Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(4)

Now the tears began falling. Who would stab a child? Who could be that monstrous? Roxie had seen some evil things in her years in the medical profession, but she was still in disbelief when she saw something this horrendous. She nodded. There was no way she’d be able to get words out at this point. She was hurting far too badly.

“I want to tell you, first of all, that your niece is in stable condition. Barring any complications, she should make a full recovery.”

It took a moment for the doctor’s words to sink in. Roxie hadn’t been expecting any good news on this dreadful night. Maybe she’d been misreading the situation. Maybe it was just a traumatic accident, and no one would die. There was a glimmer of hope inside her. Lily was okay. Her niece was going to be okay. She knew complications could happen, but Roxie would monitor Lily like a hawk. She looked at the doctor with renewed energy.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Gilbert, your sister and her premature baby haven’t made it. We tried all we could, but the injuries were too great, and they succumbed a couple of hours ago,” he told her.

Once again it took a few moments to process his words. Her sister was gone. Murdered. Someone had stolen her sister’s life. Roxie’s body trembled, and she rocked back and forth on her heels as she absorbed the impact of the situation. Pamela was gone.

She’d suffered at the hands of some criminal, and now she was gone. If Roxie had been there, then maybe she could have helped; maybe none of this would be happening now. She was too trained to ask silly questions. The doctors could tell her that her sister hadn’t suffered, but she wouldn’t believe them. Roxie wanted to scream, to demand answers, to get the person who had done this. Her emotions were fried, and she felt herself spiraling.

“Ms. Gilbert, your niece needs you right now,” the doctor said, his voice gentle, pulling her out of the whirlwind of thoughts rushing through her brain. “She’s been through a terrible ordeal. Would you like me to take you to her room?”

Roxie looked at him as if she’d just realized he was there. She shook her head to try to clear it. She wasn’t sure what to do or say right now. But then she saw that flash of light at the end of the tunnel. Her sister might be gone, but Lily was alive, and Lily only had Roxie left.

“Yes, please take me to my niece,” she told him.

Renewed determination filled Roxie. She’d left her sister, but she would never walk away from her niece, never let someone hurt her again. It was just the two of them, and they would heal together. They would make sure their family’s mistakes would never be repeated again. They’d start fresh and they’d heal over time.

“Take me to Lily,” she said, her voice stronger.

The doctor nodded, but he’d said all he needed to say, and the walk down the long hallways was made in silence. Roxie appreciated that.

Roxie barely managed to keep it together as she placed one foot in front of the other on her journey to her niece. Thoughts of finding the murderer helped her somewhat, but not enough. Whoever had done this evil deed to Pamela and her unborn child would most certainly pay.

And from this moment on, Roxie realized her life was no longer about just her. She had a beautiful child to take care of, and Lily would never know a day without love and security. Roxie just prayed she wouldn’t let Lily down. She prayed she had what it took to be the parent Lily needed. Growing up with an abusive alcoholic for a father hadn’t left Roxie—or Pamela—with great parental role models, but Roxie was a fast learner, and failing wasn’t an option.

“I’ll leave you here,” the doctor informed her before he slipped away.

When she finally stepped into the dim room, Roxie’s eyes were drawn to her niece, who looked so small as she lay in the giant hospital bed. It took her a moment to realize her niece wasn’t alone. There was a man in a doctor’s coat with his head lying facedown on the pillow next to Lily’s. Roxie was so grateful to the man for not leaving her niece alone. She would thank him profusely when she wasn’t so overwhelmed.

Roxie didn’t want to disturb her niece, or the doctor who’d chosen to stay by her side, so she slowly stepped forward and gently sat in the chair next to the bed. She reached over to grip her niece’s tiny fingers. Roxie focused on Lily as she allowed more tears to fall. She was quiet as she spoke, but she needed to say the words that were trying to rip themselves from her throat.

“It’s you and me now, kiddo, and I will never leave you,” Roxie promised. Her niece squeezed her fingers in sleep. Roxie held on tightly.

The man stirred and finally lifted his head, giving Roxie a full view of his face.

Fresh panic invaded Roxie as she stared into the eyes of the first and only man she’d ever been in love with. With all the trauma of the call she’d received and her rush to get to her sister in time, Roxie hadn’t really had time to think about the possibility of seeing Dr. Kian Forbes again.

There were a million questions blazing to life in Kian’s gaze, but his lips didn’t move as he continued to stare at her. He swallowed, all without uttering a single syllable, which made her rip her gaze away from his eyes and focus on his throat instead while she tried to quiet the thundering in her heart. That turned out to be an utter mistake, as it made her think of the times her lips had caressed his salty skin in just that particular spot.

She forced herself to look completely away, fixing her gaze on the worn hospital badge he was wearing. He looked tired and a little bit broken, which she didn’t understand.