Page 5 of His Aries Heiress
Her nose scrunched up as she slowly opened her other eye. “Why are you calling me? I thought our business was done.”
“It is, but one of my contacts from United Hospital in Ellwood reached out. They let me know that your bio dad is in the hospital there, and it ain’t lookin’ so good.”
Cassydie tensed up as she let his words sink in. “Did they say anything else?”
“Nope. But how about this? You come spend a night with me, and I can do some more diggin?—”
Cassydie hung the phone up and blocked his number. The fool didn’t even know she was no longer in Philadelphia, and he definitely didn’t know when to take a hint. Whatever else she needed regarding finding her biological family, she would handle on her own.
The exhaustion she felt took a back seat to her anxiety as she started her car and tapped on her phone to pull up her GPS. Once United Hospital was selected as the route, she put her car in drive and took off.
Her thoughts swirled through her mind as she drove. This couldn’t be happening again. God had to be playing some sick joke on her. Her entire life was in shambles, and this man she had never met was the only thing holding her together. What if she was an only child with both her adopted family and her biological family? What if this Gregory person was the only family in the world that she had left?
Tears brimmed her eyes, but she forced herself to focus on driving in this new city. She could cry later.
When she pulled up to the hospital, she quickly parked and got out of the car. Once inside the hospital, reality set in. She didn’t know this man she was about to ask the receptionist about. All she had was a name. What if they needed more? What if?—
“Ma’am? Can I help you?”
Cassydie ’s eyes snapped to the receptionist, and she knew she probably looked crazy as hell. She had a tendency to create scenarios in her head and daydream heavily. Her thoughts tugged at her to play along as a coping mechanism. Daydreaming was easier because she could choose the narrative and self soothe. Reality was hard because it was unpredictable. She smiled tiredly and forced herself to stay in reality.
“Gregory Malone. Can you tell me what room he’s in?”
She tapped away on the keyboard before looking back up at Cassydie. For a second, she thought the receptionist was going to ask for more information or deny her the information altogether. Instead, she pointed a stiletto nail at the clipboard in front of her. “Sign in and write your name on a nametag. He’s in the ICU. Third floor, room 3106.”
Cassydie breathed a sigh of relief as she quickly signed in and scribbled on her nametag before taking off toward the elevators. It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed that she realized being inside this hospital triggered her. Fresh tears threatened to fall, but she blinked rapidly and breathed deeply. She wouldn’t allow her mind time to process how she felt. That would only lead to a panic attack, and she was on a mission.
When the elevator doors opened again, she stepped timidly down the hall. She realized she had been born there, and a wave of awe hit her. She couldn’t believe this was where she was born and not at the hospital in Philly her parents told her.
She ignored her chaotic thoughts as she looked at the numbers on the rooms. She felt discouraged when she noticed three big men standing outside the door she needed to go into. As badly as she wanted to turn away, the urge to meet Gregory was stronger.
When she was about ten steps from the door, another man walked out of the room. She stilled as she took him in. He loomed over the other men, and the vibe he gave off was much more dangerous. It came off him in waves. His caramel skin was littered with tattoos peeking from underneath his clothes, and his locs were neat and tied back out of his face.
“They say he needs some testing done—” His deep voice cut off as his brooding eyes found tear-filled ones. Her emotions ran high as hell at that moment, and she didn’t know what to expect beyond that door. “The fuck are you?”
She blinked as she processed his rude tone and the words he spewed at her. Her eyes narrowed, and any notion she had of crying a second ago disappeared. “Cassydie. The fuck are you?”
Though she felt in her spirit that speaking to that particular man in that manner wasn’t wise, she didn’t back down. Not even when he took a menacing step toward her.
“Fuck you just say to me?”
Her eyes darted nervously to the side before she looked back at him and decided she didn’t have the time or patience for this. She sighed heavily, and in a nicer tone, she said, “My name is Cassydie. I’m looking for Gregory. Gregory Malone . . . I think . . . I think I’m his daughter.”
An Aries man is often called difficult. Marcellus called it survival.
When Marcellus processedwhat Cassydie said, he burst out into laughter. He chuckled right in her face because it was a known fact that Grim didn’t have any kids. Well, a known fact to him, his homeboy, Ronny, and the council, anyway. Everyone else assumed Tato was Grim’s.
Grim’s bodyguards, Goldie, Zade, and Lil Rob, laughed with him. He peeped that the beauty in front of him seemed to shrink away from them. He liked that. Her fear intrigued him in a way most people didn’t. She looked so . . . pure. So untainted by the dark side, but he could tell she wasn’t naïve. She had beenthrough some shit, and a small voice deep inside him wanted to know her story.
He clenched his jaw when he realized the path his thoughts were on.
“Man, gone somewhere, shorty. Grim ain’t taking no visitors, especially not from someone claiming to be his kid while he’s on his death bed. You think that nigga dumb or somethin’?” His head cocked to the side as his muscled arms crossed in front of him.
He looked down at Cassydie, and he couldn’t lie, she was gorgeous, even though she looked down on hard times. He noticed she had thick silky hair, but the shit looked matted and like it needed to be washed. Her eyes held a sadness in them that immediately pissed him off for reasons he didn’t understand.
While he sized her up, he noticed her fiery gaze blazing a hole straight through his head. “Do you think I’m dumb?” she asked, mimicking his stance and crossing her arms over her chest.
Marcellus snapped out of his assessment of her and matched her gaze. He blinked slowly as he mugged her. “I’on know you, lil mama, but if you claimin’ to be Grim’s daughter, then I’m inclined to say yes.”
