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“You’ll make it up to me.”
She turns away, brows furrowed.
“Hey, Chloe Shaw, when we get out of here, we’re going to relax on a beach and then get Nora amped up about Disney World.”
He smiles like he does when he’s trying to make others do the same thing. It usually works, but right now, it’s not working on Chloe.
When I see Kevin Sewards name, and remember today us the day they’re supposed to meet, I feel sick to my stomach and whisper, “Tell him no.”
After all that’s happened, I’m shocked that after all that had happened, he’d have the balls to message him again.
I watch as Pope replies:
A little busy this morning, I’ll see you a noon.
Shaking my head, I tell him, “No.”
“I wanna know what hand this fool thinks he has to play.”
“No!”
“He’s not wrong, Whit,” Danny grumbles.
“I can’t lose him again.” I push his chest with both hands. “I won’t lose you again!”
He grabs my shoulders and hauls me into him, wrapping me up in his arms. “I’m never gonna let that happen.”
I glare up at him. “But you are. Right now, you’re?—”
“Participating in a collaboration.” He kisses my forehead. “Marks has guys he trusts down here. He’s not gonna be far, and neither are they. I’m going to make sure Seward shows his hand, and then I’m going to take every card he thinks he has to play and shove them down his fucking throat.”
I insisted that both Danny and Chloe take their pain meds, knowing they both needed them, but refused so they could keep me what, entertained? That’s ridiculous. They’re now out like a light, and I’m sitting here between them, swiping between the cameras at home, checking to make sure they’re all safe and Pope’s location. Marks shared his location with me as well, which I know is to put me at ease, seeing that he was in fact very close to the hotel downtown, where Pope changed the meeting to last minute.
When my screen lights up and I see Gram’s number, I hit Accept to the FaceTime request.
Nora’s face lights up the screen.
“Mommy, are you still at work?”
“I’m not working, little slugger, but I am at the hospital.”
She smacks her forehead. “That’s right. Miss Chloe and Uncle Danny gots in an accident, and you had to go help them at a different hospital.”
I’ll never teach her that lying is okay, but this kind of lie is necessary to allow her to be a kid.
“And they didn’t go to heaven, like my other mommy.”
I swallow back the Nora-sized lump in my throat. “They’re going to be okay, but they did get pretty banged up.”
“Like me when I was little?”
“But they weren’t in super-safe seats like you were.”
“Can I talk to them? I wanna tell them get well soon, and we’re making them snickerdoodle’s, and I won’t even try to eat them all.”
“That’s very sweet, Nora. They’ll love the cookies.”
“Well, can I talk to them?”
