‘She’s not dying,’ Carter interrupted him. ‘Quilla is in a bad way, yes, but she’s not dying. Parker Thomas thinks she’ll pull through, although it won’t be easy. But I think deep down you know that…Jakob, this is to do with that video tape, isn’t it?’
Jakob felt a wave of sorrow, of guilt, of hurt flood through his body. ‘I can’t stop thinking about it; it’s consuming me.’
The door opened behind Carter and Ran walked in, his expression neutral, his eyes tired. Carter shook his hand, and then turned back to Jakob. ‘Talk to your dad. I’ll see you in the morning.’
Alone, Jakob couldn’t meet his dad’s gaze. ‘Dad, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.’
Ran had hesitated before he spoke. ‘Jakob, I love you, so this is not going to be easy for me to say. I don’t think I’ve ever been more…ashamed… than I am right now. In you, in myself.’
His words battered and bruised Jakob’s fragile heart, but he nodded. ‘That’s fair. But the fault is mine, Dad; you have nothing to be ashamed of.’
‘I thought I had brought you up better than to run away from things, to be that guy who would rather stick his head in the sand and let other people carry the load. Quilla was stabbed fourteen times, by Gregor, fifteen if you count the first time. She had to kill him, take another human being’s life, and still, she tried to make her way back to you. She had to turn over her body to him to save Hayley’s life, and she did it. She deserves more than this, Jakob, and if you cannot provide that for her, then let her go. But know this; Quilla is my daughter, and if you turn away from her, then you are no longer welcome in this family. That’s all I have to say. I’ll see you in the morning; I have to get back to my family at the hospital.’
Jakob wanted to scream, wanted to beg him for forgiveness. Ran, always mild-mannered, had never spoken to him, or anyone, like he just had to his eldest son. He watched his father, his hands trembling grip the door handle to leave.
‘Dad…’
Ran turned back, and he could see the tears in his eyes. Pain ripped through Jakob at the sight. ‘I’m sorry, Dad.’
‘I’m not the one you should be saying that to. When the bail is posted tomorrow, I’ve booked you into rehab. Just a week. You’re not permitted to see or talk to Quilla before that week is completed.’
Jakob was up now, panic starting. ‘Dad, I didn’t take it, I’m not addicted, please. I have to see her.’
Ran gripped the door handle tighter, closing his eyes, the turmoil inside him obvious. ‘You should have thought of that when you got off that plane.’ Then he was gone, Jakob staring after him.
Parker Thomas, his cornflower blue eyes crinkling as he smiled, stroked Quilla’s head. ‘Now, I’m going to ask you to give a big cough then I’ll take the tube out…after three, sweetheart. One…two…three…’
Quilla coughed then gagged as Parker pulled the tube out. The nurse with him, Julia, passed her a cup of water. ‘Don’t gulp it, sweetie, just sips.’
Quilla did as she was told, her water giving blessed relief to her throat. She was still laid back on her pillows, but at least she was halfway to sitting up. It had been a day and a half since she’d woken and according to the smile on Parker’s face, she was doing well. Now the tube was out; she could suck in lungfuls of air herself, start to feel alive. Marley and Asia were at the other end of the room watching, and smiling, at last, Quilla gave them a wave. Marley was smiling through her tears, leaning against Asia for support.
Quilla felt a wave of gratitude come over her and she caught Parker’s arm. ‘Thank you,’ she croaked, her throat still scratchy. He grinned – damn, he was so handsome.
She told Asia that when he and the nurse had gone, and Asia laughed. ‘You’re not falling for your doctor, are you? That old cliché?’
Quilla smiled, and then looked at Marley, who was wiping her eyes on her sleeve. ‘Dude, stop that, I’m okay.’
Marley tried to smile. ‘I’m sorry, honey, I think the floodgates have opened.’
The three women chatted lightly then Quilla steeled herself. ‘Okay, you wouldn’t tell me anything about why Jakob wasn’t here, so I need to know because it’s driving me crazy. Come on.’
She noticed the anger in her own voice and saw they hadn’t missed it, either. ‘I’m not mad at you,’ she said softly, ‘I don’t know who I’m mad at.’
