The Fearless King (The Kings #2)(78)
“I’ve never seen her like this, Jo.”
She spun on her heel and started for the bathroom. “You saw her?”
“Yeah, Anderson talked his way into the room and we were there when she woke up yesterday. That spark, that defiance, is gone. It’s not just the pain meds and the accident. It’s like she’s given up.”
“We won’t let her give up.” He was closer to Eliza than anyone, but maybe this was a job for a sister, not a brother. Journey dug through the overnight bag Frank had stashed in his bathroom, looking for clean clothes. “I’ll check on her before I go into the office to meet with Anderson. And I’ll talk to her doctor and see if we can get her moved to in-home care. Hospitals suck the life out of even the strongest people, and she’s not in a good place for that shit. If we can get her home, then we can figure out the rest.” She stopped short. Which home?
Bellamy must have sensed the direction of her thoughts. “With Mother gone, her place is empty. I can get people in there to set up the spare suite for anything Eliza needs.”
She took a steadying breath. Focus. One step at a time. “First we need it cleaned out. A total spiff-up job that includes moving Lydia’s stuff into her suite. She didn’t have a lot of knickknacks, but her stamp is all over that town house.” A few years ago, Lydia had edged out the competition in a series of three town houses in downtown Houston, a reasonable commute from the Kingdom Corp offices. She’d combined them into a home with four bedrooms, a library, an office, and half a dozen other smaller rooms for entertaining. A huge space for a single woman—both then and now—but it would more than do for Eliza. “After I talk to the doctor, I should have a list of things we need to bring Eliza home.”
A sound brought her head up, and she paused when she found Frank leaning against the doorframe. “I’ll call you when I know more.” Journey hung up and straightened. “My sister needs me.”
“I gathered. You going into the office afterward?”
“Yes. There’s really only one option at this point, and it’s to agree to Esther’s terms.” She pressed her lips together. “Does that offer to dig up information still stand? I think we’re going to need all the leverage we can find to get her boot off our collective necks.”
“The offer stands. I’ll get Mateo started on it this morning.” He crossed to her and pulled her into his arms. “Promise me you won’t do anything dangerous today, Duchess.”
She smiled up at him. “Only if you promise me the same.”
“Consider it done.” He kissed her, but before she could sink into the sensation of his mouth against hers, Frank gentled it and stepped back. “As tempting as it is to join you in the shower, I have a meeting later this morning that I can’t miss.”
Disappointment was tart on her tongue, but she couldn’t argue with his reasoning. If they got distracted, they could get lost in each other for hours, and there were too many important things going on to hide out in Frank’s house and wait for it all to blow over.
Because it wouldn’t blow over. It would explode in their faces.
Journey ducked into the shower to get the water going. The glass separating the shower from the rest of the room had an abstract pattern etched on it that made her think of snowflakes, but she could see Frank’s indistinct form on the other side. “What’s the plan?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
She made a face at the blur of his image. “I’m going to get Eliza out of the hospital.” She soaped herself down and resigned herself to using dude shampoo. “All she can do in that room is think about what she’s lost. It’s not good for her.”
“Duchess.”
“Oh, okay, fine. There’s also the fact that it’s not secure and she’s weak and drugged up and it wouldn’t take much to make sure she goes to sleep and never wakes up.” Saying that to Bellamy would send her brother into protective mode, which would lock everyone down. Journey couldn’t afford to have her movements restricted right now, and Bellamy wouldn’t think too hard about her having an ulterior motive for bringing Eliza home because the reasoning she’d given him was sound.
She rinsed off and just let the water run down the tense muscles between her shoulder blades. Epic sex and too many orgasms to count had gone a long way to smoothing her frazzled edges, but it still wasn’t enough to mute the reality of their current situation. She didn’t think even a freaking horse tranquilizer would be enough to actually check her out at this point. Journey shut off the water and stepped out to find Frank waiting with a towel. “I would really appreciate it if you’d spare a team to keep Eliza safe until the end of this.” She should have gotten over her pride and asked him for it from the start. They knew what Elliott was capable of when provoked, and she’d still tried to stick her head in the sand.
She dried off, conscious of Frank’s gaze on her. It wasn’t hot this time, more like he didn’t really believe she was okay. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
They squared off. She had a feeling that any hint of weakness would see Frank wrapping her up and locking her in this house while he went off to battle the dragon. Well, fuck that. Journey had finally found her spine, and she wasn’t about to lose it just because the thought of her in danger made him uncomfortable.