Piece by Piece

26. The Blame Game

Davyn couldn't believe how well he'd slept in Millie's bed. Even if he'd left her room at what turned out to be the break of dawn, he'd had enough clarity to find a bus to the hospital and return to Ron's room before either he or Freider woke up.

As he stood inside the room, his hands propped against the railing of Ron's bed, he schemed.

It wouldn't take much longer for Ron to make at least a partial recovery and be discharged. Afterward, they had to decide what to do with him. As far as Davyn was concerned, rehab was in order. Unfortunately, Freider had to agree since he made the medical decisions. Though Davyn didn't see why he wouldn't jump at the chance to get rid of Ron for a few months.

Meanwhile, he'd have the time to fix the Harkin problem once and for all. He'd been a fool to think it would be solved quickly. His plan took time to implement and even more time to bring the results Davyn was expecting. The ones which would surely intrigue Snitch Gravel himself. The possibility to double the profit yet again. Harkin would come, but Davyn had to wait.

Then there was the other issue. His body still hummed with energy and the shadow of her seemed to be stuck inside him. There was no point denying it anymore. He wanted to take it further with her. His patience was wearing thin and he was surely not going to deny himself this if she wanted it, too. He'd take care of her, make sure it was meaningful and exactly what she wanted. He wanted it in whichever way necessary.

He needed to get his own place, and the solution was so easy, he felt stupid for not looking more into it before. After all, his father had owned so many properties as part of his real-estate development business. All he had to do was pick one and not sell it. He wondered what Freider had done about the business, if anything. If he'd verified the records and read the reports from the employees or checked their commissions.

He'd never asked, but it was maybe something he should look into. If Freider didn't want the family business and would rather start his own, that was just fine, but Davyn wasn't about the let his father's life's work go to waste.

Ron's eyelids fluttered and Davyn returned to the present just as his brother woke up. For a moment he just blinked a couple of times as if to make sure Davyn was really there. Then he huffed and looked away.

His attitude was getting old fast, but Davyn was still riding the high of his night, so he decided he didn't want to ruin it by laying into Ron.

"Good morning to you, too," he said.

"You didn't come back last night."

"Does it matter?" Davyn threw Freider a sideways glance and lowered his voice. "Was he awful?"

Ron stiffened but shook his head. "He just watched TV. Did you win the game?"

"I actually did."

"Of course you did." Ron huffed again. "You always win."

Davyn's grip on the bed tightened, but he forced the smile to stay on his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I want to go home."

"I'm thinking it won't be long until the doctors agree."

Ron glanced at him as if searching for something hurtful to say. Davyn understood on some level, but he definitely didn't want to hear it. It was maybe time to force some reality on Ron instead.

"Look, you have to take some responsibility for this."

"So do you!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Because!"

Freider groaned and shifted in his seat. Then he opened his eyes and stretched. "What are we talking about?"