“What? Don’t do that.” Wolfe frowned at her. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
Aleki sat on the bed facing her, sending Wolfe a glare. “I could have hurt myself when you yelled at me while I was sleeping.”
“You sleep like the dead. What if I’d been someone intent on hurting her?” Wolfe spooned up some oatmeal, tested the temperature against his lips then held it towards her.
She shook her head.
“Eat your oatmeal.”
“Nobody can get in here,” Aleki grumbled. He scratched at his side, pulling up his T-shirt.
Holy shit balls. What was it with all the abs this morning? She couldn’t cope. Then she saw Aleki’s cheeky grin.
Asshole was doing it on purpose.
“Eat your oatmeal,” Wolfe commanded.
“I can feed myself, you know.”
“Hush, Genevieve. Eat.”
“I don’t want oatmeal. I want cake.”
“Cake is not a breakfast food,” Wolfe told her.
“It is in Europe,” she countered.
“We’re not in Europe.”
“So if we were in Europe, I could have cake for breakfast?” she asked.
“No, if we were in Europe, you could have oatmeal. Oatmeal is good for you.”
“Says who? It’s just rolled oats and milk.”
“It’s on the list.” Wolfe set down the bowl of oatmeal and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.
“What’s that?” she asked suspiciously.
“This is a list of food you should be eating in order to build up your strength and improve your health. Oatmeal is on the list.”
He turned it around and pointed to where oatmeal was listed. Damn it.
“Eggs are on there too. I could have eggs.”
“You can. Once you poop. Have you pooped?”
She gaped at him for a moment, feeling her cheeks grow red. Then she looked at Caleb and Aleki, both of those jerks were biting their lips and couldn’t meet her gaze. Aleki was jolting the bed, he was shaking so hard with suppressed laughter.
“I really don’t think that’s a question I need to answer,” she said primly.
“Do you want to poop?”
“I don’t know that anyone ever actually wants to poop,” she countered. “It’s just something you have to do.”
“Exactly. And if you want to leave here, you need to be peeing regularly and pooping. Oatmeal will help you with that. Do you want to leave here?”
“Well, yes, of course, but—”
“Then you’ll eat your oatmeal.” Wolfe grabbed the bowl once more and spooned some up for her.
She sighed and took the spoonful. Damn, that was some weird logic right there.
“To pooping,” Aleki cheered before he burst into big guffaws of laughter.
Caleb held out. For all of five seconds. Before he joined them.
“Imbeciles,” Wolfe muttered.
* * *
Okay. So the oatmeal wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.
But she wouldn’t be telling Wolfe that. Last thing she wanted was to encourage him. The guys had left to grab showers then they were coming back. She picked up the TV remote.
She needed something to watch to take her mind off all the things running through her brain. Now that she was feeling better and her temperature had broken, she was starting to worry even more.
What was she going to do?
Whatever she did, she knew she couldn’t involve the guys. She couldn’t risk them like that.
Look at what had happened already.
William was dead. She was shot at. How had they known she’d be in that basement? She’d only told William’s contact.
They must have followed her. It was the only explanation.
Nothing had gone as planned. Everything was a mess. And she had no idea what was going to happen next.
The TV went on to a news site. She raised the remote to change it, but something familiar caught her attention and she lowered her arm. A reporter was standing outside her house. She tensed.
“In breaking news, it has been revealed that Lieutenant Governor William Davidson, who died of a heart attack nearly a week ago, had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only had months to live. His wife, Genevieve Davidson, who is also the daughter of Governor James Mason, has declined to make a statement. The funeral is expected to take place a week’s time.”
Her breath started sawing in and out of her tight lungs. Declined to make a statement? How could she decline to make a statement when no one had spoken to her?
And the funeral. Would she have to go? Would it look suspicious if she didn’t? But she couldn’t go. Not when she didn’t know who to trust.
“What are you doing watching that?” Glancing over, she saw Caleb stride into the room. “You’re not supposed to be stressed.” He grabbed the remote and switched it off.
Breathe. She needed to breathe.
“Shit. Baby, breathe. Fuck. I’ll get Aleki.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand, tight. She just needed him to stay with her.
“Don’t . . . leave . . .” she gasped.
“Okay. I won’t leave. I need you to breathe for me, though. In then out. Come on, you can do it. In then out.” He lightly placed a hand on her chest. His touch brought a sense of safety. She managed one breath then another. Sweat coated her skin and that oatmeal threatened to come back up.
But at least she could breathe.
She looked up into Caleb’s concerned blue eyes. He watched her carefully. “Better?”
“Yes,” she said hoarsely. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” He grabbed a glass and held the straw to her lips as she lay against the bed tiredly. She took a few sips then he set it aside.
“No more watching TV, understand? You need a mental health break from what’s going on out there.”
He cupped her face between his hands. It felt as though his strength and confidence were being infused through her skin. She calmed, her heart starting to slow.
“The funeral is in a week.”
“You want to go?” he asked her.
Panic flooded her. “No. I can’t go. They said I declined to make a statement.”
“Seems someone is covering for you being missing.”
Yeah. Appearances must always be kept up. For her to go missing now might raise suspicions.
