The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
[Book 2] Chapter 26

Lorelai

POV

Sirens, bright lights, the sound of doctors' voices, and the comforting feel of Knox's hand on mine. My mind is hazy and I fall in and out of consciousness, dimly aware that Knox hasn't left my side the entire time, until my eyes flutter open and I see him, sitting in a chair, his hair disheveled, his clothes rumpled and sleeping, his soft snores filling the room. Has he been here the whole time?

I sit up and wince from the pain in my shoulder. At the soft cry that I make, Knox's eyes fly open and he immediately gets up, rushing to my side as I struggle to sit upright. "How long have I been out?" I rasp, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

He looks like hell. Like death warmed over. He gives me a shaky smile and grabs my hand squeezing it. "A couple of hours. You were lucky, although that was a really stupid move you pulled" he said narrowing his eyes "The bullet went through and through. It could have been much worse."

I shrug and almost cry out again from the pain "I saw it in a movie" I mumble as Knox looks ready to kill me "figured I'd try it."

It looked less painful in the movies to be fair. Not that I was about to tell Knox that. I was lucky to be alive as it was.

He takes deep breaths, looking ready to tear me apart. "Never, under any circumstances do something so foolhardy and reckless ever again" he snaps, "You could have been killed."

"She was going to kill you and lan" I protest softly, as he runs a hand through his hair in exasperation "I couldn't let her do that."

"We would have found a way to stop her without putting your life at risk" He continues to snap at me.

I blink at him. He's angry. He's more than angry, he's worried. The concern is showing on his face although he's trying hard to hide it. His hand is shaking slightly as he pushes back a loose tendril of my hair. I swallow past the lump in my throat, realizing that this man is close to the edge of losing his temper, not because he doesn't care, but because he cares too much.

I look down at the bed in shame "I'm sorry" I whisper and then I feel his arms embracing me, gentle and tender, feel what feels like a tear on my skin but when he pulls back it's gone and there's a look of something indecipherable on his face. "Just don't do it again," he says roughly.

I smile at him, nodding agreeably. To be fair, I thought with some amusement, despite the amount of pain that was throbbing in my shoulder, I didn't exactly have plans to do that again. "She's awake" I hear lan's voice from the doorway.

I look up and see him come into the room, a look of relief on his face.

"You had us worried there," he says, eyeing me closely "and I wanted to come and personally express my gratitude for what you did. You saved mine and Knox's life with what you did." "I'm just glad that you're both okay" I admit "I wasn't sure if the phrase I used was going to work."

lan's eyes gleamed "I'm just glad you read about the protocol. You managed to give us a heads up and we appreciated it. As for security" there's a grim look on his face as he shoots another look at Knox who looks angry now "we've identified the man who accepted a bribe from Karen and he's no longer a problem."

His voice was casual but there was a hard look on his face. I would not want to be in that man's place right now, I thought shuddering. Ian looked more dangerous than I had ever seen him before.

"What about Karen" Knox's voice is challenging.

"Under arrest but there's every chance she'll make bail, lan says tightly "It's her first offense and she's using the excuse of her grief and attempting to declare she was of unsound mind when she attempted to do what she did."

Knox looks disgusted. I glance at them nervously "What does that mean? She can't be happy that I managed to stop her from killing you" I said softly "Will she come after me?"

My voice is shaking. The last thing I needed was some crazy assed woman on my tail.

lan shakes his head "No, I have security on her every move. Now we know where she is, she's no longer a threat. Trust me, you're safe" he said smiling kindly at me "It's just a shame the justice system is so skewed" he sighs and glances at Knox "I never thought she would blame us for her daughter's death. Perhaps she is insane."

Knox squeezes my hand. "Never mind, that's not for you to worry about," he tells me quietly "All you have to be concerned about is getting rest and recovering."

