Page 63 of At His Beck & Call

James looks at me, eyes flashing a warning.

It’s pure madness to enrage him like this, to goad him when I have no means of defending myself. Oliver won’t always be here. James knows where to find me if he wants to teach me a lesson.

But I’m so fucking tired. In that moment, I’ve never felt so exhausted. I want to be with my son without fear, without pain. I just need to be there for Henry. Nothing else matters.

“No,” I say firmly, keeping my eyes on James’s hateful gaze. “I don’t want him here.”

James’s eyes narrow as he scoffs in my face. He steps forward as if he wants to back me up against the wall again, but stops when Oliver takes a menacing step forward.

James laughs at me, shaking his head. “Oh, wow. Little Miss Brave now, aren’t we?” he whispers. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers,” James murmurs, so quietly I can barely hear him. “And they’ll make sure I get my son, and you won’t ever be able to keep him from me again.”

Then he stalks past Oliver, knocking into his huge shoulder for good measure.

Oliver doesn’t move even an inch from the impact, his eyes dark and dangerous as he tracks James until he’s out of sight.

Chapter 22

Lissa

For a long time, neither of us moves. Oliver stares at the doorway where James has just disappeared, his shoulders stiff, back taut.

I fiddle with the zipper on my bag, biting my lip as I try to gather my thoughts, breathing through my nose with long, steady breaths to calm my racing heartbeat.

“We’re separated,” I blurt out, as Oliver slowly looks back at me, a stunned expression on his face.

No one should look that beautiful beneath the stark hospital lighting, but I can’t stop staring at him. There’s a very light jagged scar on his jaw that I’ve never noticed before, and I wonder how it got there.

“I—” I begin, desperately wanting to explain what he just walked in on, but then my heart lurches as I hear Henry’s voice calling in distress.

Shutting my mouth, I look up at Oliver apologetically and hurry past him out into the hallway and down toward the children’s ward.

Oliver must think I’m absolute trash to be doing this job when I have a child and a husband.

“Hey, baby, it’s okay,” I say quickly, rushing through the door of Henry’s room and over to his bed. My chest aches painfully when I see the beginnings of tears on his cheeks. I shouldn’t have left him alone—but he was resting comfortably, and I really needed some sugary coffee.

It’s been an overwhelming few hours, what with packing for the hospital, traveling here with all our bags weighing us down on the bus, and Dr. Erkhart’s visit to explain what the next few days will entail.

It’s obvious that Henry has hit his boiling point and he’s panicking. I sit on the bed, leaning over him, kissing him gently. He smells like antiseptic and chemicals, and all I want to do is lift him from this bed and take him home.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, mommy just needed some coffee. You alright now?”

Henry is shivering, the tears welling in his eyes as he sniffs, trying to get himself under control. I’ve rarely seen him like this, and it breaks my heart.

I clutch him tightly, wishing that our circumstances were different. If I didn’t have to work, I could be with him throughout his recovery, but I just can’t afford to take a whole week off.

“W—where were you?” he asks, looking up at me plaintively. “Is Dad here?”

I go still. Henry’s wide blue eyes are like a stormy sea as I hold my breath.

“No, sweetie, but I’m sure he’ll come see you soon, okay?”

“Who is that?” Henry asks, and I twist around in the bed, looking at the doorway, where Oliver is standing. It feels like two worlds colliding as Henry’s eyes bug out of his head as he looks Oliver over.

I have no idea what to do. My head is screaming at me to ask Oliver to leave. He might frighten Henry and make this even more difficult, but my heart is oddly grateful that he’s here.

An impractical part of me wants Oliver to meet Henry, to see a part of my real life that isn’t curated by the four walls of his office.

“Oh,” I say, uncertain how to explain who he is. “That’s Mr. Heath. He’s Mommy’s boss. You remember I started a new job, sweetie?” Henry nods. “Well, Mr. Heath happened to be in the hospital, and we ran into each other.”