AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I meet his gaze when it whips toward me. “Why is that name so familiar?” I ask aloud.
“We’ve met her.” Everett pushes to his feet, pressing a quick kiss to Wynter’s forehead as he stands.
I try to think back to those days. It was so long ago, and it’s a time in my life I would rather forget. My father and uncles changed the day Daniel Masters was killed. They became more cold, more ruthless, and Everett and I bore the brunt of that.
“At your father’s funeral!”
He nods, glancing at Wynter to make sure she’s still where he left her. “She and her mother came up to us, introduced themselves as friends of my father.”
“And Annalise started crying. You wanted to comfort her, but Angelo wouldn’t let you.” The memory crashes into me all at once. At the time, I couldn’t figure out why he was so angry, but it’s all starting to make sense.
“I wonder if Angelo kept paying Annalise’s mother after Daniel died,” Wynter muses.
“I might be able to find out,” I say, quickly pulling my phone from my pocket and shooting a text to the accountant my uncle used. I still have him on our payroll despite not trusting him as far as I can kick him, for times just like this. Angelo was into a lot of bullshit, and sometimes I need information about the shit my uncle used to do, just like right now.
69
Snow
I’m whisked out of the hospital ward the moment I open my eyes after my second surgery in as many weeks. Elijah is right beside me, his large hand enveloping one of mine as I return to consciousness and then all the way to the estate. If I didn’t know better, I would think I was in some old heist movie because Rayne is in the driver’s seat of the ambulance I’m loaded into, but somehow, it’s not the most pressing question I should be asking.
I’m too drowsy to argue about where we’re going, too sore and tired to wonder if he’s just going to drop me off again. He hasn’t said much, just that he doesn’t trust anyone in the hospital caring for me, and something about a team of nurses and doctors waiting for me at the estate.
I don’t know. The fog of painkillers and sedation is so thick I can barely open my eyes, let alone listen to what’s being said to me. I haven’t been brave enough to ask anyone about my injuries. What if my ability to have a baby has been taken from me completely? What if I’m unable to give Elijah an heir? That fear has had its fist around my throat from the moment he told me I’d lost an ovary, but as I consider the possibility that my chance to become a mother altogether may have been taken from me, that fist tightens impossibly.
“Stop thinking so hard, Snowflake. Do you need some more painkillers?” Elijah murmurs, his hand tightening around mine and bringing me a sense of calm.
I shake my head. I’m afraid if I speak, he’ll see right through me and see how much pain and turmoil I’m in. And the only way I’m going to be able to stop the merry-go-round of thoughts in my mind will be if they sedate me again.
He shakes his head and lets out a rough chuckle, leaning down until his face is only an inch from mine. “You forget that I’ve stalked you for ten years, Snow. I know all your tells.” His fingers brush the matted hair from my cheek as his eyes move over my face, frowning at the spot where my head throbs. “If you’re in pain, you need to take the medication. It’s not weakness to admit you need help.”
If I was capable of it right now, I would probably laugh, because in what universe has Elijah Russo ever asked for help? But I don’t have the energy, and right now nothing seems like it could be funny enough to drag a laugh from my tender throat.
Elijah sighs and presses a kiss to my forehead, his lips lingering there for long moments before he withdraws. “We’re almost at the estate.”
“Are you going to leave me again?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“Never.” He shakes his head. “If I can ever allow you out of my sight again, it will be a miracle, but you’ll never spend another night without me beside you.” The words do nothing to settle the uncertainty building in my chest.
I squeeze my eyes shut, willing myself to ask about my injuries, but as I open my mouth, the words on the tip of my tongue, the ambulance turns onto gravel, and I’m out of time. In less than a minute, we’ll be at the estate, and I’ll have lost my nerve to ask by the time we reach our destination.
Five days.
Five days since I arrived back at the estate.
Five days of Elijah monitoring my every movement.
Five days that I haven’t been brave enough to ask if my chance of having children has gone from fifty percent to zero.
And each day is longer than the last.
Each one of my family visits during the day, even Storm who has taken to working on his laptop at my bedside.
Despite how much time they spend with me, no one really speaks to me. Not about anything important at least. They ask how I’m feeling. Emerson tells me little anecdotes about the kids from the center, and Tommy has taken to talking to me about Frost Industries’ latest venture, an underground fighting ring he’ll be managing, but that’s about as substantial as conversations have gotten.
Elijah just hovers, constantly watching for signs of discomfort, but it’s driving me insane. I need someone to tell me what’s going on with Annalise. I need to know if we have any leads and what our plan is moving forward. I need to know how we’re going to get our revenge for what she’s done to this family.
I’ve never cared about being out of the loop, I even preferred it at times, but now it’s personal. She kidnapped us and set fire to a building with us inside, and I want my revenge. I want to make her pay for what she’s done. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and allow everyone else to do all the work and reap all the rewards.
