I paced the living room, glancing at the clock. It was nine p.m.; Sebastien had called at six p.m. and said he was on his way home. He should’ve been here by now.
Worried, I called Emily. We’d kept in touch after the dinner at their place. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey Emily, it’s Delilah. I’m sorry to call so late. Is Sebastien at your place?” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice.
Emilly sounded more alert now.
“Delilah, is something wrong?” Emily asked, concerned.
I sighed. “He called three hours ago to say he was on his way, and he isn’t here yet. I’m sorry if it sounds silly and I’m panicking, I just—”
Emily cut me off gently, “Delilah, it’s okay. He hasn’t been here. Dominic isn’t at home, but let me give him a call and see if the others have heard from him. I’m sure it’s nothing. He probably got a last-minute call or something. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.”
“Thanks, Emily.”
“No, problem.”
We hung up.
Thirty more minutes passed, and I was about to lose my mind. My phone rang. An unknown number. I answered.
“Hello?”
“Delilah, this is Dominic.” His voice was grim. “Seb’s at Memorial Hospital.”
The room tilted and I felt sick to my stomach. “Is he going to be okay?” I didn’t recognize my own voice.
“He’s in surgery. Do you have someone to bring you to the hospital, or should I come get you?”
I nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see me. “Rex is here. I’ll ask him to take me.”
“Good. We’ll see you in a bit.”
“Thanks, Dominic.”
“No, problem.”
I cut the call and rushed to my room. My hands trembled as I pulled on a pair of jeans, a knitted sweater and sneakers. With my phone in hand, I ran out of the house.
“Rex! Rex!”
Rex came running from the side of the house.
“Ms. Malone, is something wrong?”
“Sebastien is at Memorial Hospital. Can you take me there?”
His face tightened. “Yes, ma’am.”
We ran to the SUV, and I jumped in before Rex could open the door.
By the time he climbed into the passenger seat and Viper took the wheel, he was already barking orders into his phone. “What the fuck happened out there today? Mr. Quantum is in the hospital! Get me intel on Tony and the others who were with him, now!”
Viper floored the gas and we screeched out of the driveway. Forty minutes later, Rex and I ran into the hospital as Viper parked.
“I’m here to see Sebastien Quantum,” I stated breathlessly to the receptionist. “I’m Delilah Malone…his fiancée.”
The woman shot me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Ms. Malone, he’s out of surgery but he’s resting. You can wait with the others in the waiting room.”
I nodded, but my feet refused to cooperate. Rex firmly placed his hand on my shoulder and steered me towards the waiting room.
Sebastien’s brothers were already there. Dominic was pacing. Nathaniel and Leonardo leaned against the walls, their arms crossed over their chests, while Vincent and Axel sat stiffly in their chairs. The moment we entered, they looked in our direction.
“What happened? Is he going to be okay?” I asked, my voice raising an octave with panic.
Dominic hesitated. “Maybe, you should have a seat, before I—”
“Just tell me!” I said louder than planned. I inhaled deeply, trying to get myself under control. “I’m sorry. Please, just tell me.”
Dominic’s blue eyes locked with mine. “Based on what we found out, his security detail survived with minor cuts and bruises despite being forced off the road, but Seb’s car was shot at multiple times. After checking the car, nothing appears to be stolen, so robbery is ruled out.”
Security detail being run off the road. Gunfire. This wasn’t an accident. This was planned. This was Hawthorne.
Sebastien was in the hospital because of me.
This was all my fault.
With Sebastien out of the way, Hawthorne would come for me. It was only a matter of time.
I felt as though someone had sucked all the air from the room
I swayed. Dominic moved fast, his arms quickly wrapping around me. Axel and Vincent flew out of the chairs and Leo and Nathaniel moved towards us. Dominic guided me into a chair.
“Rex, get her a bottle of water. Now,” Dominic ordered. He crouched in front of me. His voice was firm but gentle. “Delilah, breathe.”
