Page 60 of Breaking All The Rules

“Regina called me before she brought her in for the interview. We discussed the struggle that she’s had with finding a personal assistant for Luis. She was worried that it would take weeks, if not months, before she could find someone qualified to replace Kate. Moving her to Luis’s department solved one problem but left her another. We agreed that if she felt like Lucy would be a good fit, she should go ahead and offer her the position. Obviously, we didn’t need to check in with you since you had recommended her.”

“Can I confess something?” She shifted in her seat, making sure she was still facing the doors to the emergency room.

“Sure,” I said.

“I hate the idea that Kate is still going to be working there.”

I sighed and pushed the air out forcefully.

“Yeah, me too. But it’s not like we can fire her. She would immediately turn on us and come back with a wrongful termination lawsuit.”

“How can she? New York is an At-Will state.”

“You don’t think she’ll use the recent sexual harassment claim as proof that she was terminated as a means of retaliation?”

Eva paused for a moment and then shook her head.

“You’re right. They would probably rule in her favor, too.”

“Trust me, I hate it just as much as you do. But unless we had proof that she wasn’t performing her job or violated one of the rules in the employee handbook, our hands are tied.”

“You’re right,” she muttered as we saw Gabi heading back.

“Where’s Jackson?” Gabi asked, sitting down beside Eva.

“He’s with Mom and Dad. They had just got home when everything happened. Lance took off and left Jackson crying for him in the front yard without looking back. If only he knew what a real monster his dad was,” Eva said, her hands starting to shake.

“Have you started a police report yet?” I asked, interrupting. My blood was boiling as my anger raged through me.

“I don’t know if my parents have or not. I came in the ambulance with Lucy.”

“I’ll check in with Mom and see if they’ve had a chance to,” Gabi offered, pulling her phone out of her back pocket.

“What’s Lance’s last name?” My voice was harder than usual, and the strain of getting the words out was evident.

“Why?” Eva asked at the same time her sister blurted out, “Conner.”

“Thank you,” I said with a warm smile as I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I was already dialing the number that I needed when I looked up and found Eva watching me. “Be sure to get some food in you and drink some water. I’ll be back soon.” I nodded to Eva as I turned and walked away, the phone pressed to my ear.

“Nate—I need a favor.”

Twenty-Nine

Eva

It was after midnight when I checked my phone again, looking to see if I had a text message from Ethan. I had no idea where he went or what he was doing, but something told me that I wasn’t going to like it when I found out. The monitors beeped steadily next to me as they confirmed that they were still working to keep my baby sister alive.

Lucy had been moved to the ICU and had yet to wake up. Her injuries were severe, with internal bleeding that required surgery. Her face was shades of blue and purple as the bruises started to set, along with the stitches across her cheek from where he split it open. My fingers were achy from holding her hand for so long in an awkward position, but I couldn’t find the strength to let go.

My parents had found someone to watch Jackson as he slept, completely unaware that anything had happened. For now, he thought that his momma was working another graveyard shift at the hospital instead of worrying about how she was fighting for her life after his daddy tried to kill her. He was too little to have to worry about any of that, and we were determined to keep him from finding out if he didn’t have to.

Brittany had been by my side while we were in the waiting room, but after Lucy was moved to the ICU, only one person was allowed to be with her. Even that was an exception the staff made for us, given how well they knew Lucy. I begged my family to go home and get some sleep, promising them that we wouldall take turns being with her until she woke up. There was no way that I was leaving her, and they all knew that.

My eyes felt heavy, desperate for sleep in the quiet, dark room. The margaritas had worn off the second I heard she was in trouble, but the after-effects were lingering pretty heavily. My body was sore and achy as I shifted my position in the uncomfortable chair beside her bed.

I was watching TV with the sound off when I heard my phone vibrate on the table next to me. I quickly slid my hand out of Lucy’s and grabbed it before it could wake her up, which was silly, given how hard I was praying for her to wake up. I slid my finger across the screen to unlock it, relieved to find a text message from Ethan.

Ethan: Sorry, I got tied up. How’s Lucy?

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