Chapter 17
Kian
The horrible sound of retching startles me awake, and I sit up immediately, blinking my eyes.
Shit.
Quickly on my feet, I cross the room and grab the door handle. As soon as I burst into the bathroom, the first thing I see is the saddest fucking sight.
Ace is on the floor, her legs folded under her, while her face hangs over the toilet as she vomits. She has one hand holding her hair away from her face and the other to hold herself up.
“Baby.” I crowd behind her, squatting down as I reach for her hair to pull it back.
“Kian, get out,” she cries, trying to push me away.
I rise and go over to the vanity to look through the drawers. “I’m not going anywhere, Ace. I need to find something to tie your hair up, though. Do you normally get sick after drinking?”
She groans and lowers her face again; the sound of her heaving makes me flinch.
Fuck.
How the hell is she this sick from three drinks?
“I have a migraine,” she murmurs quietly, then lets out a quiet sob that creates a thousand little cracks in my heart.
“Migraine?” I dig through another drawer.
Fuck. How do I not have a single fucking thing to tie her hair back?
When she starts retching again, I abandon my search and go to her. “I got you, baby girl. I’m right here.”
“I need ice,” she cries weakly.
“Yep. Be right back.” I’m already darting out of the bathroom.
I grab my phone and jog through the house to the kitchen. From the freezer, I pull out the entire ice bucket and take the entire thing back up with me.
This can’t be normal for a migraine.
“What do you need me to do with it, baby?”
She looks up from where she’s still sprawled by the toilet, her sad eyes sparkling with tears. “I want to chew on one and put some more in a towel.”
I hand her a cube, then wrap a handful up in a washcloth, and hold it out to her. As soon as she takes it, I pull out my phone, open the browser app to a search engine, and awkwardly type “migraines” with one finger.
Within a minute, I’ve scanned numerous websites for information.
“Ace, tell me what you need. Do you have medication somewhere?”
Instead of answering me, she sways and then lurches for the toilet again, though this time, she has nothing left to come out.
Fuck this.
“I’m calling a doctor.”
“No,” she says, coughing. “No, I’m fine.”
The line is already ringing, and a second later, a voice I’ve known for most of my life answers. “What’s going on, Kian?”
“Hey, Doc, I need you at my house. My girl has a migraine, and she won’t stop vomiting.”
Before I even finish my sentence, I hear our personal doctor moving. Dr. Payton gets paid a fortune to be available to us at the drop of a hat; whenever we need medical help we don’t want on record.
“Be there in ten.”
“Kian, I don’t need a doctor.”
“This isn’t normal, Ace. He’s coming. End of discussion.”
Instead of arguing with me, she sniffles, and my heart cracks right down the damn center.
Kneeling beside her, I run my hand over her forehead. Tears roll down her cheeks. I’d do anything in this fucking world to switch places with her right now.
“Can I carry you to the bed?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. I don’t want to move. I might be sick again.”
Rising, I go out to the bedroom and snatch three pillows from the bed and a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Here, baby girl,” I say quietly when I return, dropping the pillows by her knees. “Sit on these. Is your leg okay?”
“I’m fine,” she murmurs.
Fucking liar.
Ace is far from fine right now.
And it’s scaring the hell out of me.
My doorbell rings, and I curse, then open my security app and unlock the door remotely.
As soon as footsteps approach, I become very aware that Ace only has my T-shirt on. Before the doctor reaches the bathroom, I exit and stop him.
“Hold on,” I growl before I rip one of the throw blankets off the end of my bed and stride into the bathroom, squatting down to tuck it around her.
When I rise and turn around, the doc is staring at me with a smirk, but as soon as I step to the side, he switches into doctor mode and goes to Ace.
“I’m Dr. Payton. Kian said you have a migraine. Have you taken any medication yet?”
“She took ibuprofen three hours ago, before we went to sleep,” I answer for her.
He narrows his gaze at me, then turns his attention back to her. “Any other medications, sweetheart?”
The muscles in the back of my neck tighten. He’d better fucking watch it.
Ace shakes her head as she uses the toilet for support. “No. I have some at home.”
Dr. Payton nods. “How long have you had migraines?”
She takes several breaths, her eyes closed. “For the past year. I had a severe concussion when I was in a car accident.”
Jesus Christ.
As they talk about the pain she’s experiencing and what kind of medication she normally takes when she has a migraine, something deep within me aches with the need to protect Ace. Because I’m pretty fucking sure no one ever has before.
This wasn’t supposed to be complicated.
“I’m going to give you the same type of medication you take, but a stronger dose. It’s going to make you drowsy, so the best thing to do is sleep,” Dr. Payton tells her as he draws liquid from a vial.
“I’ll put her to bed. What else will help her?”
“Everyone is different. What she has is an ocular migraine. It sits around her left eye, and it’s a horrible stabbing pain. It can make patients nauseous and off balance. Light often makes it worse. The best thing you can do is make sure she’s comfortable until the medication kicks in.”
“That’s it?” I scoff, rising to my full height, not giving a fuck that I’m only in my underwear right now. Balling my hands into fists, I glare at him. “Doc, that’s not good enough. Her being in pain isn’t good enough. Give her something else. Something that will help right now.”
“Kian, the medication I gave her is very strong. You just need to give it time. Until then, get her comfortable and try to hydrate her.”
My stomach burns when I glance at my poor girl again, balled up next to the toilet, her eyes closed as she holds the now-melting ice pack to her forehead. Is she falling asleep?
“Fine. Get out,” I snap at him.
Dr. Payton sighs and nods. “Call me if she hasn’t improved in the next couple of hours. I can give her a second dose, but we have to wait at least that long.”
