Page 57 of Believing in a Billionaire
Grant tightened his jaw, shaking his head. “Don’t.”
“She should know. This involves her.”
She didn’t know what they were arguing about, but she didn’t like it. She gripped the bedrail, her knuckles whitening. “What is going on?”
Grant slid his eyes closed as he shook his head. “We have some trouble on the horizon.”
Julia’s already sore stomach turned over at the words. What had happened since she’d fallen asleep that had led to this argument?
CHAPTER 13
GRANT
The constant beep of the heart monitor brought both a measure of comfort and pain. Grant stared at the screen, counting the seconds before the next spike appeared. A sickening deja vu feeling swept over him as memories of sitting at Julia’s bedside after the nearly fatal car accident taunted him.
He refused to leave her side then, and he wouldn’t do it now. Not after what he’d witnessed or what they’d learned.
Images of Julia’s seizure replayed in Grant’s mind, a haunting loop that squeezed his heart with fear and helplessness. The raw memory of watching her body tremble uncontrollably, paired with the stark fear of losing her, underscored the fragility of the moments they shared.
It ripped his heart in two again. He reached for her hand, needing to feel its warmth, to remind himself that she was still with them.
Her seizure had been almost as frightening as when he’d watched her flatline after the accident. Kyle had handled both situations well, his top-notch medical training kicking in to help Julia when she needed it most.
Despite the difficult relationship with his son, the man had become a valuable member of the family.
“You okay, Daddy?” Sierra asked from next to him, slipping a hand onto his shoulder.
“Yeah, baby, I’m okay. I’ll be better when she wakes up.”
On the opposite side of the bed, Alicia rubbed her sister’s hand. He almost felt sorry for the woman, though their intense dislike for each other made the situation tense.
He preferred her to leave, but he didn’t want to bar her from her sister. Especially after the news they’d received about Julia’s condition.
Her toxicology report had come back showing she’d been poisoned by arsenic. Kyle’s suspicions about her illness had been correct. It hadn’t been a bad bug, it had been deliberate.
He tightened his fingers around her hand, certain Lydia had orchestrated it. Of all the trouble she’d caused so far, this hit him the hardest. They could have lost Julia.
“Why don’t you get some rest? Go home for a while?” Alicia suggested. “I’ll stay with her.”
Grant flicked his tired eyes up to her, his irritation building. “I’m fine.”
“I’ll call the minute she wakes up,” Alicia answered. “I promise.”
“With what? News of a restraining order?” he asked as he pressed his finger into his stinging eyes.
Alicia tugged her lips into a grimace. “Okay, I guess I deserved that.”
“You deserve a lot more than that,” Sierra said, her tone biting.
“I’m not leaving,” Grant grumbled, his voice showing his tiredness.
“Okay, fine. I just…thought you may want to get some rest, clean up a bit. Your phone’s been ringing a lot, maybe handle some business.” Alicia shrugged as she rubbed her thumb against Julia’s cheek.
“Nothing is more important than Julia,” he answered.
“Mmm, uh-huh,” Alicia said with a bob of her head, her eyes never leaving her sister. “That’s why she was threatened…again, and then poisoned. And no one knew because you were too busy spending all your time at the office.”
“Okay, that’s it,” Grant said as he climbed to his feet. “If you’re going to keep this up, I want you to leave.”
