Power Play (Nashville Assassins: Next Generation Book 2) Read online

  She smiles innocently. “Good. What can I do for you?”

  “Her sister and my girlfriend, Posey Adler, is about to go back to surgery. Can we see her before that happens?”

  She keeps smiling as she types quickly, but when she looks up at me, she says, “No, she’s already being prepped to go back.”

  I lean in, grinning the grin that gets Posey to do what I want. “Can I just give her a quick kiss?”

  “No,” she says, and I glare. “Only one person at a time, and her mother is back there.”

  “Can we trade out?”

  “Sure,” she says, and I take Shelli’s phone out of her hand.

  “Hey!” she complains, but I ignore her, dialing Elli’s number.

  She answers right away. “Yes, honey?”

  “Elli, it’s Boon. Can you trade with me, please? I just want to give her a quick kiss, tell her I’m here.”

  I’m met with silence for a second. “Okay.”

  My heart skips a beat as I hang up, staring at the doors. When they open, Elli comes out with a tear-streaked face, her eyes dull, and her face full of trepidation. Seeing her guts me, but I don’t have time to dwell on that. “Room?”

  “Nine.”

  I move past her, basically running through the hall until I find Posey’s room. I push open the door, and nurses are moving everywhere. I walk to the bed, and my heart sinks. Posey is lying there, all hooked up, and when I see the tube in her mouth, I can’t control my fear. She looks so bad, and I feel helpless. Tears well in my eyes as I step to the side of the bed, taking her hand in mine. It’s so cold, and I try to warm it up as the tears start to fall down my face. I don’t even remember the last time I cried, but I’m basically sobbing as I kiss the back of her hand and then her palm.

  “Lovely, I’m here,” I say against her hand. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

  “Sir, we have to take her back.”

  I kiss her hand once more. “I love you so much.”

  “Sir?”

  “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

  She shakes her head. “You’ll need to speak to the doctor.”

  I kiss Posey’s hand again and stand as they start to roll the bed. I lean down, kissing her forehead. My whole body is aching. I want to trade places with her; I don’t want her to hurt. I walk as far as they let me, and when they wheel her away, I cover my face as a sob rips through my body. I have to be strong. I have to believe everything is fine, but I’m terrified. I love her so much, and I can’t even fathom life without her. I crouch down, taking in a calming breath, but it doesn’t calm me. I need to know what is going on. I need to know if she will be okay.

  “Sir, we need you to go back out to the waiting room. We’ll let you know her room number when she gets out of surgery.”

  I don’t even look at the nurse. I get up, taking in another deep breath as I wipe my face. I start for the door, and I feel numb. Surely this isn’t happening. But I can’t get the image out of my head. The tubes, how cold she was, how pale she was. I don’t even know what a thyroid is, but I hate hers. It’s an asshole. I push the button to open the doors and head out to find Shelli and Elli. What I don’t expect is to see Shea Adler there too.

  His blazing blue eyes fall on me, and I take in a deep breath because I know I am so dead. Elli stands as he does, pressing her hand into Shea’s chest, and his look is murderous. He pushes past her, and Shelli tries to stop him.

  “Daddy, this isn’t the time or the place.”

  “You did this to her!” he yells, his finger pointed at me, and I don’t know what to do.

  Do I run? But then I realize what he said. “I’m sorry? Isn’t this her thyroid’s fault?”

  Before I can even react, Shea Adler’s fist connects with my mouth. My head whips back, and I stagger back as he yells, “No, you piece of shit. You knocked her up.”

  “Shea! Are you kidding me?” Elli yells, pushing him back. But something isn’t clicking in my head. When I open my eyes, covering my mouth with my hand to catch the blood, Shea is being detained by hospital security, and I’m stunned. Did he just say what I think he did?

  Shelli comes to me, paper towels in her hands, and she holds one to my mouth. “Are you okay?”

  I push the towel away. “Wait, Posey’s pregnant?”

  Her lip wobbles, and she slowly shakes her head. “She was, but it was an ectopic pregnancy that ruptured. That’s why she lost so much blood.”

  My whole body goes numb, and there could be any number of reasons why I get light-headed. I did just get the shit knocked out of me by Shea Adler, and Posey has been pregnant and I didn’t even know. I doubt she knew either, and my heart, it aches.

  “Is she going to be okay?”

  She shrugs sadly. “I don’t know. She lost a lot of blood.”

  I close my eyes, crouching down once more, and I don’t try to hide my emotions. I let them all out, sobbing in the middle of the ER. If Julia could see me, she’d see that I’m not emotionally unavailable. Or maybe I was. For her. But for Posey, I feel every single emotion. All I want is to be there with her. I want to protect her. I want to love her.

  But I might not get that chance.

  Chapter Thirty

  Boon

  “Why are you still here?”

  I don’t look at Shea; I just sit there, taking deep breaths.

  “You aren’t welcome here.”

  “Shea, quit,” Elli warns. “He’s here for the same reason we are. For Posey.”

  “I won’t allow you to be with her. It’s your fault she’s in there,” he accuses, his voice low and dark. “She’ll listen to me. She’ll drop you.”

  “Dad, it takes two to have sex. Relax!” Shelli yells. “You’re making a fool of yourself.”

  He ignores his daughter, and I feel his hate-filled gaze on me. “If you cared even a bit about her, you’d have used a condom. You know you could have ruined her life, right? She doesn’t need a baby. She doesn’t need you.”

  “Shea, that is enough. Quit before I call security on you myself,” Elli warns as I close my eyes. I know anything I say will only make things worse. There is no point. So, I sit here. Waiting. “They are in a relationship.”

  “A relationship?” he laughs. “Posey doesn’t do relationships. She’s too smart.”

  “Apparently not, since not only has she been dating Boon for months now, but she also got knocked up,” Shelli says. And poor Aiden, he looks so uncomfortable. “You do realize you’re in a relationship, right?”

  “Shelli, I don’t need your commentary. I’m speaking to this jackass who thinks he has something going with my daughter.”

  “He doesn’t think, Shea. It’s true. They love each other,” Elli stresses, and he gawks at her. “I know that’s tough for you to hear, but our daughters are adults. They make their own choices, and Posey chose him. We have to support her choice.”

  “The fuck we do,” he sneers. “This guy is nothing. Not good enough for my daughter.”

  I press my lips together. I want to put him in his place, but he’s hurting. He’s scared—we all are. I know how much he loves his children, and if the roles were reversed, I’m sure I’d act the same way. I would be beside myself with fear. He’s loved her way longer than I have. And I’m not discounting my love, it’s huge, but I am strong enough to be patient with this man. Not only do I respect him, but I know how much he means to Posey. He’s not in his right mind. Nor am I. I’m too emotional, too hurt to be able to be respectful. So, I sit, and I take the abuse.

  “Look at him. He doesn’t even look the least bit affected. He doesn’t even care. He’s here to keep his fucking job.”

  That one stings. I do care. I’m just trying to breathe.

  “Shea, for real, man. He’s a good dude. He loves Posey,” Aiden says, and I appreciate my best friend.

  “A good dude would have come to me and told me he was dating and in love with my daughter! Instead, I find out when she’s lost so much blood from a