Page 74 of Heart of Stone (Dark Billionaires)

It was called a Felhunter, apparently, and she was enjoying it a good deal more than her previous pet-slash-minion—which was a scantily-clad woman that made her roll her eyes every time she summoned it.

Kate was three bars away from level forty when Mattie finally logged on.

Kate: Lol, what time do you call this? How’s your mum getting on being back at home?

Mattie: Promise you won’t call my phone.

Kate: …I promise? Why?

Mattie: I need your help.

Kate: Has your mum had another seizure?!

Mattie: My dad’s just got back from his latest cruise, but he’s trying to kick me and Mum out of the house.

Kate: I’m sorry,what?

Mattie: He clearly didn’t expect my mum to be home, but he’s going ballistic, Kate. He says because he owns the house that she’s got no right to live here. He’s already on the phone to the council saying he’s making her homeless. And he says I’ve got to go with her.

Kate stared at the screen, her jaw hanging open, but before she could reply, another message came in from Mattie.

Mattie: He’s smashing my models up, Kate.

Kate: I’ll be there as soon as I can, Mattie. I swear.

Slamming her laptop screen down harder than she’d intended, Kate leapt up. Her socks skidded across the tiled floor. She took the stairs two at a time, rushing towards Brax’s office—

Only to quite literally run into the giant man himself on the landing. She stumbled back, precariously close to falling backwards down the stairs, but Brax grabbed her arm and tugged her back to earth.

“We need to get down to Andover. Mattie’s dad’s throwing Mattie and his mum out of the house.”

Brax scrubbed a hand over his head. “I was just coming to get you. Warren’s started seizing, Kate. It’s not gastritis. We need to get to the hospitalnow.”

When they arrived at the hospital, the wheels hadn’t even stopped turning before Kate vaulted out of the SUV, ignoring Brax’s voice. “Wait! For Christ’s sake, Kate.”

Kate ignored him, turning to open Sarah’s car door. “Here,” she smiled, taking Leo from her lap and offering her an arm. Six weeks out from her diagnosis, Sarah was steadier than Kate had expected—particularly when it came to leaving little Leo behind.

Andover had been unpleasant; an ugly, in-depth look into the breakdown of a marriage.

Half of Mattie and Sarah’s possessions had been strewn across their front garden when Brax and Kate had screeched to a halt outside their house, but Sarah was fighting tooth and nail to keep Leo.

“You don’t even want him!” Sarah was hissing at Andy when they walked in. “You just don’t want me to have him.”

Whatever retort Andy had been about to make had died at the prospect of an audience. Kate had an idea that his silence was more due to Brax’s presence than it was hers, but she wasn’t going to complain. The second SUV had pulled up a minute later, and Brax had wasted no time in ordering the two guards about in packing up the bulk of Mattie and Sarah’s possessions.

Then there was nothing else to do but tell Sarah and Mattie about Warren’s seizures.

Kate hoped she’d done the right thing in choosing to go help Warren’s mother and brother first. Brax’s phone had remained piercingly quiet throughout the journey to Andover and back, but that was a good thing.

She hoped.

If he was dead, they would have called. There would have been nothing else for the medical team to do. Brax had said Alison had already made her way there, and she would have contacted them had the worst happened.

So there must be no news yet. Surely.

Silent bargaining had lasted her this long, however. Her nerves were sky-high when they entered the hospital, with one of Brax’s guards staying in the car to look after Leo. It was only twenty degrees Celsius, but even Kate—who had never had a dog—wasn’t ignorant enough to suggest leaving Leo alone in the car. She’d seen enough videos on the internet of people smashing open car windows to rescue overheated dogs.

Complete with the owner returning half an hour later protesting that they had only been ‘gone for a minute.’

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