“Stay here,” he growled.
With a few steps, he marched over to the woman behind the counter. “Cancel the rest of my appointments for the day.”
Raine gasped. “Don’t do that. Please.”
He ignored her. “Call Dr. Martin and tell him I’ve had something come up. See if he’ll take my emergencies. I’m off call.”
“Right away, Dr. Beckman,” the woman said primly, then looked at Raine with unabashed interest.
Her eyes were probably still red. Her nose, too. She didn’t have on a shred of makeup. Her wardrobe was only suited to a couch potato in football season. And she was holding a brown paper bag that couldn’t be mistaken for anything except a bottle of booze. Horrifically embarrassed, Raine looked away.
“What would you like me to do about that consultation with the Mayo Clinic? It’s in less than five minutes,” the manager reminded. “You’ve already rescheduled on them twice.”
Raine could see Beck biting back a curse. Then he stormed back to her. “Listen to me. On the first floor of the adjoining building, there’s a cafeteria. Wait there. Give me fifteen minutes. You came to me because you need something, clearly. I’ll help you.” His stare sharpened as he grabbed her arm again. “Don’t. Leave. Or you’ll be sorry.”
“Don’t call them now,” Raine blurted. She didn’t know why—maybe everything was catching up to her or reality was setting in—but she teared up. “They’ll come, and I’m not ready to see them.”
“I promise. Just do as I say.”
She thought about disobeying, about going back to her hotel room, downing her bottle, and…who knew what then. But she’d already disrupted his day, brought her problems to his office, and prompted him to change all his plans. He’d promised not to call Liam and Hammer in the next few minutes. She owed it to Beck to stay.
“All right. I haven’t eaten all day anyway.”
He nodded and released her. “Get something in your stomach. Fifteen minutes, princess.”
Raine nodded, then left his office, feeling the stares of a dozen patients on her.
It didn’t take long to find the cafeteria. They were nearly ready to shut down breakfast to begin preparing lunch. She must have looked pitiful because one of the workers sent her a glance full of sympathy and let her grab a few prepackaged foods before they locked up the counters, leaving the seating area open, with its silent but animated televisions flashing and the chairs empty.
Ignoring the beginning of a talk show, Raine reached into her wallet for cash. Damn it, she’d spent it all on her bottle. She hesitated. She couldn’t put everything back after the woman had bent the rules for her.
With a sigh, she handed over her credit card. Maybe the guys wouldn’t be tracking her movements. For all she knew, Liam and Hammer didn’t care that she was gone. Despite his pretty speech, Liam had washed his hands of her. And Hammer…who knew? She hadn’t seen much of him since Thanksgiving.
The woman swiped quickly and sent Raine on her way with a receipt. Setting her purse and the bottle on the table, she plopped into the chair with a cola and a breakfast pastry—and stared at them. She could have cooked something more appetizing at Shadows. Normally, she would enjoy feeding Liam something hot and wonderful. She always made extras for Hammer and left it in the oven. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t supposed to, but he’d starve or eat junk otherwise. If she was already in the kitchen, how could it hurt to cook a little extra for someone who needed it? Of course, Liam would have prodded her to eat the something warm and healthy, too. Now?
Raine usually loved sweet things. The Pop-Tarts just depressed her.
What was she doing here? Where was she going? She had no damn clue.
Fighting back more tears, Raine pulled her phone from her bag and gripped it. She fought the urge to turn it on, call Liam, beg him… God, what good would that do? He’d just wanted to know if she loved him, and she’d been too afraid to make herself vulnerable to him.
She had to pick up, move on, grow up, figure it out. And she would. Raine didn’t know where to start yet, but it wouldn’t be with a teary conversation that would make Liam feel guilty enough to take her back only to have the entire cycle repeat again. Until she changed, that’s precisely what would happen.
Dread snaked through Liam as he stared at the envelope Hammer had put into his hands. “What’s this?”
“A visual of what daddy dearest is capable of.”
With his guts in knots, Liam ripped into the envelope, yanked out the photographs inside, and got his first glimpse.
Oh god. Oh Raine. My poor wee lass. His chest buckled.
The photo was of Raine—much younger, but it was still his Raine. Her innocent face was swollen, colored in a rainbow of unnatural hues: black, blue, purple with shades of yellow and green. Her eyes were closed and so puffy, Liam wondered if she’d been able to open them. The lips he’d kissed so many times were split and caked with blood.