Lonnie nodded at the men, who nodded back and allowed them to enter. The rest of their security team remained outside the waiting room to prevent any unauthorized visitors.
“Have you heard anything?” Ben asked as they rushed over to where Will, Liam, and Theo were seated in various states of distress.
They all had disheveled hair from running their hands through it far too many times. Theo’s leg bounced rapidly wherehe was seated. Liam was tapping some sort of nervous beat on his leg that would occasionally end with him clenching his fists before starting again. Will paced endlessly.
“Nothing.” Will said, stepping over to the waiting room door and peering out as if he could get answers.
“What happened?” Claire muttered.
“He collapsed,” Ben said again.
“But why? Did he have a heart attack? A stroke?”
Theo shook his head and scrubbed his face with his hands. “He was overly exhausted. I told him he needed to see Celine about getting some sleeping pills. He hasn’t been sleeping.”
All heads swiveled his way.
“What do you mean?” Liam asked.
“Jake hasn’t been well. He’s exhausted and running himself ragged. I think he finally contacted Celine this morning.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Will asked.
“I didn’t want to break his confidence. My plan was to come to you if he didn’t talk to Celine soon.”
Claire’s chest clenched. Jake hadn’t been sleeping, and she knew some of their late nights were partially her fault. Maybe if she had insisted he get some rest rather than meeting him to talk, it would have been better.
Was all this her fault?
“How did I not see it?” Ben mumbled.
They all knew the answer to that. Ben didn’t see it because he had been preoccupied with Claire.
“This is all my fault,” she murmured.
“Why is it your fault?”
She hadn’t expected Ben to overhear her. All eyes were on her now, and when she met Theo’s, she knew she was right. Theo was who Jake had confided in.
“I showed up and threw all of you off.”
“Does Jake know?” Ben asked. “About…” Ben gestured at Claire.
The room remained silent. The only other person in the room who knew was Lonnie. Claire’s eyes found him, and he gave her a nod, as if to say he was there for her.
“I told him last night,” she whispered.
Ben scrubbed his face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I planned to. It just hadn’t happened yet. I’m sorry, Ben.”
Ben leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath before leaning over to Claire and hugging her lightly.
“We’ll figure this out. I promise. But right now, let’s focus on getting Jake healthy again.”
“Thank you,” Claire said.
The guys’ eyes were on them, curiosity burning. Claire knew it was only a matter of time before they all heard about it, and she would rather it be from her.
