Page 168 of Heartless
The loss of his touch almost made me stumble.“All right.”
His eyes roamed my face for long seconds.“Get some rest, and I’ll see you on Thursday.”
“What’s on Thursday?”
His gaze softened.“I’m taking you to work.”
That must have been one of the things he’d said.“Oh.Okay.”
He pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head.Then, he was gone.
****
Jake
Driving back to the office after my meeting, I called Sile.
“Brother, what’s new?”
“When’s your flight to Italy?”
“Tuesday.Sienna hasn’t taken you back?”
I knuckled the wheel.She’d changed the rules of fucking everything, and she wasn’t even playing.“I’m working on it.Beer tonight?”
“You got it.Any news on the motherfucker?”
I stopped at the traffic light.“He’s taking his fucking time to die.”
“Cockroaches usually do,” he said before our call ended.
My cell vibrated.Kelly was calling, and tension gripped the back of my neck.“Sienna?”
“She’s fine.Just thought you might want to know we’re at Dr.Hailsham’s office.”
My gut caved in.Her next checkup was months away.“Is she sick?Why is she there?”
“She had an appointment with him, and she asked me to drive her.I texted you the address.”
“I’m on my way.”
Driving fast, I made the trip in half the time and parked in the full parking lot in front of the low-rise building.Past the sliding doors, I followed the sign to the office where I clocked Kelly seated in the deserted waiting room with a magazine flipped open in her lap.
The woman behind the reception counter smiled.“Good afternoon, Sir.Do you have an appoint—?”
I kept walking toward Kel, who got to her feet.“She got in ten minutes ago.I’ll be outside.”
“I’ll take her home.Thanks, Kel.”
On a quick nod, Kelly stepped out.The receptionist rounded her desk and waddled toward me with one hand on her pregnant belly and the other clenched around her cell.Staying a few feet from me, she adopted the careful tone of someone watching a non-patient pace in her reception area.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“I’m here for Sienna.”
Her shoulders sagged, and she nodded.“She won’t be long.”
I took position by the wall facing the door of the office and drove my hands in my pockets.She wanted someone who’d take care of her heart.What if her heart—?
