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As if I haven’t single-handedly destroyed any chance of a future we might have. I press my forehead to his, a single tear sliding down my cheek.
Sam stops snoring, and I hear her sit up. “What’s going on? Who are you?”
“We’re looking for someone.” A deep voice answers. “A young woman, small, dark hair.”
“This is my room,” Sam replies, an air of haughtiness in her voice. “And I don’t appreciate you barging in here like this. I’m going to call security, and then I’m going to call my father, who is a senator, by the way.”
“There’s no need for that.” The same voice answers after a brief pause. “We’ll leave now. We don’t want any problems.”
“Get the hell out of my room,” Sam repeats, her voice rising toward the end. “Help! Somebody help me.”
With no amount of relief, we listen to the three footsteps scramble out of the room. Moments later, another pair of footsteps come into the room, and Sam scrambles off the bed. “Ms. Julis went for a walk to stretch her legs. I came in to check on her and fell asleep, and these men came in and started going through her things. What kind of hospital is this anyway?”
“I’ll call security and have them look into it.”
“They couldn’t have gotten far,” Sam adds, her voice climbing higher and higher. “They’re three dark-haired men with buzz cuts and broad shoulders, all wearing suits. I want them arrested for trespassing.”
I cling to Carter, allowing the weight and feel of him to comfort me.
When Carter is sure the nurse is gone, he pokes his head out from under the bed. He crawls out first, and a moment later, he and Sam help me to my feet. I sway a little, and Carter catches me, crushing me to him.
He hasn’t held me like this in weeks. Not since before I left for the Blackthorne manor.
It feels good to be held by Carter; it’s as if I can put myself back together in the comfort of his arms. All too soon, it ends, though, and Carter carries me to the bed. Wordlessly, he darts out of the room without a backward glance at either of us. Sam walks over to the window, pulls down the blinds, and shuts the door. She turns the lock and twists to face me. She looks worried but doesn’t say anything. Neither do I.
Tristan is the first one to come back and check on us. “Are both of you okay?”
Sam looks visibly shaken and hasn’t stopped pacing. “What the hell was that?”
Tristan glances between the two of us. “Carter thinks that the mayor sent those men.”
Sam stops pacing and looks at Tristain, more and more color draining from her face. “The mayor? As in Mayor Hughes?”
Tristain nods reluctantly.
“Fuck.” I breathe, earning startled looks from the two of them. “We’re never going to be safe, are we?”
Tristan averts his gaze and shifts from one foot to the other. “I wouldn’t go that far, but it does make things harder. I’m going to go back out and sweep the perimeter. Lock the door behind me when I leave. Don’t open it up unless it’s Carter or I.”
In the doorway, he pauses and glances over his shoulder. Then he takes Sam into his arms, and he kisses her like his life depends on it. Something low and hateful unfurls in the center of my stomach at the sight. Just as suddenly, he releases Sam, and she staggers back, her face a bright shade of red. She touches a hand to her lips, a smile hovering there.
As soon as Tristan leaves, Sam snaps back to reality with a jolt and throws herself at the door.
After locking it, she spins around to face me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I swallow. “You guys are good together. I’m not sure if I ever told you that.”
Sam pushes herself off the door and shoves her hair out of her eyes. “That’s the first time Tristan’s ever kissed me like that.”
She pulls the chair closer to the bed and sinks into it. “Jesus, how did things get so out of hand?”
I have no idea, but while I’ve been recovering and trying to find a way to heal, the war outside our door has only gotten worse.
For the umpteenth time, Carter and I are in the middle of it all, and I don’t see a way out.
Not this time.
Chapter Six
