Page 85 of Crave Me

I made my way back to the infirmary after having taken a much-needed shower.

It had been a day and a half since my dad had shown up unceremoniously and in such a bad state at our door, and I hadn’t wanted to leave his side. This was the longest I’d managed it after both Bastian and Caspian had insisted, telling me to shower and change and take care of myself and take at least an hour away.

The three of us had sat down and had a quick dinner together. Quick because of my need to get back to my dad and also because Caspian had to get back to running King as well as supervising the efforts to track Caleb and Elijah.

With Jeremy’s connection to that bastard becoming apparent, I still believed the best way to do that was through him. But the only viable route to him was via my dad. Until he woke up, the guys were exploring every other lead and piece of intel possible.

Caspian had relented on doing things on his own and he’d brought Bastian in now he was up and about again, to help with the strategizing and overseeing of the operations too. I’d reached out via my former connection to Jett and the fight clubs, and even Raze again, to try to gain access to Elijah that way. So far, however, that side of things hadn’t panned out. It had been a long shot to begin with given how estranged Jett had been from his older brother, but we were exploring every single lead and possibility, so nothing was off the table.

I reached the infirmary and opened the door.

As soon as I stepped inside, I pulled up short at the sight of Riley Hutchins sitting in one of the chairs beside my dad’s bed, stroking his hair.

“I told you not to move, Frankie.” She smiled to herself sadly. “Then again, playing it safe was never really your thing, was it?”

Frankie? The intimate act of stroking his hair.

This was more than just platonic shit going down between them. Or, maybe just on her end?

I blinked it away. Now really wasn’t the time.

“Hey,” I said, announcing myself.

She lifted her head and dropped her hand from my dad.

“Skylar,” she said, politely.

“Thanks for finding him for me.”

“I’m just sorry it happened like this. With him hurt and pained.”

I leaned against the wall beside his bed. “How do you think it did happen this way? My dad’s one of the best, he always has been.”

“His head isn’t clear. He obviously went after Jeremy in a fit of rage. After what he did to you. There’s also a lot of it being driven by him losing Maria, his home, you.”

“He told you all of this? You’ve been in contact before I reached out?”

“We were in contact. Briefly. Before he joined those mercenaries.”

“You didn’t approve?”

“Absolutely not. Especially not his reason for enlisting with them.”

I frowned. “You said mercenaries?”

“That’s what they are.”

“It’s a black ops team.”

“I’m sure that’s what your father told you.”

I started shaking my head. “No, he’s not the type of person to stoop to that.”

“He’s not, no. But grief and rage can twist even the most noble of people and pull them off the correct path.” She gazed at him. “As unfortunate as him sustaining injury is, it’s also a blessing in disguise.” She looked out at me. “He’s away from them now. He’s back here with you.”

“If you think I can convince him not to return, you’re way off. I couldn’t stop him from going in the first place. He wouldn’t listen to a word I had to say about it.”

“That was in the depths of your mutual grief. You have more power than you think. You’re his anchor, Skylar. You always have been. He just lost sight of that with everything that happened two years ago. This situation with him being hurt, with Jeremy, is a wakeup call.”

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