Asia and Marley shared a long look then Asia nodded. ‘Jakob’s in rehab, darling. When he thought you were dying, he flipped out and tried to buy coke. Luckily – if you can call it that – he was arrested before he could actually take the stuff. He’s been bailed, but Ran sent him to rehab for the week. Banned him from coming here.’
Quilla frowned. ‘I don’t get why…surely the fact I was back was a good thing, even in the state I was in….I don’t understand. What aren’t you telling me?’
Another loaded glance between her friends. ‘Quilla…when Hayley was released, she told us everything that you had done, what you had sacrificed for her.’
Panic was starting to build inside Quilla’s chest. ‘But, surely, Jakob knew I had to do it, I had to sleep with Gregor, or he’d kill both Hayley and me?’
‘It’s not just that,’ Marley said gently. ‘Gregor videotaped you having sex.’
Quilla’s stomach dropped. ‘What?’ Barely a whisper.
‘Hayley explained that Gregor had made you…act the part. It was one of those times that he taped – and sent to Jakob.’
‘Oh no, no, no….’ Quilla’s head was in her hands, and Marley shot Asia a concerned look. Asia nodded and slipped from the room to find Parker. Marley got her arms around Quilla.
Her body was trembling violently. ‘I had to do it, he was going to kill her,’ Quilla sobbed, ‘So I pretended I was somebody else, that it wasn’t me he was raping. And he was raping me, Marley, how can Jakob think I would have slept with that….monster…voluntarily? He was going to shoot Hayley in the head unless I did it. He only let her go because I did such a convincing job. I only escaped him because he’d started to trust me enough to fuck him without being tied down. So what, Jakob thinks I’m unclean now? How could he?’
Her voice was getting louder, more hysterical, her entire body in motion, and Marley had to fight to keep her from tearing her stitches, hurting herself. Quilla’s eyes were wild – fear, anger, hurt and Marley cursed Jakob Mallory and Gregor Fisk over and over.
Parker came in and took one look at Quilla, and muttered an instruction to his assistant. Marley got out of the way as Parker tried to calm Quilla down from her panic attack, his tone steady and soothing. When the assistant came back, Parker took the hypodermic needle from her and slipped it into Quilla’s i.v. Her breathing slowly returned to normal and in a few minutes, her eyes closed. After checking her vitals, he beckoned Asia and Marley from the room.
‘She can’t get overexcited like that. Her core muscles have been ravaged, any hysteria risks tearing, which means infection might get in.’
Asia put her hand on her boyfriend’s arm. ‘Sorry, Parker, but she asked about Jakob.’
‘I should have waited to tell her,’ Marley fretted, ‘or fudged the truth.’
Parker sighed. ‘I think she’ll be okay but yeah, soften the blows, would you?’ He smiled kindly at Marley. ‘Kiddo, if we keep her calm, she has a chance of a quicker recovery. Whatever bullshit Jakob is dealing with, Quilla’s health is the main concern.’
Marley smiled gratefully, comforted that Parker wasn’t impressed with Jakob either. She felt like she had an ally in the surgeon. ‘Thanks, Parker. For everything. For keeping her here with us.’
‘My pleasure. Look, why don’t you go home, get some rest? I gave her a pretty strong sedative so she’ll be out for a few hours. And you,’ he kissed Asia’s cheek, ‘you go back to Grady’s and look after yourself and Bean.’
‘We’re not calling him or her Bean.’
‘Yeah, we are,’ Parker grinned and waved as he left them. Marley said goodbye to Asia an
d drove home, acknowledging to herself that she was shattered. She wanted to sit and howl then sleep for hours and hours.
Ran, not looking much better himself, met her at the door. Marley sank into his arms. ‘God, take me to bed, please, I need to feel good again.’
He chuckled. ‘How about a long soak first, candles, a back massage, the whole nine yards?’
Marley smiled up at him. ‘You really are perfect; you know that?’
In the tub, his hands moved over her body, gripping the tight muscles in her shoulders, his thumbs pressing firmly into the sore flesh. Marley groaned. ‘That’s so good.’
Ran kissed her neck. ‘Better?’
She leaned back against his chest. ‘So much.’ She sighed. ‘Did you speak to Jakob today?’
‘I did. He’s doing well, working hard.’
Marley didn’t say anything and Ran pressed his lips to her temple. ‘Give him a chance, Marley.’
