Page 8 of Dare To Take

“Not your fault.”

“If I hadn’t—”

“The doctors said it could have happened at any time. This wasn’t your fault, Eli.” His hand slides over my cheek and cups the back of my head to pull me closer. “But you smell, Son. You need to go home and shower.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

He smiles, and I’ve never been so relieved in my life. “I’m not going anywhere. Go home, shower, get some sleep and come back in the morning. I’m in good hands here.”

“But—”

“I love you, Eli.” He pulls my head down and kisses the top of my head. “Now go home and get some rest. Elena’s on her way. She can keep me company and you can take over tomorrow.”

Elena. A woman who has been very conspicuous by her absence these past three days.

“It’s about time.”

“Don’t be hard on her. The private investigator I hired found Arabella, and she went to bring her home. They were just getting in the car to drive to the airport when the hospital finally got hold of her.”

I still. Arabella has been found? The rest of his words sink in. She’s coming back to the Hamptons?

The surge of relief I feel is followed closely by something else, a darker emotion that swirls through me. She accused me of taking advantage of her, of forcing myself on her. Will she also blame me for the video? I’m sure Elena will have told her where her cell phone was found.

I pull out of my father’s grip and straighten. “I’ll wait until she gets here.”

His eyes shift to look beyond me. “That would be now.”

“Elliot? Oh my god, Elliot.” Elena rushes past me in a cloud of expensive perfume. She wraps her arms around my father and presses her forehead to his. “If I’d known something was going to happen, I wouldn’t have left.” She kisses his cheeks, and his mouth. “Are you okay?”

I turn away, not wanting to see the intimacy between them, and grab my hoodie before slipping out of the door.

I’m outside the hospital before I remember I left my cell at home, and didn’t drive here, so I turn and walk back inside to the reception desk.

“Hi. Could you call an Uber for me?”

The woman on the desk gives me a bright, toothy smile. “Of course!”

The Uber driver is understanding about my situation and waits while I go inside the house and find my wallet once we get there. I’m back out a few minutes later, money in hand, to pay him. He takes the folded notes with a smile and backs down the drive. I stand there, watching until it disappears out of sight before turning to trudge back indoors.

I’m fucking exhausted, drained, but I detour to the kitchen to let the cook and house staff know how my father is. I spend fifteen minutes fielding their questions before I’m able to extricate myself and climb the stairs to my room. On the periphery of my vision, I see movement, but my gaze is focused on my bed, and I’m honestly too fucking tired to pay attention to anything else around me.

I sit on the edge of the mattress and pull off my sneakers, drag the hoodie over my head and toss it to the floor and then fall back against the sheets. I should take off my clothes and have a shower.

I will do that … I just want to rest my eyes for a few minutes first.

Chapter 6

Arabella

Standing in the middle of the bedroom, I keep my arms wrapped around my middle. I still can’t believe I’m back here. It’s creepy the way my room is perfect. The messy bed is remade, and all the clothes I’d left all over the floor have been put away. It’s as if the night I fucked Eli didn’t happen.

Elena was quiet and subdued the whole journey back to the Hamptons. Her worry for Elliot had been tangible.

Maybe she does actually care about him? Or maybe she’s worried about Eli getting control of everything if he dies.

The cynical little voice in my head twists my lips. My mother has always cared more about herself than anything else. Why would that change now? She won’t let herself lose all this without a fight.

It would be just another reason for my stepbrother to hate me.

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