AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I closed my eyes, resting my head on his shoulder, knowing the only reason I was trusting him this much was because I was out of it. Otherwise I’d be on guard, but it was hard when my head was this fuzzy. It hadn’t gotten worse, though. Death had said she wasn’t here for me. I’d survive.
He took the stairs at a jog, even with me in his arms, then walked past my suite to his. Another door opened and closed, and the next thing I knew, he was placing me on his bed.
He smoothed his hands over my head and then throat, pausing at my veins. It was a soothing contact I hadn’t realized I needed so much.
He grazed his mouth over mine, slipping his tongue between my lips as I gasped, opening my eyes.
He scanned my face for clues. “What did you have? I can taste it.”
“I might’ve gotten a little bit of poison, I think, but not much. I’m going to be fine. I know.” He probably thought I was speaking out of delirium, and there was no way to let him know that Death told me. He’d really think I was drugged to the gills then.
“I need you to check on Charlie. He’s playing games, and I don’t want him left alone.” I went to sit up.
He pressed my shoulders back down. “What do you mean, you might’ve gotten a little poison? Who the hell gave you poison?”
“Check Charlie,” I said, pushing at him. My kid was more important than answers to Kicks’ questions right now.
He lifted the phone by the bed. “The kid with you? Good. Keep him there and bring him to his room personally, and then stay there with him. Let him stay up all night if he wants. Also reach out to Evangeline and tell her I need her up here.”
He hung up the phone as I squinted. “He’s with Crackers and Magnum. No one will get near him. Now what happened?” He touched me again, alternating between my throat and my wrists, as if he were trying to track my vitals.
“I’m not sure exactly, but Blanca offered me tea.”
He froze for a second before grabbing the phone again.
“Send Jo Jo to Blanca’s room and search it for poison. Keep Blanca isolated. Don’t let her out of your sight.” His chest rose, and I could hear his intake of breath. “Then send someone to go look for her.”
He hung the phone up with a clank. “She took off a little while ago, saying she was going for a run. She had a bag with her, though.”
There was a knock at the bedroom door. “Don’t get out of this bed,” he said as he went to answer it.
He had more faith in me than I had. Now that I knew Blanca was gone and Charlie was being looked after, good luck trying to get me out of this bed.
“I heard,” Evangeline said as she stepped into the room and headed to me. She reached out, feeling my pulse and skin, then staring into my eyes. “She looks okay. I’d just keep an eye on her.”
“What do you think Blanca gave her?” Kicks asked, coming to sit on the other side of the bed.
“I have no idea. I know food. Not poisons. Blanca is the one we ask,” Evangeline said. “I told you I never liked her.”
“I didn’t either, but she served a purpose.”
“Well, look how well that turned out,” Evangeline said, gesturing toward me.
“Okay, if you can’t offer any more help, go handle things for me,” he said, motioning to the door.
“You don’t want me to stay with her and let you go?” Evangeline looked at him as if I weren’t the only one drugged.
“If that’s what I wanted, I would’ve said it.” He was off the bed, ushering her out. “Shout if you need me,” he said as he shut the door on her.
He was back beside me and unbuttoning my flannel.
“What are you doing?”
“Your heart is slower than I’d like. You’re taking a cold shower,” he said, stripping off my shirt and then moving to my boots.
“I’m okay. IknowI’m okay.” Death had told me I wasn’t dying, but it wasn’t like I could share that. Even as fuzzy as I was, I knew that wasn’t the thing to say.
“Well,Idon’t know you’re okay, so we’re taking a cold shower.”
