Chapter 20
Twenty
Ian paced the waiting area they had set up for TFH at Tripler Army Medical Center.
They had moved them out of the hallway because the staff had said they were disrupting things.
He wasn’t sure what that meant, because none of them had been disruptive, but they did have a lot of people who seemed to want to check on them.
Of course, there were a lot of people there.
Dillon had shown up in full force, including the bosses, Luc and Conner.
Junie had shown up a few minutes earlier with refreshments for everyone.
TFH was also there. Team Bravo was there—including Maya, who had been given a bone by Junie.
How she knew to do that, he would never know, but she always seemed to know what everyone needed.
Even Del Delano and Adam Lee had shown up, along with Jin Lee, Adam’s wife. She was one of Lila’s friends.
“Pacing isn’t going to help,” Autumn muttered.
He glanced at his sister but kept pacing.
If not, he would start demanding to see Lila again.
Autumn had been out of sorts since she’d found out that Lila had been shot.
And, granted, it wasn’t all that bad, but the staff was worried about the situation.
She’d had a stab wound, a concussion, and she had been drugged in the last few days.
Now a shot to the leg and another fucking concussion.
“Let him go,” Seth said. “They’ll kick him out if he starts bugging them again.”
Ian gave his brother-in-law a grateful look as he turned and made his way back down the hallway. They had sectioned them off at the very end of a hallway, a little apart from ICU.
He made another turn and started to stride down that hallway when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, expecting to see a staff member. Instead, a diminutive elderly woman stood there, a cane in her hand, her gaze looking over the gathering.
“Bloody hell,” his father said rising from his seat. He glanced at his father and saw that he had gone completely white. “Judith?”
As she drew closer, something nudged at his memory. He had met this woman a long time ago, and even if he hadn’t, he would have known who she was to Lila. They had the same eyes.
“Samuel. I need an update.”
He glanced at his father, wondering if he had known about this. The stunned expression told Ian that he had not known.
Ian turned back to Judith Eddington. “Everyone thinks you’re dead.”
“The reports of my death have been somewhat exaggerated.”
She was cracking jokes? Well, at least he knew where Lila got that little idiosyncrasy. “She’s fine. They have her in ICU and we’re waiting to be sent back.”
She studied him for a long time. “You let her get shot.”
“She was shot because she was trying to protect my pregnant sister.”
Judith straightened her spine. “Of course she did. She’s an Eddington.” The quiet arrogance had him grinding his teeth.
“Well, that shite is going to stop right now.”
The woman’s eyes widened, and something that he could not discern in the moment moved over her expression. Before he could figure it out, they were interrupted.
“I’ve been told that you all are here for Lila Eddington?”
That had been the name they had given the EMTs. He knew that she would not want to be associated with her father.
“I am her grandmother,” Judith said.
“She can only see one person at a time, and only family.”
She could just bugger off if she thought they could keep him out of her room.
“I’ll be right back,” Judith said. He opened his mouth, but her narrowed gaze stopped him. “I promise, I will be right back.”
He hesitated for a long moment, then he nodded.
She followed the nurse to the ICU and Ian swallowed. He needed to hold it together, but with every minute he was kept away from Lila, he felt all of his famous control slip away.
A hand took his, and he looked down at his sister. “Everything is fine. If they don’t let you back after dragon lady is done with her, I’ll threaten people.”
He smiled at his sister. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, bro. Now, you need some water and something to eat. Gotta keep your health up so you can take care of that woman. She is a magnet for disaster.”
Lila had barely opened her eyes, but she knew her grandmother was in the room.
“Memaw Judy,” she croaked out.
Her mouth twitched, as she moved closer to the bed. It had been a couple years since she had seen her grandmother in the flesh, and she looked as if she had aged ten years. Her eyes shimmered with tears.
“I told you not to use that horrible name,” she said, her voice small.
Panic hit her square in the chest. If her grandmother was worried, that was a problem. “What happened? Did that crazy bitch shoot anyone else? Is Ian okay?”
Judith’s gaze softened. “You got shot, Delilah. Of course I’m worried.”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s nothing.”
“And the concussion you got on Kauai was nothing? And the stab wound?”
She frowned. “It all turned out okay.”
Her grandmother harrumphed. “Either way, it’ll be nice to return to England and not have to hide out anymore. I’m sure the doctors will let you out soon and we will be off.”
