The Billionaire's Voice (The Sinclairs #4) (14 page)

CHAPTER 13

“Xander overdosed. He’s in the hospital,” Julian informed Micah as he arrived back at the guesthouse.

Having just dropped back in to the guesthouse for a few minutes to get some stuff this morning, Micah had been certain he’d be back to Tessa before she woke up. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen now.

He looked at his brother, dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt just like him, Julian’s usual humor totally absent from his expression.

“When? How bad is he?” It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but every time, Micah hoped it would never happen again.

“He’ll live, but he’ll need to stay a few days in the hospital. They want him to be discharged to rehab. They tried to call you, but they couldn’t reach you. They got to me through my publicist.”

“Damn! I just got a new phone, and I asked for a new number. I killed my old phone during a climb with Tessa. My executives don’t even have it yet. Tessa is the only one who has the new one. I should have been pickier about who I gave it out to over the years. I was getting calls from people I don’t even remember.”

“What do you think about rehab? I think he might need it,” Julian said huskily.

Micah took a deep breath, knowing it was time to clue his middle brother in on a few things. “He’s gone the rehab route, and it isn’t his first overdose. He checks out of rehab the minute he’s allowed to go, and he won’t talk to anybody about getting help. Something’s going on with him, Julian, but I have no idea how to get through to him,” Micah rasped in a frustrated voice.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I wanted you to have your time. These are your moments, everything you’ve worked for in the past decade,” Micah answered in a low tone.

“But Xander’s my
brother
,” Julian argued. “If he’s in trouble, I want to help.”

Micah exploded. “Don’t you think I haven’t fucking tried? I’m probably in California once a week, but I have a company to run, and Xander isn’t doing a damn thing to help himself. He’s addicted to prescription narcotics, the same drugs he used to keep his pain stable right after the murders. He drinks his hard alcohol straight from the bottle, uses it to wash down the pills until he’s unconscious. He doesn’t want help, Julian. I’ve tried.”

“Then he needs to try again or he’s going to die,” Julian barked.

“If he goes to rehab, he just leaves within a few days. The doctors say he has to want to kick the substance abuse. I don’t know what happened to him, but there’s more haunting him than he’s ever admitted. I know he watched Mom and Dad die right before his eyes, but it’s more than that. He’s scarred inside and out.” Feeling defeated, Micah turned away from Julian to go pack his bag. “I’ll go. I’ll see what I can do.”

Micah stumbled as his vision filled with an ominous aura of color, and he automatically slapped his hand on the back of his neck.

Shit! Not now. This couldn’t happen right now.

Julian was next to Micah as he froze before entering the hallway.

“Hey, bro, you okay? What’s wrong? Damn, you’re as white as a sheet.” Julian put his hand under Micah’s bicep. “You almost fell.”

“I saw colors. I’m going to go lie down for a little while,” Micah admitted hoarsely, knowing he didn’t have long to explain.

“The migraines are back?” Julian said anxiously. “I thought you outgrew them. I thought you hadn’t experienced them in years.”

“I thought so, too,” Micah grumbled. “They started again not long ago. I came here because the doctor suggested some downtime. My executives are handling the business right now.”

“You’re not eating right, not taking care of yourself, and you’re babysitting our baby brother, aren’t you?” Julian said angrily as he steered Micah toward the bedroom his brother had been using in the guesthouse. “Do you have pills?”

“Yeah. They help some. I’ll sleep on the way to California.”

Julian followed him. “You’re not going. Get your ass in a dark place and I’ll go deal with Xander. Looks like it’s my turn. Has it been that bad? Be straight with me, Micah.”

“Yeah. It’s that bad. This is his third overdose, and most of the time he won’t answer messages. I have to go there to see if he’s okay. He’s usually drunk and high as a kite on drugs. We need to cut off his source. The docs aren’t giving them to him, but he’s getting them somehow.” Micah collapsed on the bed, a dull ache starting behind his eye and shooting through the side of his head.

Julian looked at the prescription bottle at the side of Micah’s bed before shaking out the tablets while going to get water from the bathroom. He returned and handed Micah the pills and a glass of water.

Julian made a few calls to arrange his transportation to California, then told Micah, “I’ll be tempted to kick Xander’s ass, but I want to understand why he’s doing this. He was always the nicest out of the three of us. He didn’t drink much, and he sure as hell didn’t do drugs. What the fuck happened to him?”

“Bring him here,” Micah demanded. “He needs a different scene. I don’t know if he’ll agree, but try.”

“I’ll do more than try. I’ll drag his ass back here whether he likes it or not.”

“Be careful. He bites now,” Micah warned, knowing Xander was beyond surly.

“Then I’ll fucking bite him back,” Julian growled. “I’m sorry I have to go, Micah. I know you’ll be miserable. Anything else you need?”

“Text Tessa for me. Her cell is in my phone. I can’t be with her today. Maybe tomorrow.” Gritting his teeth at the intense pain that shot through the right side of his head, Micah tried to stay aware of his surroundings and function a little longer.

