Page 119 of Security and Submission
Fuck.
This was not how he would have wanted to meet Yasmine’s parents.
“Mr. Jafari. Mrs. Jafari.” Mason took several steps towards them, Audrey just behind him, her hand still firmly gripped in his, though she kind of looked like she wanted to run.
“Mason.” Yasmine’s mother greeted him, her voice tight.
Zeus didn’t miss the way her gaze flicked to Audrey, who shifted to be even farther behind him. Yasmine’s father just glared.
It was nice to have someone glaring at Mason for once, instead of the other way around.
Claudia stepped into the breach, coming up to greet Yasmine’s parents as Mason returned to his seat. He took Audrey’s hand again but kept his gaze firmly away from Yasmine’s parents, while Audrey kept peeking at them as Claudia gave them the rundown on exactly what had happened. They listened. Nodded. Both of them looked as if they were on the verge of collapse.
Not really knowing what his place was in this situation, Zeus remained in his seat. Sarah and Grace were on either side of him, like elderly bodyguards. Brenda was across from them with her friends, Mary and Karen, and they’d been getting to know Sarah and Grace, which was at least an entertaining conversation to listen to while they all waited for some kind of update on Yasmine’s condition.
Now that Yasmine’s parents were here, they’d probably be able to get a more in-depth update once one was available. Zeus might have considered lying to the doctors and saying he was Yasmine’s fiancé, but he hadn’t wanted to risk that all falling apart in the face of his team’s reactions once they showed up. Or Yasmine’s friends.
The secrecy was now backfiring on him.
He just had to hope that Yasmine’s parents would share… that, or he’d need to go and hack the hospital’s system, but he’d have to leave the hospital to do that, and he didn’t want to take that step unless he absolutely had to.
Which meant it was just a long, long wait.
Naomi, Ashley, and Cassidy were huddled together, whispering. More than once, one of them would glance over at him, which he did his best to ignore. They’d paused in conversation to watch Mason greet Yasmine’s parents but had gone right back to it afterward.
More than once, he saw Naomi rolling her head around her shoulders, and a little pang of guilt struck him. He’d taken her and Yasmine down hard, but it was better than being shot. He knew she’d been checked over by the EMTs and pronounced fine because she’d said so when she’d first arrived in the waiting room, but he still felt bad. Whatever scrapes and bruises she now had were due to him.
Better than being in the OR.
Sarah’s hand patted his.
“She’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “Our girl is strong.”
Something inside his chest eased. Not because he could be sure that Sarah was right, but because she was so firmly on his side. At least someone was.
Yasmine
Everything hurt.
“Baby? Sweetheart?”
Yasmine’s brow furrowed into a frown. Mom? No, that didn’t make sense. Her mom wouldn’t be at the women’s shelter.
Why were her eyes closed?
“Sweetie, are you awake?” Someone’s hand slid into Yasmine’s. Her mother’s hand. Why did her mother sound so tearful?
Yes. Yasmine tried to say. Tried to, but the word didn’t come all the way out, though her lips moved.
“Her mouth moved!” Maman was excited. Excited about Yasmine’s mouth moving.
What was going on?
Yasmine managed to force her eyes open and found herself face to face with her parents hovering over her. Her mother’s eyes filled with tears as she smiled, a beaming, happy smile, despite the fact she was obviously about to cry. Papa met her gaze, then turned his head away, rolling his shoulders back and exhaling.
What was going on?
She tried to squeeze her mom’s hand, but it was like her muscles weren’t working correctly.