“Sorry for panicking like that.”
He placed his thumb over her lips. “Hush. You don’t need to apologize.”
“You keep having to come to my rescue.”
“And that is my privilege. And joy. Losing you affected us all. Maybe more than we thought it would. You were Aleki’s girl. But you were ours too.”
“Wolfe hates me. He told me that if I walked out on Aleki, he’d never allow me to get close enough to hurt any of you again. That I was basically dead to him.”
“If you were dead to him, he wouldn’t even acknowledge you. You know Wolfe doesn’t handle emotions well. Especially softer ones. Hate. Dislike. Anger. Those he knows and trusts. But kindness. Affection. Love. Those he doesn’t get. Wolfe needs to learn to trust you again. And Aleki feels things more strongly than the rest of us, he just tries to hide his sensitive side. You hurt him.”
She winced. She hated thinking of him hurt.
“But I think he’s as upset with himself as he is with you.”
“And you?”
He smiled at her gently. “I have always had a lot of guilt about my feelings towards you. Wanting your best friend’s girl tends to do that.”
“You . . . you wanted me?”
“Oh yeah.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “I’ve always wanted you. You damn well ruined all other women for me, you know.”
“S-sorry?”
“What did I say about saying sorry?” he said sternly, raising his eyebrows.
She gulped. Caleb had always been dominant, but it seemed he’d gotten more so over the years.
; “Sor—” She cut herself off as he raised an eyebrow. Damn it.
“You only apologize when there is a real need, understand? When you’ve been naughty and broken a rule, then you can say sorry. Not that it would get you out of a punishment.”
She sucked in a breath. “Caleb, I don’t . . . I can’t . . .”
His face grew pensive. “I’m moving too fast. Your husband just died.”
“I told you that we weren’t close. The truth is, I didn’t always like him that much.”
Caleb stiffened. A look came over his face. Her breath caught. It was a look of possession. Hunger. He felt like a predator. And she was his meal.
“Why did you marry him?”
“It’s complicated,” she whispered.
He narrowed his gaze and she tensed, knowing he was going to push her for more. But then the door opened, and Aleki and Wolfe stepped in.
“What’s happening?” Aleki asked, he had his hand in a big bag of potato chips. Walking around, he sat beside her. Wolfe leaned against the wall in his usual pose. He was eating lime jello.
“Vivi and I are just having a chat about why she stayed with her husband when she didn’t like him.”
She glared at Caleb. “What if I didn’t want everyone to know?”
“I don’t keep things from my brothers,” he told her coolly. “We share everything.”
Was there a special emphasis on everything? He couldn’t mean . . . she pushed that thought from her head. Of course that wasn’t what he meant.
“You hated him?” Aleki asked.
“I . . . I . . .” She thought about lying but she knew that wasn’t going to get her far. Both Caleb and Wolfe had made it clear what they thought about her lying to them. “Yes. Sometimes I did.”
“Why did you stay with him?” Caleb pressed.
“I told you, it’s complicated.” Her gaze darted around the room, resting on Wolfe who was still calmly eating his jello.
“Did he hurt you?” Wolfe finally asked, throwing the empty tub in the trash. “Threaten you?”
Both Aleki and Caleb were watching her intently.
“Well?” Aleki cracked first. The chips in his hand were crushed into crumbs. He glanced down at his hand with a grimace. Standing, he brushed his hands off over a trash can.
“He never hit me. I wasn’t physically abused.”
“Did he emotionally abuse you?” Caleb asked.
“I guess.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Aleki snapped. “Either he did, or he didn’t.”
Her own temper stirred. “I don’t know, you tell me. Does the fact that he helped pressure me into marrying him count as emotional abuse? The fact that he cheated on me during our entire marriage. Does that count? Although, to be honest, I was pretty grateful he had a mistress on the side to keep him satisfied since I didn’t want him touching me. Does the fact that we were basically strangers living in the same house count as emotional abuse? If I didn’t do what he wanted then he’d get angry at me, call me horrible things. And yet . . . yet . . .” She could feel another panic attack looming.
“Fuck,” Caleb swore, shocking her. “Calm down, baby.”
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.
“She’s panicking again,” Wolfe pointed out.
“I know that, man,” Caleb said. “She just had a panic attack. She’s under too much stress.”
Suddenly she felt herself moving. Caleb had picked her up and settled back on the bed with her on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her.
“Nobody is going to hurt you. You’re safe. All you have to do is breathe. Just breathe. That’s it, jelly bean. Just breathe.”
She shook in his arms and buried her face against his chest. He rocked her back and forth, holding her close. She felt him kiss the top of her head and tears leaked from her eyes at the gesture.
“This has to stop.”
She stiffened. He sounded mad. Was he sick of her? She tried to move off his lap, but he tightened his hold.
“You just sit where you are, little girl. You’re not moving until I say so.” His hand cupped the back of her neck and started to massage the tight muscles. “I’m not happy about this.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What did I say about saying sorry?” He drew her back to stare down at her sternly. “Next time you apologize for something beyond your control, you’re going over my knee.”
“Jesus, Caleb, she just had a panic attack and you’re threatening to spank her?” Aleki said.
