I nodded. “Just give us a few minutes.”
The door closed behind them, and only then did Liam move to the foot of the bed, though Owen remained by the door, looking like he would rather be anywhere else.
“How are you feeling?” Liam asked, somewhat inanely.
“Like I just had emergency heart surgery after seeing my husband taken away in handcuffs,” I snapped, albeit a bit weakly. “Where is he?”
There was no doubt in my mind that Liam knew. He was the company’s main counsel, and probably one of the few people besides me Ronan even came close to trusting.
Liam glanced at Owen, who nodded. “He was transported back to Las Vegas to face a judge on charges of murder.”
Murder. It was even worse than I’d thought.
“When’s the arraignment?” I asked.
“In two days. I’ll be there to represent him.”
I nodded. “I want to go too.”
Again, the two men exchanged glances. This time, Owen shook his head.
“Laney, even though I came here hoping that might be possible, it’s obviously not,” Liam said. “We spoke to your doctor, and you can’t fly for at least a week. Maybe two.”
No. This wasn’t happening. “Fine, then I’ll drive. We can leave tonight.”
Liam just looked sorry for me. “Again, I don’t think that’s going to work. Your doctor said you need to stay for observation for at least twenty-four hours, if not longer.”
This wasn’t happening.
I closed my eyes, and all I could see was Ronan’s mournful expression, paired with his directions to live my life, finish my PhD, be happy. They weren’t the directions of someone who thought he would see me again. They were the words of someone saying goodbye for good.
I wanted to scream.
I turned to Owen, who was now staring up at the ceiling with pain I didn’t think was related to his broken nose. “And you? What do you have to say about all of this?”
His gaze met mine, and for a moment, he looked so like his brother, my whole chest ached with longing. “I’m thinking… this is my fault.”
“Owen, stop. You had nothing to do with what went down in Vegas,” Liam put in.
“Don’t I?”
The words were a snarl, and I saw very clearly what Simone had meant when she thought all the Black children were, in some way, just wounded animals. Owen in particular reminded me of a lone wolf with his paw caught in a trap.
“She deserves to know,” he went on. “She deserves to know what we did to him.”
I stared. “What was that?”
“Owen…” Liam’s voice now carried a note of warning. “As your lawyer, I’m telling you to stop?—”
“Stop what?” Owen snapped. “She’s his wife. You told me yourself they can’t force her to testify against him.”
“Yes, but they can force her to testify against you!” Liam exploded.
“Well, maybe I’d fucking deserve it!” Owen quivered like a bomb about to go off. “I’m just as complicit as everyone else, aren’t I? He’s my little brother, for fuck’s sake. And I stood by, just like Brendan, while Dad designated Ronan as the one to handle all the worst shit.” He turned to face me. “You want to know a secret, sweetheart? There’s no such thing as an ethical billionaire. We’re crooked to the core, all of us, and my family’s the worst of the lot. For every deal that’s announced in the Journal, there are ten more that should have the SEC on our tails. And for the last fifteen years, Ronan has been the one sent to keep everyone quiet through any means necessary. You get what I’m saying?”
Liam stilled. “You aren’t supposed to know about all of that.”
Owen rolled his eyes. “Everyone in this family has treated me like I’m missing half my brain since I was discharged, but I’m not stupid. I don’t know exactly what he does for us, but I know he does something. And I know it’s pretty fucking bad. Maybe as bad as murder.”