Ten days!
Ten fucking days!
That’s how long I’d been stuck in bed.
Vega still couldn’t find anything about the ambush, who set it up, who the men were, why the ambush happened or how they pulled it off. It was driving me crazy.
I had no doubt that Hawthorne was involved, and if I couldn’t get him for the ambush, I needed to find another angle. I told Vega to check every single hotel Hawthorne owns, to see if he’s using the women and children, but so far, nothing.
I need something on Hawthorne. Anything.
And I still had no answers on why Obsidian was in town or what the hell his next move was. For all I know, he and Hawthorne set me up.
And then there were my brothers. I knew they were hiding something from me. They acted as though I was helpless because I was stuck in this damn bed, being pumped full of these shitty medications that made me feel useless!
I wasn’t.
I couldn’t just sit around here doing nothing while Hawthorne was still out there, a threat to me and Delilah.
The only good thing that came out of this mess was the time I got to spend with Delilah. She refused to go out to work, insisting she wasn’t going to hire some stranger to come and take care of me. Instead, she’d handled things at the office from home and was in close communication with Caite.
She insisted that I stay in one of the guest rooms downstairs. She stayed in the room with me but on the damn sofa. She fed me, gave me my medication, ensured the doctor came to change the bandages and helped bathe me.
My cock jerked.
Every time, her hands brushed against my skin, ensuring my bandages didn’t get wet, I saw the desire in her eyes and my cock hardened in response. But she never took it further.
It was torture.
Having her hands on me and her not touching me where and how I wanted added to my long list of frustrations.
Just then, the door opened and Delilah walked in, balancing a tray in her hands.
“Sebastien, here’s lunch. Soup,” she said as she set the bowl on the nightstand next to the bed.
I wasn’t in the mood for soup.
“I’m not hungry,” I grumbled.
“Sebastien, you have to eat,” Delilah insisted, her voice calm.
“If I don’t eat, are you going to pour it down my throat?” I snapped.
“Do I have to? You have to take your meds.” She folded her arms, a flash of determination crossing her face.
“I’m not going to die if I take those damn pills without eating this one time.”
“I’m not giving you anything unless you eat. So, please just eat the soup,” she begged.
I saw the frustration in her eyes as she tried to keep her voice steady. She sat on the bed and took the tray from the nightstand, placing it on her lap.
Why was she still trying to feed me soup if I didn’t want it? Did she think I was a fucking child?
Angrily, I grabbed the bowl with my good hand and flung it at the wall. The bowl shattered and the soup splattered on the wall. A few seconds later, my brothers burst into the room, their eyes landed on the mess, then at Delilah, who had moved off the bed and was kneeling to pick up the pieces of the bowl, before they turned their eyes to me.
“Seb, what the hell is going on?” Dominic demanded, his eyes narrowed.
“Delilah, are you ok?” Leo asked. His voice was softer than Dominic’s. She just nodded, picking up the pieces, not looking at any of them.
“Let me help you,” Vincent stepped towards her, but she waved him away.
“I’ll be fine,” she muttered. But just then, Delilah swore and grabbed her hand.
Vincent knelt next to her, his back to us, assessing the damage.
He turned back to look at us. “She cut her hand. I’ll take her to the kitchen to help her clean up.”
Vincent helped Delilah to her feet and they left the bedroom.
“You really are an asshole, you know that?” Nate pressed his lips into a thin line.
“Did you come all the way over here to lecture me?” I gritted through clenched teeth.
“Seb, is that how you’ve been treating Delilah since you got back from the hospital?” Dom asked.
I closed my eyes.
“Seb, talk to us what the hell is going on with you,” Leo said. “This isn’t you. This is totally out of character for you.”
“And besides,” Axel added, “we like Delilah, and if you drive her away because your bullshit attitude, we’ll never forgive you. She doesn’t deserve this.”
I opened my eyes, and my brothers were all focused on me.
I sighed heavily as I clenched my fists. “I’m frustrated. With everything.” I paused. “We know that Obsidian is linked to Eso’s death, but without proof, we can’t pin anything on him. He also killed Eso’s boys, the ones who were asking for the protection fee. If he killed them, then there’s a huge possibility that he is tied to the threats I've been receiving.”
I inhaled deeply. “Vega can’t find anything on the ambush. No cameras in the area spotted anything, and nobody on the streets is talking. I need to know who ambushed me. And if Vega can’t find it, that means that someone in the Syndicate is using all their resources to keep us from finding out, which again leads me to think that this has Obsidian written all over it.”
I lower my voice “It feels like I’m a walking target, and I have no fucking idea who the enemy is. Delilah and I should be planning our wedding, but here I am stuck in bed, stiff as fuck, feeling useless. And worried that whoever came after me might hurt her too. It sucks, and honestly, I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Nobody said anything for a moment. Then Leo spoke, “Seb, what do you need from us? Do you need to call someone at two a.m. just to vent? Do you need at least one of us here in this house to help protect Delilah? Whatever you need, we’ve got you. We may not understand exactly how you feel, but you know we’ll do anything within our power to help you through this.”
