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She pops the strawberry into her mouth, then looks up at me with a smile I haven’t seen in…how long has it been? Three years? Four? “Hi, Elise.”
“You’re, like, naked. In the bath.” I shoot another glare at Jacob. “Did he touch you?”
Catherine’s cheeks flush a bit deeper. “Oh my God, Elise, no. He was a perfect gentleman, both last night and this morning. He turned around when I took off my robe and got into the water.”
There’s a wide ledge on the tub with a step beneath it, so I sit. “This seems…this seems nice.”
“Itisnice.” Catherine’s eyes are only a bit red, which is how she looks the day after she cries. There haven’t been any tears this morning, then. “He thought hot water might help with the pain from what Dad did, and guess what? Itishelping. So is this mimosa.” She looks at the champagne glass affectionately. “This might be the second one. Or the third.”
I whip my head around. Jacob’s propped himself against the bathroom counter, looking like a model in a men’s magazine.
“You got my sisterdrunk?”
He waves me off. “It’s the best anesthetic. She had bags under her eyes from not sleeping at your father’s house. The discomfort from his attack woke her up early. After the bath, she’ll be able to rest.”
“That’ll be convenient foryou.”
“Elise.” Catherine’s mild, but she’s still scolding. “You don’t need to be mean to Jacob. He hasn’t done anything wrong.” Her smile falters at the look on my face. “He hasn’t done anything wrong tome. You—you asked him to pick me up, didn’t you? Jacob did that. He stood up to Dad, who was an asshole to him.”
“Yes.” I let out a breath. I’m the problem here. I’m the one who ran away rather than trying to stop my father. I’m the one who’s letting my fear get to me. I look over my shoulder at Jacob, who doesn’t look nearly so charming. He has a glimmer of anger in his eyes and tension in his posture. I think that’s on Catherine’s behalf. “I’m sorry for being a jerk to you.”
He accepts my apology with a nod. “You were worried for your sister. You were right to be.”
A weight in his tone makes me think he’s also talking about the consortium, and what Gabriel told him in the hospital last night. Jacob knew what my dad had done when he went to get Catherine, and he still went.
I’m angry at the wrong person. Suspicious of the wrong person.
That’s exactly what my father would want.
“That’s not an excuse, and I’m sorry.”
He curls his hands around the edge of the countertop. “If you and Catherine agree that it would be better for her to go with you, then I won’t stop her from leaving. My only concern is that I told your father that I’d keep her with me. If he finds out I didn’t, things could go badly.”
Catherine’s eyes go from Jacob to me, concern turning to fear. “I don’t want that to happen.”
“You don’t have to worry, okay?” It’s too serious a promise to soften with a smile. “I’m going to fix it.”
“How?” Jacob asks.
“Just—I’ve got it under control.” I look at Catherine in her bubble bath. She has color back in her skin, and she doesn’t seem to be on edge. I still need to be sure. “Catherine…”
She transfers her mimosa to her other hand, pats at a towel draped over the tray, and covers my hand with hers. “It’s really okay. I’m grown up now. There are things I don’t understand yet, obviously, but I’ve been a grown-up since you left the house. And I just…I need to make my own decision about this. I need to experience things on my terms.”
“Does that mean you want to stay here?”
“For the time being, yes. Besides, Jacobisconceited, but he’s also nice, in a cute little way.”
Jacob groans. “Stop saying that. It’s going to be hell on my reputation.”
10
GABRIEL
Leavingthe hospital is more of a production than I expected. First, there seems to be a general consensus that I can’t be allowed to walk out by myself. Sandra insists this is hospital policy. I don’t buy it. Nobody wheeled Mason out when he left.
Then again, he didn’t check himself out of the VIP wing.
Second, there’s a nurse brought from a separate agency who follows in one of the security vehicles.
