Kingmaker (Ace of Queens #5)

Pt.9 The help

Chapter 9

The Dunbar family stood in silence as they waited for Lily to answer Dean's question. The girl's frightened eyes moved from her father to Ella as she opened and closed her mouth.

"Lily!" Ruby lifted her daughter's hair. "What is this?"

"Mom," Lily started to cry. "I can explain, please. I will tell you everything. Just please let me see Charlie."

"Mia," Dean said through his teeth. "Take Lily to her room."

"No!" Lily pulled away from Mia's arms. She tried to dash for the door when Dean caught her.

"Enough!" he yelled again.

Suddenly, Dean dropped his hands from around Lily's arm and grabbed his chest. He gave a wretched gasp of air as his face paled and legs quivered.

"Papa?" Ella said with worry as she stopped him from falling over. "Papa!"

"Oh my god, Dean," Ruby rushed forward. "What's wrong?"

Dean didn't answer. He gasped for air as his legs gave out and he sank to the floor. Ella's heart began to shatter as she watched her father and sank to the floor with him.

"Papa!" she shook his face.

"Mia, call the doctors," Ruby said over her shoulder.

Mia rushed to her phone as Lily stood by the door terrified. Her face drenched in tears as she watched the horrific scene in front of her. Ella helped her mother pick Dean's head up and place it on her chest.

"Mom," she said urgently. "Go get Aspirin. Lily, go get me some water."

Ruby climbed to her feet immediately and ran for the medical cabinet in the bathroom. Lily stood frozen by the door.

"Lily!" Ella said with urgency. "Get water!"

The girl snapped out of her shocked state and ran to the kitchen just as Piper came into the room rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on?" She asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw her father on the floor. Ella supporting his head, Mia on the phone with the paramedics, and Lily rushing to get water.

"Daddy?" Piper started to cry. "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, Pip," Ella said looking up. "Papa is fine."

"Why isn't he talking?" Piper demanded. She took a step forward but Ruby pushed past her.

"I have the Aspirin," she said.

Ella pushed the table into her father's mouth and held the glass of water to his lips.

"Drink, Papa," she begged as tears clouded her eyes. "You're going to be fine."

"The paramedics are on their way," Mia said as she rushed to the floor.

It took the ambulance ten minutes to reach their home. Ten minutes had never seen so long. It was agonizing to watch the minutes pass as they waited for help. Ruby held Piper as the little girl cried. Lily sank to the floor by the kitchen as Mia and Ella took turns performing CPR right after Dean fell unconscious.

When help finally arrived, they took Dean into the ambulance and said only one family member could come along.

"I'll go," Mia grabbed her purse. "Ella, watch Leo. Mom, get to the hospital as soon as you can."

"Okay, go," Ruby nodded without wasting time.

Mia shut the door behind her as she followed the paramedics. Everyone in the house sat on the floor listening to her footsteps running down the stairs. The clock on the cable box read 5 AM. Ella was the first to slowly get up. Her tears had stopped as she pulled her mother up and then Piper. She then walked over to Lily and held her hand out.