“Harder, Sir, please fuck me harder.”

“Whose pussy is this? If you tell me whose pussy this is, I’ll fuck you harder. I’ll make you come so hard you’ll see stars. Tell me.”

“Yours! It’s yours, Sir. Please fuck me hard–

A shrill ringing cut through my dream and jolted me awake. I had a moment to realize that I hadn’t been dreaming about my encounter with Miss Anonymous, but rather something completely different…with Syll Reeve, and then I answered the phone.

“Yes?”

“Jax, this is Germaine.”

It took me a moment to place the name, partly because she’d only rarely ever called me by my first name, and never used her own first name. It was that more than the fact that she was calling so late that cleared the last of the sleep from my mind.

“I’m your grandfather’s attorney.”

“I know who you are, Ms. K.” I hoped I didn’t sound as rude as I felt, but it was midnight. “I’m guessing it’s something urgent that had you waking me up, so let’s dispense with the small talk and get straight to the point.”

“Your grandfather is in the hospital.”

I blinked. I had to have heard that wrong. I’d just seen him. “What?”

“Manfred – Mr. Hunter – was just taken to the hospital in an ambulance. You need to come right away.”

“I’m on my way.”

It didn’t occur to me to ask how she knew Grandfather had been taken away in an ambulance since I lived in the same house as him and hadn’t heard anything, but it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. The important thing was that I needed to get there, and I dressed with an urgency I’d never felt before.

Not that it was serious. It couldn’t be. Grandfather was the healthiest person I knew. He ate right, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink to excess, exercised as best he could at his age, and had regular check-ups. Hell, he was hardly ever even sick. He wasn’t one of those old people who had to get flu shots and wear masks in public. My whole life, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d seen him sick enough to call off work, and I couldn’t recall a single time he’d been in the hospital.

Which meant this was just a false alarm. He’d eaten something that didn’t agree with him, and Ms. K had panicked. Or maybe he’d fallen, and she wanted to make sure he didn’t break a bone.

Except Ms. K didn’t panic. I’d met her on more than one occasion and had been struck by how calm and intimidating she was. I wouldn’t have ever wanted to be on the opposite side of a case as her. So, the fact that she seemed so freaked out bothered me.

Not too much, though, because Grandfather was fine.

He was always fine. Always there. He’d been there to take in my brothers and me after our parents and sister died. He raised us by himself after Grandma Olive had passed, and that was no easy feat. He was tough. He could handle anything life threw at him.

I kept reassuring myself the entire ride to the hospital, but it did little to calm the mass of worry settling in my stomach. Once inside, I was directed to a waiting room where I saw Ms. K pacing. Her severely cut gray-and-blonde hair was a mess, her clothes wrinkled, and she was wearing a path in the floor.

“Ms. K,” I said as soon as I was close enough to get her attention.

“Jax.” She came toward me, and for a moment, I thought she might hug me. “Manfred was at my house this evening, and he passed out. I couldn’t get him to wake up, so I called 911.”

This evening? It was past midnight.

How had I not known that Grandfather was seeing Ms. K?

That was just one of the many questions I’d ask him when he was better. Because he would be better.

“Where is he?”

She gestured toward a pair of double doors. “I told them I was his attorney, so they’ve given me a couple updates, but any medical decisions that need to be made, that has to be done by you.”

Medical decisions? What sort of decisions was she talking about? Grandfather had fainted. That’s all. Maybe he was dehydrated.

“He woke up,” she continued, “but he was disoriented. They’ve been running tests.”

I awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Thank you for calling me. If you want to stay, you’re welcome to, but if you want to go home, that’s fine too.”

She nodded and went back to pacing, and I went over to one of the chairs to sit. Because sitting showed I wasn’t concerned. Because he was going to be okay.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a tall, thin woman in purple scrubs came toward us. I jumped to my feet, ready to hear that I could go back and see Grandfather while she started the discharge paperwork. He wouldn’t want to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary.

“Are you Mr. Hunter’s grandson?” she asked.

“Jax Hunter.” I held out a hand, and she shook it. “Can I see him?”

“I’m Dr. Kassum. I was called down to consult on his case. I’ll take you back to see him shortly, but you need to know how serious his condition is before that.”

Serious? That didn’t make sense.

“Your grandfather suffered a severe heart-attack.”

Okay, that was more serious than I’d thought. But people survived heart-attacks every day, especially if they were otherwise healthy. He’d get through this and be home by the end of the week at the latest.

“The damage to his heart was…catastrophic.”

Ice flooded my veins. “What do you mean catastrophic?”

“His heart is damaged beyond repair. It’s failing.”

That couldn’t be right.

“We’ve made him comfortable, but you should call in any other family you have.”

“What about a transplant?” I demanded. “Artificial valves, that sort of thing. There’s things you can try.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hunter, but there’s not. At his age, with his rare blood type, the chances of finding a heart quickly enough is a million to one. And even if we did find one, the chances of him surviving surgery are less than ten percent.”

I heard a small sound behind me and knew that Ms. K was crying. I couldn’t comfort her though. How could I make her feel better about something I couldn’t understand? This had to be a mistake. I could get a second opinion. Ms. K could threaten legal action. We had options.

“I explained this to your grandfather, and he declined being put on the transplant list. He said he wants us to keep him alive until his grandsons arrived, and then he wants no more heroic measures.”

All the strength ran out of my legs, but I didn’t collapse. I couldn’t. I had to be strong. For my brothers. For Grandfather. I wouldn’t let him down.

“Excuse me,” I said quietly. “I have calls to make.”