CHERISH (The Billionaire's Rules, Book 12) by Kelly Favor

 
    The
patient is crashing.
    That’s what the nurse had said when she’d
come to get Cullen.
    Crashing —just the sound of that word made
Ivy shake inside, made her stomach tighten, her breath choke in her throat.
    Becca Woodhouse needed to survive this
operation.
    Everything depended on this surgery being
a success.   But from the look that
had been on the nurse’s face as she came to get Cullen from the hospital
waiting room, Ivy thought that the chances of Becca surviving were slim at
best.
    Cullen
always told you that.   He didn’t
want to perform this surgery, but you struck a deal without asking him.   You forced him into this position, even
after he tried to bring in Xavier Montrose to take over.
    It had been about half an hour since
Cullen ran out of the room to try and save his distressed patient, and now Ivy
was sitting across the room, head in her hands.
    Occasionally, she could hear the sobs and
whispers of Peg Woodhouse and her father.   They’d been sitting near her, but after the latest development, they’d
moved to the far corner of the room.
    It was as if they associated her with the
worsening situation, as if she was to blame.
    And
don’t they have a point?
    Ivy closed her eyes and tried to calm her
frayed nerves.   It was awful to have
your heart racing and stomach twisting and turning, minute after minute, hour
after hour—an unrelenting deluge of fear.
      I should call Mom.   She would tell me it’s okay.
    Just the thought of her mother caused
another spike of anxiety.   She
couldn’t just call her mother anymore, either.
    Every lifeline had been cut and she was
sinking in the ocean, drowning.   She
felt as alone as she’d ever felt in her entire existence.
    Suddenly, a man entered the waiting
area.   Ivy looked up to see the most
unwelcome face yet, as Lucas strode into the room.   The moment he spotted her sitting there,
a snakelike grin crept over his features.
    “There you are,” Lucas said loudly.
    Ivy wanted to get up and run, but she
knew he’d simply follow her.   “Leave
me alone,” she told him.  
    “Relax,” he said, and then he took a seat
right next to her.
    Ivy rose to her feet.   “Don’t get in my space, Lucas.”
    “Sit down,” he told her.   “I’m not going to hurt you.   In fact, this may be the last time we
ever see one another.”
    She looked at him warily.   “Why are you so chipper?” she said.  
    “Sit,” he said, patting the chair.   “Come on, Ivy.   I have great news.”
    “You’re an asshole, Lucas.   Whatever your news is, it won’t ever
change that fact.”
    “Maybe not,” he smiled.   “Or if you like, I’ll broadcast your
embarrassing personal business to the entire room.”   His voice grew louder.   “It’s fine with me, Ivy.   I’m not the one who’s married into a
family of criminals.”
    She looked over and saw Peg and her
father staring in their direction with confused expressions that were turning
quickly to disdain.
    “Be quiet,” Ivy whispered at Lucas, and
then took the seat next to him.   “If
you be quiet, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say to me.”
    “Good girl.”
    Her skin was crawling from being so close
to the man.   “Okay, I’m
waiting.”   She folded her arms.
    Lucas grinned widely, clearly enjoying the
effect he was having on her.   “I
just wanted you to be the first to know, Ivy.   We got him.”
    She stared uncomprehendingly.   “Huh?”
    “We got him,” he repeated,
chuckling.   “So, aren’t you going to
even congratulate me on a job well done?   I’ll probably be getting a promotion, a raise—shit, I might even
get a commendation.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Preston Sharpe,” Lucas whispered, his
coffee breath hot against her face.
    Ivy’s stomach dropped and she felt
numb.   “What about him?” she said.
    “We caught him trying to board a private
plane in Rhode Island.”   Lucas
laughed.   “The guy was