Chapter 2 - The Billionaire Who Came Running
The ambulance doors were about to close when Ethan said those words.
“I know who it was.”
Daniel Mercer crossed the distance between us so quickly that one of the paramedics had to stop him from climbing inside.
“Who, Ethan?”
Ethan looked frightened.
Not cold.
Not hurt.
Frightened.
That difference mattered.
The paramedic adjusted the blanket around him.
“Mr. Mercer, we need to transport him.”
“Give me ten seconds.”
“Dad.”
Ethan’s voice trembled.
Daniel leaned closer.
“Who were you running from?”
Ethan looked past him.
Toward the security guards.
Then toward me.
His eyes stopped there.
“I don’t want to say.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Why?”
Ethan whispered something.
I couldn’t hear it.
Daniel did.
The color left his face.
Then the ambulance doors closed.
For several seconds Daniel stood staring at them.
The siren started.
He turned to one of his men.
“David, ride with him.”
The guard nodded and climbed into another vehicle.
Daniel looked at me.
“You’re coming with me.”
There it was.
The sentence I had feared.
I stepped backward.
“No.”
His expression softened immediately.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Lily, Ethan may need to speak with you.”
“He doesn’t need me anymore.”
“That isn’t what he thinks.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
I handed him his jacket.
He didn’t take it.
“Keep it.”
“No.”
“Please.”
I hated how easy he made that word sound.
A police officer approached.
“Mr. Mercer, we need statements.”
I moved away.
The officer noticed.
“You the girl who found him?”
My chest tightened.
Daniel stepped between us—not aggressively, just enough to make the officer look at him instead.
“She’s a minor.”
“So?”
“So she has been outside in freezing weather and appears exhausted. She can answer essential questions, but we’re not turning this into an interrogation.”
The officer studied him.
“You her father?”
“No.”
“Guardian?”
“No.”
“Then step aside.”
I expected Daniel to argue.
Instead, he looked at me.
“Do you want me to stay?”
Nobody had asked me that in a long time.
I nodded once.
Daniel stayed.
I told the officer what I knew.
I had been walking.
I heard Ethan.
I found him.
He said he fell while running.
I called his father.
That was it.
“See anyone else?”
“No.”
“Any voices?”
“No.”
“Cars?”
“Maybe.”
The officer looked at me.
“Maybe?”
“There are always cars.”
“What were you doing in the park?”
Daniel looked at him sharply.
I answered first.
“Walking.”
“At this hour?”
“Yes.”
“Where were you going?”
“Nowhere.”
The officer glanced at my clothes.
Then at Daniel’s jacket around me.
Understanding slowly appeared.
“You’re homeless?”
I hated the word.
It felt like being reduced to a condition.
“I don’t have somewhere permanent.”
“How long?”
I said nothing.
“Lily.”
Daniel’s voice was quiet.
“You don’t have to answer anything unrelated to Ethan.”
The officer sighed.
“Fine.”
He took my name.
No last name.
I refused.
He gave Daniel a look that said this wasn’t over.
I already knew that.
Nothing involving authorities was ever over.
Daniel’s car was still waiting.
“You should go,” I told him.
“I am.”
“To the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“Then go.”
“You’re coming.”
I gave him a look.
He raised both hands slightly.
“Not because I’m ordering you.”
“Sounded like it.”
“I’m asking.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because hospitals ask questions.”
“So do I.”
“Exactly.”
For the first time that night, something almost like a smile appeared on his face.
It disappeared quickly.
“Lily, Ethan asked me not to let you go.”
“That doesn’t make me your responsibility.”
“No.”
His answer surprised me.
“It doesn’t.”
Snow caught in his hair.
“But I would like to help you.”
“People always want to help until helping gets complicated.”
Something changed in his expression.
I had struck somewhere personal.
“That may be true of some people.”
“It’s true of most.”
“And what would convince you otherwise?”
“Nothing.”
He looked toward the road.
“Then don’t trust me.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“You don’t have to trust me tonight.”
He pointed toward the SUV.
“Trust the heat.”
Despite myself, I almost smiled.
“You’re bad at this.”
“At what?”
“Convincing people.”
“My board of directors would disagree.”
“They’re probably scared of you.”
“Some are.”
That time I did smile.
It lasted half a second.
Daniel noticed.
He didn’t mention it.
“I can take you anywhere you want after we know Ethan is stable.”
I looked toward the trees.
My usual sleeping spot was already covered in snow.
