Page 18 of A Billionaire Rebel

She agreed, and we parted ways, her back to Hawk and me out to my car. It wasn’t a long drive to Holden Enterprises, and the closer I got, the more the drive was automatic, and the less I had to think about it. I felt like I was in a daze, as if nothing about the world was real or clear, and the haze was definitely preferable to the pain lurking beneath.

Only two cars were in the parking lot when I arrived. One was Dad’s, and the other was Davin’s, and both were expected. I doubted either of them ever left before seven or eight o’clock at night. I didn’t bother to go to Dad’s office.

I loved my father, but the last thing I wanted right now was a lecture on whatever sin Dad would think was responsible for my friend’s death. Maybe he’d actually be decent about it, but I wasn’t in the mood to play the odds.

Davin was behind his desk when I knocked on his door, but as soon as he saw it was me, he stopped whatever he was working on and came around his desk to meet me.

“I’m sorry to hear about Bair.” He gave me one of those half-hugs that he used sparingly. “How are the others doing?”

I sat down on the couch, surprised when Davin took the seat next to me instead of at his desk like he usually did on the rare occasions I’d come here to talk to him. It shouldn’t have surprised me, though. He may have been a workaholic, but he genuinely cared about us.

“Hawk is going to be fine,” I said. “Some cracked ribs. Lots of bruises and scrapes. He has a pretty bad concussion, so they want to keep an eye on him a little longer, but he might be able to go home tomorrow.”

“And Otis? Does his family need anything?”

One of the things that made Davin so good at his job was his ability to remember names and facts about people. He wasn’t always the most charming person, and his naturally serious demeanor didn’t generally ingratiate people, but he always managed to make people feel like they were individually important.

“He’ll be okay,” I said, “but recovery’s going to be a bitch. He’ll probably be in the hospital for a few weeks and who knows how long he’ll need help after that. His ex-wife is up here right now, but I don’t know how long she’ll be here.”

“If there’s anything I can do –Holden Enterprisesorme personally – don’t hesitate to ask.” Davin stood up and picked up a flower arrangement I hadn’t noticed when I’d first come in. “I don’t want to forget to give you these.”

“You bought me flowers? They’re, um, lovely.”

He set them in front of me. “No, asshat.” He gestured to the card. “This afternoon, I was getting out at the lobby when this short brunette almost bowled me over. She had the flowers for you. Said something about you buying a guitar from her?”

The brunette from the music store. Her image flashed into my mind. I’d liked the way she’d handled herself, but that didn’t explain why she’d brought flowers to my brother here.

“I asked her why she came here,” he continued. “She said she didn’t want to disturb you guys at the hospital and figured I’d make sure you got them.”

I took the card and opened it, more than a little curious to see what she’d written.We are so sorry for your loss.Starla’s Music. P.S.If you ever need a quiet place or the comfort of music, you’re always welcome. Jae.

Jae. It suited her, I decided. The personal offer at the end was nice. If she’d come to the hospital and made a big deal out of being there to ‘comfort’ the surviving members of Holden, I might’ve thought she was coming on to me in an attempt to take advantage of the situation. Besides the circumstances, my gut said she wasn’t that sort of person.

“Do you think she’s trying to pursue you?”

The fact that Davin was thinking along the same lines as I was spoke volumes about how cautious we’d always had to be about the people we let into our lives.

“I don’t. She was perfectly professional when we met.”

“But you think she’s attractive?” He sounded more curious than anything else.

“I’m not blind,” I said dryly.

“Have you heard from Deklin?” He changed the subject. “Dad said he’s back in Vegas for some reason.”

“He texted me this morning after the news went public,” I said. “He asked if I wanted him to come home, but I told him it wasn’t necessary. There wasn’t anything he could do.”

Davin got up and went to his desk. He opened the bottom drawer and drew out a glass decanter and two glasses. After pouring a bit of rich amber liquid into each, he returned to the couch and gave me one of the glasses.

“Don’t tell Dad.”

I gave a smile that probably looked more like a grimace and then drained the glass in a single drink. It burned and warmed all the way down. The chill I’d had since getting Kalini’s call eased a bit.

“Does this mean you’re going to be staying home for a while?”

Shit.

“I hadn’t even thought about it, honestly,” I said. “Not really. I mean, my head knows that this is going to have serious repercussions, but the rest of me can’t handle trying to figure it all out. Not when I’m still trying to wrap my head around what happened.”

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