Page 173 of The Broken Keys

“I don’t trust addiction.” He juts his chin out. “And neither should you.”

I release a long breath and gesture toward the living room. “How did you end up bringing her home?”

“I was leaving the office and saw her sitting outside by the flowerbed. She took a couple of pills while we were talking.”

“She told me she was gonna order a ride service.” I lean against the island, some of the fight draining out of me.

“She was about to when I approached her. She explained she had a splitting headache, and she’d been dealing with it all day.”

“She’s been dealing with them since the accident.”

“Then get the doctors to order an MRI so they can figure out what’s causing them.”

“It’s called trauma, Jaxon. Fucking hell, where have you been for the last month?”

Something like guilt floats through his eyes.

He places his computer down and bypasses my sarcastic question. “I offered her a ride. That’s when she took more pills. Right in front of me. Two of them with barely any water.”

My stomach drops. “Do you know how many she had already taken?”

“I don’t know, but she told me to give her brain twenty minutes for the ‘little magical workers’ to hit.” He shakes his head. “By the time we got here, she could barely stand. I had to help her up the stairs.”

“Fuck.” I scrub my hands over my face. “I should’ve been there.”

“Yes, you should have.” Jaxon’s tone isn’t accusatory anymore, just tired. “She’s been angry with me all day. Shekept saying she didn’t understand why, but that was after the medication kicked in.”

“What do you mean, she’s been upset with you?” I meet his gaze. “What happened?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. She just came at me about my work in Malaysia.”

“Malaysia?” I narrow my eyes. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“That’s where I went.”

“I’m not following.”

“When we broke up, that’s where I was.” He lowers his head.

It hits me. She’s angry with him about leaving her but can’t connect the dots. Her headaches are part of her broken heart. I sit with that for a few beats.

Footsteps from the stairs filter into the room. We both turn as Livianna appears, her hair mussed and eyes still glazed from the medication. She’s wearing one of my T-shirts and her movements are slow.

“Callum?” Her voice is soft and sleepy.

“Hey, vixen.” I rush to her immediately, catching her elbow when she sways. “You okay?”

“Mmm hmm.” She leans into me, her hand finding my chest. “I’m good now that you’re home.”

“That’s nice to hear.” I wrap my arm around her waist and press a kiss to her temple. “How are you feeling?”

“Floaty.” She turns her head and seems to notice Jaxon for the first time. Her expression shifts, cooling several degrees. “You’re still here.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Jaxon stays where he is, not approaching.

“Thank you for that.” Livianna’s words are polite but clipped. “But you should’ve left once I was in bed.”

Jaxon’s face turns red. “I was concerned?—”