Page 64 of When It Rains He Pours

Chapter Sixteen

Liam

Tearing off the hospitalgown, I grabbed my clothes from the bag under the bed. Pulling them out, the scent of burnt wood and smoke hit my face. Coughing lightly, I ignored the smell and put them on anyway.

I wasn't about to stay one second longer if Jacob was involved in this. I had questions and I needed answers.

“Mr. Barnes, what are you doing? We haven't discharged you yet, the doctor wants you to stay for observations, and we still need to address the seriousness of the burns on your hands.”

“I need to go.” My voice came out short and gruff as I threw my shirt over my head.

“But Dr. Conner wants to keep an eye on your lung function. You have interior burns to your esophagus and you might need surgery on your hands. Those are third degree burns, this is really serious, you can't leave just yet.”

“You can't keep me here, I'm leaving.”

“Mr. Barnes—”

“I can't stay, have Dr. Conner call me, I'll set up a time to come see him.” Jamming my feet into my shoes, I stuffed my wallet and phone into my back pocket.

The nurse stood in the doorway, not sure exactly what to do about me. I could see it in her eyes that she felt annoyed I wasn't complying with what the doctor wanted. I just didn't give a shit.

I was fine. I was alive. The rest of my body would heal with time, I wasn't on the verge of death. But what Glory said and with the seriousness on her face, it was enough for me to question what my brother was truly capable of.

Damn it! I hope he didn't do this.

It was a feigned plea in my mind. I wanted to believe that he didn't have this type of evil inside him.

But if she was right, if my brother was the person who burned down her building, then I wanted to know why. He was going to have to answer to me before anyone else knew what he had done and I lost my chance to hear it from him myself.

Walking towards the exit, she stayed in the center of the doorway as if she was going to block me from leaving. Stopping, I cocked my head and softened my expression. Holding out my arms, I took another step forward.

“I'm not trying to be difficult, but if you don't let me by, I'll just move you myself.”

Folding her arms over her chest, she stepped to the side and let me through. I wasn't even at the elevator yet before I heard the speakers overhead crackle on.

“Dr. Conner, please dial three four four, Dr. Conner three four four.”

I need to get the hell out of here.

Getting off the elevator, I walked through the front entrance and texted my driver. I told him I'd be walking down Dalton Drive and to come grab me.

Hanging around at the hospital wasn't an option. The nurse wasn't waiting for me to leave before calling doctor, so I wasn't waiting around for him to find me.

It wasn't long before the black car pulled to my side and stopped. Hopping in the passenger seat, I said, “Thanks, Fred.”

“No problem, but why are you walking? I would have picked you up out front of the hospital.”

“I haven't exactly been sent home, but I can't stay there, I need to find Jacob.”

The car started forward, merging into traffic. “I talked to him this morning, he's down at the site checking the damage.”

“The site?”

“Yeah, the one you two bought, he said he was going to see how much money the fire saved him.”

Taking in a deep breath, my nostrils flared. “Looks like you know where to bring me then.”

I didn't say another word the entire ride. My head was a fucking mess, the rage was slowly killing me, and every muscle in my body was about to explode.

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