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“We got news when they took part of Shane’s liver that he came through it easily. He’s still in recovery right now, though, and they will only let Harper back to see him, but everything seems to be good on his end. We haven’t had any news about Drake yet, though.” He pushed the elevator button, and it opened immediately.
“And Nevaeh? How is she holding up?”
He pressed his lips together for a moment before he blew out a heavy sigh. “I’ll have to let you determine that for yourself, man. She seems…off.”
Off? I didn’t know what the fuck that meant, but I kept my mouth shut as we rode up. When the elevator opened a few moments later, there were four more of Seller’s men standing at attention. One moved forward, asking for my ID.
Knowing the drill, I produced it and got a chin lift in acknowledgment when he realized who I was. One day, I was going to be this guy’s boss, but that day wasn’t this one.
Harris led me down a short corridor to a waiting room where two more security men were standing. Inside, the room was almost full to capacity yet eerily quiet, almost as if everyone was afraid to speak.
I scanned the room until I found Nevaeh. She was sitting with all three of her sisters, her little brother sitting on her lap. The two youngest sisters each had their heads on Nevaeh’s shoulders, while Arella clutched at one of her hands. None of them were crying, although there was proof they had done plenty of that from their swollen, red eyes and tear tracks down their cheeks.
I moved toward them. As I approached, the younger four all lifted their heads, giving me grim smiles, but Nevaeh didn’t move so much as an eyelash. Her gaze was trained straight ahead, her face completely devoid of…everything. There was no emotion, no signs of life in her eyes. If she hadn’t been breathing, I would have thought she was a beautiful mannequin.
“Braxton,” Lana stopped me before I could reach my kitten, with a chilled hand to my arm.
Seeing the tears that still filled her eyes and the lack of color in her face, I hugged her.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered when I pulled back. “Something is wrong with Nevaeh. All she’s done since she got here is sit there. Like she is now. She hasn’t moved. She hasn’t spoken, not one word. I don’t know if it’s shock or what, but this isn’t good for her. I can’t get her to drink anything or to eat.”
I glanced over Lana’s head. Nevaeh’s sisters were all whispering something to her, but she didn’t seem to hear them.
“Take her for a walk. She needs to cry or scream or hit something.” Lana grimaced. “She just needs to come back to us because I can’t breathe right now, thinking I might lose her on top of everything else…”
Hearing the hitch in her voice cracked my heart open, and I gave her another hug, promising I would take care of her daughter.
Crouching down in front of the five siblings, I gave Damien a tight smile. “Hey, little dude.” I bumped fists with the eight-year-old. “Maybe you can sit on Arella’s lap for a little while so I can take your sister for a walk?”
He nodded and jumped down. The movement didn’t even budge Nevaeh. She still sat there, staring at nothing, her eyes unblinking behind her glasses. Heavenleigh and Bliss shook their heads at me.
“It’s like she’s a statue,” Bliss murmured quietly. “She’s seriously starting to freak me out.”
I took both of Nevaeh’s hands in mine. Feeling how cold her fingers were, I started rubbing them. “Hey there, Kitten.”
She jerked at my special name for her. Her head moved, and she finally blinked, focusing on her surroundings. Shifting her gaze from left to right, she took in the room and all her relatives. Then she looked down at me, and heat filled those blue-gray depths.
“No,” she bit out between clenched teeth, and my heart dropped into my stomach. “I don’t want you here.”
It was my turn to jerk, her words like a physical blow directly to my solar plexus. When she tried to pull her hands from mine, I tightened my hold. “Kitten—”
“I said no!” she screamed and jumped to her feet, forcing her hands from mine. “Get the hell out of here. I don’t want to see your lying face. Not now, not ever.”
Everyone in the room seemed to move in around us, but they didn’t intervene. I stood, trying to reach for her, but she slapped my hands away as two huge tears fell from her eyes. Seeing her tears, I felt my own eyes begin to sting. “Baby, I’m so sorry you had to fly here on your own. If I’d known what was going on, I would have been with you, I swear.”
“I’m glad you weren’t with me,” she spat, pure venom in her words. “Why would I want a cheater like yo
u anywhere near me?”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, reaching for her again. “You’re out of it, Nev. Baby, you’re just in shock. Come here. Let me hold you.”
“Stay the hell away from me,” she raged. “Don’t touch me. Don’t even speak to me. Ever.”
She shoved me, and I was so surprised, I actually took a step back just as she moved away from me and ran toward the door. But before she could open it, a man in sweat-soaked scrubs and a surgical cap walked in. She stopped when he glanced around the room. Her eyes were huge and full of fear when she looked at him, as if she thought he was the grim reaper or something.
“Mrs. Stevenson?” the doctor called out, and Lana practically sprinted to him.
He took her hands in both of his and gave her a reassuring smile. “Everything went beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for a better surgery. He came through it with no complications. And as long as he remains stable, you can see him in about an hour.”