“Call me as soon as you can,” Julian said quietly and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Micah buried his head under the pillow, knowing Julian would take care of things. As kids, his brothers had seen him go through this many times. Julian knew he’d be back to normal in a day or two.

As he finally gave in to the pain, Micah hoped that Julian could get through to Xander, do what he himself had failed to do: straighten Xander’s ass out for good.

Tessa was getting her morning coffee when she noticed she had a text from Micah. For some reason, he must have left early this morning and hadn’t returned yet.

She used a finger to open the text as she took her first sip of coffee.

Micah: Now isn’t a good time to be with you. Maybe in the future. I’m sorry.

After reading it three times, she still didn’t know what to make of the message. Obviously, he’d decided to back off, and even though she’d told herself she wouldn’t be sad when he left, her heart shattered.

I knew it wasn’t forever. I knew he’d have to go.

The sound of a plane taking off from the airport was the final stab to her heart. Amesport didn’t do commercial flights, so it had to be a private plane, and there weren’t many of those in her town. In fact, the airport had been pretty much closed until Grady Sinclair had decided to make his permanent home in Amesport and brought his big private jet along with him. Eventually, the rest of the brothers had moved here, and private aircraft came along with them, too.

Most people in Amesport knew when a Sinclair was leaving or returning, since they were about the only ones who really used the airstrip outside of town.

Tessa finished her coffee, trying not to shed a tear. Keeping with her routine, she did her morning run and then headed to the arena. She ran through her routine several times, but her heart ached that, for once, Micah wasn’t there on the sidelines to cheer her on or let her know if she was off time with her music with the silly little gestures they’d made up for each scenario.

She didn’t arrive home until dinnertime, and the house seemed eerily empty. It was her fault. She’d allowed herself to get way too attached to Micah, and everything seemed grim without him here to laugh with her, talk to her, touch her, and make her feel like she was part of a couple instead of terribly alone and isolated.

As she tossed a frozen dinner in the microwave, she noticed that a message had popped up on her phone again, but she didn’t recognize the number.

Did you get my message this morning?

The only text she’d gotten was from Micah, and this number wasn’t his. She typed back cautiously.

Who is this?

It took a few minutes for the sender to reply.

Julian Sinclair. I don’t think Micah wanted me to tell you anything, but he hasn’t called me and I’m getting a little worried. My cousins are all off the Peninsula today, and I need somebody to check on Micah. I don’t suppose you’re near that area right now?

Micah? He was still here?

Where was
Julian
? Where was
Micah
? The two of them texted back and forth for a few minutes before she got the information she needed. Micah was at Jared’s guesthouse, sick. Julian was in California because Xander had overdosed, and it had been a hurried text from Julian that she’d gotten this morning from Micah’s phone. Julian had scribbled down her number in case he needed it, utilizing her now because none of his relatives were available.

It hadn’t been
Micah
blowing her off. It had been
Julian
trying to tell her that Micah had to stay home with a migraine headache, that he couldn’t make it back to her today.

Her fingers flew as she texted back to Julian again.

I’ll go. How is Xander?

She got a response a few moments later.

X is ornery as hell, but okay for now. Thanks for checking. Micah never has asked for help when he needed it. But I’d feel better if somebody was there. His migraines can get pretty bad.

Tessa gathered her things, wanting to get to the Peninsula as soon as possible.

I’m on my way. I’ll take care of Micah. I promise.

Julian sent his thanks, and a vow to let her know any new information on Xander when he got it. She stuffed her phone in her purse and made her little economy vehicle get to the Peninsula as quickly as possible, driving faster than she’d gone even as a lead-footed teenager, in an effort to get to Micah.

The door was locked when she reached Jared’s guesthouse, but she had a key, and she felt no remorse for using it when she wasn’t working. Since darkness was beginning to fall, she flipped on some lights in the living room and kitchen, getting a glass of ice water, a cool cloth, and some crackers from the cupboard before creeping quietly to the door of the bedroom where Micah slept.

She knew the house, knew what bedroom Micah had used when he stayed here. She cleaned these houses, and she was familiar with all of the guest homes.

Cautiously, she pushed open the door, seeing Micah on the bed moving restlessly. She went and pulled the curtains as tightly closed as possible, feeling guilty that she hadn’t been there before dusk to try to help him. Once the remaining sunlight was completely blocked, she put the items she’d gathered on the bedside table and lightly put her hand on Micah’s forehead.

His skin was wet and clammy, his body covered in sweat. Slowly, she lowered the pillow from his head and placed the cool cloth across his forehead.

Micah startled and turned on the dim bedside lamp on his nightstand.

“Tessa?” he hissed in a low voice, his eyes puffy and red as he looked at her, seeming confused.

“Yes,” she whispered quietly. “Lie still. Do you need more medication?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t get up to take it. I think Julian left it in the bathroom.”

“Are you nauseous?”

“No. Not anymore.”

She got up and went into the small half bath, closing the door before she flipped on the light and found his pills. Shaking out a dose and replacing the cap, she went back to his bedside and helped him take the pills with the cold water she’d brought in with her.

After feeding him a few crackers, she went and got a basin of cold water so she could periodically change the cool compress. Kicking off her shoes, she lay gently beside him.