But I couldn’t. My heart felt as though it was about to tear itself from my chest, as my chest tightened with each frantic breath.
“Delilah, look at me,” Dominic demanded, gently turning my head so I could look into his eyes.
“Focus on me. Breathe in. Breathe out.”
I did as Dominic said, trying to loosen the knot that had formed in my chest
Rex returned with the bottle of water and handed it to Dominic.
“That’s it. In and out.”
Dominic opened the bottle of water and handed it to me. “Drink.”
I took a few sips and handed it back to him and recovered it.
Dominic’s voice was gentler now. “We’re all here with you. You’re not alone. Sebastien’s a fighter. He’s going to be ok.”
“The family of Sebastien Quantum?” a doctor asked, stepping into the room.
“Over here,” Dominic called, waving to the doctor as he rose to his feet. His brothers gathered around. “Is he going to be okay?” he asked when the doctor stood in front of us.
“He’s going to be okay,” the doctor stated.
I heard a chorus of relieved sighs from his brothers.
“But,” the doctor warned, “for the next few weeks, he’s going to need rest. Lots of it.”
As the doctor explained Sebastien’s injuries—a broken nose, some mild bruising on his ribs, a concussion, and surgery was done on his shoulder that was dislocated—I was just relieved that he was alive.
“Can we see him, now?” I blurted out, interrupting whatever the doctor was saying.
“Sure.” The doctor nodded, calling a nurse over. “Take them to Mr. Quantum’s room.”
“Ms. Malone is his fiancée, she can go in first while we talk to the doctor,” Dominic insisted.
The nurse nodded. “Follow me.”
“Rex, go with her,” Dominic instructed. “We’ll be there soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rex and I followed the nurse down the hallway. She opened a door and ushered me inside. Rex didn’t come inside but closed the door behind me. I walked up to Sebastien and my breath caught.
His upper body was slightly elevated. There was a white bandage on his nose, one eye was swollen shut, and his face was black and blue. He was shirtless and his shoulder was bandaged; his left arm was in a sling. There were bruises on his stomach, chest and arms as well. An IV was attached to his right arm.
Quietly, I sat on the chair next to his bed and held his hand in mine. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I cared about him. Tears ran down my face before I could stop them.
It wasn’t long before Dominic and the others walked through the door.
Did they know who did it?
When they find out their brother almost died because of me, will they hate me?
“Do you guys know who could’ve done this?” I asked quietly as they approached the bed.
“Not yet, but we will.” Dominic’s voice was hard, his eyes icy.
“And when you do, you better kick their asses,” Sebastien’s voice croaked.
“Sebastien!” I shrieked.
Without thinking, I stood up and threw my arms around him. He winced.
I gasped and quickly pulled away. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
He smiled weakly. “It’s okay, sweetheart, it's nice to see you too.”
“The dead has arisen,” Axel joked, only to receive a swift tap in the head from Nathaniel.
“Ouch!” Axel grumbled, rubbing the spot.
“Seb,” Dominic asked. “Do you remember anything?”
“I remember talking to Delilah on the phone. I hopped into my car, drove out of the parking lot, and everything after that feels scrambled.”
“It’s probably due to the concussion,” Leo said.
“Do you guys know what happened?” Seb asked breathlessly, trying to make himself more comfortable in the bed as he shifted slowly.
Before anyone could answer Dominic’s phone rang. When he checked his phone to see who was calling, he looked a bit surprised.
“Who is it?” Vince asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Dominic didn’t answer; he walked out the door to take the call.
“We only know what Vega told us,” Nate stated as though the last few seconds didn’t happen. “He said you called him. He heard the bullets, and when you weren’t saying anything, he pinpointed your location. He called the cops and the ambulance. Then he called Dom.”
“That call you made probably saved your life,” Vincent stated solemnly.
Tears welled in my eyes again, and I felt Sebastien’s hand cover my own.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m here now.” His thumb caressed the back of my hand, and the tears began to fall again.
“How long does he have to stay?” I asked.
