Page 131 of Power
SCARLETT
I followed Blake down a long hallway as he continued to prepare me for what I was about to see.
“He’s in intensive care, being closely monitored for complications, including blood clots, brain hypoxia, or excessive bleeding. He’s been intubated, due to the swelling and damage his neck sustained, so he won’t be able to talk to you when he wakes up. But hopefully, we’ll be able to remove the intubation soon.”
I nodded, feeling like each of my steps was weighted down with terror.
“His brothers have already seen him; we don’t allow a lot of people in here, so they went to the cafeteria to give you some time, but I’m afraid you can’t stay with him too long. They want to come right back.”
My eyes stung. It was selfish, wanting to be the one to stay with him. Because the thought of leaving him ripped my heart out of my chest.
Blake suddenly stopped and turned to face me. “You ready?”
No. “Yes.”
He motioned toward an intensive care unit room, where Jace’s lifeless body lay on a white bed, covered with a white sheet up to his chest. His arms lay above the crisp linen, taped up withan IV, his neck wrapped in some kind of thick bandage. Even after being warned, it was still jarring to see the tube coming out of his mouth. A soft hissing sound pushed air into his lungs, pausing and then repeating.
I guided myself to his bed and placed my hand in his.
“His skin is cold,” I said. “And so white.”
“I’ll give you some privacy,” Blake said.
And then he left me alone with him.
Jace Lockwood. The powerful billionaire tycoon was reduced to this fragile, ghostly pale version of a human being. His designer suit had been traded in for an ordinary hospital gown with faded blue dots, one that every other mortal had to wear. All the businesses he could buy with a phone call, all the people whose lives he could change with a signature, and his was hanging by a thread because of something as mundane as blood.
And as complicated as betrayal.
I knew that no matter how this turned out, in the coming weeks and months, I would replay my every move and wonder if I should have done something differently. If I had told him who had harassed me sooner, if I had told him how Marcus had followed me home that day, might this have been prevented? Or maybe I shouldn’t have told Jace at all. When he came into my office, I could tell he already knew, but I had confirmed it. Which pushed Jace into an all-encompassing rage.
Rationally, I knew Marcus was responsible for this. Yet I couldn’t help the thought from invading:What if this was my fault?
My throat swelled, my eyes blurry with tears.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I leaned down and brought his hand to my lips, kissing his skin. He didn’t smell like Jace. He smelled like medical disinfectant, and his skin felt clammy against my mouth.
“Blake warned me that you might never regain consciousness,” I said, wiping a fresh stream of tears from my cheek. “But here’s the thing. You have to wake up. Because I can’t wake uptomorrow in a world where you don’t exist. I can’t take a single ride on my horse without remembering you riding next to me. I can’t stand in the meadow without thinking about you kissing my skin. I can’t look at a glass table and not think of you.” I smirked. “You’re everywhere, Jace. You’re in office buildings that have your name on them. You’re in legal contracts that require signatures. You’re in the beats of my heart. So, you can’tnotwake up. Okay?”
I watched his face for any kind of reaction, but there was nothing. His eyelids remained closed, the hiss of the ventilator mocking me with its cruel rhythm.
“You have to wake up,” I repeated.
I squeezed his hand, my heart thundering in desperate panic.
“You have to wake up because you are the person that made me feel powerful. You’re the person that made me realize that romance isn’t about power. When we give our hearts to each other, we’re both vulnerable, no matter how much money we have, no matter how many businesses we may own. You handed me your heart, and I’m giving you mine. All you have to do is open your eyes and take it.”
But he didn’t move. His eyelids did not flutter. His fingers did not flicker.
Blake had said that if he didn’t regain consciousness soon, that was a bad sign. Sometimes, someone’s organs could be deprived of oxygen for so long that even if they replaced it, even if they stopped the bleeding, the damage could be irreversible.
My whole life, I had fought against feeling vulnerable. I’d run from love, convinced it was nothing but a weapon men could use to break me. I’d built walls, established rules, and kept my heart locked away where no one could reach it.
I sank to my knees, bringing his limp hand to my forehead.
“Please,” I whispered to the universe. “Please don’t take him from me.”
