CHAPTER THREE
DON’T LET ME DOWN
“Audiemar.” Phoebe rushed to him with tears in her eyes when he appeared in the waiting room.
She’d been pacing for the last twenty minutes, and her feet were starting to hurt in the Prada heels. Latching onto his arms, she sniffled.
“Thank God you’re here.” She sniffled, throwing herself into his arms and pressing her head into his chest as Kong came up behind him.
“What happened? What are they saying?” he asked.
“Nothing! Not a damn thing!” Her head popped up, and a fierce darkness rested in her eyes. “They haven’t said anything since I got here other than, she’s in surgery. The police have been here. I guess there was some kind of ambush, and a car chase. Her car was hit during all that. They said it spun out of control, and she went through the windshield.” Phoebe choked, hand slipping over her mouth and releasing a soft wail.
“Come here. Have a seat.” Audiemar led her to a chair. “Kong, go get her some water please.”
He turned to his son briefly with a sharp stare. Nodding, Kong quickly ambled to the end of the hall where he spotted the vending machines. Nay had to be okay. He realized theirlast conversation was heated, but he didn’t want her to die. Before the two of them started smashing, he respected her and liked spending time with her occasionally. She was a gorgeous distraction, and they could laugh together. Kong didn’t do that with a lot of people aside from his brothers. He spent most of his time dealing with stiff clients or conversing through email and teams all day. One on one time with Nay was a break from his mundane routine.
Moments later, when he rounded the corner, his stomach tanked when he spotted the surgeon speaking with Phoebe and his father. If he ever questioned that she loved her daughter, seeing her distraught over her current condition was proof. Phoebe might not be winning any mother of the year awards, but she would do anything for her child. All she wanted was to spare Nayelli from all her mistakes, and she’d made plenty over the years. Kong neared them just in time to catch what the doctor was saying.
“We’ve got her in recovery. She hasn’t woken up yet, but she is stable. She suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, and there was a lot of swelling. We were able to stop the bleeding and repair any tissue damage. We won’t know the extent of any side effects from her injuries until she wakes up, but it could lead to memory loss, trouble with speech, and even mobility. She’ll need therapy, but we are hopeful from the initial post op exam.”
“Can we see her?” Phoebe swiped a few tears that had fallen from her eyes.
“Yes, follow me.”
“Kong, will you come with me?” Phoebe asked, blinking away the mist in her eyes when she faced him.
He cleared his throat and glanced at his father. “Yeah, sure.”
His legs felt like lead moving beside her. Once they reached Nayelli, Phoebe rushed past the other patients recovering and straight to her.
“Oh, my baby!” She gently threw herself over her and held her.
Aside from the white gauze wrapped around her head, she seemed to be sleeping. Phoebe swept some of her hair onto her shoulder and studied her. Grabbing her hand, she held it between both of hers and kissed the top.
“Come on baby, wake up for mama,” she pleaded.
Kong grabbed a nearby chair and slid it closer to the bed so that she could take a seat.
“Thank you.” A rare, soft smile graced her full mouth when she sat down. “I appreciate you being here, Kong. I know you two had a little argument or whatever, but… as far as I’m concerned, we’re basically family. I care about your father, and you. I know I might not come off all nurturing like Jane…” She tittered, and Kong immediately went rigid at the mention of his mother’s name.
It was so easy to push her to the furthest corner of his mind and try not to disturb the memories. The minute someone dropped her name, it all came crashing out like an overstuffed closet. Missing Jane had become part of who he was. For so long, he wondered if he would ever be free of that, until he realized he didn’t want to be. She and Twyla reserved a part of him that another living being could never touch.
“There won’t ever be another woman like Jane,” Kong declared. “She was one of a kind and cut from a cloth they stopped making a long time ago.”
Phoebe silenced her rebuttal and bowed her head so he wouldn’t catch the flicker of jealousy behind her gaze. The topic of Jane was still very sensitive to her.
“You’re right. She was lucky too. I don’t think anybody ever loved her as much as Audiemar, you, and your brothers. I know she would walk through fire for any of you too. I used to envythat,” Phoebe muttered, eyes drifting to Nayelli again. “Did she ever tell you how and where we met?”
“Nah.” Kong shook his head.
“At the mall, in the security office. We both got caught shoplifting in the same department store. We ended up having to take diversion classes and everything. So, I guess you could say that’s how we bonded.” Phoebe snickered and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “That was so long ago. Feels like another lifetime.”
“Mommy,” Nayelli whispered.
Both Kong and Phoebe’s attention flew to her face. Her eyes weren’t open, but a grimace of pain warped her features, and her brows came together. Jumping to her feet, Phoebe moved closer.
“Hey, baby. I’m here.”