I knew the longer we stayed here like sitting ducks, the more likely Hawthorne would strike again. We needed to get home.
“A few days for observation and then he’s free to leave,” Leonardo said. “We’ve already instructed the staff that only immediate family members are to be let in to see him. Dominic has contacted Donovan, the head of his security team, to send over a few men in uniform and plain clothes to keep an eye on Sebastien as he stays here. I also informed them that if anything happens to Sebastien while he’s here that I’ll sue this establishment so badly that their grandchildren will still be paying by the time they are grown.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“No problem. There’s no way we’ll let this incident happen again,” Leo stated.
Dominic walked back into the room. “Seb, sorry to steal your visitors away, but I just got some information, and I need the guys.”
Sebastien frowned. “What kind of information?”
“The only thing you need to focus on is getting better. We’ll take things up from here,” Dominic stated flatly.
A silent conversation passed between the brothers before Sebastien finally nodded. Without another word, the others followed Dominic out.
Once we were alone, I whispered, “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”
“I’m here now. That’s all that matters,” Seb said gently.
“This is all my fault. I know Hawthorne was behind this.”
“Delilah, listen to me. Nothing is your fault. You didn’t cause this.” Sebastien closed his eyes briefly. “I went to his office about two weeks ago and told him to stay away from you.”
Mortified, my eyes widened. “Sebastien! Why would you do that?”
“He sent me a threat saying he’d expose you. There’s no way I was going to let that happen.”
“But, Seb, look at you! Look at what he did. They almost killed you.” A sob caught in my throat.
“Sweetheart, I was serious when I said I’d protect you till my last breath.”
I nodded. “I know.” I sighed. “Sebastien, if anything were to happen to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
A knock on the door made me jump. A nurse entered and smiled at the both of us.
“Good night. I’m just going to add some painkillers to your IV, Mr. Quantum.”
Sebastien nodded, and after adjusting the IV the nurse left.
He turned back to me. “Sweetheart, how did you get here?”
“Rex and Viper dropped me off.”
He sighed. “I want you to go home and get some rest.”
“I’m not leaving this hospital without you,” I said stubbornly.
“You can’t stay here,” he insisted.
I lifted an eyebrow. “Are you going to pick me up, throw me over your shoulder and take me home?”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I saw the glint of raw desire in Sebastien’s eyes. I felt a warm rush between my thighs.
“I can’t, at least not yet,” his words slurred. “But it’s now been added to my bucket list,” he smiled lazily.
I blushed. “You should get some rest.”
Sebastien nodded, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
***
Over the next few days, Sebastien’s brothers visited, as well as the men from his security detail. I watched how he interacted with them, clipped sentences, and clenched fists. His jaw tightened every time he asked them to bring him his phone, but they refused, insisting that he needed to rest and he’d get it when he was discharged.
There were moments when I felt like they were speaking in code, and though I wasn’t sure. I chose to step out conveniently to give them privacy.
Emily had stopped by as well, bringing me some of my things. I was relieved when she didn’t ask why Sebastien and I slept in separate rooms.
The most heartbreaking moment came when Lucy saw her uncle. The second her tiny arms wrapped around him, her feisty attitude disappeared, and she burst into tears. I didn’t miss the way every man in the room stiffened, and how their faces darkened with pain and worry. Despite their alpha male personas, I knew one thing for sure: Lucy had their hearts, and they’d do anything for her.
But, despite the love surrounding Sebastien, he was the worst patient ever.
He complained about everything.
The food was disgusting, the pillows were too soft, the nurses took too long to check his vitals. Ugh. As the days passed by, I watched him get snappier with the nurses, his brothers and me. Frustration and irritability were written all over his face.
Even though he didn’t say it, I knew he was worried. Lying in a hospital doing nothing couldn’t have been easy for a man like Sebastien, who controlled the world around him.
By the fifth day, he was finally discharged. And thank God, because if he had to spend another night there, I was pretty sure he’d walk out with or without permission.
I hoped against all hope his mood would improve once we got home.