Who would do this? I knew something had to be coming, but a sneak attack? Even I didn’t expect that.
* * *
“You’ll be fine.”Dr. Lauren peels off her gloves before tossing them in a wastebasket. Despite her warm assurance, she looks downright pissed. “It looks like you have a slight concussion. I’m going to give you something for the pain. Other than that, it’s nothing but a shallow laceration. You’ll have to be careful for a couple of days while your scalp is tender.”
“Thank you.” I’m on a gurney, the bright examination light glaring down at me. She’s kind enough to adjust it, swinging it to the side, so I don’t have to squint anymore.
“I’m sorry, Delilah. I’m sorry this happened to you.” Aspen insisted on staying, and now she’s standing by my side, her arms folded, her eyes blazing with rage.
It’s still hard to believe she cares, but I guess she must. I’m lucky she found me. For all I know, whoever hurt me saw her coming and ran off. They might have kept hitting me if it hadn’t been for that. I could be dead right now.
I don’t want to think about it.
The doors burst open and in rushes Quinton. He immediately gathers Aspen into his arms like she’s some piece of precious porcelain.
“Are you all right?” he murmurs, holding her tight to his chest. I was only slightly nauseated before. Now? I’m a kiss on the forehead away from puking.
“I’m fine. Nothing happened to me.” She even looks slightly annoyed, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
Quinton didn’t come by himself either. Lucas storms in on his heels—and his rage only flares up when he sets his eyes on Aspen.
“What the hell were you two doing together, and why the hell are you here?” he demands, glaring at her. At least he sounds sober. I guess that’s a good sign. Then again, what do I know? I have a concussion.
“I found her in the hallway. I didn’t do anything wrong.” She tips her head to the side, looking back and forth between the two men. “What’s this all about? Why are you acting like this? Like I have something to be afraid of.”
Instead of answering, Lucas turns his attention my way. “Who did this to you? What happened?”
I can’t come out and tell him what I was doing, not with everybody else on top of us. “I was out in the hallway, and somebody hit me from behind. I didn’t even hear them coming, and I never saw them.”
Before anybody can ask her, Aspen pipes up. “Like I told her, I heard somebody running away, but I never saw them.”
“She might have saved my life.” To think, she was the one who saved me. Life has a funny way of playing tricks on people.
If there’s one thing I’ve come to expect from Lucas, it’s the unexpected. By now, nothing he does or says should surprise me. But when he whirls on Q and takes him by the shoulders, I gasp along with Lauren and Aspen.
“Why the fuck would you let Ren do this to her? Are you out of your mind? What about what we discussed?”
Quinton shoves him away. “It wasn’t Ren. My father hasn’t given the order yet, so I know he had nothing to do with it.”
“Wait a second.” I hold up a hand, whispering since my head might split open if I try to speak any louder. “What are you talking about? What order?”
“Yeah. I would like to know, as well.” Aspen’s hands land on her hips. “What do you two know that we don’t?”
The two of them wear identical expressions of guilt. “Let me explain,” Q begins, reaching for Aspen like he wants to gather her in his arms before she runs away.
She slips out of his grasp. “No. That’s not how this is going to go. What aren’t you telling me? What order are you talking about? What is your father doing this time?”
He grits his teeth, flushing like he’s either furious or embarrassed. She must really have his nuts in a vise.
“You know it’s not simple with him. He got it in his head that he wanted to make Delilah pay for what happened. She’s a loose end, and he wants her gone.” The coward. He won’t even look at me when he says it. “I don’t know what he wants to do. He won’t tell me. I only know he hasn’t made up his mind yet. So this wasn’t him.”
All I can do is stare at Lucas, open-mouthed. “And you knew.” I don’t have it in me to scream the way I want to, the way I am inside my already aching head.
On the other hand, Aspen isn’t the one with a splitting headache.
“You knew something like this could happen, and you would let her die and not do anything about it! How could you?” She backs away from both of them. “How could either of you?”
“You know it isn’t that simple, dammit,” Q growls.