Both men stilled. Neither said a word, which was good, because she didn’t want to hear it.

Roman rubbed his throat. “Sugar—”

“Get out.”

Rocco crouched in her line of sight. “Sug—”

“Get the fuck out!” she screamed, pushing past the men. She grabbed the magazines and threw them. “Go. Out. Now.”

Collapsing to her knees, Sugar cradled herself. She craved the fetal position, needing to just curl up and drift away.

“Girl, when Jared wakes up, he’s gonna—”

What? She looked up at the men. She mopped her face with the back of her hand and sat back on her heels. “What did you just say?”

Rocco’s brow furrowed.

Roman nodded and whispered loud enough so she could hear, “Jared’s gonna kick our asses if he ever hears we let you get this upset.”

Sugar flew to her feet, swaying as the blood ran from her head. “Jared’s… Jared’s alive?”

Both men blinked.

“Well, yeah.” Roman shrugged. “The bastard isn’t going to die in surgery.”

“But…” Her jaw fell, and they both stared at her. “You said, ‘We’re sorry.’”

They nodded. Roman mumbled, “We are.”

“You said it shouldn’t have happened like that.” Sugar took a step toward them, and both men took a step closer to one another, unsure if she would attack. And she was about to. She closed the distance and struck Rocco in the chest. “You said—damn you, Roc. You don’t walk into a waiting room and say bullshit like that unless someone’s fucking dead.”

They stood silently as seconds dragged by.

Finally, Rocco offered, “Today didn’t go according to plan.”

She crossed her arms. Indignant. Furious. Thrilled. “He’s alive.”

“Yes.”

Relief was a cold splash of water, slapping her with emotion, and her legs gave out. A couch caught her. Tears welled all over again, and her lungs kick-started to a steady rhythm. “Jared’s still alive?”

They nodded.

A nurse popped her head in. “Excuse me?” She laid eyes on the men, then Sugar. “Sorry to interrupt. I’ll come back.”

“No!” Sugar reached, needing outside assurance. “Please. Do you have an update?”

Giving them a nervous glance, the nurse stepped into the room and clicked shut the door. “Mr. Westin’s surgery is going as expected. He’ll be out in about an hour, and Dr. Tuska will give you an update then.”

The men nodded. That was all they seemed to be doing.

The nurse shifted her weight and continued, apparently less concerned that their little group would kill her for delivering bad news. “As you know, Titan is a very welcome guest—”

“Guest?” Sugar looked at the nurse, then Roman and Rocco. “Very welcome guest?”

Rocco shrugged. “We do a lot of business with them. Titan has repeat-customer status or some shit.”

The nurse smiled weakly. “We see them… often. Yes. Mr. Westin and Titan are very important to—”