“Ridiculous. Dad would never sell it back to him now. He’ll be lucky if Dad isn’t already on the phone to his lawyer to see about terminating his lease.”
Cam sighed and stretched herself out onto her side. She soon flopped back onto her back with another heavy sigh. “Next time you have sex with a random girl, triple check for cameras.”
I snorted. “No more sex with random girls.”
“What about when Lani leaves?”
“I don’t think she is,” I answered slowly. “I think she’s staying.”
“But she works for that turnip. What’s she going to do if Dad cancels his lease? She won’t have a job. Dad still owes her for the other half of the articles, bu—”
“The articles are useless now,” I interrupted her. “They worked when this didn’t exist.” I smacked the sheet of paper. “Now they’re just a smokescreen for all the bullshit. He’ll pay her because he keeps to his word. And it’s when Dad cancels the lease. We both know he’ll find a way to break it no matter what happens.”
“But she still won’t have a job. She didn’t get a degree to come home and do nothing whether she’s dating you or not.”
“Stop giving me more things to worry about.”
“I’m just saying.” She turned her head to the side and looked up at me from the other end of the bed. “You’re gonna have to deal with that sooner or later.”
“Can we please make it later? I think I have enough of an issue right now.”
“Because you can’t get hold of her?”
I stared at her flatly. “You know what would be real helpful, Cam? If you fucked off. Right now.”
She rolled her eyes as she sat up. “I’m trying to help.”
“Yeah, except you’re doing a fucking terrible job of it. I appreciate the effort, but next time, raise your points to yourself in the mirror and see how you feel when you’re done.”
My sister stopped in the doorway and looked at me over her shoulder. “You’re an asshole when you’re annoyed.”
“You’re an asshole all the time.”
“Whatever. Jerk.” She flipped me off before she slammed my bedroom door behind her.
I rubbed my hand down my face and closed my eyes. “What the fuck do I do?” I asked the empty room as if it would have an answer for me. When the only sound was of me sighing out a breath, I said, “Yeah. I don’t know either.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
LANI
Two light knocks sounded at the door to the room Connie and I were in. She was fast asleep, so I quickly got up and ran to the door. I checked on her to make sure she wasn’t disturbed and opened it.
“Is she asleep?” Dr. Gordon asked.
“Yeah. She finally settled after the injections.” I pulled the door shut and hooked my thumbs through my belt loops.
“I have her results here.” She waved the folder. “You’re listed as her next of kin, so if you’d like, I can share them with you now.”
“Sure.” I was her next of kin?
Dr. Gordon opened the door to the next room and motioned for me to step inside. I hesitated at the thought of leaving Connie completely alone, but the doctor’s gentle smile coaxed me inside.
She shut the door and opened the file. “She has a kidney infection. I looked over her records, and aside from a regular UTI at the beginning of her pregnancy, she hasn’t shown symptoms, that I know of, or had any infections detected in her urine.”
“Is that the reason she’s in labor already?”
She rocked her head from side to side. “I can’t say definitively, of course, but it is a cause of premature labor. In this instance, I would have to say yes, as the infection is pretty bad. The good news is that we can treat it and hopefully, combined with today’s efforts, we can solve the problem.”
“Is there anything else wrong with her?”
“Her blood pressure is a little high, but that’s to be expected with the stress of the situation. We’ll keep checking it. Her bloods came back clear, so I’m fairly certain it’s just a matter of treating the infection and handling the immediate situation.”
“Okay, thank you. What about when she leaves?”
“Bed rest until the end, I’m afraid.” She smiled sadly. “If her labor starts again and it’s too early, we may not be able to stop it in time. She’s got a long couple of months ahead of her. Can you stay with her?”
“She’s coming home with me.” I smiled back. “When will we know if she’s okay?”
“A few more hours and we’ll be able to tell you if the treatments have worked. Hopefully, they have.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
BRETT
The next morning rolled around too soon. I’d barely slept, and I hadn’t gotten any closer to figuring out how to handle this situation with Anton Reeves.
My father, however, had. His lawyer was working on getting him out of the building because of the blackmail side of things. I didn’t know how he was doing it, and I didn’t ask. If I focused on that, I’d be focusing on the fact my actions had affected yet another person—Lani.
It was just one more person I’d screwed over, except this time, it was the person I cared about more than anyone else.
“Oh. You’re awake.” Aunt Bel sipped her coffee.
“Have you moved in or something?” I asked, faltering at the sound of her voice. “You’re always here.”
“No, but I might yet.” She shot me a wicked smile. “You’re fun to mess with.”
“Great.” I pulled a mug down from the cupboard and reached for the coffee machine.
The water tank was empty. Of course it was.
I sighed and did my best to ignore the even wider grin of my elderly aunt as I turned toward the water dispenser in the fridge door. She snickered into her drink as I filled up the tank and put it back.
Oh to be as easily amused as a child. Was that what awaited me in sixty years? Shit.
I made my coffee without talking to her. Thankfully, she didn’t talk to me either. She’d only say something to annoy me, and as much as I respected her, I sometimes struggled to like her.
My phone rang on the island.
Aunt Bel snatched it up with ridiculously fast reflexes before I even had a chance to reach it. “Hello?”
“Give me my phone.” I held out my hand. “Aunt Bel. Now.”
“Fine. It’s a girl.” She put the phone in my hand and turned away. She hummed as she left the room.
I shook my head and lifted the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hey.” Lani’s worried voice traveled down the line. “Why do I have eleventy billion missed calls from you and Camille?”
I gripped the edge of the counter and shut my eyes. “Why haven’t you answered your phone?”
“Long story,” she answered. “And the calls?”
“Long story.” What? It was true. “Can you come over? It’s not really a conversation I want to have in person.”
“I...er, okay. I need to grab some breakfast on the way. Can you give me half an hour?”
“Sure. Just come in when you get here.”
“Um, okay.” She paused. “Is everything okay?”
No. “I’ll see you soon.” I hung up and put my phone down. How could I answer that question without getting drawn in to a full conversation?