She sighed, turning around to face him. ‘Ran, I love you, but I think I’ve given that man plenty of chances. Because of him, Quilla has been raped, stabbed, and abducted…been subject to the worst a human can do to another. And now, added to that, she had to kill another human being. Where was Jakob? And when he needed to step up, his pathetic male ego made him run away. Again.’
Ran flinched at her words. ‘Marley, he’s made mistakes.’
She relented. ‘I know he’s your son, Ran, and you love him. But even you must see; he’s terrible for Quilla.’
‘I think we need to see how Quilla feels.’
Marley looked away from her husband’s gaze. ‘Yes.’
Ran stroked her face. ‘Don’t let this come between us, sweetheart. We should be in our blissful honeymoon phase. Speaking of which, when Quilla is recovered, I’m taking you away for an actual honeymoon.’
Marley tried to smile. ‘Sounds good.’
Ran sighed, and then held out his arms. ‘Come here, beautiful.’ She went into them, and he kissed her. Marley closed her eyes; letting the sensation of his lips against hers consume her. For Ran, she would try to accept Jakob, for Ran and Quilla, she would try.
Seven days. Seven days he had turned up for any and every counseling sessions, group meeting, had helped out in the kitchens….everything and now, as Jakob waited for his dad to come pick him up, he felt optimistic for the first time in days, hell, months. Ran had called him every evening with updates on Quilla’s condition; still, a long way to go, but every day she got stronger. Of course she is, he thought now, his heart full of love, she’s a fighter. She always has been.
He couldn’t wait to see her, take her in his arms, and beg for her forgiveness. He would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her, not that it was possible. God, what had I been thinking? He shook his head now then looked up as his father came into the room.
Ran nodded, but Jakob could see in his eyes, the pride, the thankfulness that Jakob had done so well here. He hugged his father. ‘I’m so sorry, Dad.’
Ran embraced his eldest son. ‘I’m proud of you, son. Let’s go and see Quilla.’
Jakob’s heart was thumping as they rode the elevator to Quilla’s floor. Ran had told him that she was recovering, but he still was nervous about seeing her so hurt, so brutalized. Ran warned him not to get too physical; Quilla’s wounds were still healing, and she was still in a lot of pain.
They walked along the corridor to her room, and as they reached it, Marley came out, shutting the door behind her and blocking it. She glanced at Ran with apologetic eyes then looked at Jakob, her eyes cold. Jakob’s heartbeat quickened.
‘Hi, Marley.’
‘Jakob. She doesn’t want to see you, I’m sorry.’ She didn’t sound sorry at all. Ran shot her a sharp look.
‘Marley? What’s going on?’
Marley’s expression was soft as she looked at her husband. ‘I’m sorry, Ran, but Quilla doesn’t want to see Jakob.’
‘Why?’
‘I think you need to ask Jakob that.’
Jakob stared at her in horror. ‘No…no, please, I need to see her, I need to explain.’
Marley fixed her gaze on him. ‘Jakob, Quilla does not want to see you, she does not want to talk to you, she doesn’t need you to explain your behavior. It’s pretty clear and her decision is final.’
Ran sighed. ‘Come on now, Marley.’
‘I’m sorry, baby,’ she said to him, ‘but it’s Quilla’s choice.’
‘Bullshit,’ Jakob exploded, ‘it’s not Quilla, it’s you. This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? Me out of the picture?’
‘This is the result of your actions, Jakob.’
‘Quilla! Quilla, please, I need to talk to you!’ Jakob was yelling now. He stepped forward and Marley moved, immediately, bracing herself against the door jam. For a moment it looked like Jakob would simply shove her out of the way and everyone froze, Marley and Jakob staring each other down. Then Ran, his face pale, stepped between them.
‘Jakob, back off. Marley…is this really Quilla’s final decision?’
She nodded. ‘It is.’
Ran put his hand on his son’s shoulder. ‘Come on, Jakob, let’s go.’
Jakob, seething, stared at Marley a beat longer then stalked off. Ran looked at Marley. ‘Will I see you at home?’
‘Of course,’ her face softened, ‘I’m sorry about this, Ran.’
He kissed her forehead. ‘It’s okay…do you want me to come pick you up?’
She shook her head. ‘I’ll get a cab; it’s okay.’