Without waiting for any more from me, he picks up his bag and looks at Ace, but she doesn’t move or open her eyes, so he walks out, leaving us alone again.
I scoop her into my arms and carry her into my bedroom, then lower her onto the bed, pulling the covers around her.
From the bathroom, I grab the empty trash can and set it on the floor next to her.
“Baby girl, take a drink of water for me,” I tell her as I hold the bottle out.
Her eyes flutter open, and she looks at me, then sighs and closes them again.
In this moment, I can’t help but smile at her. She’s even a brat when she’s sick.
“Angel, be a good girl for Daddy and take some sips,” I repeat a little more firmly.
A small noise escapes her as she opens her eyes again, and I swear, her bottom lip pops out in the tiniest pout.
It’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.
But then she scoots against the headboard, so she’s propped up.
When I hold the water bottle to her mouth, she tries to take it, but I capture her wrist with my free hand.
“Let me take care of you.”
As she takes several sips, her eyes droop closed. “No more,” she finally whispers.
She didn’t drink as much as I’d like, but I’m not going to push her yet. I set the bottle on the nightstand, and before I turn back toward her, she’s snoring softly.
I suppose I owe the doctor an apology for being such an asshole. Whatever he gave her seems to have done the trick because she’s out like a light. For the first time since I woke up to the sound of her getting sick, I can actually take a full breath.
I’ve been watching her sleep for eight hours and thirty-four minutes. The first hour, I watched every rise and fall of her chest to make sure she was still breathing.
Then I thought of all the reasons why I can’t get into a relationship right now.
The main one that kept coming to mind was work.
I don’t have time. I can’t offer Ace the time she deserves.
If she’s even interested in anything more.
She made it clear the first night we met that she only wanted something physical.
So why do I want to keep her? Why do I want to lock her up in my house, where I can look after her and make sure she’s taking care of herself? It’s been a year since her accident. Why the fuck is she still in pain? Why is she getting migraines?
I spent the next several hours researching every single thing I could about ocular migraines.
Then I tried searching for news articles about her car accident, but nothing came up with her name, and I have no idea where she moved from.
There’s very little I know about Ace, other than her soul talks to me when my cock is buried deep inside her pussy.
In my contacts, I hover over a name in my phone for a long moment before I open a message thread.
Kian: Lacey Santoro. I want to know everything.
Seconds later, a response comes.
Cassian: Is there a fucking reason you and your brothers always choose to text me at the crack of dawn?
Lips twitching, I respond.
Kian: Because you’re the sunshine we need in our lives, Cass. Just be glad you’re alive to wake up each morning instead of being buried in the desert where Xander wanted to put you.
Cassian: I’d like to see you motherfuckers try.
I laugh at that. Cassian Black is a dangerous man. He has skills that my brothers and I don’t. He could probably kill us before we could get to him, to be totally honest. He’s some sort of assassin, special-ops guy. I don’t even know what the fuck the guy does.
Cassian: I’ll get back to you soon.
As I peer down at Ace, sleeping peacefully next to me, my heart constricts.
“Daddy’s got you,” I whisper, running the back of my index finger over one of her cheeks.
I send a group text to my brothers as I lean my head against the dark upholstered headboard, listening to Ace’s steady breathing.
Kian: I’m not coming to work today.
Beckett: Dude, are you on your deathbed?
Cash: What hospital are you at?
Xander: Blink if you’re being held hostage.
Grinning, I send them the middle-finger emoji and toss the device aside. Maybe I’ll close my eyes for a bit and get some sleep until she wakes up. Then I’ll feed and hydrate her and snuggle up with her again. Sounds like a perfect fucking day to me.
Music starts playing, and it takes me a second to realize it’s Ace’s phone. At least she has one with her this time.
Seconds pass, and then the room goes quiet again, but not for long. Irritation prickles at the back of my neck. Who the fuck is calling her this early? I swear to God, if they wake her up by calling like this, I’m going to kill them.
Her phone stops ringing and then starts again. By the fourth time, I throw the covers off and pad barefoot across the thick carpet to where she dropped her purse on the floor by the door.
Jordyn and Quinn would murder me if they knew I was going through Ace’s purse.
Apparently, that is a no-go zone for men.
Which I never knew until I saw Cash with stitches in his head from Jordyn throwing a high heel at him when he’d looked through her bag.
I’m pretty sure that still hasn’t stopped him.
He might be my oldest brother, but sometimes the guy is a fucking idiot.
And I mean that with all the love in the world.
I grab her phone and stalk out of my bedroom, closing the door softly behind me. Then I storm down the hall toward the stairs, taking them two at a time as her phone lights up and starts ringing again.
Glaring down at the caller ID, my muscles tense.
L
That’s all it says.
“Who the fuck is this?” I demand as I answer.
The line is quiet for a moment before a male voice speaks.
“Where the fuck is Lacey?”
White-hot anger races through my veins like fire as I stop in my tracks. Who does this motherfucker think he is calling her by her first name?
“None of your business, asshole. How the fuck do you know her?”
The line goes silent, and I glare at the screen, waiting for another call to come in from the man I’m going to hunt down and kill for calling her.
Ace said she was single. She didn’t mention any other men in her life.
“Fuck,” I growl as I squeeze the power button on her phone so hard I’m surprised the entire thing doesn’t crack as it shuts off.
I might not have time for a relationship, but I’m sure as hell not going to share Ace with any other man while I’m fucking her. And once she feels better, I’m going to make that perfectly clear to her.
And I’m going to hunt down whoever this motherfucker is, and I’m going to slaughter him.