But he wasn’t. And the whole reason I was doing this was to get answers to help him.
“There are things that need to be cleared up and…” Declan cleared his throat. “I want to talk about what happened in the office tonight.”
Xander’s eyes came to mine. He gave me a questioning look.
Heat burned my cheeks. God, I was so glad he hadn’t been able to see that. But who knew what he’d heard?
I considered this, weighing my options. I needed answers. Right now, Declan was the only one who had those answers.
“Tomorrow morning,” I said.
Xander shook his head, waving his hands like he was trying to erase a horrible mistake I’d made.
“All right,” Declan said after a moment. “I’ll come to get you.”
“No. I’ll meet you. Somewhere busy. With a lot of people.”
“We can’t discuss what we need to discuss in a public place—”
“It’s that or I hang up the phone right now.”
“Dammit,” he growled. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew what this was really about.”
“But I don’t and getting pissed off isn’t making your case any stronger.”
He grumbled something else under his breath but finally conceded. “Fine. Where?”
“Patty’s. It’s a diner on—”
“I know it. Nine o’clock.”
“That’s fine,” I told him.
There was a long pause, then he said, “See you there.”
He ended the call without another word. I lowered the phone to the table and snagged my wine glass.
“What happened in the office?” Xander asked his eyes still wide.
“Nothing,” I snapped, though it was more out of embarrassment than irritation about him pestering me for the answer. “What the hell did I just get myself into?”
“Whatever the hell it is, you’re not dealing with it alone. I’m going with you tomorrow.”
Appreciation washed over me. Good. I didn’t know what Declan was going to say. So far, nothing I’d expected about him had turned out to be true.
And I was afraid there were still more surprises to come.
Chapter 15
The ringing of my phone woke me up at 7:30 am.
At first, I thought it was my alarm, but when I groaned and rolled over to check the time, I saw I still had twenty minutes. But when I lifted the phone and recognized the number from the hospital, I woke up immediately and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Is this Royal?” a woman asked.
“Yes, it’s me—are you calling about my dad?”
She identified herself as one of the nurses who worked at the hospital my dad was staying at. I recognized her name and vaguely remembered her face. She was new.
“I’ve called to tell you that your dad woke up early this morning,” she said. “He was asking for you.”
“Wait—he woke up?” I asked, my heart jumping out of my chest.
“Yes, early this morning.”
Oh, God. He wasn’t in a coma anymore. My throat tightened. “Is he okay?”
“The doctors are still in with him, but he looks to be doing well.”
Relief slid through me, coupled with excitement. It had been almost three months and he was finally awake.
I stood, already searching for clothes to wear. “Thank you for calling. I’m coming soon.”
Once we hung up, I fumbled through my purse for the card Randy had given me yesterday. Shit. What if he wasn’t up yet?
I risked it and sent him a text, hoping he wasn’t already driving someone else somewhere. Are you up for a drive? Kind of an emergency.
I pulled clothes out of the closet and then moved to my dresser to grab underwear. A quick shower and I’d hopefully be on my way.
Randy’s response came through before I got in the shower. One quick drop-off then I’m all yours. Be there in 20.
“Randy, you’re my hero,” I murmured.
I was in and out of the shower in less than ten minutes. I brushed my hair and sprayed in some leave-in conditioner but didn’t put any more effort into my appearance. It didn’t matter. This was my dad.
I’d sat with him for hours upon end after his accident. We’d been best friends before he’d gotten hurt.
He’d recognize me no matter how I looked.
I found Xander with an earpiece in his ear, pacing across the living room.
“Another meeting,” he mouthed at me.
Dammit. I was hoping he’d be able to go with me.
I pointed to the door. “I have to go. I’ll text you later.”
He frowned and glanced at the clock. “What about Dark? No, Mr. Yamaguchi, I was talking to my assistant. Can you hold for a minute?” He pressed a button at his ear and walked to me. “Don’t tell me you’re going to meet Dark alone. I’ll be done in thirty minutes and I’ll go with you like I said.”
“No, I have to go to the hospital. My dad woke up.”
“Royal! Shit—” He glanced around. “Okay, I’ll grab my stuff and—”
“It’s fine. I just want to get there and see him. I swear I’ll text you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I have to go. My Uber’s going to be here any minute.”
He looked torn, but finally, he nodded. “Okay. But do not go see Dark on your own, okay?”
“I won’t—”
“I’m serious, Royal. Call me before you do anything. I want you to be safe.”
“I will.” I kissed his cheek and hurried out the door.
Randy’s familiar car sat at the curb. He smiled when I got in. “Emergency hiking trip?”
“Actually, no. The hospital.”
He turned and immediately started driving. “I hope everything’s okay.”
I explained the situation to him as he drove, keeping my phone in my hand in case something new came up.
It was already after eight and I had no idea if I’d make it in time to
