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“Well.” I step away, heading towards the kitchen with her following. “If anything happens to me, I’ll hold you to your promise.”
Sticking the kettle on, I look for Casper, but neither he nor Ryan are in the back garden. It’s normally where I find Casper with a cigarette, although he’s not smoking as much as he used to.
“Tea?” I ask her when the kettle goes off.
“Please.” Sitting at the table, she pulls one of the daisies from the jug in the middle. “Milk, no sugar. Thank you.”
I make four cups of tea, keeping mine weaker than I would normally have it and letting Casper’s steep. I’m not sure where they’ve gone, but it can’t be far given Ryan is on duty and Casper wouldn’t make such a fuss about Arabella coming here and then leave us unwatched.
Handing her the tea, I tell her, “If anything happens to me, I want you to have her.”
I have no idea why I’m saying this seeing as she just promised to protect my baby, but not me. I shouldn’t trust her, but I do. She’s the only one who understands how scared I am of leaving my daughter, or of anything happening to her.
“Fleur…”
“You promised you would protect her. Well, if anything happens to me, I want you to have her.”
“What about Casper? He’s her father; I can’t promise to take her from him.” She twirls the daisy nervously between the pads of her finger and thumb.
“Nothing will happen to me if he’s around, so…” I blink the sting in my eyes away and take a deep breath, sitting straighter. “So, if I have to leave her, it’s because he’s…”
I choke on the tears slipping down the back of my throat, and her hand finds mine, squeezing so hard that my fingertips pulse.
“Do you love him?”
I smile with my waterlogged eyes fuzzing over hers. “At the end of the day, it’s not about me and him. It’s about this baby, and I need to make sure that she’s taken care of no matter what.”
“She will be. Always.”
“My mum left me some money, and there’s all the—”
“None of that matters, because you’re going to let me help you, right? For her?” The tips of her fingers touch the top of my bump, and a watery smile cuts her face when the baby kicks. Like she does when Casper touches me.
“Unless things change, I won’t see you again after today. So, I need to know that you will follow through on your promise. No matter what.”
“Don’t do this. If you come back with me, they won’t hurt you. Penny and Cassie won’t let them touch you.”
I believe her for a moment, the weariness of hiding and worrying about the future urging me to do what she wants. But then her initial promise replays in my head. Her promise to my daughter. Her family.
“They won’t touch me while she’s inside me, but then I’m dispensable and after what my father did…”
“What he did is not your fault. It’s not your sin, and you can’t be held accountable for it.”
“We both know that’s not true, and my blood…his blood, it’s the same.”
“What’s the same?” Casper asks, coming into the kitchen with Ryan at his back. They both look a bit winded like they’ve been hard at work. Their boots are muddied as they stomp on the mat by the door.
“The outcome with whoever finds us first.”
“But no one will find us, will they, Bella?”
“Not because of me,” she tells him.
“Let me know when you’re ready to go.” Ryan nods at her.
“Fleur’s made tea.” She gestures at the side where their cups sit, cool and ready to be poured away. “Besides, they’re hunting. They’ll be out till late.”
He settles into one of the chairs around the table as I get up to make fresh tea. I know Ryan—he’s been around long enough that I’m familiar with him. However, I never really noticed how similar he and Casper are with their aura. Dark, quiet…lethal.