Jakob was pacing around the parking lot when Ran found him. Jakob opened his mouth to speak, but Ran held up a hand. ‘Before you say something you regret,’ he said firmly, ‘just remember…Marley is my wife, and I love her very much.’
Jakob shook his head. ‘Dad, she’s never liked me and if this is her dripping poison into Quilla’s ear…’
‘Stop it,’ his father’s voice was sharp, ‘Quilla had every right not see you after what you did. Do you not understand that? You made a decision, Jakob, and these are the consequences. That girl has been through enough, and I can’t say I blame her for this. In any way. Marley didn’t say forever, just not yet. Respect that.’
Jakob had no answer for that. His shoulders slumped, and he rubbed a frustrated hand over his head. ‘I want to go home.’
At the empty apartment, Jakob showered, then poured himself a large drink and sat out on the balcony, even though the night was bitterly cold. He felt he needed the cool air to calm the hot, angry blood that flowed through him. He went through his arguments in his head: Marley had persuaded Quilla to ignore him; Quilla was being unreasonable; Quilla was being petty. But he knew, inside, that none of that was true.
It was him. He needed to step up now, prove to Quilla that he was worthy of her. Jakob stared into the Seattle night, looking over to the Space Needle. The Seattle Center was dressed for Christmas; thousands upon thousands of twinkle lights. He couldn’t imagine Christmas without Quilla in his arms, in their home, in their bed.
He would do anything to get her back….anything. Even if that meant backing off until he could prove to her finally, that he was deserving of her love.’
‘You’re cheating.’
‘Am not.’
‘You are, you’re picking from the discarded cards.’
Quilla grinned at Hayley. ‘Man, you’re a bad loser.’
Hayley gave up and scrambled the cards up. ‘I’m so bored of this game.’
‘Me too.’
Hayley packed the cards into their box. ‘So, Parker said you could be discharged soon?’
‘He called from New Orleans yesterday, spoke to my doctor. Maybe another couple of weeks, less if I’m lucky. Thank god, my muscles are starting to atrophy. Here, help me up, would you? I need to walk around for a bit.’
Hayley helped Quilla onto the floor, steadied her when she swayed. Quilla had been in the hospital for a month now and had made remarkable progress – at least, physically. Hayley kne
w her friend was fragile mentally; although Quilla tried to hide her red eyes and the dark shadows under her eyes, Hayley worried that she would break soon. It gave her hope though that Quilla was seeing the psychiatrist again, had requested him herself. Christmas had been the hardest but they’d all come in to see – separately so Jakob’s absence wouldn’t be so obvious. Hayley and Skandar had spent most of Christmas Day with their friend, talking wedding plans until Skandar rolled his eyes and pretended to call the whole thing off. ‘One more mention of fabric and I’m outta here.’
They walked out into the corridor, Hayley supporting her friend as they took their usual route to the elevators and outside – almost outside – January had brought with it deep snow, and so they settled for the long corridor near the big glass window at the front of the hospital.
‘So, how’s the wedding planning going? Skandar forced you to finalize a date yet?’
Hayley laughed. ‘Ha, you jest. Nope, despite teasing Skandar, the only thing I have locked down is that Nan will walk me down the aisle. My next job is to ask my maid of honor if she’ll be so kind to stand up with me. So, will you?’
Quilla gave her a delighted but shocked laugh. ‘Hell yes! My God, Hayley, I would never have expected…’ she turned away, but Hayley saw the tears in her eyes and squeezed her. Quilla chuckled, dashing away the tears. ‘I’m so honored, Hayley, truly but don’t you have friends you’ve known longer than me? I know you do.’
Hayley smiled, shrugging. ‘They’ll be my bridesmaids and listen, I talked to them, and they agree with me. It’s the least I could do after what you did…’ She choked up but rallied, forcing a grin onto her face. ‘There’s no-one I’d rather have, Quilla. No-one.’
Quilla chuckled. ‘That means so much, Hays, it really does. So, a double-double meringue for you then?’
Hayley nodded. ‘And all of you in salmon taffeta, 80’s style.’
They both laughed, Quilla putting her hand on her stomach. ‘Laughing still hurts, huh?’ Hayley said, noticing the gesture.
Montgomery Billionaire Series Page 124