“I’ll text Ry to let him out in the morning. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

“Talon, thank you so much. Thank you,” I whispered into the phone, my body numb.

I sniffed, my eyes moistening, but couldn’t yet bring myself to cry for a mother I didn’t even love but who still meant something to me.

“You okay, blue eyes?”

I sniffed again. “Yeah.”

“Everything will be all right. Now you stay put. I’ll be there before you know it.” Silence. Then, “And I love you.”

My heart doubled in size. “I love you too, Talon.”

 

We hadn’t said a lot during our drive to the city. As we pulled into the hospital parking lot, Talon dropped me off at the entrance. “Go and see what’s going on. I’ll find a space and be right in.”

I shot from the car, walking briskly in. I stopped at the registration desk. “I need to find my mother. Brooke Bailey.”

The woman typed into her computer. “I’m not seeing anything.”

“She was in an accident.”

“Then you have to check with the ER.”

“But she’s in surgery! Surely you must—”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. You need to check with the ER. Down the hall to your right.”

Could she have been any ruder? I turned quickly and nearly ran down the hallway.

The ER was full, of course. I had to wait in a fucking line of people. If my mother had been admitted, why didn’t the hospital have a record of it?

Talon arrived about ten minutes later, when I was finally the next in line to talk to the receptionist.

“Anything yet?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’m still waiting to find out what’s going on.”

The person ahead of me took a seat, and the receptionist nodded to me. “Yes, may I help you?”

“I’m looking for my mother. Brooke Bailey. She was in an accident.” God, I didn’t even know what type of accident it had been. I had assumed a car wreck.

The receptionist typed on her computer. “Yes, she’s in surgery.”

“What happened? Is she okay?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you any more than that. You’ll have to talk to her doctor.”

Talon stepped up. “This is ridiculous. This is her daughter, for God’s sake. Can’t you give her any peace of mind at all?”

The receptionist’s hard eyes softened as she raked her gaze over Talon. “I wish I could, sir. I understand how she must be feeling.”

“Surely you can type into your computer and tell us what Ms. Bailey is having surgery for, can’t you?”

She smiled, and for a moment I thought—

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m not allowed to give out medical information. You’ll have to talk to the doctor or nurse. I’ll let the charge nurse know you’re here, and she’ll be out to talk to you as soon as she can.” She looked to me. “What’s your name, young lady?”

“Jade. Jade Roberts. I’m her daughter.”

She typed something on her keyboard. “Just find a seat. The nurse will be with you shortly.”

Talon heaved a sigh. “Fine. We appreciate your help.”

He took my arm and led me to two empty seats. We were surrounded by sniffling kids and moaning adults, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.

My heart beat a rapid staccato. Did I actually care about my mother? This was news to me. Tears choked me, and I fought a war inside my head and heart. I wanted to cry for her. Why?

Talon squeezed my hand. “Okay?”

And the dam burst. The tears I had been holding back flooded my eyes. I hiccupped softly, willing myself not to break down. Talon pulled a red bandana out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I wiped my eyes and blew my nose.

What was wrong with me?

The answer was clear. She was my mother. She had given me life, and I had to be grateful for that. But for her, I wouldn’t be here sitting next to the man I loved.

Talon held my hand, and we sat silently until a woman wearing green scrubs walked toward us.

“Ms. Roberts?”

“Yes. I’m Jade Roberts.”

“You’re here about Brooke Bailey?”

“Yes. I’m her daughter. What can you tell me?”

“She was in a head-on collision. She was in the passenger seat of the vehicle, and her airbag didn’t deploy.”

I gasped. “Who was driving?”

“A friend of hers. He wasn’t injured badly. Just got the wind knocked out of him by the airbag and some minor bruises, possibly a broken rib. He’s been discharged.”

“And my mother?”

“Severe lacerations, contusions, and abrasions. Broken knee, ribs, bruised pelvis. Possible internal and brain injuries. Right now the doctors are trying to get her stabilized.”

Brain injury? “Oh my God.”

Talon squeezed my hand.

“Luckily she was wearing her seat belt. Otherwise she’d be dead.”

“Why didn’t the airbag…” I couldn’t wrap my mind around this.

“We don’t know, ma’am. Airbags aren’t foolproof.”

“Who was she with?”

“A man. Nico Kostas. He’s up in the surgery waiting area, I think.”

“That’s her boyfriend.” I breathed. “They had no record of her at admissions.”

“They should. Though sometimes it takes a little while for our databases to update. She was admitted about two hours ago. We called the person in her wallet identified as an emergency contact. A Brian Roberts.”

“That’s my father. He’s driving up tomorrow. He lives in Denver.”

“You two can wait with her friend up in surgery. Come on. I’ll have someone take you up there.”

Talon rose and helped me up. We followed the nurse to an orderly. The young man took us up the elevator and across a hall to a waiting area.

Nico sat, his head in his hands. He wore a navy-blue tailored suit and a black-and-red tie, which was still tied at his neck. Shiny black leather shoes. I approached him.

“Nico, hello.”

He looked up. “Brooke’s daughter?”

“Yes, Jade.”

“Of course. Jade. My mind isn’t working very well at the moment.”