33 Will
I WAS FUCKING freaking out. An hour after I got home from work, Miranda hauled ass to the bathroom and threw up everything in her stomach. And I do mean everything. My sweet girl hadn’t left the bathroom floor in thirty minutes.
“Here, baby, some water?” I offered her.
She violently shook her head.
“Just a sip so you don’t get dehydrated.”
Again, she shook her head. “God, my stomach hurts. My skin feels like it’s on fire, and my head just might explode from the pressure behind my eyes.” Her head collapsed down on her knees.
“I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“No, it’s probably the flu. Oh, God…” She gripped the toilet bowl and hurled into it again. Nothing but stomach acid came this time, but the gagging sounds she made sent chills through my body.
Loud knocking suddenly burst from the front door. I didn’t want to leave Miranda, but the knocking continued.
“Get the door.” She waved me off. “Go…”
My feet didn’t move. Then I thought I heard my name. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” I hurried to the door and flung it open. “York! What the hell?”
“Oh, thank God.” He braced himself against the doorjamb. “When you didn’t answer, I worried you weren’t here.”
“Why areyouhere?”
“Can I come in?”
I looked down the hallway toward our bedroom. Miranda would want me to deal with him, so I let him in. “Sure. Make it quick.”
“Just give me a second to catch my breath. The last hour has been a nightmare.”
“What are you talking about? What happened? Another breach?” I whispered, leaning close to him.
“Simone’s in the hospital.” His beady eyes darted around the room. All the air left my lungs, an instant panic seizing them, but I couldn’t overreact. Fucking York never gave details unless asked. Every muscle in my body coiled as I narrowed my gaze at the silent asshole.
“What do you mean she’s in the hospital?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Same symptoms as before, like the flu but more severe this time. She collapsed at SJI. Axel saw it on the monitor and called an ambulance. He kind of lost his mind about it, worried she wasn’t breathing.”
“Is she okay?” I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to calm the growing fire inside me. “Why didn’t anybody call me?”
“Your mother didn’t want to worry you if it was nothing serious.”
“Nothing serious? She collapsed. She was unconscious! She’s my sister, you son of a bitch!”
“I understand, and that’s why I’m here now. After the doctors ran tests, they found traces of thallium in her system.” I looked at York, confused and with no idea what he was talking about. He rolled his eyes. “She was poisoned. It made her symptoms look like it was the flu or food poisoning. However, there were also traces of peanut found in her system too.”
“Shit!” My sister was deathly allergic to peanuts.
“They’re running tests on her, to find out what damage, if any, has been done from the thallium. Seemstheywere just trying to send a message, but we don’t know if the poison and the peanuts are linked.”
“Message?” I gripped the back of my neck, heart hammering in my chest.
“Your father received a text saying:I can get to your children.The chips will crumble if you don’t change.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Somebody threatened our lives, and nobody called me!” I whirled around to face the wall of windows in my living room, my breaths deep and painful as a fury ignited in me. “I should have been alerted. Warned!”
“That’s why I’m here to make sure you’re okay and to take you to see Simone.” His stoic tone grated on my nerves. How could the asshole act so calm when my sister had been poisoned and our lives had been threatened?