Page 70 of Devoured By You

“Just get well. That’s your only job for the foreseeable future.”

He couldn’t have said anything worse, and still I kept that fake smile in place.

“Sure thing.”

I waited until they’d all filed out, then my eyes snapped to Nolen. “Talk.”

“Blay, are you sure you want to—?”

“I want to hear everything.” I didn’t shift my gaze from Nolen. “Everything. Don’t fucking treat me like an invalid. This is still my fucking business, and I want to know how badly fucked it is.”

Disbelief stirred in his eyes. I flattened my lips.

“I know you think I’m in some sort of denial, and who the fuck knows? Maybe I am. But right now, my focus is Kingcaid Cruises. All I remember is visiting Scarlett to smooth things over after I ignored her latest attempt to make me jump through hoops to satisfy her demands. I almost walked away when her assistant didn’t answer the door, but I heard something that made me use my access card to gain entry. The next thing I remember was a white-hot pain in my shoulder, and then my leg went from underneath me. After that, it’s all hazy or nonexistent. Is Scarlett okay? What about her assistant?”

“Scarlett is fine. A little shaken up but unharmed.” Nolen pulled up a chair and sat. “Her assistant has a concussion, but she’ll be fine, too.” He chewed the inside of his cheek, and my mouth went dry. He had bad news to impart. I fucking sensed it.

“But?” I coaxed.

“The guy who shot you also shot a security guard and two passengers as he made his escape. One passenger survived, but the other one and the guard didn’t make it.”

“Fuck.” I let my head fall against the pillows, staring at the ceiling. People were dead. Dead. I’d expected bad news, but this was a disaster. The business would never recover from an incident where people lost their lives. It was over. Everything I’d worked for. Gone. The medics had saved my life, only for me to face a new nightmare. A worse nightmare.

But my nightmare was nothing compared to those families’. A cry of agony crawled into my throat. I swallowed it down. I didn’t deserve to eject the poison. I deserved to let it eat me from the inside.

“It was the badge scanners, wasn’t it? That’s how he got on board. That’s why they went down that day?”

Nolen nodded. “The man behind it all is Scarlett’s ex-husband.”

My eyes flew wide. “What?”

“She stopped paying alimony, so he decided to take what he thought she owed him. He blackmailed a member of our IT team who took down the scanners and helped the guy Jeremy hired to carry out the robbery get on board without passing through security.”

“Jesus Christ.” I swept a hand over my face. “This is bad, Nolen.”

“I won’t lie. It isn’t great. But if anyone can smooth it over, it’s Dad.”

Dad. Right. Not me. Not with my missing leg and busted shoulder stuck in this godforsaken hospital for fuck knew how long. Not me, who’d fucked up so badly that two people were in the morgue rather than safely tucked up in their beds.

Jill hadn’t said a word the entire time. I turned to her now, faking a yawn. I needed them both to go. When I fell apart, I didn’t want witnesses trying to placate me when I deserved to feel everything. “I’m tired. Think I’ll get some shut-eye. It’s a lot to take in.”

Her soft eyes bathed me in affection. I felt only numbness combined with a dark cloud that closed in, pulling me under. I barely acknowledged her lips touching my cheek or the slight pressure she applied to my hand as she stood.

“I’ll be right outside.”

I forced a nod, but a smile was beyond my capabilities. Nolen put his hand on her lower back and eased her outside. The door closed, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I craved the space and time to process the horrific events.

This was all my fault. I’d ruined my business, disappointed my father, lost my leg. But worse than all those things was that I had blood on my hands. Families were grieving because of me. I’d never forgive myself.

And Jill… what use was I to her now? A cripple who couldn’t pick her up and carry her to bed, who couldn’t step in to protect her. We barely knew each other. She hadn’t signed up for this. The kindest thing would be to let her go.

Except I couldn’t.

And that might be my biggest sin of all.

Chapter 26

Blaize