My heart ached for Jace, and for Billie to witness such a shocking act of violence, but I was relieved. Rhett had gone out for an evening appointment with his therapist—apparently, he was more inclined to talk about his feelings in the dark or some shit—so Gray and I waited for him to return before heading to the hospital.
We approached the nurse’s station and asked where we could find Jace’s sister, but she denied us access. The Adams were only allowing family to visit, she said. I searched the waiting room that she’d directed us to but couldn’t see Billie anywhere, so they must have let her through.
It wasn’t much of a wait before Jace came storming back through the double doors with a haunted look on his pale face. Blood stained his shirt and hands, and his eyes were red-rimmed. He didn’t see us at first, then Rhett strode over and hugged him.
Jace flinched, then recognized his friend. His expression crumpled as he hugged our eccentric guitarist right back. I joined them, wrapping my arms around both men, and Gray clapped Jace on the shoulder in a stoic display of love and support.
“How’s Tess?” Rhett asked in a rough voice. Of all of us, only Rhett knew Jace’s sister well. I’d never met her, and Gray had given her a wide berth since she’d made a drunken pass at him back when the band was new. Rhett considered her a friend, though.
Jace sucked in a shuddering breath, released the hug, and ran a blood-stained hand over his hair. “Um, I don’t know,” he confessed. “Not good. They just took her in for surgery, so we won’t know until… until they’re done.”
“What happened, and where’s Billie?” I asked, trying really hard not to lose my shit. They’d taken Tess to an expensive private hospital, the kind with heavy security and a strong police presence in the waiting room. It reassured me that we, as Bellerose, would be left alone for once.
Jace swallowed hard, his eyes on the ceiling as he searched for words. “She’s with mom, safe. And… uh, it was… fuck, I don’t even know; it all happened so fucking fast.”
“I’ll get you some coffee,” Gray rumbled, rubbing Jace’s shoulder in another gesture of comfort. “Sit down. Take your time.”
Jace nodded, still anguished. He made his way over to the seating area with us and sat down to lean his forearms on his knees. “It was some chick. The valet attendant. She recognized me, then… I still don’t get it. She started snarling about how I ruined her life and then pulled out a knife.” His eyes pinched and his jaw ticked with tension as he rolled the events over in his head for probably the thousandth time. “I thought she would attack Billie. Everyone has been attacking Billie, haven’t they? So I grabbedher. Protectedher. And this bitch… she went for Tess instead.”
“Shit,” Rhett breathed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Jace, man, I’m so fucking sorry. She’ll be okay, though. Tess is a tough chick; she’ll fight.”
Jace inhale, his whole body shuddering like he was right on the edge of tears. I didn’t blame him.
“What do we know about the attacker?” I asked quietly. I refused to call her a girl because that implied some kind of humanity that this psycho clearly lacked. “Was she arrested?”
Jace shook his head, murderous anger flashing across his face. “No, the deranged bitch took off running and just left Tess lying there in a pool of her own blood. I have no clue what happened afterward, but the nurse mentioned there were cops on the scene. I don’t… I wasn’t paying attention. I don’t know.”
Gray returned with a little paper cup and passed it to Jace. “The coffee sucks, but sometimes it helps to have something to do. Even if that something is drinking shit coffee.”
Jace took a small sip, then winced. “You speak the truth.”
“Will Billie be out soon?” Rhett asked, looking around with a frown of worry.
Jace nodded in the direction he’d come from. “Yep. Mom was having a breakdown, so Billie’s sitting with her.”
Almost on cue, the automatic double doors opened again, and our precious girl came out with her arm around a weeping Lydia Adams. I held back my urge to go to her and grab her in my arms, sensing that she was focused on getting Lydia settled in a seat in the waiting area. Jace’s dad, Greg, followed them out with puffy, red eyes himself.
When Greg saw us all there, his expression softened. Then he saw me, and his eyes narrowed with anger.
“Angelo,” he said in a rough voice.
I stepped away from Jace and the guys, taking a few steps toward Greg. “Mr. Adams.” I put my hand out for him to shake, but he just eyed it like I’d offered a spitting viper.
He inhaled sharply, glaring daggers. “I heard you slid into Florence’s place in the band. Just like a Ricci, exploiting a tragedy for their own gain.”
Ouch. Then again, Greg had never been my biggest fan. Back in high school, he’d thought I was a bad influence who’d eventually get Jace hurt. Turned out he was right. I’d let Billie break my best friend's heart and accepted all the blame, pretending like we no longer loved him. All of it was painfully untrue, but it meant Jace got to live his dream of being a rock star. I would never regret that.
Tightening my jaw, I dropped my hand back to my side. “Sir, whoever hurt your daughterwillpay. That is something I can promise you.”
He stared at me for a long moment, then gave a small nod. “Good. If there is one and only one thing your family is good for, it’s this. Find her, kill her, make it hurt. You do that, and I will look past the shit you put my boy through all those years ago, since, clearly, he’s forgiven you and Billie both.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
Greg looked over to where Billie sat with Lydia, rubbing her back and speaking in a soothing way. His expression softened dramatically as he stared at the two women. “Hear me when I say this, Angelo. If you hurt that girl again, or my Jace, I’ll gut you myself. Not everyone deserves a second chance.”
I said nothing back to that because not a shred of my being doubted him. Greg might not be mafia, but he was a veteran and a hard-ass at that. He’d string me up by my balls and not flinch. Greg Adams loved hard, and Jace took after him in that respect.
Greg left me with that thought, crossing over to Billie and Lydia to wrap his arm around his shaken wife and let Billie step away.
