Stolen Beauty (Jackson Family 1)

JAMES

I crossed my arms over my chest as I stood over Adrian’s hospital bed. He was due to be released today, but I wanted to talk to him before he got to walk out of here.

I watched as he slowly opened his eyes, jerking back from me in shock when he looked up at me. “Jesus, James, you can’t just be staring at people like that,” he grumbled.

“I do whatever the fuck I want,” I reminded him. “I want to talk about how the fuck you managed to get shot.”

He grimaced. “Your mother,” he muttered. I arched a single eyebrow at him, not believing him for a second. He sighed. “James, brother, I swear that I’m telling the truth. She caught me dragging your dad out of the house, and she freaked out and shot me.”

“Where is my mother now?” I demanded to know.

He shrugged with his good shoulder. “I don’t know, James. I had Trent deal with her while I got your father out to the car. He told me he only put her to sleep.”

I wrapped my hand around his throat, tightening it just enough to cut off his air supply. He choked, his hands coming up to circle my wrist. “If my mother is hurt, Adrian, I will fucking kill you,” I snarled.

He jerkily nodded his head. I released him and took a step back from the bed, straightening my blazer sleeves again. “When you get released, meet me in my office,” I ordered.

I couldn’t ever picture my mother shooting at anyone, especially one of my men, to save anyone – not even my father. She was too quiet – too reserved.

It didn’t add up. Something was wrong. I had a loose end somewhere, and I hated having that shit running around while Emmaline was here.

I strode from the small room he was in and headed towards the stairs. Emmaline was halfway down them with Jaxon behind her when I began to stride up. “Little one, it’s early,” I noted. She was never up this early.

She shook her head at me, suddenly stopping as her face paled. Jaxon gripped her upper arms, steadying her. I quickly moved up the stairs, my hands gripping her waist as she drew in a deep breath. “I need to see Dr. William,” she said quietly. Her hand moved to her mouth for a moment, and she swallowed thickly. “I’m not feeling good.”

Worry twisted my gut. I quickly lifted her up into my arms and carried her down the stairs towards the hospital wing of the house. Dr. William was actually just coming down the hallway, so it worked out perfectly. “I need you to take a look at her,” I ordered as I moved past him, taking her to one of his rooms. “She’s not feeling good.”

Dr. Williams obediently turned on his heel, following me back down the hall and into the room. I gently set her on the bed, watching as she closed her eyes, her hand fluttering to her stomach as she groaned.

“Emmaline, can you tell me what’s going on?” Dr. William asked her as he grabbed his stethoscope from around his neck.

“My stomach hurts,” she mumbled. “And I feel really sick.”

I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest, staying out of his way as I silently watched him examine her. He pursed his lips when he looked at the thermometer. “No fever,” he noted. “You are on birth control, yes?” he asked her.

My heart raced and my stomach rolled with nausea at the mere thought of her being pregnant.

She nodded. “Been on it for three years now,” she mumbled.

He pushed her shirt up to right under her breasts and began to press on her abdomen. “Tell me when it begins to get tender,” he ordered.

He pressed on the right side of her abdomen, and she cried out in pain, her eyes snapping open, tears springing to their brown depths. I moved forward, my protective instincts kicking in, but Jaxon silently pressed a hand to my chest, keeping me back. I glared at him.

“With all due respect, Boss, he’s trying to help her,” he quietly reminded me.

“I want to do an ultrasound,” Dr. William told her. “But, if I’m correct, you have appendicitis, which means that you will need to have surgery to remove your appendix before it ruptures. If it ruptures, it could kill you, and if it doesn’t kill you, it can certainly leave you handicapped for the rest of your life.”

She didn’t get a chance to respond before she gagged. Dr. Williams quickly thrust a trash can in front of her. I knocked Jaxon’s hand off of my chest as I moved forward, quickly pressing my hand to her lower back, whispering soothing words into her ear as she vomited.

“Stay with her,” Dr. William told me. I wanted to scoff at him. Where the fuck else did he expect me to be when she was this fucking ill? “I’ll go get the ultrasound room prepped. I need to do this quickly. If it is her appendix, we’re running on very little time.”

I swallowed thickly, nodding once at him. The thought of something happening to her had fear running through my veins.

I couldn’t lose her.

Emmaline laid back down on the bed, silent tears running down her cheeks as she curled into a ball. I hated that I was helpless in this situation – hated that I couldn’t do anything right then to take away her pain.

“Little one, how long has your stomach been hurting?” I asked her.

“A couple of hours,” she mumbled. I covered her hand with mine, allowing her to draw some strength from me. “It’s intensifying really fast.”

I leaned down and brushed my lips to her temple before I turned to look at Jaxon. “I’ll be with her for the rest of the day, at the very least,” I informed him. “Put two guards on Adrian’s hospital room and inform Dr. William that he is not to be released until Emmaline is released.” I looked at my smart watch, frowning when I still didn’t see any kind of message from my mother. “And find my mother and bring her back here. She is oddly silent.”

Jaxon nodded once and slipped from the room, quietly shutting the door back behind him. “Is your mom okay?” Emmaline asked me.

I brushed my thumb over her knuckles. “Don’t worry about her right now, little one. Focus on yourself right now.”

She moaned in pain, her hand flipping over to grip mine. I clenched my jaw.

I fucking hated this shit.

I stayed silent, doing the only thing I knew to do in this situation, which was to be a calming force for her – to hold her hand and run my fingers through her hair as her abdomen clenched.

Dr. William came back into the room a little while later pushing a wheelchair. “I know you want to carry her, sir, but she would probably be a bit more comfortable in the chair,” he explained when I opened my mouth to tell him to put that damn thing away. “Your steps might jar her. We want to keep her as comfortable as possible,” he pleaded.