Epiphany: Part Three by Gemma James

Author:Gemma James [James, Gemma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gemma James
Published: 2015-05-19T23:00:00+00:00

Calm down.

I closed my eyes for a brief second before peeking inside Aidan’s room. The door was ajar, and I saw a woman holding his hand as she wiped the tears from her face.

“I’m fine, Mom.” His voice was foreign to my ears, a weak and raspy sound that contradicted everything I knew about him. He spotted me, so I stepped over the threshold.

Upon my presence, his mother stood. She looked younger than her age, though I knew she had to be pushing fifty. Her deep auburn hair tumbled to the middle of her back, and she came across as tiny and fragile despite the inner strength I sensed within her.

“You must be Mackenzie.” She wiped the last trace of tears from her cheeks and gave me a weak smile. “I’m Lila.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, though every part of me screamed how she’d hate my guts once she found out the truth. Surely she didn’t know—she wouldn’t be this polite if she did.

“Mom, would you mind giving us a moment?” Aidan asked.

She wiped her cheeks again and nodded. “I need to call your brother anyway.” Her expression tensed when she glanced behind me, and I turned to find Hamilton waiting in the hall. She brushed past and closed the door on her way out.

I returned my attention to Aidan. His hooded gaze traveled up and down my body before he stopped to linger on the bruises circling my neck. He jolted into a sitting position, yanking on the various tubes and wires attached to his body, and then fell back against the pillows with a groan.

“Sonofabitch,” he said. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and the pasty hue of his skin made the dark hair sweeping his left brow more striking. The monitors went haywire. “Remind me not to move.” He squeezed his eyes shut and hissed a breath between clenched teeth.

I wanted to go to him, but my legs had other ideas. There was so much left unsaid between us, so much I hadn’t told him, and I couldn’t fathom telling him now. This wasn’t the time.

“I’m gonna kill him,” he said, his gaze settling on my neck again.

Without thinking, I brought my hand up to my throat. I didn’t mention he’d have to find him first, but knowing Aidan, he wouldn’t rest until he did. “It looks worse than it is.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” I finally willed my feet to move and lowered into the seat next to his bed. I took in the IV attached to his hand and listened to the rhythmic beeping of the machines that monitored his vitals.

“Don’t put on a brave front for me,” he said. “After what he put you through…” Barely contained rage laced his words, though his eyes told a different story. Self-inflicted blame. “All I wanted was to keep you safe—”

“It’s my fault.” Everything was my fault. If I’d been honest with him from the beginning, maybe Judd wouldn’t have had the opportunity to kidnap me, and Aidan wouldn’t be in the hospital torturing himself with more unnecessary guilt.

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