Karson kept Wren’s stare for a few beats more before he looked to Jay, nodded once and straightened. He stayed at Wren’s side, coiled, tense and ready for attack.
She returned her gaze to Jay.
“You need to go to Stella,” Wren ordered.
Jay was careful to keep his expression even as he heard her name out loud for the first time in months. If he hadn’t trained himself better, he would’ve flinched.
He didn’t answer because he didn’t know what to say.
Wren continued to glare. “You know she’s in the hospital, right?”
Jay’s blood went cold, and there was suddenly a high-pitched ringing in his ears. He didn’t remember getting out of his chair, nor rounding the desk. He wasn’t sure what he would’ve done had Karson not stepped in front of him.
Karson’s hand was flat on his chest, and his eyes were full of threat. Of danger.
“Stand down, Jay,” Karson insisted, voice hostile.
Jay blinked. In all of the years Karson had worked for him, he’d never once been confrontational. He’d been steadfastly loyal, would take a bullet for him, would and had killed for him, Jay knew this. But right now, the closest thing he had to a friend looked like he was ready to kill him.
Jay’s gaze flickered to Wren who he had been going to ... what? Grab her by the throat, shake her, hurt her for walking into the room, wasting his time, grandstanding instead of telling him Stella was in the fucking hospital.
Jay gritted his teeth. His blood burned. Karson’s hand was still on his chest, holding him back. Jay was tempted, really fucking tempted to do something stupid. Do something like challenge the man he’d known for decades. And as capable as Jay was at handling himself, he didn’t like his chances against Karson even under regular circumstances, and especially not when he was protecting his woman.
Wren, for her part, did not look like she needed protecting. She didn’t even look rattled. In fact, she looked like she was amused. Fucking amused. While Stella was in the hospital. Jay clenched his fist and took three deep, long breaths before he stepped back.
Karson stayed in between himself and Wren, eyes homed in on Jay.
Jay didn’t trust himself to speak, so instead, he walked around his desk, picked up his phone and dialed. He didn’t even let his assistant finish her greeting.
“I need you to book me a flight to New Zealand. The next flight.” Jay kept his eyes on Wren as he put the phone down.
It was his turn to put his hands flat on his desk, not as a power move but because suddenly, he wasn’t sure if his legs would hold him.
“Tell me what you know,” he gritted out. Black spots were dancing in his vision.
Wren slowly grinned, Jay having to blink multiple times to ensure he was seeing correctly. Jay may not know much about the woman, but he knew she cared about Stella fiercely and would not even smirk if Stella was in any kind of pain or danger.
“I knew you still loved her,” she smirked in satisfaction.
Jay stared at her. “What the fuck are you talking about?” He was struggling immensely, keeping his voice and stare even.
“I mean I knew that the second you thought Stella was hurt, you’d get your head out of your ass and go to her.”
Karson had his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose behind Wren.
“You mean she’s fine?” Jay asked slowly, unable to slow his heart, quiet the roar.
Wren’s eyes narrowed. “Of course she’s not fucking fine. You shattered her heart into a million pieces, and she’s run off to the middle of nowhere New Zealand, not a Sephora or Nordstrom to be seen. She’s nowhere near fucking fine.”
“But she’s not in the hospital?” Jay asked slowly.
Karson was on alert now. He clocked Jay’s tone, realizing just how dangerous Wren’s stunt was.
To be fair, Jay was very fucking tempted to do something. He didn’t hit women, of course, but he was tempted to shake the shit out of this bitch.
“Settle down,” Wren addressed Karson. “He’s not going to hurt me.”
“How can you be so sure?” Jay asked quietly.
“Because you know how much I mean to Stella, and you wouldn’t hurt her. Not beyond what you’ve already done. And you most likely did that trying to be noble or some shit. Trying to protect her.” She rolled her eyes, looking at the back of Karson’s head. “I swear, you fucking badass alpha male types are so hell bent on being noble, on protecting us from the world, from yourselves, you’re blind to the fact that your toxic masculinity is the thing that fucks us up most.” Her gaze darted back to Jay. “If you’d thought the unthinkable, to… I don’t know, speak to Stella honestly, lay it all out and let her make her own decisions about what’s good for her and what’s not, we probably wouldn’t be in this fucking predicament. Nonetheless, we are. So you’re going to New Zealand.”