ve told Kace more. Lucas had lost nearly all his blood. Even after infusions, he would have trouble regulating his body temperature for several reasons. There was no hiding how dire his situation actually was. Several machines had wires running beneath the covers along with a catheter and IV lines. He looked exactly like the trauma patient he was.
Wendy gasped at the sight of him. “Oh, my God.”
“Hey, Mom.” Lucas sounded awful.
As Wendy pushed her walker across the room, Ajax vacated the seat next to bed, offering it to her. She flashed him a smile before focusing on Lucas again. “Hey, baby. I knew you sounded weak on the phone, but I didn’t expect all this. You should’ve told me how bad things really are. What are the doctors saying?”
Lucas blinked like he was still out of his head. Likely, he was drugged to the heavens. Kace, being Kace, checked the IV bags. Yep. He had the good stuff.
Lucas’ hand slipped from beneath the covers. “It’s okay.” It sounded like it cost him everything to speak, much less stay awake.
She kissed his hand before squeezing it and hanging on tight. Wendy focused on Ajax. “Tell me what they’re saying. Don’t sugarcoat it.”
A kind smile touched Ajax’s lips. He was the general of the royal guard. That role took more than physical training. He was polished—expected not to embarrass royalty. “He’ll make a full recovery, but it’ll be a long one. Glass and metal sliced through his upper torso in several places, damaging internal organs. He lost a lot of blood. It’ll likely take months for him to be back on his feet.”
Wendy looked pale.
Kace couldn’t stop looking between every person in the room. Months was a long time to keep up this lie. It was obvious they understood that and gave the best story they could to explain his wounds.
“This sounds expensive. Not that I’m worried about the money as much as my son. I just know him. He’ll try to do too much too soon to keep us above water. Lucas never thinks about himself.”
Kace immediately focused on Lucas to check his reaction to his mother’s claim. He had already passed out again.
Ajax kept his heavily accented voice soothing. “Don’t worry about a thing. His Royal Highness will take care of everything. Lucas was working for him when he was hit. Prince Noir intends to ensure he rests, heals, and doesn’t stress while he recovers. Everything will be fine.”
“Mom.” Lucas was awake again, but barely.
She stroked his arm. “I’m right here, angel. What do you need?”
“I’m sorry I ruined Christmas.”