But I don’t want to leave Hawai’i.
She bit back the comment, because she wasn’t even sure of what she could do here.
Granted, she had a trust fund that would allow her to do whatever she wanted.
Unfortunately, what she wanted might not be available to her.
She had told Ian she loved him, but then she didn’t remember anything after that.
“Delilah, you are far away again.”
She blinked and brought her grandmother back into focus. “Sorry.”
“No worries. You have had two concussions in a week. Probably not a good thing.”
“No. Probably not.”
There was a long beat of silence in the room. “You have quite the group of people waiting for you. From what I understand, they had to put them in an area to keep the staff from engaging with them.”
Her heart lifted. “Yeah?”
“That Task Force Hawai’i is there, along with Dillon Security. Your young man is wearing a path in the hallway.”
“Young man?” She didn’t think of Ian as young. “He’s in his mid-thirties.”
“Everyone is young to me. I’m ancient.”
Her mouth twitched. “So, Ian is worried?”
“Yes. He was ready to tear the place apart when they told him only family was allowed back.”
“Hmm.”
“You know, I often worried you wouldn’t make any friends when you went out into the world.
Not because there was anything wrong with you, mind you.
Still, when you experience trauma at a young age like that…
I worried you wouldn’t want to make connections.
But then you met the twins. I always thought you and that Elwood might make a good coupling. ”
She made a gagging noise.
“Delilah, really.”
“He’s like a brother to me.”
She nodded. “That’s important. But I wanted you to have something more. You deserved more than just hunting for the person who killed your family. It’s my fault you spent years doing that.”
“No. I would have done it with or without you.”
Her grandmother nodded, as she stepped closer and took Lila’s hand. “I’m very happy you are safe, child.”
Tears filled her eyes. She blinked, not even trying to hold them back.
It had to be the medication they’d pumped into her, because she didn’t mind the tears falling down her cheeks.
Her grandmother squeezed her hand. She was the one person in the world Lila had always counted on.
Well until she’d met a very stuffy MI-6 agent with a chip on his shoulder.
“I might not come back to England.”
“Is that a fact?” Her grandmother did not sound surprised.
“I like Hawai’i. I’m not sure what I’ll do for a job, but right now it feels as if it suits me.”
Her grandmother’s small smile caught Lila off guard. “I think it does, but I think it is more about the man.”
“I don’t even know…we never talked about anything past making sure I don’t die.”
She set Lila’s hand down on the mattress and patted the top of it. “That man is not about to let you slip away without a fight. I’ll go get him.”
“They said only family.”
Her grandmother sniffed. “As if I’d let some idiotic rule get in my way.”
That was Judith Eddington. She didn’t give a damn about anyone’s rules and regulations but her own.
“I love you,” she said.
Her grandmother’s smile faded and she nodded as she blinked rapidly. “I love you too, Delilah.” She leaned forward and hugged her gently. The scent of Chanel No. 5 clinging to her. “Your mother would be bloody proud of you.”
Another rush of tears filled Lila’s eyes. She tried to swallow, but the knot in her throat made it difficult. Memaw seemed smaller, more fragile. But, when she pulled away, her spine of steel was in place.
“I’ll be right back with your young man.”
Then, she pulled away. With a smile, she left Lila with her thoughts.
Ian was ready to smash something.
“Calm down, bro,” Autumn said. Yeah, his sister was starting to get on his nerves. He would yell at her, but since she’d found out she was pregnant, Seth had been overly protective. It was annoying.
“Autumn, stop trying to irritate your brother,” his father said, who still looked stunned.
“You had no idea Judith was still alive?”
He shook his head. “No, but I should have. Judith Eddington wouldn’t have died a quiet death.”
“That’s good to know,” she said from behind Ian. He turned ready to fight her to be able to see Lila. He hesitated though because she looked as though she had aged five years in the last few minutes.
“Come,” she ordered, and turned to walk back down the hallway.
He did as she ordered, because she was heading in the direction of Lila.
“In here,” she said, walking into an office. It was empty except for boxes.
“I thought we were going to see Lila.”
“You seem attached to my granddaughter.”
“You could say that.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I did not think she would form an attachment with you, but I guess over the years she did.”
“And?”
“You know it takes more to build a relationship.”