“I don’t think the idea of being spanked scares her, does it?” Caleb gave her a look.
Somehow, he knew that she liked it when he got all bossy and dominant. And no, a threat of a spanking didn’t scare her. It kind of did the opposite. She thought she might be a bit messed up in the head.
But then with the mess her life was, that was to be expected, right?
“Sometimes, having boundaries, rules and consequences can be a relief, can’t it, jelly bean?” Caleb ran a thumb over her cheek.
How did he know? She looked up at him in wonder. A small smile crossed his face. “Just relax, baby. You don’t have to think about anything right now. We’re here. Nobody will hurt you.”
She rested her head back against Caleb’s chest and he continued to rub her neck. She started to relax. Until he spoke again.
“We’re not going to talk of anything stressful. No talk of the past. The last thing she needs is another panic attack,” Caleb warned them all.
God, that would be nice, to have a reprieve from talking about all the shit that had already come.
“Once she’s in Escana and is feeling better, then we can discuss the past. And the future.”
She stiffened. Escana? Why would she be in Escana?
“What do you mean, once I’m in Escana?” She pulled back to look up at Caleb. He stared firmly down at her. He meant every word he’d just said. She glanced at Aleki then Wolfe.
“You’re coming back home with us. We’re going to take care of you. Make sure you eat and rest and don’t stress.” There was a hard note to his voice. One that told her he meant to be obeyed.
But she couldn’t do that. He didn’t understand. She couldn’t be with them.
She shook her head. “I can’t go back to Escana with you.”
“Who said you had a choice?” Wolfe drawled.
“Wolfe,” Caleb warned.
“Well? She doesn’t, does she?” Wolfe narrowed his gaze.
Aleki was surprisingly quiet and she turned to look at him. Surely, he didn’t want her going with them?
But he nodded to her. “We’ve discussed it. This is the best idea.”
“You’ll be able to rest and recover there,” Caleb told her.
“Caleb, I can’t go to Escana with you. It’s not safe.”
Wolfe snorted. “I can assure you that there is nowhere safer than Escana. Security is our job. If we can keep several members of the royal family safe, I think we can do the same for one tiny female.”
Caleb nodded. “Once the doctor gives the all-clear, we’ll leave. Don’t worry, we’ll look after you.”
They didn’t understand. It wasn’t her that she was worried about.
It was them.
10
Vivi knew she didn’t have much time.
Caleb had gone to talk to the doctor about getting her discharged. Wolfe had just disappeared without a word. She’d asked Aleki to order them pizza while Wolfe was gone. He’d just left to collect it since no one was allowed up on this floor. She shuffled out of bed, thankful that the IV line had been disconnected earlier. Although the port was still in. But she wasn’t going to remove that and risk having it bleed everywhere.
And she’d never been good with blood.
She climbed from the bed, holding the frame as a wave of dizziness assaulted her. Shit. Fuck. She didn’t have time for this.
As soon as the dizziness disappeared, she limped painfully over to the wardrobe. Her ankl
e was bandaged tightly, which was the only reason she figured she could tolerate any weight on it. Reaching in, she pulled out her bag. She’d gotten the nurse to help her into her sweats and a T-shirt earlier, claiming her nightie needed washing.
She grabbed her flip-flops, slipping them on. They weren’t the best shoes to move around in quickly but her swollen foot wasn’t getting back in those sneakers. She wasn’t even sure where her sneakers were.
Putting her backpack on, she moved to the door and took a deep breath. If any of the guys were on the other side, or the doctor or nurse, she was done for.
They thought she’d agreed to come to Escana because she hadn’t put up a big fight. But she couldn’t.
Opening the door slightly, she ducked her head out. Coast was clear. She wasn’t sure which way to go so she took a gamble and went right, creeping down the hallway as fast as she could.
Already, her ankle was screaming in pain.
God, she didn’t want to go.
Tears filled her eyes and she forced herself to blink them back. They were going to hate her now. She’d left once and they’d still come for her.
They wouldn’t come a second time.
She reached a bank of elevators. It would probably be safer to take the stairs, but she’d never make it. She pressed the down button then looked for somewhere to hide in case someone was in the elevator when it arrived.
There was a door across the passage. She moved over and opened it cautiously. Storage closet. Perfect. Slipping inside, she kept the door slightly ajar and peered out. The elevator door opened and Aleki strode out, carrying a pizza.
Instead of feeling relief at not getting caught, she just felt this deep sorrow.
None of them would ever trust her again. She was just putting the nail in her own coffin.
But better hers than theirs.
Stubbornness filling her, she moved from the closet as soon as he was out of sight and quickly hit the elevator button. The doors opened immediately and she sighed with relief. Limping in, she leaned against the wall and pressed the ground floor button.
Exhaustion had her sagging. Was this really the best move she could make? But what choice did she have?
Where was she going to go, though? She limped out of the building, wiping the tears from her eyes. It was starting to grow dark. She wasn’t sure where exactly she was, but the streets were still busy. She kept her gaze down, not wanting anyone to look at her too closely. Shoot. She should put her hoodie on.
Ruled by her Daddies Page 8