“Thanks,” I sighed. “I just need to know for sure who was behind the threats at my bar, who killed Eso, who was responsible for my ambush, and why the fuck Obsidian is in town.”
Dominic said, “Victor has information on Obsidian. But he’s not going to share it unless he gets to sit down with Emily and talk. He also wants to meet his granddaughter.” His jaw tightened. “He called me the first night you were in the hospital.”
My heart stopped. Was this the information the others were hiding from me? Victor had been Dominic’s best friend who betrayed him for a billion-dollar deal and manipulated the situation so that Emily could marry Dominic because he wanted her to spy on him.
While Dominic had gotten out of the Syndicate, Victor had stayed. I had no doubt that the information he had on Obsidian would be helpful; however, if he and Hawthorne were working together, then Obsidian knew Delilah’s secret. With help from the Syndicate, Obsidian could make it look like Dean was heavy in the drug trade and human trafficking by creating evidence against him. And there was no way I was going to risk exposing Delilah or placing Dean in a worse situation than he was already in. There had to be another way.
“Victor?” I snapped. “He’s a snake. I don’t trust him. He could feed us anything and lure us into a trap.”
“I agree with Seb,” Nate said, nodding in agreement. “I don’t trust Victor as far as I can throw him. He could say anything just to get close to Emily and Lillian.”
“I think it's worth a try to talk to Victor,” Axel said, cautiously. “We haven’t had any luck thus far. But, Dom, does Emily even want to talk to him?”
Dominic passed his hand through his hair. “I spoke to her already, but she’s indecisive. She’s forgiven him, but she’s still afraid to get close to him, because she doesn’t want him hurting Lucy or Lillian.”
“But, Dom, will you feel comfortable with Lillian around Victor?” I asked, stoking the fire.
Dominic shook his head. “As much as I may want information on Obsidian, I can’t trust Victor, not after what he did.”
“There we have it,” I stated. “We’ll find another way. Dig deeper to find the truth.”
Dominic nodded. “I already have Craig, my PI, looking into it. He should get back to me soon.”
As the conversation ended, Vincent re-entered. He looked pissed.
“Delilah is resting in the room next door.” His voice had a coldness to it that I’d never heard. He glared at me. “I don’t get you, Seb. You have someone who is nursing you back to health, sacrificing her time and energy to help you. Yet, you treat her like shit! Yes, you’re in pain, you might feel like shit, but have you asked yourself how this affects Delilah? How her seeing you like this makes her feel? What you acting like a complete and utter jackass does to her mental state? Seeing you like this is tearing her apart! If the others haven’t told you, I’ll tell you. You don’t deserve Delilah. You’re a selfish son of a bitch.”
Vincent walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him.
“I’ll go talk to him,” Axel said, and followed Vincent.
Dominic’s gaze met mine. “Vince is right, though. What you’re going through is affecting Delilah, too. I know that she is your first real relationship, but you’ve got to let her in. From one jackass to the next, talk to your woman. Don’t wait until it’s too late to fix this.”
Dominic, Leonardo and Nathaniel gave me one last nod before they left, leaving me with a lot to think about.
The last thing I wanted to do was lose Delilah. After everything I’ve put her through, I’m happy that she’s still here. Dominic was right, I needed to let Delilah in. I needed to apologize.
With a heavy sigh, I planted my feet on the floor and stood. I grimaced as a numbing pain shot through my ribs and shoulder. Cautiously, I made my way to the room next door and opened the door.
Delilah was sitting on the bed, her knees pulled to her chest, her head resting on her arms. She didn’t move when I entered.
I took a deep breath and inched my way towards her. “Delilah…”
She didn’t look up. “What else do you want from me, Sebastien? I’ve done everything for you since you’ve come from the hospital, and you’ve done nothing but complain. I know it's hard for you so I didn’t take it to heart. But you being so upset that you’d throw something? That’s where I draw the line. I feel as though every time we make progress in this relationship, something pops up and we have to start all over again. Maybe this agreement was a mistake.”
I shook my head as I sat on her left. “Sweetheart, the agreement wasn’t a mistake. I came in here to say I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated with everything.”
She looked up at me. “Be honest with me, are you frustrated because of me? Because of your promise to help me?”
I cupped her face. “Sweetheart, I’m not frustrated because of you. I’m frustrated because I’m stuck at home when I should be out there trying to find ways to shut Hawthorne down for good.”
She placed her hand over mine as it cupped her face. “I know that we agreed to this fake marriage, but I hoped that despite that fact our friendship would’ve at least been real. Sebastien, I’m here for you. I want you to know that. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
She placed her head on my shoulder as her hand trailed my chest lazily while my hand gently massaged her hip. We sat there in silence for a bit before she looked up at me, her blue-gray eyes sparking.
“Is there anything I can do you make you feel better?” she tilted her head.
There was only one thing I needed more than air at this point, and it was Delilah.
“Yes,” I said hesitantly, “I want you to seduce me.”