Page 30 of Her Dark Melody
“How’sRomy?”
“Stable, which is the best we can wish for at this moment. But she lost almost half her blood volume, Beau…if she wakes up, I don’t know if she suffered a brain injury due to lack of oxygen and then that spinal injury could mean any number ofthings—”
“Woah, woah, woah…” Beau held his hands up. “One thing at a time. Romy’s stable, Blue. Concentrate on that. No signs ofinfection?”
Blue sighed. “Thankfully, no. Notyet.”
“I think that’s a good sign considering where her injurieswere.”
Blue closed his eyes, the image of Romy’s torn belly flashing into his mind again, making vomit rise up in his throat. “Who does that to a woman,Beau?”
Beau, who had suffered his own trauma years before when his wife Dinah had been shot, shook his head. “I’ll never understand it, Blue, and I hope I never will.” He studied his successor. “Blue…the Board reached out to me. Asked me to step in as interim head while Romy recovers. I told them I wouldn’t do anything behind yourback.”
Blue sat down heavily. “I appreciate your loyalty, but the Board is right. I cannot run this hospital while I wait for my wife to…God, Beau, she might die. She actually mightdie,and if that happens, I don’t even know how toexist.”
And his friend had no words to comfort him or even hopeful lies to offer about recoverypossibilities.
Ebony was scared.Atlas, removed from the initial shock of his brother’s murder, was a raging automaton, wanting to have sex endlessly, setting up nonstop meetings with record companies, drinking heavily and trying everything in his power to not deal with Mateo’sdeath.
Between them, Ebony, Stanley, Bella and a distraught Molly tried to help Fino through the worst of it, but he was almost catatonic with grief. Atlas could barely look his nephew in the eyes. He applied to the courts for temporary custody and was awarded it, but after that, he stayed away from theboy.
Guilt. He feels guilty, Ebony told herself, but it broke her heart to see this family torn apart. So much hurt. She was glad she could offer Atlas some comfort, but sex felt like revenge rather than lovemaking. The way he touched her now…it was fucking, not making love, and Ebony’s body ached from the constant physical demands on it. Atlas would take her in the drawing room, only disengaging seconds before someone else would enter the room, leaving Ebony flushed andembarrassed.
She had no idea what to do. Sex seemed like it was the only thing keeping him from going insane, but at this rate, Atlas was heading for acrash.
And then there was her own child, growing in her belly. A month. Just one month since that night in that New Orleans sex club, and her child was still making her sick at the most inconvenient times, but every day she felt a bond growing with him or her. She’d wondered once, but now there was no longer any question that she wanted thischild.
She was still thinking about it when Atlas came to find her. He seemed calmer today, less eager to just fuck her, and when he saw her rubbing her belly, he smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days, albeit one so weary and griefstricken that it made her heart break. He put his hand over hers. “I can see by the expression on your face…you’ve made adecision.”
Ebony nodded. “I have…and I totally understand if you don’t want to be involved. I can’t ask you for that, however much I want to be with you. I can’t get rid ofher.”
“Her?”
“Just afeeling.”
“Baby,” Atlas bent his head to kiss her, “as far as I’m concerned, a father is someone who raises a child, not just someone who shares his DNA. If you would let me, I’d like to try and be a father to the littleone.”
Ebony felt a surge of warmth but cautioned herself. Atlas wasn’t in the best frame of mind to make such life-changing decisions. “Atlas, first, we need to try and look afterFino.”
Atlas looked away from her, but she turned his head back to face her. “It’s not your fault. Mateo wasn’t killed because of you. He was killed by amadman.”
“Who thought he was killingme.”
“We don’t know that for sure.” Ebony sighed. “That being said, the man who actually shot Mateo is in custody. If he rolls on Carson Franks, we’ve got him. Your security team did what it was supposed to do, baby, they got theshooter.”
“But how the fuck did he get in in the firstplace?”
“Well, that’s something your head of security has been looking into.” She leaned against him, speaking gently. “Atlas, we need to arrange thefuneral.”
“Jesus.”
His arms went around her, and she could feel his body trembling. She looked up at him, his green eyes troubled and full of bottomless grief. “I love you,” she whispered and knew it to be thetruth.
Atlas tried to smile. “If you only knew how much I have fallen in love with you, Ebony Verlaine. I could not get through this without you.” He kissed her gently. “I want to look after you, care for you, and the littleone.”
“AndFino.”
He nodded. “Of course, Fino. I know I’ve been disconnected and I cannot thank you and Molly and Juno enough. I’ll be better, Iswear.”
