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"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Six of one, half dozen of another. What matters is that good old Mummy and Daddy don't have to worry about you anymore.”
"I want to talk to them.”
"No can do, Vivian. You're just going to confuse them.”
"Confuse...?They're my parents! They need to know what the hell is going on.”
"They already do," Lucas replies, his eyes darting over to the two men. "They already know you're back home, safe and sound but traumatized from your experience. They already know how you resent them for putting you in this situation, how you think this business with Theo was their fault.”
I can feel the color drain from my face. "What did you say to them?" I hiss, my voice dropping an octave.
"I told them the truth: that you neither want nor need to talk to them.”
"You're a fucking liar." My fits are clenched at my sides, my jaw tense. "You know they’ll learn the truth eventually, right? You can't keep me here forever.”
"And I don't need to," Lucas replies. "If my bastard father weren't still busy clinging to his former glory, none of this shit would be necessary. But..." He throws his arms out. "You know what they say. You can't always get what you want.”
"And what then?" I hear myself ask, afraid of the answer even as the question leaves my mouth. "What happens after you take over the syndicate?”
"I said not to worry about it," Lucas replies, patting me on the shoulder and turning away. "It's just like I told your parents, Vivian: you're in good hands."
ChapterThirty-Seven
The guys
"Ihave to be honest with you, sir: you have no idea how lucky you are."
The doctor, a stern-looking, gray-haired woman, rolls her chair away from the exam room table, where Tristan is sitting, still half-doubled over, one hand on his side. His torso hurts like a son of a bitch, and the lights of the urgent care clinic are excruciating to his battered head, but he gives no indication of the pain he's in. They have enough problems between the three of them already; the last thing they need is for him to add one more.
"Will he live?" Liam quips, casting a glance at his friend. It's either try to lighten the mood or give himself over to his fear for Vivian’s safety.
"Now isn't the time for glibness, Mr. Walker," the doctor chastises. "Your friend is lucky to still be breathing. He's got two cracked ribs, a fractured orbital bone, and one hell of a concussion, but it could have been much worse.”
"She's right," Tristan says, his eyes fixed forward. "At the speed he was going, he could've killed me. He…" He catches himself before he can finish, because the words on his tongue—he could've killed Vivian, too—are too horrible to say out loud. That hurts more to think about than all his injuries combined.
He should have been more careful. He should have been more alert. And now the woman he loves is in danger.
"Take it easy, man," Liam tells him, his expression going serious. "Don't put that on yourself.”
The doctor glances from him to Tristan to Theo, who's leaning against the far wall and listening silently. "You'll need rest," she continues, her expression suspicious as she addresses Tristan. "No strenuous activity until those ribs are healed. A couple weeks for the head, too, or you're putting yourself at risk of another injury. Understood?”
Tristan nods but doesn't say anything. The woman might as well be speaking another language—his mind is on how quickly things went to shit at his late parents' safe house. As if his ex reappearing weren't bad enough…and that was before Lucas's men stormed the compound.
"He understands," Theo answers for him. "We'll make sure he rests.”
“See to it that he does," the doctor instructs. "A lot of bad things happening in the city these days. Bad actors all around. Stay safe out there.”
Liam clears his throat. "We'll try." He doesn't bother to add what they're all thinking:but no promises.
"I'm going to kill him," Tristan says as they stalk out of the hospital, making a beeline for the Range Rover that's waiting for them in the lot. "I'm going to put a bullet in that bastard's head.”
"You're in good company, believe me," Liam replies, "but you're missing a few steps between now and then.”
"He's right," Theo says as he approaches the driver's side door. Tristan makes a move for it, but Theo shoots him a warning look—he’s in no state to be driving anywhere right now—and the blue-eyed businessman retreats to the back seat. "Our priority is Vivian. If something happens to her, none of this other shit matters.”
Tristan's tone is cold and listless. "It already has, Theo. He's got her, and it's my fucking fault.”
"I'm telling you, you can't take that on," Liam says as he gets in the car. "It would've happened anyway, no matter who was behind the wheel. He… he outmaneuvered us, that's all.”