"What about my job?" I blurt out without thinking, worried about it.

lan laughs out loud and Knox chuckles. I glance between them wondering what is so amusing. "Do you honestly think we would terminate your employment after you did such a thing?" lan drawls, looking amused "Your job is safe. You are welcome to return to work as soon as you are able and you will always have a position with our family as thanks. Not to mention a large bonus is already in your account as compensation for the work that you've missed out on and as thanks for saving our sorry behinds," he added lightly. I frown. I hadn't done it for the money. I had done it because I genuinely cared about the two men and hadn't wanted to see them die.

"You should take the money back, I didn't do it for a reward," I said tersely, causing lan's face to change slightly.

"It's too late," he says calmly "and whatever you do with the money is up to you. You could always donate it to charity" he shrugs.

I gape at him. Knox just grins and raises a brow. "I guess you could quit working for me" his voice is a little sad.

Why would I want to quit working for him? I was nervous about the bonus though. Had Jackson seen it already? I gulped. I needed to transfer the funds into my personal account before he got his hands on it.

"I don't suppose my phone is somewhere around here?" I glance around, aware I'm clad in a hospital gown and blushing slightly.

Knox reaches into a bag sitting on the table next to me and withdraws it. I take it and eagerly begin to put in the PIN code for the bank app. My heart skips a beat. There is a million dollars in my account. My hand shakes as I transfer it all to my personal account, thanking god that Jackson hadn't seen it. After I'm done I stare at the men.

"A million dollars for doing the decent thing?" my voice is incredulous.

lan c***s his head "Would you rather it be more?" his voice is solemn.

I splutter "No, I'm saying it's too much. Anybody with a heart would have done what I did."

Knox and he shoot each other looks, communicating silently. "That's where you are wrong," Knox says quietly "Not everybody has a heart, and not everybody would have been willing to sacrifice their own lives to save us. Just accept the money" he advises as lan comes over and shakes my hand, kissing the back of it with eyes twinkling "and say no more."

I'm still in a daze. Then lan speaks. "I managed to ring your family. Your boyfriend Jackson is on his way here to collect you" he tells me and I flinch, while Knox's body stiffens.

"Jackson," I say quietly, feeling Knox let go of my hand.

"Yes, he was listed as your next of kin on the hospital records. It was lucky I checked, you didn't have anybody listed on your employment contract with the agency" he said nonplussed "We should have that fixed in case you end up hurt again."

I nod blankly. It hadn't occurred to me that they would check the hospital records for the next of kin. It should have though. Knox no longer looked as happy or as relaxed. His eyes looked almost hard as they regarded me, as though I had hurt him or insulted him somehow.

"He was quite concerned to hear about your injury" lan continued while I stared miserably at the bedcovers, Knox distancing himself both emotionally and physically from me "and he assured me he would be here as soon as humanly possible. He sounded like a nice man," he said with a smile.

I bet he did, I thought sourly. Jackson was like that, charming, friendly, and able to pull the wool over everybody's eyes while being a vicious and manipulative son of a b***h behind closed doors. It was too late to beg lan not to contact him or tell him to send Jackson packing. I picked at the bedcovers and saw that Knox was looking at me, before shaking his head. I felt upset by his sudden lack of warmth towards me. "Thank you," I said hoarsely to lan.

It wasn't his fault that he didn't know I hadn't wanted Jackson contacted. He nodded.

"Is there anything we can do for you? Are you hungry?" he asks me.

I had no appetite now. I opened my mouth to respond, intending to thank him politely and refuse when another voice spoke from the doorway, sounding concerned and worried, the very epitome of what a boyfriend should sound like.

"I can get something for her, thank you very much for your concern for her. Isn't that right Lorelai? My poor darling" his voice was dramatic and filled with just the right amount of worry as he walked into the room and darted to my side "I can't believe you were shot."

My eyes slid to lan's. There was an apologetic look on his face. So he hadn't divulged I'd shot myself, I thought with some amusement. Jackson reached over to hug me, while Knox stiffly began to make his way towards the doorway.

Don't leave me, I wanted to shout at the back of him, please, don't leave! But he disappeared as I watched and lan smiled and shook Jackson's hand.

"You have a good woman there" he complimented as Jackson grinned at him "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call. Good luck Lorelai," he said and then vanished.

Immediately the smile slipped from Jackson's lips.