From Ashes of Scandals to His Embrace novel Chapter 82

Lacy opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out, York slung an arm around his shoulders and steered him out the door.

Lacy didn’t even try to shake him off. He knew he was partly to blame for what happened to Laurinda. If York wanted to give him a hard time, he would just have to deal with it.

As they passed by the emergency room, a wave of gut-wrenching screams echoed down the hall. Lacy stopped in his tracks.

“That sounded like Adah,” he said quietly.

York frowned, trying to remember. The name rang a bell, but he couldn’t quite place it. “Who’s Adah?”

“She’s the one who took the horse without permission and got Laurinda hurt.”

“I was planning to work with the Charles family. When I first met Adah, she seemed alright. So when she asked to come to the ranch’s opening, I didn’t say no. I never expected she’d turn out to be such a reckless idiot…”

York suddenly remembered what Jasper had told him about the incident at the ranch. He let go of Lacy and headed straight for the emergency room, his stride quick and determined.

From a distance, he spotted two people lurking just outside the ER, peeking in like they were up to no good.

York walked up and grabbed Jasper by the collar with one hand, clapping his other hand over Jasper’s mouth to keep him from making any noise.

“What are you two doing here?” he asked.

Irvin jumped, startled, but as soon as he saw Jasper wasn’t scared and was actually grinning, he figured they probably knew each other. He tucked a little bottle back into his sleeve and pointed toward the emergency room so York could see for himself.

York let go of Jasper and looked where Irvin was pointing. His eyes widened in shock. The person inside looked… well, almost like a toad.

As soon as Irvin hurried off, York led Jasper to the waiting area and sat down. He glanced at Jasper, curiosity in his voice. “Who is that guy anyway?”

“He’s Laurinda’s classmate, and my good friend too. The doctor who’s treating Laurinda is named Adolphus. I think he’s from Cabinda.”

“So is he coming home with you guys too?” York asked, a little surprised at how quickly strangers seemed to show up at his house after just one day away.

“Yep, Laurinda brought him. York, are you driving us? If you can, could you bring Laurinda a change of clothes too? I already called the housekeeper and asked the kitchen to make some food, so when Laurinda wakes up, she’ll have something to eat.”

“Alright. I’ll drive you home. Sit tight for a bit while I go talk to Lacy.”

“Okay, go ahead. I’ll stay right here,” Jasper replied, his eyes sparkling as he kept glancing toward the emergency room.