DRASTIC (Book 4 of the Soundcrush Series)

Chapter 70: Smart Girls Step In For Spymasters

Last chapter's trigger warning about pregnancy ending scenarios still stands....

Marley

Riley doesn't linger in the wake of the car speeding away. He turns at once toward the stairs and takes them two at a time. I follow in his wake as he stalks toward the concierge.

"I need a car, now. In the next five minutes. One of our artists has a medical emergency," he snaps, not even listening to the concierge's frantic questions as he turns away and pulls his phone.

I respond to the concierge. No, we don't need an ambulance. The artist is already in transport. I forcefully re-iterate our need to follow immediately. I grab Riley's arm at the same moment, because now that he's unlocked his phone I see he's planning to call Matt.

I'm fairly certain what's wrong with Row, and that's the only reason I intervene.

"She said no to her parents," I remind him.

He gives me an incredulous scowl. "Are you joking? If it were Darius on the way to the hospital, you would be furious not to be notified."

He's right about that. His observation stills my protest just long enough for him to shirk me and punch up Matt.

"I need you and Marianne in the lobby now, please. Row's just been taken to the hospital. Abdominal pain...I'm getting us a car—" he hangs up. He puts a hand to his head, then looks at me. "Row won't have her insurance card, her id, any of that, she never carries it on her. It's all digitized for situations like this. Call Ariadne..."

I'm on the phone as Matt and Marianne arrive in the lobby. Matt is wearing last night's jeans and a grim expression. I've never seen Marianne in a sweatsuit without makeup and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She walks right up to Riley and takes his face.

"What did she say? How did she behave?"

"She said she thought appendicitis. She looked...scared. She walked to the lobby under her own power. I think she was trying to get a car and go own her bloody own," he growls.

Marianne lets out a sigh, and pats his face. "Then she's okay. It will be okay. These things happen, people have emergencies like this. Let's go," she says as the concierge comes forward and she nods at him imperiously. "Show us to the car please."

On the way, Matt and Riley are grimly silent. Marianne seeks to ease Matt by casually reminding him of Street's emergency surgery to remove his ruptured spleen after a car accident at sixteen.

"It was scary—"

"It was a fucking nightmare," Matt growls, gripping her hand.

"But he came through fine. He was asking for pizza within two days." she prompts. "You bought two dozen pizzas and invited all his friends to the hospital. Remember?"

He looks sheepish. "Vaguely."

"And then you lectured them all for an hour about the dangers of texting and driving. Made them all look at Street's scar. And surgical drain. Absolutely mortified him."

"Some things never change," Riley spits, looking out the window, his hand tapping nervously on his knee.

Marianne looks sharply at Riley, then with exasperation at Matt. "What did you do?" she says softly, squeezing his hand.

"I told this idiot to stop sleeping with my daughter and ruining her professional reputation. As a female front she has to look twice as ambitious and strong-minded as any man in this industry. She definitely doesn't need to seem starry-eyed and led around by her manager. I didn't put it all on him. I also told Row to stop seducing him," he growls. Marianne's eyebrows are still raised. Matt sighs. "Okay, fine. I may have done it while they were naked."