Page 61 of Owen

“I shouldn’t have brought her here. This is all my fault,” Jade cries again.

Before I get the chance to reassure her, Cobra has pulled her off the floor, wrapping his arms around her.

“Well, you wanted to bring her. And this is where we’re at,” he says matter-of-factly.

What the fuck?

“Jade,” I say sternly, concerned about Mari, but wanting to reassure her. And punch Cobra in the nuts.

She breaks free from his hold, pushing herself out of his arms.

“None of this is your fault,” I tell her as she sits back down on the floor next to her mom, holding her other hand. “It was an accident, Jade. She could have fallen anywhere.”

She wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “But she’s been dizzy and I should have made sure she went to the doctor sooner.”

“And now we’ll find out why she’s been having those spells. She’s going to be just fine.”

“She is?” She sniffles.

“She is, Jade. I promise.” I feign positivity, trusting Mari has a slight fracture and needs some stitches and nothing more.

Within ten minutes, the paramedics arrive and they confirm Mari needs to be taken to hospital.

Jade climbs into the ambulance to accompany Mari, and as soon as they leave, I jump into Jade’s jeep to follow them. It pisses me off when Cobra hops into the passenger seat, but I bite my tongue.

My backside numb, I wiggle in my seat as we’ve been sitting in the waiting room for hours. I rest my hand on Jade’s thigh and give it a reassuring squeeze.

“How long do you think they’ll be now?” Jade asks hopefully as she ends her call with Gregor and Blake, who have been taking care of Poppy tonight. She was clearly unsettled by earlier events, and they’ve only just got her to sleep. What I wouldn’t give right now just to cuddle that little pudding in forthe night. I slept like a log yesterday on the sofa when she napped on my chest, and we had a little snuggle together.

“Shouldn’t be much longer.” I sigh heavily, eager to find out how Mari is doing. I’ve grown incredibly fond of Jade’s mom.

We’ve been waiting for over three hours as it’s been a busy evening at the hospital, causing us to have to wait longer to get the results of Mari’s X-rays.

The doctors confirmed that Mari needed sutures to close the deep wound on her forehead, reassuring us they would carry out further tests to understand her dizzy spells, too.

Jade yawns, tipping her head to the side to rest it on my shoulder, and I thread my fingers into hers.

“I’m thirsty.” She squeezes my hand.

I kiss the top of her head. “There’s a coffee station down the corridor. Let me get you something.” I stand and stretch out my stiff legs to get the circulation flowing again.

“Would you like anything, Cobra?” I inwardly scoff at his stupid fucking name. I wish I knew his real one.

“A coffee. Black. No sugar.” He’s firm with his order.

“Please?” I say as if he were a child. His manners are appalling.

He stares me down while Jade shakes her head at me subtly, as if to say,Not now. So I let it slide. For her.

Before I fetch our drinks, I lean down and kiss Jade on the lips, and just as I thought, Cobra watches our whole interaction, his dark stormy eyes wild enough to sink a ship.

She’s mine, asshole.

Hands off.

It’s taking longer than expected because the filtered coffee machine had to be refilled. Holding three polystyrene cups teetering on top of the other, being careful not to burn my hands, I navigate myself through the winding hospital corridors back to our seats.

I round the last corner, only to find Cobra cupping Jade’s face in his hands as she tries to pull away.

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