“Okay?”
“Okay.” I nod. “I think I need a drink.”
“Is the cola finished? Do you need the other one?”
“I mean a real drink.”
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“No, probably not.” Knowing my luck, I’d end up just like Eric, regardless of DNA.
Ben spins his phone in his hand as he thinks. “How about I get you out of here for a little while?”
“And incur the wrath of Dax? Are you mad?” I chuckle. The sound is exhausted. I need to rest. But fresh air sounds nice too. A walk in the grounds might be just what I need.
“Leave Dax to me.”
Chapter Nine
The hospital isn’t exactly the fresh air I expected. The chemical tang of disinfectant and antiseptic itches my nose and leaves me fighting the urge to sneeze. Everywhere I look, I spot the telltale suits of Dax and Aiden’s men. None of them look our way, likely pre-informed of our arrival, but the amped-up security makes me a little uncomfortable. We ride the elevator to Tom’s floor in silence with Ben’s sharp-eyed gaze a constant reminder of how badly I behaved at the compound. He watches intently as I obsessively rub the material of the sports bandage he gave me for my injured wrist. Does he expect me to erupt again? Does he think I’m crazy? Dangerous?
“I’m not going to go off the deep end again. You’re perfectly safe. I’m too damn exhausted to do much more than move my feet,” I say to ease his fear.
“I’m not worried about that. I’m concerned about you.” His tone is gentle, almost apologetic, and the way he looks at me…I guess I look pathetic to elicit such sympathy in a guy who doesn’t give a shit about me.
Humour softens embarrassment, doesn’t it? I try to take the focus off with an off-handed quip. “I take it I look as bad as I feel?”
“You’re as pretty as a picture, just worn out. I should have let you rest back at the house.”
“Nah, getting out is nice.”Not having to explain myself to Dax and Aiden is better.“So, we’re visiting Tom?”
“Yeah. We’ll pick up Sylvie while we’re here too. Two birds with one stone.”
Sylvie? “She’s stayed here at the hospital?” I knew she was visiting Tom, but I didn’t expect her to stay in the hospital. A five-star hotel seems more her style.
“Yeah. Dax didn’t want anyone at the compound while Franz was actively hunting you. The grab they made for you at the coffee shop made him a little overprotective. They sent Sylvie here with half the fucking contingent of guards we keep back at the house.
“So, I wasn’t wrong about the men sitting downstairs? They’re Dax’s guys?”
“Yeah, they’re on every floor. Parking lots. They cover the entrances downstairs, and they’re even in cars across the street.” Ben exaggeratedly rolls his eyes and gives me a soft smile. The second his lips curl up, I realise how he got permission to take me off-site.
“That’s why Dax was happy for me to come with you.”
Ben nods. “I knew it was our best option. This place is more secure than the compound right now. But the sooner we get Princess Trevainne back home, the sooner the compound gets locked up tighter than a nun’s…uh…tightly. Locked up tight.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You don’t have to watch your language with me, Ben.”
He snorts. “I have to watch everything I do around you, Jules. If growing up in the Vale made me a mouse, then it made you a hawk. There’s very little you don’t see…or hear.”
I have to agree with him on that, at least. You either become a predator or prey in the Vale, but he’s wrong about a hawk. I might have the attributes of a predator, but I’ve only ever been prey.
“I didn’t have much choice,” I tell him, knowing his experience will have been the same. “I grew up reading a room, anticipating mood changes, assessing the people around me for intention and lies. My eyes and ears were my protection.”
He leans in and bumps my arm. “We’re the same. Only my observations have always had to be more clandestine.”
“Like a spy?” I ask. From what I’ve seen of Ben, he’d make a great spy. Neither seen nor heard but goes anywhere at any time.
He takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly as he shakes his head. “Like a thief.”
