Page 130 of Heartless Game

Sighing, she went to the corner of the room where there was a wheelchair.

“C’mon, little brother. Your ride awaits.”

* * *

The wheelchair ridedown the hallway would have been disconcerting, if I’d had any attention to spare. My father’s people treated me with a newfound respect, calling me “sir” and telling me how glad they were to see me. And when I had time, there were business things to?—

“Not now,” I growled, Dr. Dimples forgotten. My sister chuckled as she wheeled me past various doors in the family hospital.

Finally, we reached a set of locked doors, guarded by one of my father’s men.

“Mr. Silver, sir,” he startled when he saw us.

“Let us through,” I told him.

“But she’s in surgery?—”

“It’s okay, Ari. You can let us through,” Liza interrupted, and with a look of utter loyalty on his face, he swiped his card, unlocking the doors for us.

Down another hallway, and we reached the operating room. I tried to stand, looking through the glass. Tovah was barely discernible on the operating table, surrounded by The Doctor and other surgeons and nurses as they worked on her. Heart in my throat, I watched, praying to any deity that existed, bargaining—no, begging—that they save her. I’d give up anything, to have her sass me. To see that bright-colored hair and that bold smile. To smell lemon and sugar again.

But as the hours ticked by, and the doctors continued to work, my hope began to dwindle, and darkness hung over me like a permanent cloud. And through it all, a voice whispered in my head:This is your fault, Isaac Silver. You knew better. You knew that loving you was signing a death warrant, but you were so selfish, you let her, anyway.

“I can’t live without her,” I told my sister in a choked voice.

She placed a hand on my shoulder. “I know, Isaac.”

“No, you don’t understand. I will burn this world down to get her back. I will make a deal with the devil himself.”

“We don’t believe in the devil,” she reminded me gently.

“I’ll do it anyway.”

The physical pain from my healing wound, my exhaustion—none of it compared to my fear of losing her, the weight that pressed down on me and made it hard to breathe. A life without her was unacceptable. I’d told her once that god himself couldn’t keep her from me, and I meant it. I’d find her and drag her back, kicking and screaming—and if I couldn’t, I’d go wherever she went.

“I don’t like the look in your eyes,” Liza murmured.

“You shouldn’t,” I admitted.

Because if Tovah died, my heart would die with her—for good.

At that moment, The Doctor glanced up, and our eyes met.

And he lifted his hand…

…and gave me a thumbs up, and the only smile I’d ever seen on his face.

And thank fucking god, suddenly, I could breathe again. I was still in charge of this goddamned family. I had to deal with a life I’d never wanted, earlier than planned. I’d have to figure out breaking off this fucking engagement and figure out how to keep Tovah safe—even if it meant not having her with me. But none of it mattered right now.

Because she was still breathing. As long as she breathed, the rest of this shit was just annoying details.

56

Tovah

Something beeped. My head pounded in time with the incessant sound.

Where was I?

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