Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 by Laura Burton (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

low, there was no telling what would happen next. Harry passed out and his breathing slowed. Julie cradled his head in her hands and looked up to the sky. Finally, she allowed tears to stream down her cheeks as she thought about what she had to do—for Harry’s sake.

Resolved, she repeated the same mantra in her mind as she waited for the sirens to reach them.

Please don’t die. Please don’t die. Please don’t die.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Love and Sacrifices

Harry blinked into a bright light and wondered for a moment if he had died and gone to Heaven. The white light flooded his vision until he slowly recognized the figure of an angel standing beside him. It appeared as if the light came from her.

“Harry, can you hear me? Nurse, I think he’s waking up.”

The sound of her gentle voice was grounding and Harry found himself falling back into a sleepy slumber.

“Harold, darling, can you hear me?”

Harry inhaled deeply, a dull ache spread across his chest and he slowly opened his eyes. A machine beeped next to him and a hand squeezed his.

“Where’s Julie? Is she all right?”

His eyes found the familiar sight of his mother sitting beside him. She pursed her lips and she stroked his face.

“She’s just fine, darling. You were very lucky last night. If Ebony hadn’t found you, I dread to think….”

“Ebony?” Harry burst out of his covers and sat up, then stopped to gasp for air. “She is not to be trusted.” He rubbed his chest, remembering the beating he took. Looking over the line from his arm, he had enough strength to tug on the IV connected to the saline bag hanging beside his bed.

“What are you doing?” his mother asked, watching Harry pull the IV out of his arm and ungracefully swing his legs out of the bed. An alarm beeped and two nurses dashed into the room.

“Are you feeling okay, Mr. Jackson?” one of them asked. She had blonde hair, similar to Julie’s, but her eyes were blue instead of the golden brown he’d come to love.

“I need to see Julie and speak to Benjamin.” Harry pushed himself awkwardly to his feet and staggered to the armchair in the corner of the private room. His stomach throbbed and his chest screamed in pain as he grabbed the pile of neatly folded clothes and started to dress.

“Harold. She’s gone,” his mother said with a note of finality. Harry looked up and stared at her while the two nurses watched, as if considering what they should do. Harry’s mother waved to them with a nod and gestured to the door, prompting them to leave. Harry fastened the buttons on his shirt, then with the grace of a newly born calf, stepped into his pants and stood up. He studied the look of concern on his mother’s face.

“What do you mean, Ebony found me? Where is Julie?” He tried to keep his voice low, but the rising anger inside him was proving difficult to keep under control. His mother perched on the edge of the hospital bed and rested her hands in her lap.

“Ebony found you and Julie. You were unconscious with multiple injuries––though the doctor says they are minor and you were very lucky. Tell me, what were you doing walking the streets of London at night without security?” The sound of reproach in her voice matched the glare in her eyes. Harry ignored her.

“Where is Julie?” he repeated through gritted teeth. His mother shifted and glanced out of the window.

“On a plane, most likely,” she said simply. Harry pushed his feet into his shoes, thankful they were slide-ons.

Of course, she’s run away. I did nothing to protect her.

His heart raced and humiliation rose like heat to the surface of his cheeks as he clamped his teeth together and ground them with frustration. It happened too fast. One minute they were enjoying their romantic escape, looking up at the moon, and the next, he was pounded into the ground by a bunch of thugs. He couldn’t even feel the punches that followed the initial one. Shocked and unable to process what was happening, Harry just took the abuse, but he remembered Julie. She’d turned into a real-life action figure and showed those attackers not to mess with them. If he wasn’t so mortified at his inadequacy, he would have been prouder of her.

Now, she’s gone. And she’ll be too afraid to see me again.

Then again, Harry thought, maybe she wasn’t afraid, maybe she decided that being with Harry meant dealing with too much drama. After all, with all the press and scandals that came with it—not to mention a psychopath ex—who would want to love Billionaire Harry Jackson?

He slammed a fist on his thigh and glanced out the window. The sun was shining like a summer’s day, and the hustle and bustle outside reminded Harry that despite everything, the world was still moving on.

“Harold….” His mother walked up to him and placed a hand on his back. “I hate to see you like this. Why don’t you get back into bed and we’ll sort this all out?”

Harry hesitated. He didn’t know what to do. Should he get on a plane and follow Julie back to New York, profess his love, and insist they should be together?

But what if Ebony engineered more attacks? Even if he went everywhere with security, they would be forever looking over their shoulders.

Harry lowered himself back onto the bed and sighed. He needed to let Julie go.

“You know Ebony did this,” he said dully to his mother. “Why are you talking to her again, anyway? After what she did to me?”

Harry’s mother sat next to him on the bed and patted his knee.

“She loves you Harold. She made a mistake and wants you back. Can’t you see that? You both have so much history—and she comes from a good family. Let’s be sensible here. You two are good together, despite your youthful pasts.”

“And you think we should pick things