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His eyes landed on Evelyn’s bag and he scooped it up and handed it to her. “Here.”
“What’re you doing?” Her breath formed a cloud of vapor between them in the frigid room.
Kneeling, he scooped up her mother, her body shockingly light, and stood. “We’re getting out of here.”
Her jaw shook and her eyes watered. “Lucian, w-why?”
He shifted the practically weightless body in his arms. “You ask me that entirely too often, Evelyn. Because I love you. Is that answer enough for you?”
Her face crumbled with emotion and she lowered her chin then raised it, breathing in a rough sob. “Yes.”
Chapter 32
Odds
An advantage given by the stronger player to a weaker player
Evelyn sat in the overstuffed chair facing the window, looking small and lost. Her pallid eyes were without expression. Her hair, still wet from the shower, was combed back, making those tired eyes seem huge, the soft skin appearing bruised around the silver pools. Lucian handed her a cup of coffee, and she stared at him for a moment as if she’d forgotten his presence and couldn’t quite make sense of it. Her exhaustion was so evident. It showed in her motor skills as well as her reflexes, both verbal and physical. He fit her small hands around the warm, steaming mug, and she turned back to the window.
Several long, silent moments later, the guest room door quietly opened. Vivian stepped out and pulled the door shut, at the same time managing to leave it slightly open. Her face was somber. She discreetly sent him a bleak gaze before she approached Evelyn.
With perfect bedside manner, she gently touched Evelyn’s shoulder, drawing her out of her contemplative trance. “Evelyn?”
She looked up at Vivian, desperate hope softening her features. “Is she going to die?”
Vivian’s expression softened and for the first time ever, he saw his sharp vixen friend appear more of a nurturing woman than he ever imagined her capable of. “No, sweetheart, she’s not going to die. Not today.”
Evelyn’s relief was evident. Her body crumpled as she sobbed a breath and folded her face into her hands. Vivian wrapped her in her arms and he wanted that honor, but wasn’t sure his touch would be welcome.
Lucian watched from the shadows of the room as Evelyn cried, and felt absolute impotence with his inability to fix this for her, or perhaps it was his fear that she wouldn’t want his help that had him paralyzed.
Her upset slowly faded and Evelyn wiped at her eyes, once again establishing the invisible walls that kept her apart from others and protected her from them all. “I’m sorry,” she said to Vivian. “I was certain she wouldn’t make it another day.”
“Your mother’s sick, Evelyn,” Vivian stated empathetically. “Hepatitis is something that needs to be monitored and treated. Her immunities are very low right now, fighting off infection. Her bronchial passages aren’t at their best and she’s running a fever, but her biggest issue is the withdrawal symptoms she’s suffering.”
Evelyn’s body tensed as if she wanted to stand, but she lowered her weight back into the chair. “She’s addicted to heroin. I . . . I can get it for her.”
“Absolutely not,” Lucian said fiercely. Evelyn was never going into those dark corners of the city again. She seemed startled by his comment as if it reminded her of his presence in the room once again. She was all he thought about for weeks, yet she kept forgetting his presence with every passing minute.
She’s tired. His self-reassurance rang hollow and was cold comfort.
In a much calmer manner, Vivian said, “No, Evelyn. Drugs aren’t what she needs. She needs to dry out.”
“But she won’t. If I don’t get it for her she’ll sell herself for her next high.”
Vivian purposefully glanced around the penthouse. “No one’s here for her to do that with now, and she’s too weak to go back to where she came from. I know it won’t be easy for you to hold her against her will, but you actually have all the power right now to get her through this. If you have the energy, that is?”
“We can’t stay here.”
Vivian glanced at him, then speculatively back at Evelyn. “I don’t think moving her would be wise.”
“You’re staying,” he said, putting the issue to rest. “Pearl can stay until she’s well enough to move. At that point I’ll pay to have her placed in a rehab facility with the best doctors who specialize in this sort of thing, and she’ll get well.”
“She won’t go,” Evelyn said in the most defeated voice he had ever heard her use. He didn’t like seeing her so hopeless.
“Her other choice is to return to the streets and freeze to death. Surely once she finds her bearings she’ll realize the danger of that. There’s a blizzard coming in the next couple of days.”