The subway station would be warmer, but police sometimes cleared it after midnight.
The church shelter would probably be full.
Then I thought of Ethan.
The way he had said Dad, don’t let her go.
I hated that I cared.
“Just to the hospital?”
“Just to the hospital.”
“No social workers.”
Daniel hesitated.
“That may not be entirely within my control.”
I stepped away.
“But I won’t deceive you.”
I stopped.
Most adults would have promised anything.
He hadn’t.
“Fine.”
I climbed into the SUV.
The heat hurt.
That sounds strange, but after being cold for hours, warmth stings.
My fingers burned.
My cheeks prickled.
Daniel handed me a bottle of water.
I drank half before remembering I was supposed to be cautious.
The inside of the vehicle smelled like leather and coffee.
I had never sat in anything so expensive.
Daniel sat across from me.
He was staring at his phone.
Messages filled the screen.
He ignored all of them.
“What did Ethan whisper?” I asked.
Daniel looked up.
“He said he saw someone he recognized.”
“Who?”
“He wouldn’t say.”
“Why?”
“He said I wouldn’t believe him.”
I remembered Ethan’s expression.
“What if you wouldn’t?”
Daniel leaned back.
“That is what concerns me.”
The hospital had a private entrance waiting for us.
Of course it did.
Billionaires apparently didn’t sit beneath flickering emergency room lights with everyone else.
Doctors took Ethan immediately.
Daniel disappeared behind double doors after a nurse called him.
I remained near the entrance.
A security guard stood ten feet away.
Another by the elevator.
I understood.
They weren’t only protecting Daniel.
They were making sure I didn’t leave.
I started toward the hallway.
“Miss?”
One guard spoke.
I glared.
“I’m getting water.”
He pointed toward a small refrigerator.
“Water is there.”
Great.
Prison with expensive furniture.
Twenty minutes passed.
Then forty.
Finally Daniel returned.
His face looked exhausted.
“Ethan has a fractured ankle, mild hypothermia, and a concussion.”
I swallowed.
“Is he okay?”
“The doctors believe so.”
Relief weakened my knees.
I sat.
Daniel sat beside me.
“You saved his life.”
“I didn’t.”
“Yes.”
“He would have been found.”
“Maybe.”
I hated that word.
Maybe.
He looked down at his hands.
“His body temperature had dropped dangerously low.”
I stared at the floor.
“You kept him awake.”
Silence.
“You gave him your coat.”
“Stop.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you acting like I did something amazing.”
“You did.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I did what someone should do.”
Daniel stared at me for a long moment.
“You’re right.”
I expected another argument.
Instead he nodded.
“Someone should.”
His voice dropped.
“But not everyone would.”
A nurse appeared.
“Mr. Mercer? Ethan is asking for Lily.”
Daniel looked at me.
I froze.
“He specifically asked.”
I followed.
Ethan looked very small in the hospital bed.
His ankle was wrapped.
Color had returned to his face.
When he saw me, his shoulders relaxed.
“You stayed.”
“Temporarily.”
He smiled.
“I knew you would.”
“You don’t know me very well.”
“I know you gave me your coat.”
Daniel moved beside the bed.
“Ethan.”
The smile disappeared.
“Tell us who you were running from.”
Ethan looked at me.
Then at his father.
“You’ll get mad.”
“I won’t.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
Ethan swallowed.
“It was Marcus.”
Daniel froze.
The room changed.
I could feel it.
“Marcus?” I asked.
Daniel didn’t answer.
Ethan did.
“Dad’s security chief.”
My stomach tightened.
Daniel stared at his son.
“Marcus Vale?”
Ethan nodded.
“That’s impossible.”
Ethan’s face crumpled.
“I told you.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
I understood immediately.
“He said you wouldn’t believe him.”
Daniel looked stricken.
“I believe you.”
“You said impossible.”
“I was wrong.”
Ethan looked away.
Daniel touched his arm.
“I’m sorry.”
The door opened.
A man entered.
Tall.
Gray coat.
Controlled expression.
“Daniel.”
Every muscle in Ethan’s body tensed.
I noticed before his father did.
The man looked toward Ethan.
Then smiled.
“Thank God you’re safe.”
Ethan grabbed my hand.
Hard.
Daniel turned.
“Marcus.”
My breath stopped.
The security chief had just walked into the hospital room.
And the terrified boy beside me whispered so softly only I could hear him.
May you like
“That’s him.”
---
